 
## IN THE WAKE OF WAR

_____________________________________

### BALLARD TRILOGY : 1

### STEPHEN L. NOWLAND

### Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015-2019 Stephen Louis Nowland

Edited by Lesley Wheeler

Map Illustration by Cornelia Yoder

http://www.corneliayoder.com

The Author asserts the moral right to be

identified as the author of this work.

Table of Contents

World Map

Local Map

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

About the Author

Prologue

Captain Ellis hated the sea. The turgid waters swelled and crashed against the shoreline, pounding away at rocks jutting from the frozen sands with a monotony matched only by the unyielding grey skies. Were he to give it half a chance, the sea would take the captain's life in a heartbeat without pity or remorse. The sea had no friends.

From where he stood, Ellis' grey eyes watched his ship the Evermoor at anchor, as near to the coast as she could be without being drawn in and dashed apart on the unforgiving rocks. The bitter wind caressed her bare rigging as she patiently waited for her crew's task to be complete. Only five men had stayed behind to keep her safe, with the rest accompanying their captain and his passenger to the dangerous shore.

Given a choice, Ellis would have stayed in calmer waters further south, but times were tough, and he had taken this job to stay afloat, as it were — he couldn't fight the allure of easy money. Still, two weeks on this gods-forsaken rock was testing his patience and he yearned to be finished with this task. Behind him, over a dozen men sifted and dug through great piles of twisted and blackened metal lying on the rocky sands, searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Captain Ellis narrowed his cold gaze on his passenger, moving amongst the ship's crew in the ongoing search for whatever had brought them here. Dressed in a dark cloak of fine weave, little could be seen of the man's features, and his name remained a mystery. Ellis always preferred to look his business partners in the eye, yet once more the promise of greater riches had been dangled before him, all for the promise of anonymity.

Ellis caught the eye of his first mate Deven, a sharp-featured, wiry little man dressed in a dirty old longcoat. In spite of his shabby appearance, he had a mind like a steel trap and used it on more than one occasion to secure work for the ship. Sensing his captain's silent inquiry, Deven threaded his way through the crew and casually sauntered over.

"What's the good word, Dev?" Ellis asked without shifting his gaze from the ongoing work.

"Nothing but sand and great bloody chunks of metal, cap'n," the sailor muttered. "The crew are getting restless. Doesn't matter how good the pay is, it's frustrating trying to find something when we're not even told exactly what it is we're lookin' for."

"If you're fishing for information, I'm in the dark as much as you are," the captain offered. "It's all part of the deal. If our customer wants us to shift piles of metal on a beach for days on end, that's what we're going to do."

"You don't have to tell me twice, Cap'n," Deven assured him, "but some of the lads are pretty superstitious about this place. They don't call it the 'Isle of the Dead' 'cause of its population of fluffy kittens. They're cold and scared, and the longer we stay here, the worse it's going to get."

"Anything on this island — living or dead — was destroyed when the falling star hit a couple of years ago mate," Ellis impatiently reminded him.

"Try telling them that," Deven chuckled, drawing only a grunt of acknowledgement from the captain. They'd had this discussion many times over the past few weeks, but Ellis was out of options.

"I've plied my trade on the seas for going on twenty years, mate, and I've never seen work so hard to come by. Everyone's broke, or maybe they're just hoarding their money, waiting for better times to come around." The captain lowered his voice as he continued speaking. "If we didn't take this job, I was probably going to have to sell the old girl," he confided, glancing back at the Evermoor.

"It's that bad?"

"Just remind the crew of the money coming our way," Ellis growled. "After this, we'll sail south and soak up the warmth for a few months."

"Yeah, about that," Deven muttered, reaching into his longcoat and withdrawing a sheaf of rolled papers. "I caught a glimpse of our passenger's face a little while ago when he thought nobody was lookin'." Ellis glanced at the dark-cloaked man who continued to search the wreckage. There was an air of desperation in his movements, as if he too were growing tired of the tedious expedition.

"I've no interest in learning anything about the man, Dev," Ellis stated flatly. "He paid extra for anonymity, and I won't jeopardise that."

"Respectfully Cap'n, he's not gonna know if you know who he is," the first mate pointed out, as he leafed through the papers in his hands. "Besides, if my guess is right, you might change your mind." Deven liked to make some extra money on the side keeping an eye out for wanted criminals, who often tried to flee justice aboard ships like the Evermoor. Finding the one he was looking for, Deven pulled out a paper from the pile and handed it to the captain.

"Wanted for high crimes — Osric Davignon," he mumbled aloud. "Dead or alive, reward a thousand gold sovereigns? Wait, I've heard of this one. He used to be King of Tulsone, but got kicked off his throne by his brother."

"That's the one," Deven confirmed. "The queen says he did some nasty stuff above and beyond bein' our enemy durin' the war, if you can believe that."

"You reckon this is the man scrounging through a pile of junk on this freezing cold beach?"

"I do."

"A thousand sovereigns," Ellis muttered to himself, staring at the unusually well-drawn face sketched on the paper in his trembling hands. "The entire crew and their families would be set for life, and then some." He stared at the back of his passenger, wondering what lay hidden beneath the obscuring hood and made a decision. "Is he armed?"

"I seen the hilt of a weapon sticking out of his belt, but there was no blade on it. Might be a memento or something? Not much good for anything 'cept maybe a knuckle-duster."

"Pass the word. When I give the signal, I want five men to hold him. Don't take any chances — knock him out if you need to."

"With pleasure, cap'n," Deven replied, touching one hand to his forehead in salute. He quietly moved amongst the crew, whispering quick instructions to his most trusted men, while Ellis headed for their esteemed guest.

The man who may well be a former king had cleared a space around a particular piece of wreckage, and crouched amongst blackened pieces of twisted metal. He carefully pushed aside other, smaller pieces of debris and focused upon something in the sand. Ellis stood a few yards behind him and observed this for a few moments before making his presence known.

"Have you found something, Osric?" he asked as casually as if they were friends.

"At long last, I've found the whole reason we came here..." he replied, until his voice trailed off when he realised he'd been tricked into revealing his identity. Ellis narrowed his eyes in triumph. This would be a very lucrative catch. Deven caught his eye from a few yards away, giving the captain a quick nod to confirm they were ready.

"It's a real shame, you losing your throne like that," Ellis went on, slowly moving in along with half a dozen of his crew. "Seems to me a competent king would have seen it coming."

"My reputation precedes me, it seems," Osric remarked without any hint of fear. His hands continued moving in the sand, though Ellis couldn't see what he was doing. "I don't suppose I might prevail upon your honour to carry out our agreement?"

"The agreement has changed, I'm sorry to say. I'm not normally one to renege on a business deal, but I've a chance to snag ten times what you're offering — from the Queen of Aielund no less."

"Everyone has their price," Osric answered bitterly. "What happens now?"

"We're done here," Ellis said as much to the crew as to his prisoner. "We're heading back to the ship, where we will show you accommodation more appropriate to a man on the run from the law. Sometimes, a man in your position can get desperate and lash out without realising it. My advice to you is to keep calm, or my lads will have to knock you out. The wanted notice says 'dead or alive', and 'alive' doesn't make a mess. So, Mister Davignon, come along quietly, and we won't have to kill you."

Osric slowly stood up and turned to face the captain, raising his chin and pulling back his dark hood for the first time since they'd met. He was nobility alright, with fine features, blond hair and dark eyes. A scraggly beard had formed during their time on the beach, yet his proud nature was still on display. This was not a man accustomed to surrender. In his hand was the empty hilt of his "weapon", into which he placed a small blue gem.

"You will address me as 'Your Majesty'," Osric sneered, just as the Evermoor's crew leaped on top of him. A heartbeat later, Osric burst out of the hold as those same six men were thrown back several yards, to land heavily in the sand or on top of debris. A clear sword, its edge glowing with blue light, flashed in his hand where the empty hilt had been a moment before. With no warning, Osric dashed forward and deeply cut Ellis' leg.

He fell to the ground in astonishment and pain, grasping at the searing wound as he watched Osric move amongst the crew faster than he thought possible, cutting down anyone who sought to challenge him. Deven was the first to fall, taking the strange sword in his gut for his trouble. Despite his grave injury, Ellis tried to regain his footing, grasping the hilt of his cutlass in one hand and trying to staunch the flow of blood with his other, in an attempt to rally his crew.

Nobody, not even his strongest men could stand against the fallen king, who seemed to revel in the fighting. When it became obvious they simply couldn't beat him, Evermoor's few remaining crew backed away from the monster, hands raised to indicate their surrender. Osric raised his left arm and pointed his fist at them, and with a quick gesture, a blast of energy shot forward, engulfing them in green fire.

Osric ignored their cries of agony and turned to point his arm towards the Evermoor, sending another bolt of green lightning towards the ship. Aghast at the carnage, Ellis could only watch as a storm of green fire engulfed the masts and quickly spread through the vulnerable timber, dooming the ship to a fiery end. Osric let out a cry of delight at the display, and glanced down at the wounded captain, who futilely tried to stand as his life was destroyed around him.

"I can't abide deal-breakers," the fallen king explained with a half-smile on his lips, "but in thanks for reuniting me with true power, I give you your life. Enjoy the final days of your existence on this bleak, frozen rock, and think of your mistake." He touched a small metal box attached to his wrist and vanished in a flash of violet light, leaving the captain of the Evermoor to his fate.

1

### Aislin

In the north-eastern corner of the great island of Feydwiir, nestled between two mountain ranges and the sparkling waters of the northern straits, was the Kingdom of Aielund, one of the most populous and wealthy realms in the land. These riches were not counted in gold or gems, but in the vast tracts of verdant plains which produced a bounty of food, far more than the kingdom needed for itself, with the excess sold to neighbouring lands for a very tidy profit.

At the centre of the kingdom, surrounded by farms, was a small town called Bracksford. It was the hub for those who worked the land, as well as merchants and people who simply enjoyed the country life. The largest building in town was the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn, a huge, two-storey place which served as a temporary stopover for travellers. It was old, but renowned for its warm hospitality and a good night's rest. This night however, one of its residents wasn't sleeping very well at all.

Lying amongst her twisted blankets, Aislin Ballard dreamed of a less peaceful time, when the town that had been home for her twelve years of life was invaded by soldiers, searching for someone of importance staying at the inn — a young lady of royal blood. They wore red tabards, stank of sweat and carried swords and axes openly. In the common room, her friends and their parents whom Aislin had known all of her short life were bullied and shouted at.

Her father, a big man who wasn't afraid of anyone, pulled out a trusty hardwood club from behind the bar and stepped into harm's way. He'd already witnessed what happened to those who stood up to the soldiers, yet courageously took them on anyway. He was no match for professional soldiers armed with steel, receiving a gauntlet to his face for daring to oppose them.

Aislin, only eight years old at the time, cowered under a table and watched the horrible events unfold, powerless to help as a captain of the royal guard, an escort of their esteemed visitor, was quickly subdued with a series of blows to his helmeted head. Blood trickled down the side of his face and dripped on the wooden floor as he joined her father, who clutched at his own bruised face to stop the bleeding.

One of the soldiers returned from upstairs dragging a lovely blond woman behind him. She kicked and screamed as they took her through the side door and vanished, leaving the distraught people of the common room shaking in fear.

In her dream, when Aislin emerged from under the table, the scene had changed to a time three months later, when the war had come to Bracksford's doorstep. She didn't even know what the fighting was all about, but once more the town had come under attack, this time from soldiers in dirty tabards of white and gold, men who were unshaven, rough and spoke a strange language. With the town's defenders easily overwhelmed, the newcomers terrorised the townsfolk for days.

Her dad did his best to keep the peace, even if he took a few more lumps on his head in the process. Aislin did what she was told, kept her head down and served the invaders as if they were regular customers, while trying to ignore the fear in the townsfolk's faces. Now and then when she found some time to herself, she would go to the stables where nobody would see her crying.

Then, sounds of fighting erupted in the town and Aislin thought more soldiers were coming to finish them off. When she looked out of a window and saw a small, silvery dragon no larger than a cow land in the street, a feeling of awe swept over her. The dragon strode into the ranks of their oppressors in a fury of claws and lightning, a riveting display of power.

When the battle was over and the townsfolk freed, Aislin crept outside, slowly moving towards the proud creature as it sat in the middle of the street. She reached out for it with one hand, almost touching the magnificent creature as she drew ever closer. Even though she had seen what it could do, Aislin approached with confidence, and felt no fear.

As she touched its side, she was surprised to find its flank felt furry, not scaly, and her confusion increased when the dragon turned and began to lick her face. She awakened to find her hands deep in the fur of a large cat lying on top of her, cleaning her cheek with its rough tongue.

"Cut it out, Keg," Aislin complained in a sleepy voice, shoving the huge ginger tomcat to one side. Keg, purring loudly enough to wake half the inn sat on the bed, swishing his tail back and forth, satisfied his job was done. The room was almost completely dark, but for a sliver of dim grey light coming through the window shutters. It was nearly dawn and her cat was letting her know in no uncertain terms that it was time for food.

Aislin took a moment to rub her eyes and shrug off the horrible dream. The memory of those events was burned into her mind, and even four years later, the feeling of being powerless lingered. For months after the second attack on the town, she had hardly left her father's side out of fear, made worse when the town was evacuated two years later as the kingdom was invaded yet again. It was only in the last year she had found the courage to sleep by herself in her own room.

Her hand strayed across the bedside table to where a large, sheathed dagger lay, a gift from a friend during the war. Simply touching the leather-wrapped hilt of the weapon was enough to help her shrug off the dream and focus on the present. Keg gave a throaty meow as a reminder of his empty belly, and Aislin responded by playfully tossing the bed-covers over him, before clambering out of bed to start the day.

The room was freezing and she hurried across the bare floor to put on her slippers. After quickly taking care of her morning routine, she put on a plain brown dress and picked up the dagger, taking special care as she strapped it to her back.

Once secured, she drew the weapon and brandished it before her, marvelling at the shine of the metal, and its balance in her hand before sheathing it once more. She put on a worn, oversized jacket which covered the weapon from view, and provided some extra protection against the cold. Her father did not approve of her carrying the knife around all the time, and she had made a promise not to, meaning Aislin had to be extra careful not to be discovered or she'd be in trouble.

Finally ready, she left the bedroom with Keg hurrying past to make sure she didn't get lost on the way to his food bowl. Aislin had a few stops to make beforehand, however. Across the hallway in the near-darkness were two other doors, and she quietly knocked on the nearest before turning the handle.

"Wake up, dad," she ordered the room's sole occupant. The sound of someone rolling over to try and get more sleep could be heard, muttering something about "I'll be up in a minute".

"Your minutes can go for hours, dad," Aislin pointed out before the sound of snoring rumbled around the room. Rolling her eyes at Keg, she closed the door and headed down the hallway, doing her best to ignore the other room on her left as she went past. It was too early in the day to deal with that.

Even in the dark, Aislin knew her way around the cold inn better than just about anyone except her father. She found a lantern perched on the usual shelf and once it was lit, headed through a small doorway and down a flight of stairs into the even colder larder. Keg, anticipating what was to come, sat at the top of the stairs while Aislin took a small slice of prepared meat from the shelf and tossed it to the hungry cat.

"You should find more mice instead of eating our food," she admonished the hefty feline, as he tore into the meat while making little growling noises. She then went about the morning ritual, lighting the fireplace, the stove in the kitchen, and three other lanterns, while stifling the urge to yawn.

Shortly afterward, she unlocked the front door and breathed in the rich air of late spring. Keg took the opportunity presented and dashed outside, hopefully to fulfil his mouse hunting duties, but more likely to find a comfortable spot to laze about in the warmth of the rising sun. Above the door hung a battered sign spelled out "Bracksfordshi Ar In" in florid script, missing a chunk of wood with some important letters on it, yet still conveying the inn's general purpose to passer's by. Like everything else in their lives, it would just have to last a little bit longer.

Returning to the kitchen, she struggled to lift a heavy pot containing a hearty soup from last night's meal onto the stove, to become this morning's breakfast. As she stoked the fire some more, Vicki arrived.

A chubby woman with curly brown hair, Vicki was responsible for running the kitchens and although friendly, she had an annoying habit of assuming Aislin didn't know how to do anything. Naturally, Vicki took the time to explain every little task and pat her on the head afterwards, as if Aislin were an obedient pet. When she brought this up with her dad, he had simply replied, "keep your ears open and you might learn something."

This morning, Aislin was "learning" the task of chopping tired vegetables with a blunt knife, because Vicki didn't think she could be trusted with anything sharper. When her back was turned, Aislin would glare at her and make faces, making sure her face was perfectly normal whenever Vicki turned back again. It was small consolation considering the mountain of vegetables Aislin had to chop, in preparation for the day's cooking.

With the sun well and truly above the horizon, people began arriving from their rooms upstairs, or through the front door, seeking a filling meal to start their day. Ordinarily, Aislin's father would be at the counter by now, taking orders and making the guests comfortable. His position was still vacant however, and Aislin occasionally glanced at the doorway, wondering what was taking him so long.

"It seems your father was up late with his friends again," Vicki muttered, also noticing the absence.

"I'll go and see what's keeping him," Aislin offered, looking for any opportunity to get away from her chopping duties.

"No, keep at it or we'll have nothing to serve come the noon meal," Vicki sighed. "I'll work the counter 'til he gets here, and hopefully Kirsten will be here soon as well." Taking off her apron, Vicki went to the counter to serve the customers, leaving Aislin to continue preparing the vegies for a little longer, before deciding on a faster way.

Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she set aside the dull old knife and reached under her jacket. With a faint rasp of metal, she drew her magnificent dagger and began using it on the vegetables. Aislin was always careful with it, for it was the sharpest one she'd ever seen. It sliced through potatoes, carrots and pumpkin with incredible ease, and before long Aislin was chopping up a storm.

By the time Vicki returned a few minutes later, the mountain of vegetables had been prepared and Aislin stood there, dagger hidden once more and looking as casual about her accomplishment as possible.

"My word, looks like you've gotten the hang of it," Vicki marvelled. "Have some breakfast and then we'll start service." Aislin smiled innocently and picked up a bowl, then ladled some of the bubbling soup into it. She tore off a hunk of stale bread from a nearby loaf, sat down, and ate her fill.

Her dad finally arrived and took over at the counter, giving Aislin a wink as he went past. He was a big man with a rotund belly, short, dark hair which was going grey around the edges, and friendly brown eyes. He walked with a limp and groaned a little every now and then as he hobbled along, a legacy from his encounter with those soldiers years ago. Though he tried to hide it, the leg was a constant source of pain, and he wasn't as strong as he used to be.

With the morning service fully underway, Vicki instructed Aislin to work the tables, but stopped her just before she headed out into the common room.

"Let's take a moment to tidy you up a bit," the cook suggested. "You're a bit of a mess." Vicki took a stiff brush and used it to smooth the tangles out of Aislin's hair, causing her to wince every time the brush became caught in her long auburn locks.

"You could be a pretty little girl if you'd take the time," Vicki admonished her as she continued to work. "A pity your mother isn't around to show you all this, god bless her. You have her dark eyes though." Aislin tried to reply, but winced in pain as the rough brushing continued. Vicki's love was a bit harsh sometimes.

Once she was considered tidy enough, Aislin was given a plate of food, and instructions as to where it should go. She hurried out into the common room and was surprised at how many customers were there.

"I haven't seen it this busy in years," her father remarked from the bar, gazing at the busy room with a wide smile.

"There's a lot of travellers coming in from the north," Kirsten explained as she dashed past. She was a cheerful young woman twice Aislin's age, with red hair and a wide smile that showed off her dimpled cheeks. "Mostly merchants, but I think there's a few coming in for the archery tournament. You're going to have to hire some more help."

"I think you and Aislin can handle it for now," Aislin's dad said with a dismissive wave. "Merchants don't stay long, and if the tournament turnout is as bad as last year, we'd be operating at a loss. Frankly, we could use the extra coin. Go to it, chook," he said to Aislin, who gave him a confident smile and headed into the bustling room.

The next couple of hours were a blur as the understaffed inn struggled to keep up with the sudden demand. A few months short of thirteen, Aislin was perhaps too small to be working this sort of job, or any sort, when she thought about it. She would have much preferred to be playing with the other children in town or going to school. But with times as tough as they were and her father's injury, Aislin felt she was needed at the inn more than her classes, so she dropped out of school to help keep the place running.

Her size worked against her when carrying some of the larger meals, and people had a habit of not noticing her until the last moment. When she had started working the tables last year, she had been knocked about on more than occasion, but since then, Aislin had learned to anticipate when someone was about to stumble into her. She could squeeze her tiny frame through the narrowest of gaps, and practically danced through the throng without dropping a plate or being run over, much to the amusement of the patrons.

As usual, the crowd mostly consisted of women. The few men present were typically quite old, with younger men very scarce indeed over the past couple of years. Aislin tried not to think about it too much, choosing instead to focus on her work. The crowd shrank once breakfast was over, and things became a little easier.

Vicki tasked Aislin with the dishes in preparation for the lunch service. It wasn't difficult however, and gave her time to study a book Kirsten had opened before her. With their livelihood at stake, Aislin may not have been able to attend school, but that was no excuse to avoid learning.

"Give it another try," the energetic waitress prompted as she went back and forth over the floor with a mop.

"I know what I did wrong," Aislin protested. "It sounded funny when I read it aloud, but it says 'read' on the page! 'The jolly merchant read the red book,'" she repeated. "How come 'read' and 'read' are spelled the same if they're said differently?"

"I have no idea, honey," Kirsten laughed while Aislin began to rethink this whole "reading" thing. They continued debating this until the dishes were done, and Aislin had time for an early lunch before the inn became busy again. She poured a bowl of thick stew Vicki had been cooking all morning, and toasted some stale bread on top of the stove, then walked through the common room and up a set of narrow stairs.

This area was normally reserved for paying customers to rest overnight, but Aislin knew of a little secret. In a nearly-forgotten closet, there was a ladder leading up through a hatch in the ceiling into the attic. From there, a small hatch lead out of a raised section of the inn's roof, where Aislin emerged into the radiant sunshine.

Moving carefully across the thatch roof, she sat and ate her lunch, enjoying the warmth of the approaching summer, and the scene of her home town spread out before her. She loved Bracksford, and only from here could she see the whole place at once. It briefly occurred to her that sitting on the roof was another of those things her father wouldn't approve of, if he learned about it. The less he knew about her daily routine, the better.

Just down the street from the inn, Aislin could see a dozen children standing outside a quaint old house, talking and laughing amongst themselves. It was the local school, a place Aislin would be going, if not for the fact she was needed at the inn. She recognised a few of her friends amongst the crowd, and when one of them turned towards the inn, Aislin waved an arm around to catch her attention. The blond girl didn't seem to notice, and a moment later a petite woman with her brown hair pulled back in a tight bun emerged from the building, and began herding her students into the schoolhouse.

Aislin's smile faded as she went back to eating, feeling left out and isolated from what should have been her life. Then, a throaty meow caught her attention as Keg ambled across the roof towards her.

"How do you manage to get up here?" Aislin asked the big ginger cat as he nuzzled against her side, almost toppling her over in the process. He was the biggest cat in town by a wide margin, around three feet long, and weighed enough that if he ran into someone, they felt it. She smiled widely at his appearance, reminded that though she may not have been able to join her friends, she was rarely alone.

Keg sat patiently by her side as she ate, his tail swishing back and forth in the hope of receiving a reward for his affections. Aislin wasn't one to disappoint, tossing him a chunk of pork from the bowl, which he snatched out of the air with a swipe of his paw, and stuffed into his mouth.

After finishing her meal, Aislin and Keg went back through the hatch and downstairs, where the cat curled himself in front of the fireplace while Aislin went back to work. The lunch crowd was bigger than it had been for months, and the girls were sorely in need of help. Aislin was kept busy delivering plates of food and drink to patrons for the next hour, working closely with Kirsten to cover the entire room. Despite the hectic pace, Kirsten still managed to keep an eye out for a certain kind of customer.

"The young lads at table three are very nice," she confided while returning some empty plates. "They're passing through town looking for carpentry work, a respectable job for any man." Aislin looked at the table in question and saw three men of no more than eighteen years of age, chatting amongst themselves. One of them glanced at Kirsten briefly, which gave her a giddy thrill. He was a handsome chap with strong cheekbones, green eyes and a mop of curly brown hair. His short-sleeved shirt showed off his thick arms, which was probably what had Kirsten so excited.

"Ace, stop staring," Kirsten whispered, using the nickname the other children sometimes called her. Aislin hadn't realised she'd been staring and promptly hid behind the counter. Kirsten giggled and gave her suitor a sultry glance, something Vicki didn't approve of.

"Those three are trouble if ever I've seen it," she counselled with a scornful look. "You'd do well to watch your backside around that lot."

"Oh loosen up, Vick," Kirsten sighed with a roll of her pretty eyes. "There aren't exactly a lot of young men to choose from nowadays. A girl needs to take the initiative when she sees it. Wish me luck!" With that, she picked up a tray of drinks and swayed back towards the boy's table.

"That girl is trouble on legs," Vicki remarked with a shake of her head. "Never mind, I'll keep an eye on her. I need you to take a lunch tray up to Mister Ellis in room three. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course I can," Aislin scoffed, taking the offered tray and heading for the stairs. She passed by Kirsten who was busy making new friends, and felt a brief pang of jealousy for the attention she was receiving. Aislin hadn't had any experience in this area, but she wondered if their hands were supposed to be touching her friend in those particular places.

Focusing on the task at hand, Aislin climbed the stairs, and walked down the hall until she reached room three. The hall was silent except for the dull sound of talking from the common room below. Carefully balancing the tray in one hand, she knocked on the door and waited for a response from within. When there was nothing forthcoming, she hesitated, wondering what to do next.

She tried the door handle and found it was unlocked, so she slowly opened it and poked her head inside. The rooms at the inn weren't huge, offering barely enough space for two beds. The window shutters were open, though the room itself was still quite dim. The dark shape of a large man sitting in a chair next to the window caught Aislin by surprise.

"Your lunch, sir," she explained as she crept into the room, again without receiving a response. He was very much awake yet seemed to be focused on staring through the window. His hair was neatly groomed, and he sported heavy growth on his chin, though she wouldn't yet call it a beard. Aislin was momentarily taken aback when she noticed the man was missing one leg, though it wasn't the first time she'd seen someone as injured as this. The recent war had taken a terrible toll on the survivors.

His silence was making Aislin nervous, so she set the tray down on a small table next to one of the beds, then turned for the door.

"Thank you," the man spoke in a heavy voice, startling her. She turned to see him looking in her direction, regarding her with grey eyes.

"Are you warm enough?" Aislin asked after an awkward moment of silence.

"I'll live," Ellis answered quietly, still examining her curiously. "Do I frighten you, child?"

"No," Aislin replied, suddenly a little more nervous than before.

"Why do you come here carrying a concealed weapon?"

"I... how did you know?" she asked, checking to make sure her dagger couldn't be seen beneath her jacket.

"I could hear it moving around when you walked," Ellis explained patiently. "Show me." Still nervous, Aislin reached under the back of her jacket and pulled the dagger from its sheath, holding it before her so he could see it. Ellis reached out one hand and Aislin hesitated, unsure if she wanted him to hold it, and momentarily afraid of what he might do with it. Still, she figured she could always run from a man with one leg easily enough. Ellis exhaled in astonishment as he took the weapon and examined it closely.

"This blade is made of vythir," he exclaimed, testing its balance. "Do you have any idea how much this is worth?"

"I don't care — I'd never sell it," Aislin replied curtly. She wanted him to hand it back, but held her tongue a moment longer.

"Where does a little girl in a country town come across a weapon like this?" Ellis inquired.

"It was a gift from a great man," she answered.

"A great man with a lot of money, it seems," Ellis mused. "What was his name?"

"Aiden Wainwright."

"Lord Aiden Wainwright, formerly of Highmarch, and hero of the Battle of Culdeny? The man who was to be married to Queen Criosa? That Aiden Wainwright?"

"Yes," Aislin confirmed a little peevishly.

"If it were an ordinary weapon I would assume you were lying," Ellis spoke after a long pause. "I can't think of where else someone like you would get their hands on a blade like that, so I am inclined to believe you. Where did you meet him?"

"He saved the town from attack twice, and then helped us when we evacuated Bracksford two years ago. He gave this to me to help keep everyone safe."

"Generous, if a little irresponsible handing a small child such a deadly instrument," Ellis rumbled. "Still, we owe him and his companions a great debt. His loss was a blow to the entire country." He examined the blade more closely while Aislin took a moment to remember Lord Aiden, feeling a momentary sadness that he was no longer with them.

"There are some interesting markings along the blade that appear to be dwarven script," Ellis remarked as he handed it back to her. "Does it bear a name?"

"Sliver," Aislin replied, sheathing the blade once more, fully aware of the small markings along its length, and eager to be gone from the room.

"No, I don't think so," Ellis mused quietly, finally handing Sliver back to her, hilt first. "I've seen enough dwarvish over the years to know that much. Not that it matters, I suppose. I hope you never have to use it in anger, child. It's a terrible thing, taking a life — or having to watch those close to you lose theirs." Ellis fell silent and went back to staring out the window once more, perhaps thinking of people he'd lost. Sensing the conversation was over, Aislin retrieved an older tray with a half-eaten bowl of day-old soup on it, and quickly left the room, wondering what had happened to the strange man.

As she descended the stairs, Aislin could hear raucous laughter from the common room. Apparently, Kirsten and her admirers were making a lot of noise. The waitress was sitting in the lap of the curly-haired young man at the table, though as Aislin moved closer, she could see Kirsten wasn't smiling anymore.

His thick arms were keeping her from getting away, and the other two young men had obviously been drinking. Some of their language was a bit coarse, drawing looks of disdain from the other patrons. Kirsten appeared to have had enough and was trying to get away from their searching hands without much success.

Aislin had seen plenty of drunkards come through the inn over the years, and she despised such men. Normally, her father would put in an appearance with his trusty hardwood club and show them the door, but he wasn't sitting behind the bar as usual.

An idea popped into her head, and she weaved through the tables, holding the tray of old food in front of her. Aislin prided herself on not dropping a tray in years, but right then and there, Kirsten needed a little help. With careful timing, Aislin collided with the back of the muscled youth's chair and spilled the foul soup down the back of his tunic.

He immediately leapt to his feet, allowing Kirsten to break free and scurry for cover, while he roared in surprise.

"I'm so sorry!" Aislin exclaimed falsely, putting on the best performance she could manage. "I'll get a cloth and clean that up right away."

"You've ruined my shirt you stupid brat," the young man shouted, glaring down at her in drunken rage.

"I'm really, very sorry," Aislin assured him, using the front of her apron to wipe of some of the soup while nearby patrons laughed. "I'm a bit clumsy and really too small for this sort of thing."

"Well, you can cover the cost of getting the stains out of this tunic then," he muttered, pulling it over his head and handing it to Aislin. "I'll be in town for a couple of days, get it back to me, or I'll be taking this up with the owner. Come on, lads," he said to the others as he made his way to the door, bare-chested and self-conscious. Once they were gone, a wide grin spread over Aislin's face as she hurried over to the counter, with a few of the local women applauding on her way past.

"Thanks Ace," Kirsten offered in genuine gratitude. "I think I got a little more than I bargained for."

"I warned you, didn't I?" Vicki huffed, drawing a long-suffering sigh from Kirsten.

"Yes, and I'm never going to hear the end of this."

"It doesn't take much for some men to think they're a rare breed these days, and go about acting all high and mighty," Vicki went on as she loaded another tray with food. "It wasn't like this five years ago, not by a long shot. Men treated women with respect, not as objects for their pleasure."

"True enough, but I'm twenty-four, Vick, and still single. Do you know how many eligible men there are in town these days? None. The war saw to that, so unless I want to settle for a man twice my age, pickings are slim."

"I know, luv," Vicki sighed, resigned to the same fate.

"I'd better go and scrub this tunic or we might have more trouble from that bloke," Aislin mumbled as dark memories of years past resurfaced. She left the others to their work and headed out to the laundry.

By the time evening came around, Aislin was exhausted. Thankfully, she wasn't expected to work after sunset, so she ate her evening meal and headed towards bed. Her father was heading in the other direction, and took her aside for a quick word.

"Thanks for all your hard work today, chook," he said in his deep voice. "I still think you're doing too much, though. You're practically falling asleep on your feet."

"I don't mind," Aislin protested while stifling a yawn. "You're already doing as much as you can."

"And it's not enough, not by a long shot," he said while unconsciously rubbing his leg. "If the tournament brings in enough people, maybe I can hire someone else to help out for a few months. Until the war, business used to pick up around this time of year, and I'm hoping to see a return to the old days."

"That'd be nice," Aislin answered with a tired smile. Her dad looked at her with worried, caring eyes and reached down to give her a hug. "'Til then, you need my help."

"I really do," he admitted with a sad chuckle. "I feel guilty about it though. You should be in school with your friends."

"I'm still getting my homework done," Aislin assured him. "We'll manage."

"Where did my little girl go?" her father wondered as he looked down at her. "You're sounding more and more like your mother."

"Sounds like a smart woman," Aislin joked, drawing a wry grin from her dad.

"You're just as cheeky as she was, too," he pointed out. "I wish you'd had the chance to know her. Anyway enough of this sentiment — get some rest. I'll take it from here."

"G'night, dad," Aislin mumbled as he limped towards the common room. She shuffled off to her room, passing by the other closed door along the way. She stopped and spared a thought for the previous occupants, resting a hand against the wood as she fought feelings of loss.

Once into her room, she took off her worn dress and climbed into bed, only to discover Keg had curled up right in the middle of it. Aislin awkwardly wrapped herself around the huge purring cat and fell into an exhausted sleep.

2

Madelyn

The next morning, a brisk wind was blowing as Aislin worked in the stables adjoining the inn. She wasn't alone in this endeavour — sharing the workload was a red-nosed, flaxen-haired boy of ten years named Toby, who carried small piles of hay from a cart and dumped them on the floor of each stall. He was an ungracious worker who sniffled constantly in the cold air, while he complained to Aislin about how much he'd rather be out playing, or getting ready for school.

This only served to remind her of the things she was missing out on, and turned her mood sour. Aislin took out her frustrations on the straw and dirt scattered over the stable floor, sweeping them away with vicious strokes of her broom. Although there were only two horses stabled at the moment, it was likely travelling merchants would increase that number very soon, which is why Vicki had tasked Aislin with preparing the stables.

The sound of a rider approaching confirmed this theory. A large black mare carrying a lady trotted into the stable, and came to an abrupt halt. The rider was graced with long, flowing dark hair and very fair skin. Bright blue eyes gazed suspiciously down at the two children. Aislin thought she was quite beautiful, and quite probably only a few years her senior.

The rider wore a fine blue leather jacket and white riding pants. They were called jumpers? Jodhpurs? Something like that. Whatever their name, they were the sort of clothes worn by the wealthy, and judging by the quality of the rest of her gear, this young woman was obviously a noble. She was also very familiar, though Aislin couldn't recall her name.

"Stable my horse," the lady instructed in a dismissive voice as she climbed down. "Then bring my luggage inside." She fondly stroked the horse's neck, and then reached into one of her belt pouches to withdraw a copper coin, which she flipped toward Aislin before striding purposefully through the door to the inn, without another word.

"She's a bit rude, wot?" Toby whispered to Aislin, who exchanged a curious look with the elegant black horse standing expectantly before her.

"She's got money though," Aislin pointed out in a hushed voice. "Just be nice and maybe she'll stay a while and spend it. Help me take this saddle off." Together, the two children managed to remove it and the attached saddlebags, which landed heavily on the floor. Aislin winced and hoped nothing had been broken, and when she looked closer to check each of the bags, she discovered a fine bow in an expensive leather casing.

"She is rich," Aislin breathed as they gazed at the polished weapon. Toby peered into another bag and gaped in awe at a thin sword secured within.

"I'm not paying you to rifle through my belongings," the lady scolded them from right over Aislin's' shoulder, causing her to gasp in guilty surprise.

"I'm sorry, Miss," she stammered, closing the cases and quickly gathering up the expensive luggage, while Toby scurried over to the horse and took the reins.

"I should hope so, or I'll be reporting your questionable conduct to the proprietor," their guest warned with her posh accent. "That's more like it, chop chop," she added, watching as the children performed their tasks with an efficiency borne of fear. Aislin threw the saddlebags over her shoulders and picked up a piece of luggage in either hand, then stood before the lady like a soldier awaiting her next order.

"Very well, come along then, and no dawdling," the lady instructed as she led the way through the door. Aislin did her best to keep up, though she almost toppled over more than once on the way through the hall. Though it was only a dozen yards to the front counter, she barely made it before having to put the heavy bags on the floor to rest her arms. Her father was polishing the counter, and raised an eyebrow as he looked upon the newcomer.

"Everything sorted out, Miss?" he rumbled, tossing aside the cloth and giving her a wide smile.

"Yes, just a minor issue with my horse," the lady assured him.

"I'm sure my two stable hands were able to sort things out," he chuckled with a wink at Aislin. "Welcome to the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn. Tom Ballard, at your service."

"Good day to you, Mister Ballard," the refined lady answered. "I require three days lodging in your finest room."

"They're filling up fast, but we have a couple of good rooms left," Tom offered, pulling a worn ledger and quill from under the counter, and laying it out flat. "Three silver nobles a night, if you please."

"For that price, I expect something a little more special than the last inn I stayed at," the lady muttered as she took up the quill, and scribbled her name in the register with a flourish, then set a few shining coins on the counter top.

"Good rooms are in demand this time of year," Tom explained as he scooped up the money. "All sorts of things happening around town over the next week." He turned the book around and peered at the words through squinting eyes. "Miss Smith, is it?"

"Indeed," their guest replied, answering Tom's raised eyebrow with a straight face.

"You know, people typically write their first name in here too, even when it's not theirs, if you know what I mean."

"You couldn't be clearer if you tried," Miss Smith assured him with a pale smile. A moment of silence hung in the air, which was interrupted when one of the bags Aislin had draped over her shoulder fell to the floor.

"Do be careful, child," the lady scolded.

"Sorry," Aislin mumbled as she hefted the saddlebag.

"Are you sure you can carry all that, chook?" her father asked with mild concern. To his eyes, she probably appeared like a pile of luggage with legs. "I'll get someone else to lug that for you." Aislin glanced at the other workers, having already guessed what she would see. Vicki was in the kitchen cooking five dishes at once, while Kirsten was juggling three trays of meals as she made her way through the bustling common room.

"I'll manage, dad," Aislin finally answered with a sigh.

"Oh, this is your daughter, sir? How lovely of you to run a family business," Miss Smith remarked, glancing at Aislin with a disturbing twinkle in her eye. "I'm not typically one to take issue with service unless something is seriously wrong, but I have to mention your daughter's conduct upon my arrival."

"I'm listening," Tom prompted cautiously. Miss Smith paused while Aislin squirmed under their scrutiny, dreading what their new guest was about to reveal.

"She was an exemplary assistant, intelligent and able to follow my instructions to the letter," the lady explained with a wry grin. It was all Aislin could do to avoid sighing with relief.

"Well, I'm positively chuffed to hear it," Tom beamed, after clearly bracing himself for bad news. "It's just a temporary job until I can hire more staff."

"Nonsense, I foresee many long years of working in the stables for that one," Miss Smith gushed with a degree of enthusiasm that sounded fake to Aislin. "After all, there's nothing wrong with an honest day's work, am I right?"

"You certainly are, Miss," Tom replied, oblivious to the veiled insult hidden in her words. Aislin hated her already.

"Now if your darling little girl could show me to my room, I'd like to settle in," Miss Smith said with a smile that wasn't reflected in her eyes.

"This way," Aislin offered, slowly turning to make her way through the common room, currently occupied by only half a dozen locals sitting around the blazing fire. The sound of the lady's booted heels echoed across the wooden floor as she headed for the stairs, but Aislin felt a hand on her shoulder and came to an abrupt halt before they reached them.

"If I ever find you going through my possessions again," Miss Smith whispered in Aislin's ear, "your father's ire will be the least of your problems. I meant what I said about your future — cross me again and I'll take steps to ensure you'll be working in the stables for the rest of your dull existence. Now keep moving, 'chook'." She continued on past as if nothing were amiss.

Aislin dutifully followed after a moment's hesitation, though the threat put her in a black mood, and she stared daggers at Miss Smith's backside as they ascended the stairs. They arrived at the designated room, and Aislin was relieved to finally be rid of the luggage. Still, she set it down gently in the corner so as to avoid irritating Miss Smith, who appeared to be unimpressed with her accommodation.

"This is what passes for luxury out here in the country?" she remarked in dismay. Once again, Aislin was struck with a sense of familiarity as an image of the lady's face flashed through her mind, from somewhere years ago. With a moment of thought, Aislin suddenly realised where she had seen her before.

"Angelica?" she blurted, causing the young woman to whirl around in surprise.

"Where did you learn that name?" she snapped, moving quickly to slam the door shut.

"I... we hid together in an old tomb east of town, two years ago," Aislin stammered, alarmed at her reaction. "Half the town was there, hiding from an approaching army during the war, remember?"

"Of course I remember, how could I forget being crammed into a dark, mouldy underground cave with fifty strangers? What I don't recall is seeing you there. Oh wait," she purred, slowly moving forward to box Aislin into a corner. "Of course. You were one of the little people scurrying around. Aislin, wasn't it? Sorry, I wasn't really paying a lot of attention at the time. Mother was keeping me on a tight leash."

"I remember her too," Aislin managed to say despite her taut nerves. "Missus Fairchild was a nice lady."

"To you, perhaps," she muttered under her breath. "'Angelica' was her choice and I have come to despise the name. I prefer to go by my middle name, Madelyn, but around this place, as far as you know, my name is Miss Smith, and if anyone asks who I am or what I'm here for, let me know. My real name shall be our little secret."

"Why?" Aislin asked.

"Never you mind," Madelyn said with finality, pulling off her riding gloves and unbuttoning her jacket. "I hope we can put that unpleasant business from earlier behind us, don't you agree?"

"Yes, Miss Smith," Aislin dutifully replied, as her father had taught her, no matter how annoying the guests were. "Are you here for the archery contest?"

"You saw my bow, so you already know the answer to that question," came the terse reply. "Don't pretend to be stupid unless you're exceptionally good at it." Madelyn turned and walked over to the window, opened the shutters and gazed down at the streets. "I'm a few days early so I intend to spend my time preparing for the competition. Firstly, I need a bath. I spent last night camped out in the woods two hours north of town like a common lumberjack."

"There's a bathhouse three doors down the street," Aislin supplied, providing the bare minimum level of service. Madelyn strolled over to the single bed and pulled back the blankets, revealing the sheets beneath.

"Three silver for this room?" she scoffed after appraising the quality in disgust. "Your father must have been a highwayman at some point in his career."

"What's wrong?" Aislin asked, peering over at the sheets, which were rather plain, but as good as any at the inn.

"I wouldn't stable my horse on these sheets," Madelyn complained. "Actually, that's all these sheets are good for. Remove them at once and take them down to the stables." When Aislin stared at her in confusion, Madelyn sighed. "I suppose that joke was a little much for a country girl. Never mind. Is this really the best room you have? Don't answer that, I can already guess. This is simply unacceptable — run and tell your father if he wants to keep that money, this bed needs new sheets before evening. Brand new."

"I'll talk to my father," Aislin assured her.

"Good girl. Before you head off, tell me — is there an antiquities dealer in town?"

"Anti-what?" Aislin asked, having never before heard the word.

"Someone who buys and sells old knick-knacks," Madelyn clarified. "Have you ever been shown a curious little item but told never to touch it?"

"Oh, yes old Dale down the street has a bunch of dusty old things nobody is allowed to touch."

"Splendid, I'll have to pay him a visit tomorrow." Madelyn sat on the bed and began taking off her tall black riding boots when she noticed Aislin was still standing there. "Off you go then," she ordered somewhat irritably.

Aislin nodded politely then immediately headed for the door. Once down the stairs, she dropped her civil veneer and rolled her eyes at some of the things Madelyn had said. She had quite an attitude, demanding this and that, and ordering Aislin around like her own personal servant. When Aislin finally approached the counter, she saw one of the local farmers shaking hands with her father, who handed the man a small pile of coins then watched him head out through the door.

"She what?" Tom asked when Aislin told him of their guest's demands. "New sheets?"

"I told you we needed to replace our stock before spring," Vicki reminded him as she carried a pot across the kitchen behind them.

"And I would have, if we'd had the money," Tom rumbled, rubbing his unshaven jaw thoughtfully. "I don't much fancy these city folks coming down here and expecting palatial appointments, but I can't ignore a paying customer, especially if she has some money to throw around." As he stood from the tall stool he was sitting on, he winced in pain and leaned down to absently rub his injured leg, while Aislin looked up at him in sympathy.

"Head over to Laura's and see if she's willing to give us one set of sheets," he instructed, reluctantly sitting down again. "If I'd heard this five minutes earlier, I would have held off paying Reed what I owed him for the food we've been serving. It's a real juggling act, running this place I tell you. Let Laura know I promise to have her money by the end of the week."

"She's not going to like that," Vicki warned, full of helpful advice today.

"Just give her one of your big smiles, sweetie, it'll melt her heart," Aislin's father suggested to her with a wink.

"Sure will," Aislin assured him, flashing him the biggest smile she had and drawing a chuckle from the big man, though Vicki shook her head. Aislin ignored her and headed out the door, where a strong wind was gusting through the streets. Women of all ages were out and about, carrying on with their daily tasks and for a moment, Aislin had difficulty recalling a time when there were an equal number of men walking the streets. Laura's shop was only a few doors down, yet by the time Aislin arrived, the brisk breeze had added made a right mess of her hair.

"Well, look what the wind blew in," a lady's voice remarked with wry humour as Aislin struggled to close the door. The speaker sitting behind the shop's counter was a pretty woman of thirty years, with brown hair and gentle eyes. Beyond her were three younger women, each of whom worked at her own loom, weaving fabric for new clothes. An older man with white hair and skin like parched leather sat apart from them, oiling a huge longbow with care and precision.

The walls of the store were lined with rows of hanging clothes, towels and bed sheets, most of which were of a similar colour — light brown. Dyed clothes were something of a rarity in this part of the world, especially in the last few years, when troubled times had forced people to tighten their purse strings.

There were a few exceptions to this however, and one of them stood in plain view of Aislin as she moved towards the counter. A beautiful, amber-coloured dress with fine stitching, in her size, was arranged on a wooden figure awaiting a buyer. Aislin's eyes gazed at it for a moment, imagining herself wearing it.

"It's still waiting for you," Laura remarked from behind the counter, having noticed Aislin's attention fixated upon it. "I think you might have actually grown into it by now."

"I'm saving up, Missus Patel," Aislin answered firmly, reiterating the promise to herself as much as her audience.

"Wise girl," the older man remarked in a scratchy voice as he continued working on the bow. "Are you entering the contest this year, Ace?"

"Maybe, Mister Patel," she replied hesitantly. "I haven't had time to practice lately."

"Join in anyway. The mayor is putting up a gold sovereign for the winner this year, and it's going to draw in a lot of archers from across the kingdom. Just be in it for the chance to win. Of course, I'll be in it as well, and you'll forgive me if I try to beat everyone else."

"I bet you will, sir," Aislin said with a grin, having seen the old man shoot. "Miss Patel, Dad asked me to come by and get a set of fresh sheets."

"Just one set? Shouldn't be a problem... ah, actually," Laura hesitated as she reached towards a shelf, "your father is six months behind on his tab. I think we've been pretty generous, but we just can't support him like this forever."

"It's for a special lodger," Aislin attempted to explain, flashing her winning smile. "She's annoying, but she's sort of rich and she's paying good money for the room. Dad promises he'll have the money by the end of the week." Laura seemed sceptical and looked to the old man for advice.

"What do you think, David?" she asked.

"Tom's a good man, but we're running a business here," he answered with a shrug. "I usually leave this sort of decision up to my wife."

"Thanks, you're a great help," Laura groaned. "Remind me why I married you again?"

"Wisdom and good looks," David answered without hesitation, drawing a smattering of laughter from the girls. Laura smiled in spite of herself, then turned back to Aislin to deal with the problem at hand.

"If it'll help your dad out, I'll let you have the sheets," she began, "but I'll need you to do a few chores for me. Think of it as a part-payment."

"What sort of chores?" Aislin asked dubiously, her smile fading.

"We owe some money to Bill Waiger for wool, and I know for a fact he needs some help around the house while he's shearing the herd, so if you go over to his farm and tell him I sent you, I can hold off paying him for a while longer, which means I can afford to give you these sheets."

"Why doesn't anyone have any money?" Aislin half asked, half complained.

"Ask the queen," David grumbled. "Taxes have been high for a couple of years now, Ace. We're still paying the price of rebuilding after the war."

"It helps to think of taxes as everyone pitching in to help," Laura added, hinting the two of them had probably talked about this subject at length. "So, do we have a deal?"

"I guess so," Aislin reluctantly agreed.

"Lovely," Laura beamed, handing over the sheets. "Don't keep Mister Waiger waiting, now." Aislin flashed a quick smile and headed back to the inn, less than enthused at the prospect of even more work on her plate. Her father was absent from his place at the counter, so after dropping off the sheets and informing Vicki of her new task, Aislin headed towards the farm.

The western wall of Bracksford was comprised of tall, rough-hewn trunks from the forest, which began a short journey to the north of town. This wall was a wartime legacy, hastily constructed to fend off attack from the west. Aislin had seen it built in only a few days, so fast they forgot to include a gate. Only one family had been inconvenienced by the new wall, forcing them to travel around to the northern gate when they wanted to head to or from the centre of town.

Unknown to most of the people in town, however, was a gap in the wall where one of the logs had snapped near the base. Toby had found it last year, almost completely obscured by brush and dirt. After some stealthy digging by him and some of the other children, they had themselves a perfectly usable secret passage.

After making sure nobody was watching, Aislin crept behind the brush and crawled through the gap. It was a real time-saver, and there was something exciting about having their own secret way the adults didn't know about. It was only a short walk through the long, swaying grass before she arrived at an old homestead mostly covered in vines.

Mister Waiger was a wiry old man who remained fit and strong, even in his advancing years. He spoke very little, other than to tell Aislin what he needed done and then went about his own tasks for the day. Most of his family had moved on or died in the war, and sadly, the house had fallen into disrepair.

Aislin brought buckets of water in from the well, mopped the floors, tidied the kitchen, and made lunch for them both. They ate in near silence, with Mister Waiger saying little more than a brief remark about the quality of her work. Once they'd finished, Aislin was put to work cleaning the gutters, and stacking firewood. It was demanding work for someone of her age, and although she refrained from grumbling aloud, she hoped all of this was worth the effort.

The wind continued to gust throughout the afternoon, and dark clouds grew ever larger in the sky. It began to rain shortly before Aislin had finished for the day, soaking her from head to toe. Mister Waiger gruffly thanked her for her efforts and sent her home, adding that a little rain never hurt anybody. She nodded and smiled politely — despite having a difference of opinion on the matter — then made a mad dash for town.

In her haste to find shelter, she slipped in the fields and fell flat on her face in the mud. Groaning to nobody in particular, she picked herself up and made for the gap and squeezed through with ease. The sound of tearing cloth caught her attention as she came out the other side, and she stifled a frustrated growl as Aislin found her dress had a small tear in it.

Tired, wet, dirty and miserable, she trudged through the streets towards the inn, thinking only of a warm fireplace to lift her spirits. Approaching the inn from the other direction was the subject of her efforts — Madelyn, who practically glowed with clean skin and silky, dark hair. Evidently returning from the baths, their newest guest spotted Aislin and began laughing.

"If I'd seen you like this earlier today I'd assume you were a homeless waif who lived in the mud," she remarked, her blue eyes glittering with mirth. "I mean, what have you been doing all day? You look appalling, child."

"I've been working really hard to get your nice sheets," Aislin growled as they stood under the inn's front porch.

"Sheets? Oh, that. I didn't realise things were quite so desperate around here," Madelyn said with casual indifference. "If you'd stood up for yourself with a little more backbone, I might have caved on that demand. Still, I'm not complaining. It'll make my stay in this backwater town slightly more bearable."

"But you said you'd leave if you didn't get them," Aislin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Honestly? Look at me — do you really think I was going to sleep out in the forest again? I'd sooner eat my own horse. It's called haggling, Aislin. I'm just exceptionally good at it."

"I... " Aislin stammered, too angry to speak. Madelyn ignored her and headed inside, humming a tune to herself as if she didn't have a care in the world. After taking a moment to calm down, Aislin followed her in, going directly towards the stable to clean herself up.

"Don't ask," she muttered as she stormed past an astonished Vicki. Spying a pot of hot water sitting on the stove, Aislin carefully lifted it and took it with her, upending it in a tub in the stables and adding a little cold water from a trough. It took the better part of an hour to clean herself up properly, including the time it took to stitch up the hole in her dress.

The sun was setting as she went about washing the mud from it, forcing her to wear her only other dress, which was getting a little too threadbare to wear all the time. She made sure to strap on her dagger and cover it with her jacket once more. Her long day of work was nearly over, and she longed for the warmth and comfort of her bed and cat.

"Don't tell me you're cleaning my tunic just now," a familiar male voice said from nearby. Aislin turned to see the three boys from last night approaching. Although only eighteen years of age, they towered over the girl, making her feel very intimidated.

"I'm washing my dress," Aislin answered, suddenly anxious. "I'm sorry, I haven't gotten around to cleaning your tunic yet, I've been very busy."

"Right, busy tripping over and spilling soup on people, right?" the leader of the pack sneered. "I asked around today and it turns out nobody's ever seen you trip up or make a mistake around the inn. Even if they're exaggerating, I reckon you're not as clumsy as you want me to think. I reckon you were fibbing, and spilled it on purpose to make me look like a fool."

Aislin kept silent and backed against the wall, which did nothing to dissuade the young men from closing in around her.

"Your tunic is just over there," she said with a shaking voice. "Just take it and go."

"It's still covered in that foul soup of yours," the bully spat, giving her a shove with one hand. "It's ruined. Give me money for a new one or I'll make you regret it."

"I don't have any money," Aislin protested, starting to feel trapped and scared. She held her composure though, and began to reach around her back to draw her dagger. Before she could grab it though, the boy grabbed her arm and held it tightly.

"We'll see about that," he snapped, pulling her away from the wall. Aislin let out a squeal of protest as they boys started to go through the pockets on the dress she was wearing, and the one she had just washed.

"What the hell is going on out here?" came her father's thundering voice. All four of them turned to see the hulking figure of Tom Ballard standing at the back door to the inn, holding his trusty hardwood club in one hand. Aislin had seen that club break up a lot of fights in her time, as well as breaking a few people's faces in the process.

"This girl stole from me and I want my money back," the lead boy demanded, intimidated by the appearance of the big man and his imposing weapon.

"Nobody touches my daughter," Tom growled as he moved in. He was doing his best to walk without a limp, to show no weakness to the louts terrorising his daughter, yet before he reached them, his bung knee gave out, and he fell to the ground. The boys' fear was replaced by laughter as they ignored Aislin and moved in to give Tom a solid kick to his stomach. Aislin reached for her dagger with every intention of drawing it and protecting her father, when the sound of someone clearing their throat cut through the noise.

"Forgive my interruption," Madelyn said as she casually leaned against the doorway, "I thought I heard some men scuffling out here. Unfortunately, all I see are a bunch of cowardly boys kicking an actual man when he's down. Most unsporting."

"Just pretend you didn't see anything and go back inside, girl," the leader of the boys suggested to Madelyn. "This doesn't concern you." Aislin crouched next to her father, who clutched at his stomach and struggled for breath.

"I think a bunch of oafish upstarts who think they can get away with breaking the queen's laws are very much my concern," Madelyn objected, slowly sauntering towards them. Aislin could see a thin sword on her hip, swaying back and forth with each step. Though Madelyn had yet to draw it, her movement certainly drew attention to the weapon, dangling it before the boys like a veiled threat of imminent trouble.

"He came at me with a bloody club," the bully blurted, not at all fazed by the approaching girl. Madelyn was roughly the same age as them, but they were all nearly a foot taller than her.

"That's because you were harassing his daughter," Madelyn pointed out in a condescending voice, as if speaking to simpletons. "Although, in your case, I doubt he needed a reason — your face is just begging to be violently re-arranged."

The hot-headed boys had heard enough. Their leader flushed a deep red and he bore down on Madelyn's diminutive form with clear intentions. With a sudden flash of movement, the thin sword appeared in Madelyn's hand and the tip stopped just short of the boy's throat.

"If any of your friends move," she warned with quiet menace, "I will be forced to subject this girl to the sight of your bloody death." Her prey stood perfectly still, his eyes locked upon the sword lightly touching his jugular. "You know, I hear there's good work to be had in Coldstream lately," Madelyn continued in the same tone. "I think you and your associates would be fools not to go there and find out. Wouldn't you agree?"

The bully slowly nodded his head and backed away, his arms spread wide to show he had no ill-intentions. Once he was a few yards clear of the sword, he and his two friends turned and ran as fast as they could.

"Upstarts," Madelyn sniffed as she sheathed her blade.

"Thank you," Aislin said to her, surprised at how grateful she felt.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's young men thinking they've got the run of the place," Madelyn explained. "I'd help you on your feet, but I think you'd pull my arm out of its socket, sir."

"I'll manage," Aislin's father said, stubbornly waving away any help.

"That's the spirit," Madelyn remarked with a dry smile. "If you'll excuse me, my dinner is getting cold." As she headed back inside, Aislin did her best to help her father upright again. He winced in pain as he tried to ease his weight onto his bad leg.

"Nope, I've done it this time," he said through clenched teeth.

"I'll run and get help," Aislin offered, rushing inside to call for some assistance. Both Vicki and Kirsten came to their aid, and between the three of them, they managed to get the big man to his room.

"I'll have to mix up a poultice and hope that helps," Vicki clucked after inspecting the injury.

"No, the joint's swollen, that's all," Tom muttered. "Just put a cold compress on it and I'll be right in a couple of days."

"You know you can't put your full weight on it," Kirsten added. "Why do you do this to yourself?"

"The situation called for it," Tom replied stoically. "You'd better get back to the counter before someone makes off with half our food." Kirsten gave him an affectionate pat on the head and headed out, with Vicki not far behind.

"Are you going to be okay?" Aislin asked in a small voice.

"Of course," he replied, his voice tight with pain. "I may have a bad leg, but I'm tough as an ox. It'll take more than a kick in the breadbasket to put me out of commission. Come here," he added, reaching for her with his outstretched arms. Aislin leaned over and accepted the embrace, glad her father was okay. Her relief turned to alarm when she felt his hand touch the dagger under her jacket, and suddenly she was pushed backward as he held the knife aloft.

"I thought so," he muttered, gazing with disdain at the shining weapon. "I saw you going for this when I was on the ground. You were actually going to stab him, weren't you?"

"I was just going to threaten them, honest!" Aislin protested, feeling very guilty and unsure if she was lying or not.

"And what if they'd taken it from your shaking hand, eh? What if they'd used it against us? I appreciate you wanted to help, but you don't have any training with this thing. You'd be just as likely to chop your own hands off, or worse yet, actually kill someone."

"I've never hurt myself," Aislin complained. "I've been using it for years without any problems."

"Years? Bloody hell, Aislin, what kind of father would I be if I let a little girl hang on to a deadly weapon like this? I know Lord Aiden gave it to you as a gift, and I was okay with it then, but I'm not going to let you kill someone by accident. That's the sort of thing that stays with you for the rest of your life. This is staying here with me until you're old enough to be trusted with it."

"You can't," Aislin sobbed, terrified at the thought of losing the dagger. She didn't have the courage to tell her father how scared she could be sometimes, or how carrying it around helped her feel confident. He'd made his up mind though, and stowed the dagger in his sock drawer. Exhausted by the long day and feeling betrayed, Aislin broke into tears and rushed out of the room to cry in solitude.

3

### Gordon

Aislin was sullen and withdrawn the next morning, having spent the night barricaded in her room. Her father had made several attempts to talk to her, but she didn't even want to look at him, let alone have a conversation. Still, she had to come out of her room eventually, if only to fill her grumbling belly, and there was no shortage of work to be done.

It was long after the breakfast rush had died down that Aislin emerged, and occupied her time mopping the floors in hurt silence. Her father was helped to the counter, where he sat with his injured leg propped on a second chair. He greeted customers with his customary cheerful voice, so if he was upset with Aislin, he didn't show it. Apparently, the three boys from the previous night's encounter had fled town, a source of irritation to a local farmer who had been employing them.

"It's so hard to find reliable help these days," Jim Clifton complained to Tom. Mister Clifton was past seventy years now, with weathered skin and only a faint wisp of hair remaining on his head. He probably shouldn't be working his fields at that age, but like so many others in town, he didn't have a lot of choice.

"Sorry to hear it Jim," Aislin's father offered in consolation, giving away nothing of his experience with the three boys. "Who knows what gets into the mind of young folks nowadays? Can you handle the rest of the planting season without them?"

"It'll be hard work, but hopefully I can find replacements with a little more backbone. So, what did you do to your leg this time?"

"Forgot I was crippled and tried to go for a run," Tom said with a wink, drawing a gruff chuckle from the old farmer. Aislin glanced knowingly at her father while she mopped, having wondered if he was going to tell anyone the truth.

"Well, keep off your feet for a few days and hopefully it'll get better, mate," Mister Clifton offered as he headed for the door. "I'll see you next week." Tom gave him a brief wave, and then his expression darkened as he looked over at Aislin.

"Are you still stewing over last night?" he asked. "Come on, it's for your own good Ace."

"What if you weren't there?" she blurted, catching him off-guard. "What if nobody came to help and I had to fend for myself?"

"Keep your voice down," he warned in a hushed voice, glancing at a suddenly curious Vicki. "Nobody in their right mind would let a child carry around a weapon like that. You don't need it. You're not alone, Ace — you're always going to have someone around to help you."

Still upset but someone mollified by his point, Aislin grudgingly accepted a hug from him to patch things up a little.

"That's why I like comin' here," a gravelly voice remarked from the other side of the counter, "a customer always gets the best welcome."

"That sounds like Gordon MacTavish to me," Tom barked, reaching for his hardwood club in mock alarm. "Quick, hide the beer!" This was met by a full-chested laugh from a short, stocky man, dressed in a dusty old longcoat and heavy boots. A long, grey-tinged beard twisted into a thick plait was tucked into his waistband, and sparkling green eyes peered at them from under a thick, furrowed brow.

"That's a slight against the dwarvish people," Gordon protested. "Everyone knows we prefer ale." Tom chuckled and carefully leaned over to shake his hand.

"Good to see you again mate," Aislin's father rumbled.

"What have ya done, broken yer leg?" Gordon inquired after a quick inspection.

"Bah, twisted my knee in a fall. It was just a moment of stupidity on my part, nothing to worry about. So, what brings you to this rustic setting?"

"Passin' through on our way south," Gordon answered. "Saw ye've got some kinda contest happenin' in town so I figured we could stay fer a few days. Me cousin Jock is settlin' the wagon into the stables right now."

"You're always welcome, mate," Tom exclaimed, opening the ledger and offering it to Gordon, who quickly signed it and placed some money on the counter.

"I'm embarrassed to say I'm a little shy on coins at the moment," he confessed. "I was wonderin' if I could impose on yer generous nature, legendary throughout the land, to give us a bit o' a discount? Young Jock's a proper handyman, and would be happy to do some work around the place to pay the difference."

"You've got yourself a deal," Tom answered. "Tell him to start with the sign out the front, it's a bloody disgrace."

"I'll get him right on it once 'e's done out back."

"It's not like you to be short on coin," Tom inquired curiously.

"Nah, just generally short, mate," Gordon remarked with a sly wink at Aislin, who grinned at his self-aware humour. Gordon didn't even pass five feet in height. "Truth is," the dwarf went on, "I've been investing heavily in a project of mine — well, project of ours, since Jock wanted in on it from the start. It's taken a lot to get off the ground and I was hopin' to get a windfall recently. I've just come back from Fairloch up north, talking to some of the military minded folks about the potential of me invention."

"They didn't go for it, I take it?"

"Nay, they're a little stuck in their ways," Gordon nodded soberly. "What is it with Aielunders and yer longbows, anyway? If it wasn't against the law, I swear ye'd marry 'em if ya could."

"It's a weapon with a fine, long-standing tradition," Tom explained with a smile, "and I'll thank you not to disparage it."

"What are you selling, Mister MacTavish?" Aislin asked, hoping she would be allowed to see whatever Gordon had made.

"It's an invention o' mine, lass," he replied with a grin. "Could be a real money-maker so I'm keepin' it secret, 'til I can make a sale to the right people."

"I never get to see what you've made," Aislin said, appearing crestfallen.

"You'll find out soon enough," Gordon assured her. "Anyway, can't make money around these parts, so we're heading south t' see if we can find any customers. Speakin' of such, I should point out the bridge on the north side o' town is looking a bit frail. I was gonna ask yer mayor if Jock and I can maybe offer our services to fix it?"

"You can try, but with taxes as high as they've been, the purse strings are pulled tight."

"Yer jokin'," Gordon exclaimed, drawing a shake of Tom's head in reply.

"The mayor knows of the bridge, and the east gate, and a dozen other problems that need money to fix. It'll happen when it happens."

"Hard times," Gordon mumbled soberly.

"He's got money to splash around for the archery comp though," Kirsten pointed out.

"The community pitched in for that prize money," Vicki responded. "It's worked too, with Gordon and his cousin here, the inn is filled to capacity." The two women stopped what they were doing and stared at Aislin's father, who seemed uncertain why for a moment, until it understanding finally dawned on him.

"Alright, fine, I'll hire on another person," he sighed, drawing broad smiles from the ladies. Kirsten ran to the front door, leaned outside and moments later, returned with an eager-looking young woman with freckled skin and red hair.

"This is Constance," Kirsten announced, "she's light on experience but a fast learner."

"You've been planning for this moment, haven't you?" Tom accused her, receiving a wink from Kirsten in response. "Okay, you get to show her around. Standard wage, all that. Welcome aboard, Constance."

"Yer first job'll be to get me a beer," Gordon suggested as another dwarf — presumably his cousin Jock — came in from the stables. "Make it two."

"Kind o' ya to pay fer it," Jock said in an accent noticeably thicker than his cousin's. He was shorter than Gordon by several inches, but if anything was even more heavy-set, with thick arms and a bristling red beard.

"Get yer own lad, they're both mine," Gordon snorted as Constance went behind the counter and began pouring the drinks. While Aislin was enjoying the conversation, she noticed Madelyn descending the stairs on the other side of the common room. She was wearing an expensive-looking blue dress, and took each step with graceful care, drawing the attention of many of the more plainly-dressed folks nearby. A leather satchel hung over her shoulder, moving about as if there were something weighty inside.

"I say," she remarked as she glided across the busy common room floor, "it appears the inn is being invaded by short, bearded men. Should I be alarmed?" The two dwarves turned as one and appraised her with a quick glance.

"When our people invade, ye'll know about it," Gordon grunted, clinking his glass with Jock's and sharing a laugh.

"Morning, Miss Smith," Tom greeted her, his words seeming to convey silent thanks for her actions the previous night.

"Good day to you Mister Ballard," Madelyn replied. "I trust you are keeping off that leg? You really should be more careful you know — you can't always expect someone to come to your rescue when you take a tumble like that."

"Yes, it's always nice to have help," Tom assured her with more hidden meaning. "Where are you off to, dressed like that? I wasn't aware there was any fancy dinners happening today."

"Oh this?" Madelyn asked, looking down at her dress. "It's nothing special, really. It's simply what civilised women wear while out and about." Nearly all of the women in the room heard that statement and gave her dark looks, which she didn't seem to notice. The tension in the room was broken a moment later when Toby burst in through the front door. He spotted Aislin almost immediately and hurried to her side.

"The archery contest sign-ups have opened!" he blurted with tangible excitement. "You're going to enter, right Ace?"

"Ace," Madelyn repeated with a sardonic smirk, as though the nickname amused her.

"I don't know," Aislin replied hesitantly, shrinking under the scrutiny of everyone around her. "I'm really busy here."

"We've got a little extra help around here now," her father suggested. "You've homework to do, but I think you can take a little time to practice if you like."

"I shouldn't bother," Madelyn advised casually. "I've travelled to all of these little village tournaments and won them time and again. For a kingdom that prides itself on its people's skill with the bow, they haven't really proven much of a challenge thus far. You'd make better use of your time catching up on your school work, instead of being humiliated in the competition. I mean, you can't be more than thirteen years old, child. Archery is a skill acquired over the course of time. How do you hope to compete with men and women many years old than you?"

"You're not that much older than me," Aislin pointed out.

"I'm nearly eighteen and that's all that needs to be said on the subject," Madelyn advised primly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to shop around for something interesting in this dank little town. Good day." Aislin wasn't the only one giving her a rude look as she swept out the front door.

"She's not gonna make a lot of friends around here," Gordon muttered before refocusing attention on his drink.

"She was much nicer last night," Aislin remarked sourly. "I reckon she's lying about winning all those competitions. Even if she's not, 'Miss Smith' needs to be brought down a peg I think. I'll be back a bit later, Dad."

"That's fine by me," he answered with an approving nod as Aislin headed for the door, with Toby close on her heels.

"Do you think you can beat her?" Toby asked as they walked along the busy streets on a fine spring day.

"I don't know," Aislin conceded, "but I'm going to find out. Even if I don't, there's half a dozen of the best archers in the kingdom living here, and probably a few more from out of town, too."

"You're the best though, Ace, you can do it," Toby assured her, causing Aislin to roll her eyes. Toby seemed to have a bit of a crush on her and it was getting awkward at times. They strolled along for a few more minutes in the warm sunshine, with the crowd growing thicker until the sound of hammers and saws indicated they had reached the wide grassy field, that was slowly being transformed into an archery range.

Aislin spotted a few locals in amongst the throng, though the majority of people writing their names on the signing sheet were strangers. Most of the men were under eighteen years, probably out to make a quick fortune and a name for themselves. A number of local women flirted outrageously with the younger men, seizing their chance to meet people while the opportunity presented itself.

"I should tell Kirsten about this," Aislin remarked with a knowing smile, which was completely lost on Toby. Amongst the crowed were also quite a few older men, veterans of the war seeking to use their considerable skills to make a living. David Patel was one of them, and when he spotted the two children, a wide smile split his tanned face and he waved them over. With his help getting through the crowd, Aislin had signed up for the competition within moments. The minimum age was thirteen, but David managed to talk the lady behind the table into making an exception in Aislin's case.

"I also want to reserve a couple of spots for my nephews," David asked the clerk. "They were supposed to be here by now but probably got caught up with work out east."

"Good archers, are they?" the clerk asked, evidently happy to accommodate David's request.

"Trained 'em myself, so yeah, the best," he answered with a hearty laugh. "They're both with the Royal Rangers, so they're kept busy these days. Still, they told me to reserve their places if they weren't back by today."

"It's not a problem," came the reply. After writing down their names, David guided the two children out of the crowd and towards his shop.

"You probably want to get some practice, yes?" David asked Aislin, receiving a meek nod in reply. "I've a small hunting bow, and a target hanging out the back of the shop you can use. Come along."

Stifling her excitement, Aislin followed along, and when they reached the shop, took the offered weapon with care. She nocked an arrow and tried her first shot, missing the wooden target completely. David gave her a few pointers, then went inside to get some work done, assuring them he was nearby if they had any problems.

Toby sat and watched for a while until Keg wandered along and joined him. They played together in the grass while Aislin continued to practice, her enthusiasm diminishing as she continued to shoot arrows without ever hitting the centre. This may have had something to do with Madelyn stopping to offer 'helpful advice' on her way past now and then.

"You're holding it upside down," was one such gem called on her way past, confusing Aislin for a moment until she realised the bow was the same no matter which way it was held.

"Don't you have something better to do?" Aislin asked with an irritated glare.

"I'm working hard to ensure I win the contest," came the glib reply. "Honestly though, you don't stand a chance. Why not give up now and save yourself the embarrassment of failing in front on your friends and family?" She didn't wait around for Aislin's response, which is just as well, for it probably would have involved an arrow in the smug girl's neck.

Instead, Aislin turned to the target with renewed focus, drew back the string, and loosed an arrow in one smooth motion. It thudded directly into the centre, eliciting a satisfied "Yes!" from her.

"Wow," Toby remarked as Aislin proceeded to hit the centre on her next few shots using the same technique — picturing Madelyn's face over the target. Finally satisfied she'd practiced enough for the day, Aislin stowed the bow in David Patel's shed and headed back to the inn for lunch, and an afternoon of work.

"Do you think you're going to win?" Toby asked as he tagged along by her side.

"I doubt it," she answered impatiently. "I just want to beat her." The school bell began to ring, interrupting their brief conversation.

"Gotta go!" Toby blurted as he hurried off, finally giving Aislin some peace, something that wasn't lost on Kirsten who witnessed their parting as they approached the inn.

"You've got an admirer I see," the waitress teased with a knowing smile.

"Don't say it," Aislin groaned, trying to stifle any further comments without success.

"When's the wedding?" Kirsten asked, causing Aislin to blush in a mixture of indignation and embarrassment.

"I don't think he's blown his nose in his life, ever," she pointed out as she went behind the counter, with Keg trotting along behind her.

"He'll probably grow out of that," Kirsten laughed. "Seriously, you should be nice to him. Good men are hard to find these days, and you might feel differently about him in a few years." Aislin stuck out her tongue as if to throw up, causing Kirsten to laugh again.

With the help of the new girl Constance, the four of them were able to cope with Tom's inability to work throughout the afternoon. Now and then, Jock would stomp through the common room with tools hanging from his belt, as he went about mending worn out bits and pieces of the inn. He rarely spoke, content to convey his thoughts with a gruff nod or a simple grunt. He clearly loved his work though, and went about his tasks with professional care.

Towards the end of the day, Gordon and Aislin's father began exchanging stories about their travels, beginning with Tom's years as a caravan guard. Gordon would respond with a tale of his time in the war, prompting an even more exaggerated and ridiculous story as they went back and forth. By the time the sun had set, their conversation had gathered an audience.

After the evening meal had been served, the inn's staff set aside their duties for a while and joined the crowd to listen to the entertainment. Aislin sat on a plush floor rug near the fire with Keg sprawled by her side, soaking up the heat. With the aroma of the kitchens still hanging in the air and the crackle of the fireplace, the common room was a cosy and relaxing place to spend the evening. As her father began spinning another story, her ears pricked up and Aislin flushed red when she realised which tale he was telling.

"It was four years ago this very week when Bracksford was invaded by the Tulsonites, towards the end of the war," he began after finishing off his second glass for the night. "Everyone here knows our kingdoms had been fighting for years without respite, and the stakes were only getting higher as time wore on."

"They came in the night, two hundred men, the lowest of the low. Deserters all, but even worse than that, they'd been drafted from prisons to bolster their flagging numbers on the front lines. The scum of the earth, in our very own town. For nearly two weeks we suffered under their reign, expecting them to be the vanguard of a full invasion." He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. Aislin had heard this before and, knowing what was coming, pulled back next to his chair to hide from direct view.

"When the north gate was suddenly destroyed in a ball of fire, we figured the end had come, but it wasn't who we were expecting. Lord Aiden Wainwright and his companions charged into town, outnumbered many times over, yet courageous enough to fight for our freedom anyway. I recall thinking it was a suicide mission, or perhaps a diversion, right up until I saw the dragon, as real as can be."

"It was small compared to the tales of legend, yet as powerful as you'd expect," Tom explained with relish, with the crowd leaning in, hanging on his every word. "Sitting on its haunches, it was twice as tall as a man and gleamed like burnished steel. It fearlessly dove into the centre of the enemy's ranks, tossing them aside like broken firewood. Then it breathed a storm of fire, burning many of them to a crisp in moments."

"Lightning, actually," Aislin whispered unheard — that day was etched into her memories, and often filled her dreams.

"That was more than our oppressors could handle," her father continued. "They surrendered on the spot and the town was freed."

"I'd heard o' that, but 'til now I never believed it," Gordon muttered into his frothy glass.

"Aye it was true, you can ask anyone around town who was there. But the most remarkable thing was my own daughter, my own flesh and blood walked right up to that dragon and patted him on the flank." Aislin crouched almost out of sight behind the side of the chair as all eyes turned to regard her in astonishment.

"Is that true, lass?" Gordon asked her curiously. She nodded silently. "You'd just seen the beastie claw and burn a dozen or more men," the dwarf went on. "What possessed ya to walk right up'n pat it like it was yer cat?"

"He was very shiny," Aislin answered quietly, always hating to be the centre of attention. "He also stopped killing them when the men surrendered, so I thought he was very honourable. I wasn't scared, and I didn't think I would die."

"I can tell ye've been asked that before," Gordon chuckled, along with some of the audience. "Doesn't matter how shiny it was, you were brave to walk right up to it like that, 'cause dragons are known to be unpredictable at best. That's a fine tale Tom, made all the better cause o' the truth in it, but I think I got a story that can best it... if someone can refill me flagon, I'll be happy to finish up for the night with one last tale."

"I'll do it," Aislin quickly answered, eager to be clear of the crowd. She took the offered flagon and hurried over to the counter. As she finished pouring the drink, she looked up and stared as Mister Ellis approached. It was something of a shock to see him out of his room for the first time in weeks, though he had apparently bathed and trimmed his short beard. He leaned heavily on a pair of crutches as he slowly made his way across the room.

Ellis took up a stool and sat there, looking at Aislin with his cold grey eyes, and ordered a small glass of rum. She complied, feeling quite uncomfortable in his presence, and relieved to return with Gordon's drink. The dwarf had already begun the story, and paused to take a sip of his ale before continuing.

"Long had the war raged, but plans were in motion to bring it to an end at last," he said. "Those same heroes, led by Lord Aiden, knew the king o' Aielund wasn't right in the head. Even his own daughter, now yer very own queen, had tried to remove him from power without success. Aye, it almost cost them their very lives, so far gone was King Seamus. With no choice left, she and Aiden went to their former enemy, King Osric of Tulsone and enlisted his aide."

"Bloody traitors, if you ask me," Madelyn spoke from the far side of the crowd where she sat in one of the more comfortable chairs.

"Did ye miss the bit where I mentioned they'd almost lost their very lives?" Gordon pointed out.

"My hearing is fine, I assure you," Madelyn responded. "It would have been better to enlist the aid of patriotic Aielunders, instead of consorting with the enemy. You do recall how this story ends, right?"

"If ya shut yer trap fer a minute maybe I'll get to that bit," Gordon muttered. "Yer right, in that the snake Osric played along fer a time, before betraying Criosa and Aiden and seizing the conquered city of Fairloch fer himself. Needless to say, he crossed the wrong people. King Osric's rule o' Aielund lasted naught but a few days before Queen Criosa tossed him and his lackeys out."

"We've heard all of this before, you know," Madelyn pointed out, appearing bored. "I mean, some of us were in Fairloch at the time."

"I'm just getting' to the good bit now, Missy," Gordon retorted with a sly look. Aislin glanced at the counter and saw Ellis watching intently, his drink forgotten on the counter next to him.

"I have a few contacts in Tuslone, and they's been tellin' me of what happened at the end o' the war, two and a half years ago," Gordon continued, lowering his voice and leaning into the crowd. "Osric's brother Sebastian, long oppressed by his family, found evidence proving the king was illegitimate. Osric disappeared once he'd lost Fairloch, and in his absence Sebastian moved in, and seized the throne fer 'imself."

"Word is, when Osric found out, he gathered up his most loyal followers, and made for the capital with the intention of knocking his brother off. Mad old Osric and his misguided followers were outnumbered many times over, but he had acquired dark sorcery somewhere in his travels, and used it to obliterate his enemies in a storm of green fire."

"Even with this advantage, and the bodies o' enemies and allies alike piling before him, Osric soon stood alone. He was cornered, and sure t'be captured, yet Sebastian had no stomach to kill 'is own brother. He implored Osric to surrender, but he was beyond reason. Osric swore revenge against Aielund and vowed to return to his rightful place as ruler o' Tulsone, then used his magic to disappear into thin air. Some say 'e's gone to faraway lands to muster an army to lay waste to the north, and others reckon he's gonna find more magic to do the same. Whatever he's up to, he's never been seen since."

"Yes he has," came a grim voice from across the room. The crowd turned to see Ellis leaning on the counter, downing his glass of rum in one go. Only the crackle of the fireplace interrupted the silence, until he spoke again. "My ship took on a passenger a few months ago, a man who kept his face concealed beneath his hood. He offered a hundred gold sovereigns for us to take him across the straits, to a place known as the Isle of the Dead."

"We got lucky and identified him after a couple of weeks. The former King of Tulsone, rummaging around on the beach looking for scrap, no less. The queen had put a bounty on his head and I was desperate for the money, so we confronted Osric with the intention of taking him into custody. Two dozen of my crew stood around him, preventing his escape. If we only knew..."

"Knew what?" Gordon prompted cautiously.

"He slaughtered them all, every man, right before my eyes," Ellis breathed in a haunted voice. "He destroyed my ship with a gesture from his hand, sending out a ball of green fire, taking everything I had in this life. He told me to think on my mistakes and left me to die a slow death in that gods-forsaken place."

"How did you survive?" Madelyn asked.

"I dragged myself to the longboat, bandaged my leg and rowed for three days and nights before I passed out," Ellis explained. "When I woke, I was being carried from the shore to a house in Culdeny. My leg was a mess — it had to go if I wanted to keep living. It took weeks to become well enough to move, and I came here to hide from those I owe money to, and because if Osric found out I was still alive, he might come back and finish the job."

"If he shows up, we'll give the bastard what for," a young man in the crowd called, much to the approval of the others.

"He's no man," Ellis warned, glaring at the youth with fierce intensity. "He's a demon, capable of conjuring dark sorcery with his bare hands. He moves faster than any natural creature should. His sword is made of lightning and cuts through steel like a hot knife through butter, and if by some chance you actually manage to defeat him, he can disappear in the blink of an eye, and come at you again and again until he wins. Whatever he was looking for on that island, he found, and I fear we will soon learn what plans he has in store for all of us. If we're supremely lucky, we might even survive."

With that ominous note, Ellis picked up his crutches and steadied himself, then headed back over to the stairs to the hushed silence of the room.

"Well, he certainly wins the 'scariest story' contest," Madelyn remarked quietly. "If it's all the same to you, some of us have an archery tournament to win tomorrow. Good night." Others in the room began to file off towards their beds, their mood bleak after Ellis's harrowing account.

Aislin was more tired than she'd been in a long time, so she left the cleaning up to the other girls and headed towards her own room. Along the way, she stopped by the closed door in the hallway which she rarely opened. Tonight, she couldn't help herself.

She stepped inside the room, with a candle in her hands providing a tiny sphere of light. Everything was left as it had been when they'd learned the terrible news years ago — the three beds were made and empty, the footlockers and wardrobes untouched. Aislin let a tear trickle down her cheek as she stood in the doorway, remembering the good times she'd had when she was little, before her brothers went to war.

From along the hallway came the sound of her father limping along. Aislin wiped away the tear and tried to look strong for him as he leaned in the doorway behind her.

"I miss them too," he said with a soft voice, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They were strong boys with good hearts, and they deserved a longer life than they got."

"The war took away nearly everyone I love," she remarked, sniffling only a little. "You heard Mister Ellis — Osric is out there somewhere, plotting his revenge against the kingdom."

"We don't really know that," her father pointed out. "It's just a good story."

"Maybe, but I can't lose anyone else," Aislin whispered. She gave him a crushing hug before heading to her room to cry herself to sleep once more.

4

### Contest

The next day was warm and bright when Aislin finished her morning tasks, and as the inn's patrons filed out after breakfast, there was a measure of excitement in the air at the prospect of the day's entertainment. Although eager to join in, Aislin was nervous at the thought of competing before a large crowd. The prospect of winning the prize money was more than enough to compel her onwards, however.

Aislin said goodbye to the girls at the inn, and while she waited for her father to finish getting ready, poked her head out the front door where Jock MacTavish was standing on a ladder, a length of knotted rope held in his calloused hands as he muttered under his breath.

"Coming to the contest?" Aislin asked.

"Nay, I'm workin'," the dwarf answered gruffly, his concentration focused on the inn's old broken sign. "Ne'er cared for faffin' aboot with bit's o' twine tied to bendy sticks anyhow."

"Don't mind him," Gordon suggested from nearby, "he's happier chopping up bits o' wood and nailing them to things. He sometimes gets it right even."

"Just leave him to get his work done," Tom instructed them both as he finally arrived at the door. "You should never interrupt a craftsman."

"If I see any I'll let ye know," Gordon joked, quickly moving away as Jock seemed ready to toss his hammer in retribution for the slight.

Gordon, Aislin and her father left the inn and moved slowly through the streets matching Tom's pace. He leaned heavily on a wooden staff to avoid putting too much pressure on his injured leg, which seemed to be on the mend. When they passed Laura's shop, Aislin peered through a window at the lovely amber dress she'd been saving for.

"I see you've got your eyes on the prize," her father remarked with a grin.

"I've nearly saved enough on my own, and winning first prize will easily cover the rest," Aislin stated with determination. "Even second prize would be enough, with some left over for some bits and bobs around the inn."

"You know there are three age categories, right?"

"What?"

"Yeah you're not in the running to win the gold sovereign," Tom explained carefully. "That's only for the adults. You're in the thirteen to sixteen's — their first prize is twenty copper jacks."

"I need at least fifty to have enough," Aislin protested. "That's not fair."

"Actually it's very fair," Tom pointed out as he nudged her to keep moving. "Kids your age wouldn't really stand a chance against the older competitors. Archery is a skill developed over years of practice."

"You sound like Madelyn."

"She may be self-absorbed, but she does have a point," Tom conceded without enthusiasm.

"If she's seventeen, I'm not in the same group as her, either," Aislin surmised. "I won't even get the chance to beat her."

"Probably not, though if you win your own age group, that's not nothing." They continued along the streets with a dozen others until they arrived at the field which had been transformed over the last few days into an archery range. Colourful buntings fluttered in the breeze, and market stalls had been arranged along the edge of the field. A sizeable crowd had gathered to enjoy the festivities, including all of the children in and around Bracksford, and most of the visitors from out of town.

Aislin recognised a few of the girls from school, whom she knew by name but hadn't spent a lot of time with. Three of them stayed close together, looking over at Aislin now and then, whispering to each other and giggling. Aislin knew she was the butt of some joke, and felt a flush of embarrassment.

Madelyn stood in line, yet kept her distance from others as she prepared her magnificent recurve bow. She wore her lovely dress once more, with a gap rising along the side to allow a glimpse of one shapely leg to show through. A quiver of arrows hung from her hip, and she'd taken the time to plait her lustrous dark hair, giving her a rather severe appearance.

David Patel, brandishing his huge longbow, wore a troubled expression as he searched the crowd. Unable to find who he was looking for, he turned to the tournament captain and shook his head. The captain, a small middle-aged woman with grey hair and bright eyes, shrugged and crossed something out on the ledger before her, and then waved the next in line through to the table.

"Missing someone?" Madelyn asked David as he left the queue.

"Nephews," he grunted in reply. "Probably got held up out east."

"Ah, family can be unreliable," Madelyn sighed. "Still, it's better they're late because they're careless than say, having run afoul of the mountain savages who live down that way. They do have quite the reputation for brigandry and violence."

"We've had good relations with the Akoran tribes since the war," David pointed out. "Both them and our Kingdom have benefitted from trade. It's mutually beneficial for them to maintain good relations."

"Of course," Madelyn conceded. "I'm sure your nephews are fine, and there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for their tardiness. I'm almost certain they aren't, even now, tied up in a cage." Aislin could tell Madelyn was trying to rattle the old man, and his worried expression seemed to indicate it was working. Madelyn gave David a sweet, insincere smile as he walked away.

Aislin scowled at her, which had no effect whatsoever on the young woman as she finished signing up, and then disappeared into the crowd. Before long, Aislin also had a tick marked next to her name on the ledger, and was given a plain bow similar to those all the other competing children received. When she rejoined her father, they turned to watch the mayor as he stood on a wooden crate to address the attendees. He was a thin man of middling years, with a balding pate and sharp features.

"I bid you all welcome to the annual Bracksford archery tournament," he bellowed, speaking loudly enough to cut through the chatter. "Many of you have come from all over the kingdom to participate, while some of you have only travelled a few miles. Over the next few hours, you will be competing against each other, to determine the finest archer in all of Bracksfordshire."

"Though our beloved ruler, Queen Criosa Roebec has decreed archery must be taught to all her subjects, I believe it is a fine and worthy sport in its own right, which is why I am offering a first prize of one gold sovereign to the victor!"

"Just one?" a man joked from within the crowd, receiving a gale of laughter for his effort.

"No wonder I couldn't make a sale," Gordon grumbled to Tom. "The whole kingdom is required by law to stick with their bows."

"Oh I don't know Gord, this range looks like a good place to make a demonstration to me," Aislin's father suggested.

"Might entertain the locals, but it's the people controlling the army's purse strings I needs to impress," Gordon replied with a shrug.

"Without further ado," the mayor continued, "I will hand over to the field captain and let the competition commence!" A small, grey-haired woman took his place on the wooden box and called instructions to the crowd, separating them into their age categories, and setting the competition in motion.

"Don't forget to choke," Madelyn whispered in Aislin's ear as she passed by.

"Cut that out," Aislin hissed, "we're not even in the same group!" Madelyn answered by sticking out her tongue and putting a hand around her throat to imitate choking, before disappearing into the crowd.

Aislin felt her heart race as she was then herded across the field along with the other young people, to the thirteen to sixteen's area. Ten targets stood in a line sixty feet away, with marks set into the ground where the archers would stand and shoot. The first ten children were instructed to stand at their mark and ready their bows. There were over thirty children present and Aislin wasn't in the first lot, so she set her bow and quiver onto the grass and sat down to watch.

"We're using standard Thirties rules," the target captain called to the competitors. "You will shoot six arrows at your target, then cease. I will tally your hits, clear the targets and when I give the signal, you will shoot another six. We do this five times for a total of thirty shots, which happens to be the number of arrows in your quiver. Then the second group will take their positions and do the same, until everyone has had their Thirty. Highest score wins. Now, take aim and shoot your first Six."

The target captain quickly stepped to the side of the field and the children began shooting arrows at the targets. Aislin was so engrossed with the display, she didn't notice a girl approaching her.

"Hi, Aislin," she said cheerfully.

"Jodi, hi," Aislin replied with surprise. Jodi had hair the colour of wheat and lightly freckled skin. She was the same age as Aislin, and was one of the girls who had been giggling at her earlier.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck in the competition," Jodi offered with a smile.

"Uh, thanks," Aislin responded cautiously. In their few meetings, Jodi had never been this nice to her. Still, she was one of the more popular girls in town and Aislin wanted to be accepted, just like anyone else. "I hope you do well too," she added quickly.

"Well, I have been practicing a lot after school," Jodi remarked, "it doesn't really mean much if we win or lose, though. It's just sort of a stupid game really, isn't it?"

"Sure, I guess," Aislin hedged, not sure where this was leading. "I—"

"Well, I'd better go and get ready," Jodi interrupted, her smile widening curiously. "Bye for now." Another girl walked past from the other direction and the two of them hurried off, stifling laughter. Aislin watched them go, feeling like she'd missed something important. Returning her focus to the competition, she could see the first group had nearly finished their Thirty.

"Alright, you're done," the target captain declared as the first group of children stepped away from their marks. Most of them seemed excited, so it appeared they had done well. Aislin would have to be at her best to match them if she wanted the prize.

One of the group was a boy of fifteen, with dark, curly hair and bright green eyes. Aislin had seen him around town now and then over the past year, and he had grown taller in that time. All of the girls seemed to have taken notice of him, a fact he seemed to be very much aware of. He basked in the attention he was getting, and Aislin felt her heart skip a beat when he looked in her direction for a moment.

"Next group, take your mark," the target captain called, pointing to each of the next competitors, which included Aislin. Trying to ignore the blush in her cheeks, she grabbed her bow and quiver and hurried forward to stand at her mark. The handsome boy was looking in her direction which flustered her more, but she kept her focus on the large, round target in the distance. A strong breeze swept over the field, bending the grass and giving her an idea of its speed and direction.

With the quiver hanging from her hip, Aislin stood ready to shoot but when she pulled out the first arrow, she discovered it was dripping with treacle. Recoiling in surprise and disgust, she heard a smattering of laughter from the other girls standing along the line nearby, and finally understood what Jodi and her friend had been up to. Sensing something amiss, the target captain took a closer look and wasn't impressed by what he saw.

"How did you get so much treacle in there?" the old man blurted in frustration.

"I didn't—"

"Bloody children, always spilling their food," he grumbled, ignoring Aislin's protest of innocence. She flushed with embarrassment again and noticed the handsome boy was also joining in the laughter at her predicament, flustering Aislin all the more. "Well you can probably still shoot, and we don't have any spares sitting around. That'll teach you to be a bit more careful with your lunch, won't it? Alright everyone, take aim and shoot!"

Angry at the injustice of it all, Aislin had no choice but to press on with the contest. The sticky arrow shaft was heavier as a result of the treacle oozing all over it, though it didn't seem too bad. She nocked the arrow, raised her bow and released in one smooth motion, aiming high and to the left to compensate for the weight and the breeze.

The arrow soared through the air and missed the target completely, falling short by several feet. Her next shot was closer, but the wind was making it difficult to aim and the stickiness of the arrow was making it all the harder. Her third and fourth shots struck the target, though only on the outer edge, but then she remembered her winning technique and picture Madelyn's face over the target. Her final two arrows of the Six struck dead centre, eliciting a brief smile of triumph from Aislin.

The target captain called for a halt and moved along the targets, removing the arrows and marking down the score. He grumbled as he removed the sticky arrows from Aislin's target and glared briefly in her direction.

"Come on Ace, you can do it!" Toby called from among the watching spectators and parents.

"Yes Aislin, stick to it!" Jodi added, drawing more laughter from the crowd. Aislin fought the urge to run and hide, and resolved then and there to beat Jodi's score no matter what. Focusing her sight on the target, Aislin pictured Madelyn's face over it and raised her bow. Arrow after arrow sailed through the air, striking the target each time, though failing to hit the centre. Still, it was an improvement, and as the target captain tallied up the scores, Aislin noticed Jodi was no longer laughing.

By now, most of the treacle had dripped clear of the remaining arrows and it proved to be little impediment to the rest of her Thirty. She struck the centre more than once and by the time her quiver was empty, Aislin was quietly confident. The spectators applauded the group as they stepped away from the marks and allowed the final group of ten to take their place.

"Not bad at all," her father remarked as he limped over to join her. "Where did that treacle come from though?"

"Never mind," Aislin suggested, more than prepared to fight her own battles. They stood and watched the final group of ten children shoot their arrows at the targets, made all the more difficult by the rising winds. Aislin looked to the sky and saw clouds gathering in the distance, and a pained look on her father's face indicated his leg was flaring up.

"There's gonna be rain, soon," he grunted. "Looks like the third group won't even be in contention, chook. That wind has thrown them way off."

"I just need to beat Jodi," Aislin mumbled to herself, glancing at her opponent, who was busy getting the attention of the curly-haired boy. "Scoring more than Madelyn would be icing on the cake." Out of curiosity, Aislin searched around and spotted her participating in the final Six for her age group. Remarkably, every one of Madelyn's arrows struck near the centre of her target in spite of the wind, which is more than could be said of her competitors.

"The match is over," the old target captain for the children's group called, drawing Aislin's attention once more. "I'll tally the scores and announce them shortly. Enjoy the rest of the festival." Suddenly realising how hungry she was, Aislin's father led her and Gordon to a market stall where they enjoyed a bowl of hot stew for lunch, followed by a rare treat of a honey-flavoured custard tart. Shortly after lunch was over, the field captain took to the wooden crate once more.

"If I can have your attention, ladies and gentlemen," she called as loudly as she could to cut through the noise, an impressive feat for a small woman. "I have here the results of the three categories. The first place for the children's group, with a total of a hundred and eighty-eight is Clarence Lonergan, who has won the prize of twenty copper jacks!"

The crowd applauded as the handsome boy with curly hair stepped up to the front and claimed a small pouch of coins, turning to wave and smile broadly for his admirers. Aislin felt a pang of regret for missing out on the prize, but hurried forward to see the final scores which the target captain was nailing to a post nearby. The thought of losing to Jodi was almost too much to bear.

"Third place with a hundred and twenty-two," Aislin blurted as she saw her name near the top. Jodi and her friends came in far lower with under a hundred points, giving Aislin a moral victory, if not a financial one. Aislin stuck her tongue out at Jodi, who fled into the crowd with her friends at their poor result.

"Coming in first place for the seventeen to twenties..." the field captain called, frowning slightly at what was written on the sheet before her. "Miss Smith? Do we have a first name? I have three cousins who could go by 'Miss Smith'."

"That's all she wrote," the target captain for their group explained to her with a shrug. He was a middle-aged man with a missing left arm, no doubt another survivor of the war.

"That's me," Madelyn called, gliding to the front of the group. "I'm sure the target captain recognises me from the contest, and can verify my identity."

"Yeah, she's the one," the target captain confirmed with a lingering gaze on her exposed leg. "Any reason you've chosen to keep your name secret?"

"Yes, but it wouldn't be much of a secret if I went around telling people, now would it?"

"Well, you're the winner of your group with an astounding two hundred and twenty points. I'm pleased to offer you the prize of ten silver nobles." Subdued applause barely rippled through the crowd as Madelyn accepted the coin pouch and cast her haughty gaze over the spectators. Apparently, her reputation and unruly mouth had become known in town. Aislin was tempted to shout Madelyn's full name to the crowd out of spite for the way she'd been treating people, but the recent memory of being assaulted by those men was still fresh in Aislin's mind, and she was not ungrateful for Madelyn's aid.

"Finally, the moment you've been waiting for," the field captain called as the applause subsided. She stepped down from the crate with her hair whipping around in the wind and gestured for the mayor to take her place.

"Well, we timed the end of the contest perfectly," the mayor remarked with a smile as the threatening clouds continued to gather. "It is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the competition in the Over Twenties. Frankly, it comes as no surprise to me to declare David Patel the winner, with a score of two hundred and eighteen points! Get up here, Dave!"

A smile cracked the old ranger's leathery face, as he stepped forward to thunderous applause from the crowd. Aislin could see money changing hands, hinting that there had been a bet going as to who would win. Judging by the number of smiling faces, a lot of people had backed the veteran David Patel, and received a tidy sum of money.

The mayor pulled out a single golden coin from his pocket and held it between his fingers as the applause continued, then handed it to David who waved and smiled for the crowd.

"That is ridiculous," a woman's voice could be heard just above the tumult. Madelyn, appearing indignant, pushed her way to the front of the crowd to stand before David and the mayor.

"I beg your pardon?" the mayor inquired as the noise died down.

"This concept of limiting competitors by age is simply redundant, and frankly offensive," she explained hotly. "I beat this gentleman's score by two points, yet he gets the prize?"

"Those are the rules, madam," the mayor explained soberly. "You have done very well for such a young woman, but your targets were closer than his."

"Balderdash, I never had a chance to win the gold sovereign simply because I'm a few years too young. Had I been allowed to compete alongside him, I would still have beaten him fair and square, even at two hundred feet."

"We're not about to change the rules after the contest has finished, madam," the mayor advised, slowly losing patience. "It might be possible to do something about this next year, but for now you'll simply have to accept the result."

"I demand a chance to compete for the gold," she declared. "Sir, I challenge you to a duel." A dull murmur of chatter went through the crowd at the controversy, yet Madelyn simply crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze on David Patel. The old ranger returned the stare, rubbing his beard as he sized up the feisty young lady.

"I've no need to further prove my worth," he said as the crowd listened on. "I've already won the prize, so why would I risk losing when I don't have to? What's in it for me?"

"Ten silver nobles," Madelyn replied, jangling the coin-filled pouch in her hand. "Besides, if you're as confident as you claim, you have nothing to fear from accepting my challenge, except the terrible prospect of winning more money. Don't lie and tell me that doesn't interest you."

"It doesn't, and I'll thank you not to presume me a liar," David warned, "especially from someone who doesn't have the guts to tell everyone her real name."

"It's of no consequence, I assure you," Madelyn responded evenly.

"Her name's Madelyn Fairchild," Aislin called out, suddenly tired of her pointless charade, and disliking the way the secretive woman treated people. Madelyn whirled to face her with a look of betrayal, and if anything, the girl's pale skin turned even paler.

"Fairchild?" David repeated as his eyes narrowed on Madelyn. "There's only one family by that name. You are Lord Thomas's daughter, yes?" Madelyn nodded, but remained tight-lipped.

"Little wonder you didn't go around telling people your name," Aislin's father grunted. "The man tried to seize crown land just north of here during the war, while the king was away fighting."

"...And the murder of three rangers, I might add," David said. "Your family has no friends in this town, ma'am."

"He was put on trial and found guilty of high treason and murder, then hanged for his crimes and his fortune seized," the mayor added as an ominous grumbling rippled through the crowd.

"Still, we should not judge her based solely on the poor choices of her father," the mayor suggested. "Everyone should have a chance to stand on their own merits."

"Well said," David nodded in agreement. "Okay Miss Fairchild, I can see you're eager to prove your mettle, so I'll do it — if you offer up your pretty little bow as well."

This caused Madelyn some hesitation. Her gaze was locked upon David's as she stood there with her hair whipping about in the wind. The crowd watched on in silence as the drama played out.

"I'm not gonna lie," Gordon whispered to Aislin. "This is the most interestin' thing I've seen all day."

"I accept your terms," Madelyn finally agreed. "It's going to rain any minute now, so we'll make this quick. We each shoot Six at two hundred feet, using someone else's bow, just to level the playing field. Highest score wins." David nodded and set aside his longbow, as the two of them walked back to the long range with the chattering crowd following close behind.

Two other competitors produced their bows for the duellists, who took a moment to familiarise themselves with the weapons. The old target captain who had judged Aislin's group, arranged for all but two of the targets on the two hundred foot range to be cleared. Thunder rumbled in the distance and the air felt sharp and clear as Madelyn and David stood on their marks.

"Ladies first," the retired ranger offered as he pulled on his leather gloves.

"Age before beauty," Madelyn replied, all trace of levity gone from her voice. David shrugged and lifted his bow, an arrow nocked and ready to shoot. He paused to consider the wind and the distance before releasing it. The arrow sailed through the air in a wide arc and thudded into the target, very close to the centre.

The crowd let out an appreciative sound of awe at the impressive shot, though Madelyn didn't seem amused. She nocked an arrow and raised her bow, sending an arrow soaring through the air where it struck her target right in the centre. Some in the crowd booed this display of skill, indicating exactly how the locals felt about a discredited noble's daughter with a haughty attitude.

They alternated shots as the storm closed in on the field, each striking their target. Aislin was astonished at their skill, for it seemed likely they would both surpass their earlier efforts in the competition. When they came to the final arrow in the Six, David sent his shot hurtling through the air to land dead centre on the target.

"That's his third bull's eye," Tom remarked, shaking his head at the old man's skill.

"The other three were on the edge though," Aislin pointed out. "Madelyn's may not have hit the centre but she wasn't far off for most of hers. She only needs four points to win."

The crowd watched in silence as Madelyn raised her bow for the final shot to determine the winner. As a sudden gust of wind swept the field she loosed the arrow, which seemed to hang in the air for a painfully long time before missing the target altogether.

"Blast!" Madelyn screamed in frustration as the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

"That was some impressive shooting for someone your age," David offered in consolation. "I know your family lost everything, but with your skill, you could easily find yourself a career with the Royal Rangers."

"Yes, because I secretly enjoy tromping through the mud all day," Madelyn snapped. She took out the coin pouch and tossed it to David, a look of bitterness etched onto her fair features.

"The bow too, if you please," he sternly reminded her. She grabbed her precious recurve bow and, after a moment's hesitation, tossed it in David's direction.

"Pick it up yourself," Madelyn responded, storming off towards the inn as rain finally began to fall.

"Looks like being an unpleasant so and so runs in the family," Tom remarked, as Aislin watched her leave with a look of satisfaction. The mayor once more took to the wooden crate as his audience rapidly dispersed.

"Looks like we're done for the day, but I want to thank each and every one of you for making it a memorable occasion!" he trumpeted, competing with the power of the heavens to be heard.

"I've had a very good day today," Aislin told her father as the crowd began to head for cover.

"Really? You didn't win anything," he pointed out.

"I sort of did, actually," she answered with a smile as they headed home. A clap of thunder rolled over the town as the heavens finally opened up, prompting them to hurry onwards as fast as Tom's leg would allow. Aislin caught a glimpse of the amber dress in the window as they went past the shop, so close, yet so far away.

5

### Storm

The rain continued to fall long after the crowds had fled the contest grounds. Aislin and the girls at the inn were kept busy catering to their patrons, as the festivities moved indoors. Food and drink flowed freely as the storm raged outside, with thunderclaps shaking the windows, and silencing the boisterous mood for a few moments at a time.

Aislin noticed drops of water were splashing with increasing frequency into the annex she and her father lived in, and had to divert her attention between the demands of the common room, and placing buckets to catch the leaks. Their resident carpenter didn't seem too upset about it, however.

"It's an old buildin', it's gonna leak," Jock explained with a shrug, ending any chance of convincing him to do something about it. Shortly afterward, Madelyn descended the stairs and approached the counter. She was wearing her jodhpurs, jacket and tall boots, and appeared to be making ready to leave. The inn's patrons, a mix of regulars and visitors from out of town, quietened when they heard her boots clacking across the floor. Some of the looks thrown her way were less than flattering.

"I wish to settle my account," Madelyn declared when she arrived at the counter, fully aware of the ire her presence stirred in the people nearby. Tom, who had watched her approach, pulled himself out of his chair and leaned on the wooden bench top. His expression was a mask of professional detachment.

"Three more silver nobles, and another three if you're planning to wait out the storm overnight."

"I don't seem to have much choice in the matter," Madelyn muttered. Instead of pulling out her coin purse, she placed a satchel on the counter top and withdrew a small statuette. It was colourfully painted and carved into the semblance of a well-dressed lady. "I regret to say I find myself short of funds," Madelyn continued. "As such, I will offer you this rather expensive piece of art as payment. It's worth is a hundred times your asking price." Tom peered at the small statue before him for a long moment before gently nudging it back towards her.

"I don't accept art as legal tender," he grunted, drawing a knowing chuckle from nearby patrons. Vicki was somewhat more vocal about her concerns.

"All this time, you've been strutting about like you own the place, lording your well-to-do dress and fancy hair over the rest of us, and you're actually flat broke?"

"Maybe you could trade your bow instead?" David Patel suggested from the other end of the counter. "Oh wait, you don't have one anymore." More of the locals burst out laughing at this, all the more raucous thanks to the drinks they'd been consuming since their arrival hours before. "Come to think of it, I've got a spare now. I'm only using it to prop up a corner on my couch."

Although the uproarious laughter spread throughout the inn at this remark, Aislin felt bad for Madelyn, who weathered their insults without a word. Though her lips were pursed tightly, her eyes hinted at a seething rage lying just beneath her pale exterior.

"I tell you what, Miss Fairchild," Tom offered after the laughter had died down, "If you're broke, we can probably come to some sort of arrangement. Out here in the country, we tend to be a bit more flexible and forgiving of people in your position. We've plenty of work to do around here, so roll your sleeves up or find another way to pay."

"Work?" Madelyn repeated in disbelief. She pondered this option thoughtfully for a moment, before shaking her head. "I'd sooner sell my clothes."

"I'm okay with that," Tom remarked with a grin, drawing gales of laughter and hoots of encouragement from some of the men in the room. Madelyn gave them a look of icy disdain before stuffing the statuette back into her satchel, and storming through the door, heedless of the downpour outside.

"You didn't have to be so mean to her," Aislin berated the people sitting at the counter.

"She brought it on herself with that high-and-mighty attitude of hers," David responded. "Say, back at the contest, how did you know her name?"

"We met two years ago when the town was evacuated," Aislin explained.

"She was with us then?" Tom asked. "Don't recall seeing her myself, but kids change so fast around that age. I seem to remember her mother though. Religious type, very strict and proper."

"Yeah kept telling us not to sit on the coffins, 'cause they were holy or some such," David added with a chuckle. "There was a woman with her priorities out of whack." The inn shook as thunder boomed overheard, silencing the conversation for a moment. "Do you think god heard me just now?" he added in a quiet voice.

"I like to think god's got better things to be doing," Tom advised in an equally sombre voice.

"I'd sure hate to be out on the roads just now," Vicki piped in as she continued to serve the patrons. "They'd be a quagmire."

"I'm sure anyone travelling this way has the sense to take cover, wherever they are," Tom said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Outside, the rain was falling even harder, battering the inn's roof so loudly the remaining crowd eventually gave up trying to talk altogether. As the day came to an end, many of the patrons waved their goodbyes, and swayed unsteadily to their rooms, or headed back to their homes elsewhere in town.

Just as the common room emptied, Madelyn appeared in the doorway, absolutely soaked from head to toe as she looked around to make sure her tormentors had departed. Her dark hair was matted against her skin, and her bright blue eyes narrowed upon Aislin, who was cleaning the counter while the other girls were taking a break.

"I had to sell my last dress to acquire the funds to pay my bill," she said with quiet intensity, slowly walking towards Aislin as she spoke. "I have been humiliated, made into a laughing stock for the entire town, lost my father's bow and been drenched to my very core tromping about town — and it's all your fault."

Aislin looked around nervously for help and when she realised she was alone, reached for her absent knife without realising it.

"I'm sorry," she said with a shaky voice, "I didn't know all of that was going to happen, but you did kind of bring it upon yourself."

"Are you happy?" Madelyn hissed, ignoring Aislin's apology. "You've brought me down a few pegs and left me a pauper, with barely enough coin to keep me fed for a week, to say nothing of accommodation. All because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. I don't know how or when, but I'm going to make sure you regret this. The next time I see a group of thugs robbing you and beating upon your father, I suspect I'll simply walk away and leave them to it."

A clap of thunder added unnecessary weight to her words, and with one final glare, Madelyn plonked a handful of coins in front of Aislin, and promptly headed back to her room for one final night.

Aislin let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, then counted the coins before stuffing them into the lockbox under the counter. Though she had seen Madelyn use her sword to threaten bullies a few nights ago, Aislin was beginning to believe she was full of hot air.

Exhausted from the day's events, just about everyone turned in early that evening to the ongoing sounds of heavy rain and thunder. Aislin hadn't heard a storm this powerful in a long time, and even huddled under her blankets, with Keg curled into a ball on top of her, she had trouble falling asleep, thanks to the sheer volume of the storm. Water dripped into the buckets she'd placed around the room, further adding to the array of noises conspiring to keep her awake.

Then came the distant sound of splintering wood and a great crashing sound from outside, loud enough to pierce the drumming rain on the rooftop. Aislin sat bolt upright, unceremoniously knocking Keg to one side as she threw off the blankets. She pulled on her boots and rushed through the door, still in her smallclothes.

"Did you hear that?" she asked her father in an alarmed voice when she poked her head inside his bedroom door.

"Yeah," he grunted, struggling to get out of bed, "it might have been part of the stable roof collapsing. It's hard to tell in this racket. Go check it out, I'll be along in a minute."

Aislin nodded, hurrying down the hallway and through the door leading to the stables. The sound of the rain was much louder here and the horses were awake and clearly nervous, yet there was no sign of damage. The distinctive crackle of wood breaking in the distance cut through the noise, and for a moment Aislin could hear what sounded like someone screaming, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.

Fearing the worst, Aislin dashed into the driving rain in the direction of the noise. The only light came from a sputtering lantern hanging from the town's north gate fifty yards away, so she headed in that direction, hoping to find someone on guard duty. The gate itself was over two yards high, made of wooden logs, and appeared undamaged in spite of being lashed by the storm. Aislin wrapped her arms around her to fend off the weather a little, knowing full well she couldn't stay out in this for long.

"Hello?" she called into the night after finding the gate closed and deserted. The faint sound of someone screaming for help was her only reply, and it was coming from the other side of the gate. Feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature, Aislin moved to the gate and attempted to lift the bar holding it shut. The beam of wood was far too heavy for her to move, but help was approaching from nearby in the form of two stout dwarven men.

"Hold this, lass," Gordon shouted over the din, handing her a lantern, while Jock replaced her at the gate. With one powerful heave, he lifted the bar which pivoted over on a hinge, locking into place, and allowing him to open the gate.

"Thanks, I couldn't do it by myself," Aislin answered, relieved she was no longer alone. "What are you doing out here?"

"I heard somethin' breakin' and thought there might be trouble," Gordon explained. "You should go back inside lass, you'll catch a cold out here." Any reply was muffled as the sky lit up from a bolt of lightning, and in that instant, the three of them saw the source of the noise not far away.

The back end of a horse-drawn carriage jutted above the bridge, with broken planks of wood littering the area. The Stormflow River had swollen during the intense rain and burst its banks, straining the ancient bridge which had partially collapsed when the carriage attempted to cross. A pair of horses swam toward the water's edge, having come loose from the carriage as it crashed through the rotted wood. Though the image had been fleeting, Aislin was certain she had seen someone trying to climb out of the carriage's window.

"We have to help them," she shouted at Gordon, who nodded in agreement, but with one outstretched hand, stopped Jock rushing out.

"The bridge could come down completely if we add our weight," he advised. "Get some rope from the wagon, lad!" Jock rushed back towards the inn, while Aislin and Gordon hurried to the water's edge to see the situation by their lantern's light. The ominous sound of creaking wood continued, and the carriage slipped further into the rushing waters, accompanied by a girl's scream.

"Hold on lass, we'll get ye out o' there!" Gordon bellowed through the driving rain. With a groan of protest, the remaining wood gave way and the carriage plunged into the stream, filling with water and slowly sinking beneath the surface. Jock returned with a coil of rope over one shoulder, and Aislin was relieved to see her father was hobbling along behind him.

"Where are the bloody guards?" he bellowed, as Jock knotted the rope and prepared to throw it. "There's supposed to be two on duty at all times."

"Ye can take it up with the mayor tomorrow," Gordon shouted back, his eyes fixed on the wagon which continued to sink as it floated downstream. Its unwitting passenger was nearly free of the narrow window, though she now had nowhere to go aside from risking the dangerous waters surrounding her.

"Grab this!" Jock shouted as he whirled one end of the rope around his head and tossed it towards the stricken carriage. The girl managed to grab the rope and held on tight as the carriage sank beneath the waterline. Jock braced himself in anticipation of hefting her weight, but when it came he wasn't prepared for the sudden load on his arms.

"Och, she weighs a ton," he said with a strangled voice, as his booted feet were dragged through the mud towards the river. "Somethin's wrong!" A strangled cry from the stricken girl confirmed this, as Gordon added his strength to the rope as they struggled to pull her ashore. Aislin's heart was racing as she gingerly moved onto the bridge, hoping her weight wasn't enough to speed its collapse. She raised the lantern and by its light could make out what was happening.

"She's caught on the carriage!" Aislin cried in horror, watching as the girl was slowly being dragged downstream by its weight. Even with both dwarven men heaving on the rope, they were slowly being dragged along. Tom leaped onto the other end of the rope and rolled through the mud to one of the wooden supports, against which he pushed with his good leg. With his mighty arms wrapped around the rope, Tom stopped them slipping any further.

"It's no good, it's too heavy to pull her in," he shouted with the strain evident in his voice. "We've got to cut her free!"

"Kind of busy just now," Gordon grunted. With a flash of inspiration, Aislin suddenly realised she was the only one who could help.

"I can do it," she called, "but I'll need Sliver." Her father didn't answer immediately, but whether it was from concern over her using the dagger or the strain of his efforts she couldn't tell. Another gurgling cry of pain from the girl in the river was enough to end his indecision.

"Top drawer in my room," Tom grunted and with that, Aislin was off. She ran as fast as she could through the muddy streets, almost slipping more than once in her haste to reach the inn. Heedless of the muck she was tracking all over the floor, she stumbled into her father's bedroom and dove for the drawers.

Once open, Aislin tossed socks over the floor in her haste to find the weapon, and sure enough, Sliver lay gleaming beneath several layers of clothing. She grasped the hilt and lifted it out, suddenly feeling like she could take on the world. Reunited with her precious blade, Aislin hurried back into the storm once more.

The situation at the bridge remained unchanged when she returned, and she didn't need to ask for instructions on what to do next. By the lantern's light, Aislin plunged into the waters and followed the rope towards the poor girl, who struggled to hold onto it with the weight of the sunken carriage pulling her down.

She had thoroughly wrapped her arms around the rope, and held on for dear life as thunder rippled through the skies above. With the water surging past her, Aislin used all of her strength to hold onto the rope, climbing along it until she reached the girl. Unable to see underwater, and with one hand gripping the hilt of her dagger tightly, Aislin used her legs to feel the obstruction preventing the others pulling the victim free.

It felt as though rope from the carriage had somehow become tightly knotted around the passenger's leg. Aislin took a deep breath and plunged underwater, feeling around until she reached the tangle and carefully sawing at it with her dagger. Sliver's incredibly sharp blade made short work of the thick rope, and within moments, they were free.

Aislin almost lost her grip on the rope when they suddenly ploughed forward, from the power of the three men at the other end, pulling them free of the surging waters. It didn't take long for the two girls to be hauled ashore, where they both promptly collapsed in the mud. From the sounds of groaning nearby, the men had also fallen in a heap after a momentous effort.

Aislin lay on her back catching her breath, staring up into the dark skies as thunder rolled through the heavens in the distance. She turned to look at the girl they had just saved and saw her looking back, an expression mixed with relief, exhaustion and pain on her face.

Aislin guessed the girl was only a year or two older than herself. Her skin was dark brown, her hair black and curly, and her large dark eyes made wider by the pain she was in. She wore a dress woven from expensive cloth, and a number of rings decorated her fingers. The dress was torn over her right leg, which was covered in blood.

"Let's get inside afore we catch our death out 'ere," Gordon grunted, kneeling down and gently picking up the injured girl, who winced as she was lifted from the ground. Aislin, who was also shivering and soaked from head to toe picked up the lantern and quickly followed, stopping only to help her father to his feet. He almost refused out of pride before reluctantly accepting the help of his daughter.

Jock closed the gate behind them and together, they headed back to the welcoming comfort of the inn. As they approached the stable entrance, Aislin spotted Vicki silhouetted against the light of the doorway.

"What on earth is going on out here at this hour?" she called in what could be described as a loud whisper.

"Bridge collapsed," Gordon grunted without slowing down. Vicki flattened herself against the wall as the dwarf went past with his cargo, then followed like a mother hen sensing one of her chicks in trouble. By the time Aislin and her father made it to the common room, Vicki was stoking the smouldering embers in the fireplace, while Gordon carefully placed the injured survivor on cushions Aislin arranged upon the floor.

"Blasted thing," Vicki muttered, poking violently at the dying embers of the fireplace without success.

"I'm better at fixin' tools instead o' people, so why don't we swap?" Gordon suggested. Vicki was more than happy to relinquish the poker and in his expert hands, the fire soon flared back to life.

"Easy there, you're going to be fine," Vicki assured her patient in a soothing voice, while stroking the girl's head. "What's your name?"

"Jaz," came the whispered reply, followed by the receding rumble of thunder in the distance.

"Okay Jaz, I'm going to bandage your leg and stop the bleeding. Just hold still, and you'll be as right as rain." To their surprise, Jaz shook her head and began feeling around for something with her hands.

"I had a satchel," she croaked.

"This'll be it," Jock answered, holding up the dripping wet leather satchel before him. "Found it on the side o' the river afore I left." Jaz reached for it, and Jock obliged by handing it over, allowing her to rummage inside until she produced a small ceramic jar. She shook it vigorously with both hands and then whispered a few words Aislin couldn't make out, before smacking the lid.

"Apply this to the wound," Jaz instructed Vicki as she handed the jar over. Vicki cracked it open and recoiled at the pungent aroma coming from within, but did as she was asked. It was a dark, creamy substance which she spread over the injured leg, causing Jaz to gasp in pain.

"Well I'll be," Vicki breathed as they watched the bleeding stop. Jaz seemed to relax as her breathing slowed and a moment later she passed out.

"Is she okay?" Aislin asked out of concern.

"She's just sleeping," Vicki confirmed with a quick check. "The poor thing is probably exhausted."

"She's lucky she didn't lose that leg," Tom added. "Had a whole carriage trying to drag her underwater. At least it doesn't appear to be broken."

"We should let her rest," Vicki said as she pulled some blankets over her patient before noticing Aislin was also soaked and shivering. She wrapped another blanket around her as well, for which Aislin was grateful. "I'd put her in one of the rooms, but we're booked to capacity."

"I've got a spare room she can sleep in," Tom suggested, exchanging a glance with Aislin. "Gord, could you carefully bring her along?"

Gordon nodded, and once more picked up the injured girl in both arms, then followed Tom and Aislin as they headed to the back of the inn. There, they opened the door to the room formerly used by Aislin's brothers and placed Jaz onto a bed.

"Make sure she'll be warm enough," Vicki advised in a hushed voice, as Tom took blankets from the other beds and piled them on, before they backed out of the room and let Jaz sleep.

"Bit of an eventful night," Tom remarked to the others. "Go get some rest and we'll figure out what to do about the bridge in the morning." The others said their goodnights, and Aislin stepped into her room, sliding Sliver back into its sheath and placing its rightful place on the night stand.

She then grabbed a towel to dry herself off, before climbing back into bed which Keg had kept warm, burying himself deep under the blankets in his search for the most comfortable place to sleep. Her father knocked on the door and came in to tuck her in tightly, adding a couple of extra blankets for good measure before sitting down on the bed.

"You okay, chook?" he asked quietly.

"I'll be fine," she answered, sneezing twice in quick succession.

"Your body says otherwise," he chuckled. "You don't have to work tomorrow if you don't want to. I think you've earned it. It was very brave, what you did tonight. You could have been swept downstream, or even drowned."

"I'm a good swimmer, you know that," Aislin answered.

"Those conditions would have challenged even the best swimmers," her father pointed out. When he spoke next, his voice had dropped to little more than a whisper. "When you went under, I thought I was going to lose you for good."

"I had to cut the ropes holding Jaz, that's all," Aislin assured him. "You had nothing to worry about."

"I had plenty to worry about, actually," he answered somewhat hotly. "You're all the family I have left, Aislin. I don't want to lose you as well — I don't think I could bare it. Did you even think about that?"

"I didn't have time," she explained after a moment's thought. "Jaz was calling for help and if I didn't go straight in, she would have died. If people don't help each other when they're in trouble, nobody gets saved."

"That's pretty profound for someone your age," Tom mumbled thoughtfully. "You've given me something to think about. As for that dagger of yours, you can hang on to it, but I don't want to see you carrying it around all the time. Life isn't so dangerous that you have to arm yourself every waking hour. You've got to have a little more faith in people."

"Like those bullies who kicked you in the guts the other night?" Aislin pointed out.

"When you pull a weapon like this on someone, you've got to be prepared to use it," he responded. "Did you see the look in Madelyn's eyes, when she held her rapier to that bloke's throat? She was going to spill his blood if she had to, and he knew it. That's why he backed down. I don't know what happened to that girl, but she's got a killer's instinct, and it'd break my heart to see that happen to you. Promise me you'll only use this thing to protect yourself and others."

"I promise, dad," Aislin swore. Tom leaned in and embraced her tightly, then kissed the top of her head.

"That's my girl," he whispered with a thick voice. "Now get some sleep, you've had a long day." She sneezed once more and pulled the blankets over her head as he hobbled out of the room. The last thought that went through her mind before she drifted off was a comforting one — she had made a difference in someone's life. For the first night in a long time, Aislin fell asleep with a smile on her face.

6

### Jaz

Calm had returned to the skies by morning as Aislin shuffled along the hall, wrapped in a blanket, and feeling very much under the weather, a phrase she finally understood the meaning of. The muffled sound of chattering voices ahead indicated the common room was bustling with discussion. Conscious of her appearance, Aislin settled for poking her head through the door to listen to what was going on.

Although she couldn't make out their exact words, it was clear the patrons were abuzz about the events of the previous evening. With the bridge out, anyone planning to travel north was sorely disappointed with the news of its destruction, and one person in particular was being especially vocal about it.

"I can't leave and I can't bloody well afford to stay here," Madelyn complained, audible even over the general noise of the room. "What do you expect me to do?"

"You could head east or south," Aislin's father advised in a wearied voice. Clearly he'd been answering questions all morning, and his patience was wearing thin.

"South?" Madelyn squawked. "There's nought but a rickety old fort keeping watch over a parched wasteland. What possible reason would compel me to travel that way, aside from taking leave of my senses? And don't even start with me about the east — I have no desire to go further into the wilds than I already am. This is simply unacceptable."

"If you're unhappy with the situation, feel free to chase down the storm from last night, and ask it nicely if it'd mind fixing the bridge it knocked down," Tom grumbled. "The mayor's called a town meeting, so if you've any further pearls of wisdom to share, bring it up then." With that, he limped away from the counter and its crowd of unhappy people, and headed towards the door Aislin was listening at.

"Hey, there's the hero of the day," he greeted her with a wan smile as he stepped through. "How's the head?"

"I'm all gunked up," Aislin replied with a sniffle. "I don't think I can work today."

"I wasn't even going to ask. Have you checked in on our special guest yet?"

"She's still asleep and I didn't want to wake her."

"Why don't you take some breakfast in for the both of you?" Tom suggested. "Maybe you could ask her what her driver was doing trying to beat the storm like that. Cost him his life."

"The poor man," Aislin remarked with a measure of sorrow.

"Yeah it's a tragedy, no doubt. Hopefully Jaz can tell us what happened. Anyway, there's some soup and fresh bread in the kitchen. Vicki will run the show so don't worry about work today. Gordon and I are heading to the meeting to figure out what we're going to do about all this. Keep warm and rest up, I'll call in later to visit." He affectionately roughed up her hair with one calloused hand, though he couldn't mess it up any worse than it was.

Aislin smiled up at him and headed back to her room to dress properly, then returned to load a tray with two bowls of thick pea soup, and half a loaf of crusty bread. When she opened the door to the bedroom Jaz was resting in, Aislin discovered their guest was awake, watching her approach with large, dark eyes. Her curly black hair had dried and tumbled down to her shoulders like a mane, and Aislin thought she looked quite pretty.

"Good morning," she said as she placed the tray on the night stand next to Jaz's bed. A brief memory of doing this when her brothers still lived in this room flashed through her mind, causing her a momentary pang of loss.

"Are you okay?" Jaz asked in an accent Aislin thought of as "well-educated".

"I should be asking you that," she replied, shaking off her brief reverie.

"You just looked a little uncomfortable for a moment," Jaz persisted as Aislin sat on the end of the bed.

"Oh, my brothers used to live in this room. They're... gone now," she added, her voice trailing off towards the end. "How's your leg?" Aislin asked to change the topic.

"It still hurts, but the salve I applied will mend it within a few days. If you hadn't dived in to save me, I might have lost it altogether, or even my life. Thank you so much for your bravery," Jaz exclaimed. Aislin tried to smile but ended up sneezing instead. Jaz giggled and coughed, evidently feeling much the same way after her dip in the river. Aislin handed a piece of bread and a bowl of soup to Jaz, who accepted them and together, they ate while talking.

"What's your name?" Jaz asked between mouthfuls.

"Aislin Ballard."

"I'm Jaz Katan, nice to meet you. Tell me, where are the men who were with me on the carriage?" Aislin hesitated to answer, having learned of their fate earlier, and knowing the news wouldn't be well-received.

"I heard the driver didn't make it," she responded quietly. "He was hurt when the carriage went through the bridge."

"What of the other man?"

"I didn't know there was anyone else," Aislin hedged, drawing a distressed look from Jaz.

"Haden, my family's trusted retainer," she whispered. "He was inside the carriage with me when it went into the river. He insisted I leave first, helped me out through the window, and I just assumed he made it out after me."

"I'm so sorry," Aislin offered sadly. "We didn't know anyone else was in there."

"There was nothing more you could have done. Frankly, I'm amazed to be alive just now." Jaz went quiet and concentrated on her meal, eating without enjoyment.

"You're not from around here are you?" Aislin asked, uncomfortable with the long silence.

"I'm Lydeni, from the Free States," Jaz replied, still a little distracted.

"I've never heard of it," Aislin remarked, slightly embarrassed at her ignorance of the world.

"It's a long way south of here," Jaz explained patiently. "It used to be part of the old Ramidian Empire, until a revolt threw off imperial rule about eighty years ago. The empire used to enslave their wartime enemies, criminals, even people from over the sea who were brought there to build and maintain the cities. The empire eventually grew corrupt and fell when another country invaded. That's when the slaves rebelled, and formed their own country, named after the woman who led the revolt — Savestri Lyden. She's sort of a hero of mine."

"Gosh, you sound like you know a lot about this stuff," Aislin remarked with a smile, coaxing a slight grin from Jaz.

"It's an important part of growing up in Lyden, you know, understanding where we came from and who we are. The country's made up of people from all kinds of races and cultures, and it's not the most peaceful place to live. To be honest, it was part of the reason my parents sent me north, to continue my schooling in a safer environment."

"So that's why you're far from home?" Aislin mused.

"Yes, I came here to learn from the best, at the University of the Arcane in Fairloch," Jaz explained. "Unfortunately, it was only when I arrived that I found out the place had been closed for years. Not enough wizards to keep the doors open, apparently. Sort of tragic really." It wasn't the plight of the university which caught Aislin's attention, but something else entirely.

"Are you a wizard?" she asked in eager anticipation.

"Well, not exactly, though I do practice a related discipline," Jaz replied hesitantly. Aislin gave her a confused look, to which Jaz answered by pushing back the covers on the bed and reaching for her satchel. She pulled out a few curious objects made of leather and metal, and placed them on the bedspread. Fascinated, Aislin reached out for a leather bracelet with an amber gem prominently featured.

"This one's pretty," she remarked.

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that one," Jaz stammered curiously. "When you put it on, it elevates brain function, essentially making you smarter and enhancing memory. It's very handy when it comes to learning complex things."

"Why aren't you wearing it right now?"

"I... may have borrowed it to cheat on my tests," Jaz explained with a sheepish grin. "I was hoping to smuggle it back in to my teacher's desk before he noticed it missing, though there's not much chance of that now. Some of those tests were really hard, I don't think I could have passed without this."

"You say 'borrowed', but I think you mean 'stolen'," Aislin pointed out slyly.

"Well, it's a matter of perspective really," Jaz responded, carefully placing the bracelet back into her satchel. Aislin noticed a thin gold chain hanging around the girl's neck with a smooth, pale stone hanging from it.

"That's pretty," Aislin remarked, pointing to the necklace.

"Oh, it survived," Jaz breathed in relief, examining the smooth stone carefully. "It was a gift from my parents on the day I left home. I don't believe it's worth a lot, but it reminds me of them every day." She smiled fondly and placed it beneath her shirt again, while Aislin turned her attention to another object on the table, this one shaped like a small hammer with a yellow gemstone embedded into the handle.

"Careful, that's my aetheric hammer," Jaz warned, causing Aislin's hand to stop just before touching it. "I use it to make things, but it can break things just as easily."

"Is it magic?"

"Of course," Jaz answered, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "It may be small, but I can adjust it to do other things, including hit like a sledge for big jobs. Here, try this one instead," she offered, handing a complex-looking set of goggles to Aislin, who put them on and looked around. She saw nothing unusual until she glanced down at the other objects on the bed and saw they were glowing with a pale blue aura.

"Oh, pretty," Aislin mumbled. "Where did you get these?"

"I built them last year as part of my training in Artifice, the fabrication of magical equipment. I have a knack for it, actually, sort of a prodigy."

"I'm not sure what that means but it sounds smashing," Aislin remarked. "Why are those things glowing?"

"You're seeing the aura of magic emanating from each item. I can also make them do this," she said, reaching over to touch something on the goggles which suddenly made everything appear in shades of blue and black. In Aislin's sight, Jaz now appeared in shades of warm colours. "You would be seeing that even in a completely dark room," she explained with a hint of smugness to her voice. Aislin almost jumped out of her skin when a reddish blob leaped onto the bed, and when she pulled off the goggles, she was relieved to see a huge ginger cat looking for a warm place to nap.

"Blimey Keg, you scared me," she muttered, giving the big cat a rough pat. He began to emit a throaty purr and nestled against Jaz, who appeared delighted by the company.

"I say, he's a friendly fellow," she exclaimed.

"Keg's a good judge of character," Aislin responded with a smile. "If he likes you, you're okay by me."

"What happens if he doesn't like you?"

"You'll know about it," Aislin replied with a laugh. "When he's not being an oversized kitten, he's catching rats and chasing dogs twice his size. Last year, he even chased away a black bear that wandered into town." Her smile faded as she removed the goggles and paused for a moment to think on how to ask an important question. "There's something I don't understand. What was your carriage doing riding to Bracksford in the middle of a storm?" Jaz put away her trinkets as the smile vanished from her face.

"We were trying to make it here by sunset, but the highway was awash with rain," she explained as she petted Keg. "Haden was concerned we'd be stuck in the middle of the forest, so he urged the driver to push on. He hung lanterns from the front of the carriage but it was still very dark. By some miracle we made it to the bridge, but it creaked and groaned as we went over it, and then..."

"I'm so sorry to bring this up," Aislin hastily interrupted as Jaz's voice trailed off.

"The stupid thing is Haden didn't even want to take the carriage," she continued as tears formed in her eyes. "We took a ship from Lydenbury to Amalis, but it made me awfully seasick so when it came to the return trip, I asked if we could travel by land. Haden's death is my fault!"

"No it isn't," Aislin protested. "That bridge was nearly two hundred years old. It's been there since the town was founded, and it's been in need of repairs for years. It's not your fault, it's ours." The conversation paused as Jaz struggled to rein in her tears. She reached into her satchel, pulled out a handkerchief to dry her face, and slowly settled down. As an afterthought, she pulled out the jar of salve and cracked the lid.

"Time for another application," she explained with a sniffle, as if looking for something to distract her. The jar appeared to be almost empty after she'd smear a layer of the pungent stuff on her leg. "I'm going to need to make more of this soon — can I give you a list of herbs to buy for me?"

"Of course, anything I can do to help," Aislin assured her. Jaz produced a rolled up piece of paper, along with a quill and a small vial of ink, and scribbled out some notes.

"It can wait for a couple of days, so don't push yourself too hard on my account," Jaz instructed as she handed it over, along with some coins. "I think I should get a bit of rest. Thank you for the meal and the chat, Aislin."

"No worries," she replied, sounding lame considering the ordeal Jaz had been through, but at a loss for words. There was nothing more Aislin could do to help, so she got up and headed for the door, leaving Keg to keep Jaz company.

Feeling light-headed, Aislin headed for the common room to sit before the fire and see if she could shake off the head cold. It wasn't long after she sat when her father and some others returned from the meeting, talking amongst themselves in a manner Aislin thought of as excited.

"Jock? Where are ya mate?" Gordon bellowed when he entered. A few moments later his cousin appeared from the back of the inn, a saw in hand, and a tool belt hanging around his waist.

"Workin' on a special project fer someone," he grunted.

"Got a new job for us. We're makin' a bridge," Gordon called loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. Jock grinned and rubbed his gloved hands together, as the two of them moved off to confer in private. Tom sat on a stool at the counter, and explained to those nearby what had taken place in the meeting. In short, as an essential part of the town's prosperity, they needed to find the funds to repair the bridge and though initially reluctant, Gordon made an offer they couldn't refuse.

"It's well below his normal rate so we're getting a good deal," Tom explained. "Unfortunately, we're all going to be hit with the material cost, which isn't exactly cheap. But this has to be done, so get over it." Minor grumblings from the small crowd faded, and many nodded their heads as they came to accept the necessity of this cost.

Madelyn was one of them, and had remained silent throughout, her expression hinting that she was faced with an unpleasant prospect. Aislin's theory was confirmed a few moments later when her father reached over the counter, pulled out a spare apron and tossed it at Madelyn.

"It's time you pitched in around here, Miss Fairchild," he advised. "I'll cover your food and room costs if you'll help out in the kitchens. The whole town is pitching in on this project, and you're no exception. Or, to put it another way, either help out or leave town." Madelyn looked with disdain at the apron she held at arm's length between thumb and forefinger.

"That's the spirit," Tom chuckled as she reluctantly surrendered. Kirsten found this amusing, yet took sympathy upon her plight.

"You can borrow one of my dresses to work in," she offered. "I don't think that poncy outfit will suit you in the kitchens."

"I don't know the first thing about preparing food," Madelyn complained. "I'm likely to cut my own hand off and serve it in the soup."

"Good, it'd add a bit of meat to it," Tom remarked, unmoved by her protests of incompetence. "Aislin will keep an eye on you while you work, won't you Ace?"

"Sure thing," Aislin agreed, drawing a look of outraged scorn from Madelyn. She kept her silence however, and followed Kirsten out back to change.

The next few hours were more of a hassle to Aislin than if she was doing the work herself. Madelyn was right about one thing — she was inexperienced in any sort of manual labour, and complained endlessly about her fate. Aislin stepped in now and then to show her how things were done, which irritated Madelyn even more. To be upstaged by a twelve year old was something her battered ego was obviously struggling with.

Confined to the kitchens as she was, Aislin missed out on the events happening with the bridge, except for what she heard from passers-by, usually the always enthusiastic Toby. Evidently, most of the town was involved in the work, with Gordon and Jock leading the operation.

"They're rippin' the left-over bits of the old bridge down and haulin' in logs from the forest out west," he informed Aislin, while Madelyn very slowly chopped some carrots for the fast-approaching evening service.

"How are they going to get those logs across the river?" Aislin wondered.

"I don't know," Toby wondered. "Maybe they'll raise 'em up and let 'em fall, or maybe someone'll swing to the other side with a rope and they'll haul 'em over, or maybe even—"

"Why don't you go find out?" Aislin suggested with fake excitement, which Toby failed to pick up on.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, rushing out the door in an effort to please her. Madelyn smirked and barely suppressed a laugh.

"You're only going to encourage him, you know," she remarked. "Boys don't understand subtlety — if you want him to leave you alone, tell him to his face."

"Why don't you learn how to cook before making fun of me," Aislin advised, crossing her arms to emphasis a point. "Chop faster, unless you want half the town complaining about the lack of food this evening. I'll point them right to you."

Unsurprisingly, dinner was right on time that evening and was acceptable fare to the two dozen people who had worked hard all day. Even Captain Ellis hobbled downstairs to eat with the rest of the town, sporting a new wooden leg at the end of his stump. He gave Jock a laconic nod of thanks, which the dwarven carpenter returned in the manner of men who rarely expressed their feelings.

The work continued for the next two days in this fashion, as the logs were smoothed out, and one by one, dragged across the river using an arrangement of pulleys and ropes. As Madelyn began to show some progress in her duties, Aislin found time to pitch in on the big project. She ferried food and supplies to and from the work site, pausing to gaze in wonder as the pile of logs slowly transformed into a sturdy new bridge.

More than once she caught the eyes of Clarence, the handsome boy from the archery competition, who was pitching in with his grandfather at the site. The sun was shining and everyone was becoming quite hot, so he'd taken off his shirt to keep cool. Aislin found herself distracted at the sight and accidentally collided with a closed door on her way in. Mortified, she opened the door and scurried through in embarrassment.

It was on the morning of the third day when all of the logs were finally tied into place, and Jock confidently walked onto the bridge, spending some time tying the logs together with the last of the rope.

"Result," Gordon remarked with satisfaction, as he surveyed the outcome of the town's labours. The workers all shook each other's hands in a subdued manner at the completion of the job, as was their custom. Tom had other plans, however.

"The bridge is up!" he bellowed to the occupants of the inn's common room, drawing loud cheers and applause at his boisterous declaration.

"Finally, I'm free," Madelyn sighed in relief as she stared up at the ceiling.

"Not so fast," Tom responded as she began untying her apron. "You still owe me a day's work to cover your meals, and I need all hands on deck to get ready for the celebration I'm planning for tonight."

"Fine," Madelyn grumbled, retying the apron as Tom laid a hand on her forearm.

"I'm also going to throw in a couple of silver pieces for your troubles," he explained to her curious look. "You've had a hard run in our town the past few days, to say nothing of what your family's gone through in recent years. I want to show we're not ungrateful for what help you've provided, and I can't really send you back out into the world with an empty purse. This'll help give you a fresh start." Madelyn regarded him in quiet astonishment for a moment before a tear ran down her cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, evidently uncomfortable with concepts such as "gratitude" and "kindness". Aislin beamed proudly at her father's display of compassion, for although he may have been a little tough at times, he was a good man and wasn't afraid to show it.

Across the room, Aislin noticed Jaz leaning against the wall in the stairs, watching the events unfold with a curious smile.

"You're up and about!" Aislin remarked after she'd moved closer to have a word.

"Yes, still limping a little but another application of salve will mend it fully. Speaking of such, I need those ingredients I spoke to you about."

"Oh, I forgot all about them," Aislin exclaimed, smacking herself on the forehead with one hand. "I've been so distracted with the bridge building and all. I'll get it done right away." She grabbed a bag and checked to make sure she had Sliver tucked into its sheath on her back, before rushing out the door, heading for the market. The shopping list was still in her pocket from the other day, and although she managed to find most of the requested herbs, one item wasn't available.

"Sorry luv," the large woman at the market who sold herbs and plants explained, "aloe goes dormant in the colder months and it's only just coming back. You could try me again in week or so, but if you're desperate you might find some coming into maturity in the brush to the east of town."

Determined to find what Jaz needed, Aislin decided a quick foray outside town was in order. The east gate was open wide as she approached, though the few town guards on duty here were preoccupied with the rusty top hinge on one of the gates, which hung at a peculiar angle.

Aislin paid them little heed on her way through and began scouring the ground for signs of the elusive plant. The day was fair and the rolling green countryside seemed to go on forever, dotted with flowers of yellow and red. Before long, she spotted a whole bunch of aloe growing near some bushes and although still small, they should suffice for her needs.

She carefully cut the long, spiky leaves with Sliver and stored them in her bag, then couldn't resist the urge to pick a few flowers and tie them into her hair. As she moved closer to the brush, Aislin suddenly noticed something within reach out for her. She screamed and pulled out her dagger, holding it with shaking hands as she looked upon an injured young man lying in the bushes.

"Help," he croaked with a parched throat, his skin covered in dirt and dried blood. His clothes were ragged and torn, and several broken arrow shafts were sticking out of his back. Aislin was paralysed in shock for a long moment, then recovered and sheathed Sliver as she cautiously went to the man's side, astonished he was still alive with such severe injuries.

He tried to speak again, but his voice gave out altogether and little more than a strangled gasp emerged from his mouth.

"If you can move, I'll help you get back to town," Aislin offered, receiving a faint nod in response.

He was barely able to walk, and it took all of Aislin's strength to keep him moving. The journey back to the east gate was difficult and achingly slow, and she feared the poor man might die before they got there. Judging from the smell, he'd been in the wilds for some time, and his sallow appearance hinted that he hadn't been eating or drinking nearly enough of late.

Eventually, they came within sight of the eastern gate to Bracksford, and the guards rushed to assist. The injured man was gently picked up and carried to the herbalist's shop, where a small crowd of onlookers had gathered, including of all people, the mayor of Bracksford. The stranger passed out on a thick rug shortly after Aislin explained where she'd found him, though this offered little insight into his plight. Fortunately, someone in the crowd recognised the injured young man.

"Lee, what's happened to you," David Patel breathed in dismay. "He's one of my nephews. Was supposed to have come by for the tournament a few days back but never showed up." David moved closer to examine the arrow shafts, and his expression didn't fill anyone with confidence.

"Akoran," he muttered as Patricia the herbalist began treating Lee's extensive injuries. "They ran afoul of the mountain folk, it seems, but why they filled him with arrows is beyond me.

"He's very far gone," Patricia grimly remarked. "I'm not sure I can keep him alive with all these wounds. Frankly I'm amazed he made it this far."

"I know someone who can help," Aislin blurted, running off before anyone could inquire or object. She dashed back to the inn and found Jaz relaxing next to the fire in the common room. It only took a few words of alarm to get her moving, though Aislin had to help due to her injuries. When they finally arrived back at the scene, the worried looks on the gathered faces hinted at bad news.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing more I can do for him," Patricia sighed, backing away from the unconscious man.

"Can I borrow these?" Jaz asked as she hobbled over, and took the mortar and pestle on a table without waiting for a response. "Aislin, the herbs, quickly now," she added, prompting Aislin to hand over all of the materials she'd gathered. Jaz dropped an assortment into the ceramic bowl and ground them up with furious circular strokes.

"I've already applied a poultice to the wounds," Patricia pointed out. "He's bleeding out from where we removed the arrows, and all we can do is try to staunch the blood flow." Jaz paid her no heed and continued to grind the herbs until they were a fine paste. She then poured the results into a small jar nearby and screwed the lid on, then closed her eyes and whispered a few words and smacked the lid with one hand, much as she'd done on the night Aislin had saved her from the river.

"What on earth are you doing?" Patricia remarked after this odd display. Jaz cracked open the jar and began to spread the thick, pungent salve over Lee's injuries, including the arrow wounds that were bleeding profusely. To their collective astonishment, the blood stopped almost instantly, but Jaz wasn't finished there.

She poured some of the salve into another small jar from the shelf and filled it the rest of the way with water from a ceramic carafe, then shook it vigorously.

"Do you have smelling salts?" Jaz asked of Patricia, who appeared increasingly exasperated by this upstart girl. Nevertheless, she turned and plucked a small vial of salts from her shelf and unplugged the stopper.

"I presume you wish to wake the man," she stated, leaning down to wave the vial beneath his nose. Jaz nodded absently, waiting for him to regain consciousness. When he groaned, she quickly moved in with the small potion and poured it down his throat. He appeared to choke at first, but managed to swallow the odd mixture after a moment's distress. Almost instantly, he appeared to relax and immediately slumped back onto the rug in a peaceful sleep.

"What did you just give him, young lady?" David asked in alarm.

"A healing potion, derived from the salve I concocted," Jaz explained as she sat in a chair, evidently drained from her efforts. "He will live, though it may be some time before he awakens."

"Thank you," David offered in gratitude. "We still need to find out what happened, and he's the only one who can tell us. Keep an eye on him Patricia, and let me know when he wakes up."

"Of course," she replied, looking at Jaz with a cool expression. "I have practiced herbalism for over twenty years, yet I have never seen anything quite like that. I don't know what methodology you just practiced, young lady, but it certainly wasn't herbalism."

"Thank you," Jaz replied with a smile, and a curious gleam in her eyes.

"If there's trouble to the east," David quietly asked of the mayor as the onlookers filed out, "you might consider increasing patrols and delaying the festival."

"I'll have the watch sergeant send out a few people to scout around, but I see no reason for immediate alarm," the mayor replied cautiously. "The people of Bracksford deserve to celebrate after working so hard to repair the bridge. It will proceed as planned." The old ranger's expression was stony and unreadable as the mayor departed.

7

### Dance

News of David's nephew returning with terrible injuries spread rapidly throughout the town's population, with mixed reactions. Some denied the possibility of open hostilities with the Akoran mountain people, while those who vividly remembered the war feared the worst. The exact nature of the incident would remain a mystery until Lee regained consciousness, which Jaz hinted would be tomorrow at the earliest.

None of this was going to stop them celebrating the reconstruction of the bridge into town however, and preparations for the evening's festivities went ahead in spite of any concerns.

The inn was all bustling activity as food was prepared in vast quantities, with Aislin working alongside the other girls to keep up with demand. Bubbling pots full of tantalising aromas sat on all available stoves around the kitchen, cooking an assortment of hearty meals the inn was to provide for the celebration.

Though some of the cuts of meat were a bit on the ordinary side, Vicki was able to work wonders with herbs and cooking techniques to improve the flavours. Like everyone else in Bracksford, she made the best of what they had.

A novice to the life of a kitchen worker, Madelyn was becoming increasingly frustrated at the breakneck speed Vicki was pushing for. After several hours of chopping food and stirring pots, the formerly wealthy young woman was at the end of her rope, and begged for a ten minute break.

"We've already done the hard work, so I suppose it's alright," Vicki mused. "Have a bite to eat and I'll put you on easier duties for the rest of the day. We'll make a cook out of you yet."

Madelyn gave her a withering glance and eagerly withdrew from the kitchen for a momentary respite. Aislin exchanged a knowing grin with Vicki, and continued monitoring the bubbling pots, before her father came in with a new task for her.

"Head over to Laura's and pick up some of those buntings that were left over from the archery competition for me, chook," he instructed. "They'll brighten the place up for the dance."

"Sure, right after I throw out the rubbish," she answered, picking up a rusty metal can filled with vegetable off-cuts. Aislin carried it out through the stables and to a large compost heap and dumped the contents. Before returning, she noticed movement from one of the stalls. Peering inside, Aislin saw Madelyn unbuttoning her dress, with all of her equipment and clothes in a pile at her feet.

"Are you leaving?" Aislin inquired, startling Madelyn for a moment.

"I have more than paid for my extended stay in this dreary backwater," she responded archly. "Furthermore, the prospect of being subjected to the continuing ire of the townsfolk, while attending some laughable country dance festival holds no attraction for me."

"Hey, my father is paying you extra," Aislin reminded her. "The least you could do is stay for the rest of the day."

"And be forced to spend the night yet again, requiring I work in the kitchens, yet again, to pay for it," Madelyn laughed scornfully. "No, this is an endless loop of indentured work, and I'll have no further part in it. Tom is a good man, and it is for his generosity alone I have stayed even this long, but it is time for me to return to civilisation."

"As for your part in my public humiliation," she continued, pausing mid-way through taking off her dress to glare at Aislin, "out of respect for your father, I will not continue with my plans of vengeance against you. I'll go my own way and pray we never cross paths. But know this — if I ever lay eyes on you again, I will make it my business to ruin your reputation in the public eye, as you have helped to ruin mine."

"Fine, go ahead and leave then," Aislin responded, letting her temper get the better of her. "You've been nothing but a pain in the backside since you showed up. You're a terrible person, and I hope you ride off a cliff." With that, she stormed back inside and tossed the bin to the floor with a loud clatter, before heading through the common room and out the door, much to the surprise of the girls working inside.

Aislin was fuming, and in such a hurry she narrowly avoided running into someone just outside the front door. Turning to apologise, she saw it was handsome young Clarence she'd nearly bowled over.

"Careful, you could do someone an injury, running around like that," he suggested with a wide smile. "Unless you're running off to save someone again, then it's okay." Aislin tried to respond, but her tongue suddenly seemed to grow too large for her mouth. A couple of years ago, boys were just annoying, loud brats but now, suddenly, she found them all kinds of interesting.

"Huunnnn," she replied with a sort of whimper, though Clarence didn't seem to notice her loss of speech.

"It was really brave of you actually, jumping into the water to save that girl," he continued. "Anyway I've got to keep moving. Don't go crashing into anyone, okay?" She nodded and smiled, wisely choosing to remain silent, rather than risk appearing the fool by opening her traitorous mouth. As he walked away, Aislin allowed her mind to dwell on the possibilities, until she realised she was standing in the middle of the street with a dreamy expression on her face.

Her unpleasant encounter with Madelyn all but forgotten, she smoothed down her dress and continued on to Laura's shop, in a lighter mood. Although she had come here with a clear mission in mind, the first thing Aislin laid eyes on was the amber dress she one day hoped to buy. Her gaze lingered upon it for a moment before Laura interrupted her reverie.

"Is today the day?" she asked with a suggestive smile.

"No, I'm still short on coin," Aislin sighed. "A pity too, today would be the perfect day to wear it."

"You want to impress that boy you bumped into just now," Laura stated with a knowing smile, causing Aislin to blush furiously.

"No I don't," she lied, "I just want to look nice at the dance."

"If you say so," Laura answered with a laugh. "Just out of interest, how short of coin are you, exactly?" Aislin took out her coin purse and pour the contents onto the counter.

"Thirty two jacks," she surmised after adding them up, feeling a little deflated after verifying her lack of funds.

"Close enough," Laura responded. It took Aislin a moment for her meaning to sink in. She looked up at the shopkeeper in disbelief as Laura swept the coins into a lockbox and took the amber dress from its stand.

"Why?" Aislin asked as the dress was placed into her hands. Laura leaned down to look her straight in the eye, as she explained her reasons.

"It was a very brave thing, rescuing that girl from the river," she said. "From the stories I'm hearing, she would have drowned without you, of that there's no doubt. I don't know if you noticed, but you're sort of the town hero at the moment, young lady. Think of the discount as my way of saying thank you." Aislin had no words to describe how she felt, so she reached up and gave Laura a fierce hug instead.

Excited to try it on, Aislin rushed behind the counter for a little privacy, and took off her oversized jacket, being careful to keep Sliver hidden from view. Once the strap holding her dagger in place was removed, she took off her plain brown peasant dress and doffed the lovely amber one as fast as she could.

"It fits perfectly," she breathed, carefully arranging its folds to make sure it was properly in place.

"Looks like it was meant to be," Laura remarked with an approving smile. "Young Clarence will certainly take note of you now, if he hadn't already. A pity about the boots — maybe I can let you borrow some nice shoes to go with it." Aislin was ecstatic and barely paid attention to her words, or to the sound of rushing footsteps just outside. The full-length mirror nearby showed her reflection, and although not one to dwell on appearances, she liked what she saw.

"What's all that about I wonder?" Laura muttered, peering through a window. A dull rumbling could be heard in the distance, a sound which almost stopped Aislin's heart in fear. David, who had been half asleep in a chair on the other side of the room, slowly stood, with a concerned expression on his weathered features.

Along with some of the other women, Aislin hurried through the front door and looked to the east, dreading what she might see, but too curious to leave it alone. As the noise grew in volume, the sound of people screaming joined with it, accompanied by the clash of steel and a loud boom as the east gate, barely visible at this distance, collapsed. Aislin's heart raced, and her knees grew weak as she bore witness to her worst nightmare, come to life.

Bracksford was under attack.

"It's happening again," she whispered to herself in disbelief, unable to take her eyes from a hoard of savages streaming through the broken gates. Around her, the streets erupted in chaos as people screamed and rushed for cover. The Kingdom Guard, though few in number, stood their ground against the tide, but were quickly overwhelmed. Tall men wearing rough leathers, wielding clubs and spears ran through the breach in the defensive line and stormed the town.

Aislin reached for her dagger and panicked when she didn't feel the reassuring weight of Sliver's hilt, before remembering she had taken it off when changing. She pushed her way through the crowd of terrified people and stumbled back inside the shop, tripping on the hem of her dress and scrambling the final few feet to reach her weapon.

She almost jumped out of her skin when the back door to the shop was thrown open and David appeared, reaching in to grab his longbow and arrows.

"Get under cover and stay there!" he ordered, before slamming the door shut again. Part of her wanted to do as he suggested, to find a deep hole to hide within and hope they never found her, but Aislin had done that too many times before, and wasn't about to stand aside and let her friends and neighbours face this without her.

With Sliver gripped tightly in one fist, she took a deep breath and headed outside. The horde of warriors was much closer than she expected, but their advance was slowed as arrows rained down upon them. David Patel led a dozen men and women, those who had come for the archery competition days before, and been stranded here once the bridge had collapsed. Together, they provided what aid they could to the remaining Kingdom Guard, still battling against the seemingly endless horde.

Some of the savages who had burst through the defensive ranks earlier were raiding houses along the main street, and from one of them came a towering youth with dark, ragged hair. He spotted Aislin standing in the street, knife in hand, and bore down on her with terrifying speed.

She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be brave and fight, but at that moment, Aislin could only stand there and scream in terror as she was picked up and carried off by the huge warrior. She kicked and thrashed about, trying to dislodge herself from his iron grip, or even to bring Sliver to bear, yet all she could manage was to slow the brute down and make his job more difficult.

"Hey, pick on someone yer own size, longshanks," bellowed a familiar voice from nearby. The man holding Aislin stopped and turned, and from her precarious position she saw Gordon standing in a narrow street not ten yards away.

Aislin's captor actually laughed at the sight of the dwarf, barely more than half his own height. With the chaos of the assault echoing around them, he unceremoniously dropped Aislin to the ground and spread his hands wide.

"Come at me, half-man," he dared in a thick accent, clearly waiting to see what his opponent could challenge him with.

"Well, that makes it easy," Gordon grunted, reaching into his longcoat and withdrawing a small metal pipe no more than a foot in length, with a handle attached to the back end. Holding it in one hand, he pointed it at the warrior and was suddenly obscured by smoke, as a deafening blast erupted. Aislin screamed and reflexively covered her ears, yet when she looked up, the huge warrior was clutching his belly and lurching to one side.

He collapsed to the ground with blood flowing from between his fingers and a look of astonishment on his face. The smoke cleared and Gordon rushed forward, taking Aislin by the hand, and pulling her away from danger. They took shelter in a small stand of shrubs down a narrow street, where their small stature allowed them to hide from the eyes of the enemy horde. Hidden as they were, they still bore witness to the chaos taking place before them.

"Just stay low, and quiet," Gordon advised while he poured something into the metal pipe. Despite his calm voice, his hands were shaking as he fidgeted with the strange weapon. Aislin's heart hammered in her chest and she clutched Sliver's hilt with white-knuckled tension.

Further down the main street, she watched as half a dozen warriors rushed towards the town's north gate, passing directly by the inn along the way. Like many of the town's residents, Aislin's father and Captain Ellis had emerged from the front entrance when the trouble started, and found themselves facing the approaching savages.

Tom carried his trusty hardwood club, while the captain held a short sword in one hand, and in spite of their infirmity they held their ground against the oncoming assault. Aislin briefly screamed at the sight of her father's peril, catching herself too late to remain quiet. Even while he struggled against his foes, Tom looked in her direction and locked eyes with his little girl, peering out of the bushes in her amber dress.

"Get her out of here!" he bellowed before he and Ellis disappeared behind a sea of enemies. Aislin would have stood there, frozen in place, had it not been for Gordon.

"Run!" he roared, grabbing her by the hand and half-dragging her away from the battle. With tears streaming, she stumbled along through the chaos, weaving around obstacles as Gordon attempted to find their way to safety.

The scenes around her were a blur of fragmented sights and sounds. The screaming of people running for their lives, the roar of their enemies rushing into town, the sight of the archers bravely holding them back so others could flee. Few of them seemed to notice two small people threading through the melee, and when one of the warriors did, Gordon dropped him with one shot from his noisy weapon.

They took shelter behind a wagon in the southern part of town to catch their breath. Gordon poured more of the fine black powder from a hardened leather pouch, and crammed it into the pipe with a small stick. In the distance, the sound of a small blast similar to his weapon echoed through the town.

"Jock's still out there," Gordon grunted while surveying their surroundings. "They may have taken the east gate, but it doesn't look like they've hit the south one yet. That's our way out."

"I... I can't go, I can't leave them," Aislin weakly protested, realising Gordon was trying to take her away from her home.

"Aislin, wake up," he snapped, "there's nothin' we can do here. The town has already fallen. Yer father wanted you out of harm's way and that's what I'm—" He went quiet, and held a finger up to signal for silence as a small group of armed warriors headed in their direction. Gordon held his weapon at the ready, though if they were discovered, Aislin knew it wouldn't be enough to save them.

The clash of weapons was still going on not far away, and tense moments passed as the patrol hurried further into town.

"That was close," Gordon remarked as they took in deep breaths. "I guess they're late for the party. Come on, we need to keep moving." Gordon led her further away from the fighting and deep down, she realised there was nothing she could do to stop the invasion or save the townsfolk.

They moved from cover to cover, mostly in the form of shrubs and piles of chopped wood, though sometimes, a small house with a low wall provided enough for them to sneak past. Gordon was taking the long route to the south gate, avoiding detection as much as possible. Bracksford's southern wall loomed nearby and before long, they were creeping along it, heading for the gate itself.

This area of town consisted mostly of a few small fields of freshly planted vegetables and more bushes, which allowed them to get within twenty yards of the south gate. Gordon whispered a sharp word in his native language as he looked over the scene, and given what she could see, Aislin assumed it wasn't a nice word.

Six tall men clad in rough leathers were standing near the gate, with the unmoving bodies of several guards lying nearby. The appeared to be securing the area, for they made no move to open the gate itself.

"They're waitin' fer stragglers to try and get out," Gordon muttered to Aislin. "There's too many to take on by meself, and I don't know another way out."

"Can't you use that noisy pipe of yours?" Aislin whispered.

"I might get one, sure," he responded, "then it takes me a while to reload, and you may have noticed it's not exactly quiet, so it's sure to attract attention."

Though still distressed, Aislin's mind was becoming more focused on survival, for it was clear the only way to save the town was to escape and bring help. A distraction was exactly what they needed, though she was unsure how his weapon worked, and knew only that it was the key to their escape.

"Can you make that thing shoot from somewhere else?" she asked in a hushed voice. "They'll probably rush over to look, and we can get past them." Gordon stroked his plaited beard in thought, then felt around on the ground until he produced a fist-sized rock.

"When I give the signal, throw this rock in that direction," he instructed, handing her the rock. She nodded in understanding and he crept around her, moving through the brush as quietly as he could manage. From his longcoat, he produced the hardened leather pouch with which he left a trail of the fine, black powder on the ground.

He was heading toward other bushes about twenty yards away, though he stopped before he left the safety of cover. Gordon made a quick gesture with one hand, the signal Aislin had been waiting for. She hurled the rock as hard as she could, watching as it sailed through the air and clattered off something hard on the other side of the road.

The tall warriors turned as one to look in the direction of the noise, and Gordon made use of the diversion to continue across the field to his destination, before hurrying back to Aislin's position without being seen.

"A fine throw," he congratulated her quietly, picking up some fallen branches from the ground, and covering both of them until they were practically invisible. "There's going to be a loud noise, and when they go past to look, we're rushing to the gate and getting out of here, understood?" Aislin nodded, and Gordon drew his weapon and carefully tapped out the contents of the barrel into one hand. He then held the weapon against the trail of fine powder on the ground.

With a pull of the trigger, a metal clasp snapped on the back of the weapon and the powder ignited, sending a fire sputtering along the trail. Gordon reloaded the powder and a small pellet, while the fire made its way across the open space. Aislin covered her ears in anticipation, and when the sputtering flame reached the trees, a thunderous explosion erupted.

The force of the blast was such that Aislin felt it on her chest from twenty yards away. The bushes at the centre of the explosion were flattened, and a fire broke out amongst the debris. Gordon's eyes bulged in surprise at the result of his efforts, and they turned to see how the invaders would react. To Aislin's astonishment, the six men had dropped their weapons and ran in the other direction, abandoning their post completely.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, though I'll not question the results," Gordon shrugged. "Come on!" Together they burst out of cover and rushed for the gate. Gordon lifted the bar and pushed it wide open, allowing them to pass through. Within moments, they were outside and running for the southern hills, with the sounds of the town in turmoil fading behind them. Aislin tried to push away thoughts of the people of Bracksford stuck in the middle of the invasion and focused on keeping up with Gordon.

Though his stumpy legs limited his speed, Aislin's dress slowed her down. It was confining in all the wrong places, and she tripped and fell flat on her face more than once, though Gordon had the good grace to drop back and help her up.

"Ye picked a hell of a time to dress all fancy," he muttered, leading them away from the road and into the wilds. Aislin was too out of breath, too emotional and too overwhelmed to answer, though after a few minutes she raised a matter of some concern.

"Where are we going?"

"Away from town, as far as we can afore sundown," Gordon answered. "I figure we'll hide up some place nearby and figure out our next move from there."

"There's a cave not far from here," she pointed out, noticing familiar terrain around them. "I haven't been there for a few years, but I remember from playing around here when I was young."

"Any hints would be welcome," Gordon grunted, searching around for signs of what she described. Aislin was at a loss for words, though she was certain they were in the general area. She took the lead, weaving through the trees and scanning the terrain for familiar landmarks. Eventually, she recognised a gnarled old tree at the edge of a small clearing in the foothills and not far beyond, the ground rose sharply.

"This is it," she whispered, exhausted and wrung-out from the afternoon. Gordon, weapon in hand, carefully looked around the area for signs of danger before moving forward.

"Aye, I see it," he remarked, heading for a rugged cleft in the side of the hill. From this angle it was almost invisible amongst the foliage, but once closer in, a gaping tear in the earth became apparent. The entrance was two yards across and just shy of five feet in height. "How deep is it?" Gordon asked as he went in, his voice echoing along the exposed stone.

"Just a few yards," Aislin responded weakly. She staggered forward, barely able to keep moving. Gordon disappeared into the cave for a few moments, then emerged and gestured for Aislin to follow.

"It'll do nicely," he declared, sheathing his weapon and all but collapsing against the far wall. Aislin hobbled over and joined him, shaking like a leaf, and barely able to think. The two of them sat there in the peace and quiet of the cave, simply catching their breath and allowing the adrenaline fade away.

"We abandoned them," Aislin whispered, turning to look Gordon in the eye. "We left them to die."

"Ya don't know that, lass," he answered firmly. "There were dozens of the finest archers in the kingdom in town at the time. I'm not saying they won that fight, but I reckon it were a lot harder than those raiders figured on. Don't ye feel guilty though — a battle is no place fer children, and there was naught we could've done, save gotten underfoot. Yer father wanted ye gone, and I felt obliged to get you clear. He's a good man, yer father, and a good friend. I hope we get so see him again soon."

With that, the floodgates opened. Aislin leaned her head against his shoulder and cried in tearing, ragged sobs. Gordon patted her awkwardly on the head, though he needn't have done anything beyond simply being there for her at that moment. By the time she was all cried out, the light was beginning to fade from the sky, and she curled up on the rough floor of the cave, too tired to move, yet too worried to sleep. Gordon stood and took off his longcoat, then draped it over her as a blanket to keep her warm.

"I don't dare light a fire, in case we're spotted," he explained. "Their sheer numbers suggest it's not just Bracksford they're hittin', and I canna take the risk they're moving through the hills. The Akorans are decent trackers too, and coverin' our tracks was the last thing on me mind. Don't worry, though, I'm not plannin' on sleepin' tonight and if anything moves out there, I'll shoot first and ask their name later. You'll probably hear when that happens."

Aislin didn't react to the weak attempt at humour, but she nodded in thanks. It was unlikely she'd get any sleep that night, and settled for wrapping herself tightly in the longcoat, while keeping an eye out for trouble. Gordon stood vigil at near the entrance, stoically watching with eyes accustomed to seeing in the dark, while somewhere in the distance, Bracksford's fate remained unknown.

8

### Tracks

Aislin woke with a start, having evidently drifted off sometime during the night. Her back was sore from sleeping on the cold, hard ground, and her eyes felt as though they were filled with sand. The air was moist and cool, and the sound of bird calls filled the spring air, a scene of natural beauty standing in stark contrast to the horrors of the previous day. Nearby, Gordon was still on guard, sitting on a large rock and watching light from the new day filtering in through the cave entrance.

"Morning," Aislin greeted him with a dry voice.

"Mornin' lass," Gordon answered tiredly. "Glad to see you got a few hours' sleep."

"Did you stay up all night?"

"Aye," Gordon confirmed with a nod, "though I walked about a bit to keep from getting a sore backside."

"You must have been cold."

"Nothing I couldn't deal with," Gordon replied. Aislin yawned and stretched, then shuffled over to plonk down next to him on the rock, feeling completely drained after the previous day's events.

"It's quiet," she remarked, squinting as she looked into the bright daylight. "It's almost like yesterday was a bad dream. I wonder if anyone else got away."

"I reckon so," Gordon assured her, though by the way he toyed with the metal pipe in his hands, Aislin could tell he was as worried for his cousin as she was for her father, and indeed, all of her friends in town.

"So that's your secret weapon," she remarked to change the topic. "It's very loud. Is it magic?"

"It might seem like it, but it's really just clever design," Gordon answered. "Well, that and a lot of luck. One of me kin, a miner who lived and worked deep in the mountains of Stonegaard, stumbled across deposits of these minerals that, when mixed together, exploded. We thought it was just a pocket o' gas at first, but after some experimentation I was able to recreate the combination. Too late for me cousin, but at least he died doin' what he loved."

"When it's done right, it's a fine black powder that goes up like nobody's business when ye light the stuff. I kept the formula a secret, and with some help from me cousin Jock, we designed a way to put it to use. Was a bit crude really, just barrels o' powder we'd hurl from a catapult, but it sure made an impact when it landed. Helped win the Battle of Fort Highmarch a few years ago, and after that I worked with a contact out west to make it into a proper weapon."

"Jock called it a cannon, dwarven for 'big tube', much bigger than this little thing," Gordon continued, gesturing at the metal pipe in his hand. "Needed a horse and cart to move it. Made some good money during the war and helped end the fighting, then I designed some smaller versions like this one fer personal use. We just called 'em 'fire armaments' or firearms fer short. I hoped to make a lot of sales but frankly, not many in this neck of the woods are interested."

"So, not magic then," Aislin answered with a glazed expression.

"Sorry, that answer sort of got away from me," Gordon chuckled ruefully.

"It's okay. Is there a problem with that thing?" she asked, nodding to the firearm. "You seemed a bit worried." Gordon looked at her shrewdly and seemed to hesitate before answering.

"'I've only one shot left," he finally admitted. "That big explosion yesterday? That took all the powder I had on me. I wasn't going to say anything in case I worried ya, but ye deserve to know. I had more back in me wagon in town, though it doesn't do me much good out here."

"We're in a bit of a fix, aren't we," Aislin remarked sadly. "I don't suppose you have any food on you? Or something to drink?"

"Nay, I wasn't exactly plannin' on camping in the woods, lass," Gordon explained ruefully. "If we want breakfast, we'll have to forage for it."

"Do you have a plan?" Aislin inquired. "Are we just going to hide here until help arrives, or move on?"

"I've been ponderin' that question all night," Gordon explained. "Here, we're safe, though our supplies are low."

"Non-existent, actually," Aislin pointed out.

"Right, well, we could try making a run fer Fort Highmarch, but it's two days south through the mountains, and we've no way o' knowin' if it's safe to move. There might be Akoran patrols all around the area for all we know. I think we should probably—"

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as they heard the distinctive sound of horse's hooves thudding on the damp ground. Aislin's heart started to race as she and Gordon crouched behind the rock and peered around its edge to see who approached.

The small clearing was less than a dozen yards across, with dense trees surrounding the area. From the foliage emerged a huge figure, easily eight feet in height, with immense shoulders and limbs like tree trunks. He wore a battered longcoat with its hood pulled over his head, and after observing him for a few moments, it appeared his arms were tied behind his back.

Immediately behind him came a familiar black horse, which pranced into the clearing with practiced grace. Upon its back, holding the rope to which the large man was tied was Madelyn, her long hair flowing in the breeze behind her. They didn't appear to have noticed the cave, and their direction indicated they would pass right by and back into the woods. Aislin was so relieved to see her she called out to Madelyn without giving it another thought.

The rider and her prisoner turned sharply to look at the source of the call, while Gordon gave Aislin a reproachful look.

"Did you have to get her involved?" he whispered as Madelyn turned the horse in their direction and prodded her prisoner forward. Aislin ignored Gordon and emerged from hiding, standing near the cave entrance to reveal her identity.

"You," Madelyn stated with a distinct lack of warmth. "Of all the people I should run into, you would be my least favourite."

"It's nice to see you as well," Aislin replied sullenly, naively hoping the events of the previous day might have shaken Madelyn's haughty attitude. She brought her horse to a stop and yanked on the rope, to indicate her prisoner should do the same. From here, Aislin could see his face bore a long scar from brow to lip, marring his olive skin.

Large, emotionless amber eyes looked back at her from beneath his hood, and if he was irritated at Madelyn's prodding, he didn't show it. Aislin felt genuine fear at his hulking presence, for he was far larger than any of the other Akoran men who had invaded the town.

"Who's yer big friend?" Gordon asked warily, emerging from the cave as Madelyn climbed down from her horse, and drew her rapier from its sheath.

"You too?" she remarked, holding its point steady on the giant man's back to remind him who was in charge. "This woodland is positively teeming with tiny people today. As to your question," she added, drawing the rope tight and nudging her captive forward, "I caught him near my camp this morning, to the south-east of Bracksford. He's obviously one of the Akoran raiders who assailed your town yesterday. He thought I was sleeping, but I soon disabused him of the notion, and took him captive."

"I am not of Akora," the big man rumbled in halting aielish. Madelyn was not impressed and gave him a sharp poke with her sword.

"What did I say about speaking?" she asked without expecting an answer, though his expression revealed to Aislin he was more exasperated than he had first appeared. "Just for that, you can lie face-down in the dirt while I have breakfast. I say, this is a nice little cave you two have. I'm going to borrow it for a while." With a subtle poke, she nudged her captive towards the entrance, with Gordon and Aislin keeping well clear to let them pass.

The giant man had to stoop to fit inside, and it wasn't difficult for Madelyn to force him onto his knees and from there, flat onto his chest. She planted one of her boots on the back of his neck and forced his face into the cold dirt on the cave floor, then set about securing the rope around his legs so he couldn't escape. He grunted something unintelligible into the floor, which Madelyn was having none of.

"Hush," she harshly advised, pushing harder on his neck to keep him quiet.

"What are you going to do with him?" Aislin asked, finding her treatment of the man uncomfortable to watch.

"He's part of an enemy force which just invaded our kingdom," she explained while finishing off the knot. "I am delivering him to Fort Highmarch, where the Kingdom Guard can interrogate him for vital information before marching on Bracksford."

"That'll turn the town into a war zone," Gordon grimly pointed out.

"They already turned it into a war zone," Madelyn contested. "The Akora knew exactly what they were starting when they embarked upon this course of action, and it's up to our military to set things right."

The conversation paused as Madelyn, satisfied her captive wasn't going anywhere, returned to her horse, and opened one of the saddlebags to produce a water skin, bread and cheese. She took a long swig from the skin as Aislin, her throat parched, looked on in silent longing.

"We've no food or water," Gordon mentioned as he also watched Madelyn drink her fill. She glanced at them in surprise, then tossed the skin over.

"I suppose you were lucky to get out of there with the clothes on your back, so I'll not fault you for being unprepared," she drawled. "Still, I find your sudden need for my assistance deliciously ironic. From town pariah to saviour in one day, I'm sure that's some kind of record." Gordon handed the water skin to Aislin, who gratefully drank half of its contents before giving it back. Madelyn sauntered over to her with half a loaf of bread and some cheese, offering it to Aislin before snatching it back when she reached for it.

"This doesn't change anything between us," Madelyn remarked. "Don't mistake charity with forgiveness."

"Is this really the time or place?" Gordon growled at her.

"Of course not, but we need to know where we stand," Madelyn responded, finally handing over the food.

"Thank you," Aislin offered, remembering her manners despite the continuing feud. She sat on a fallen log and tore into the bread, more grateful than she'd let on, for her stomach had been growling with hunger all night.

"So," Gordon asked Madelyn with his mouth full, "how did ya end up out here anyway?"

"I was just about ready to leave when the attack on the town began," she answered, eating her breakfast in dainty little bites. "Unfortunately, by the time I reached it, the north gate was closed and I had little recourse save to find another way out. I rode through the town, avoiding danger as best I could, though I managed to skewer one of the brutes on my way through."

"I thought I was going to remain trapped in town and taken captive, along with everyone else," she continued thoughtfully, "until I noticed the south gate was unguarded and open. So, I rode through the gate and away from the road to hide in the woods."

"We're the ones who opened that gate," Aislin pointed out.

"Yeah, yer welcome," Gordon added. "Did ya see anyone else get out?"

"Regrettably no," Madelyn sighed. "I only made it out because I was on horseback, and I presume you survived because you kept a low profile."

"Gettin' a little sick of the short jokes," Gordon muttered dangerously.

"Point taken. Suffice it to say, the sheer number of invaders pouring in through the east gate leaves little doubt in my mind as to the final outcome. The town is lost, and we may well be the only people to escape with our lives." Aislin couldn't help but feel a dark cloud of despair descend over her, at the prospect of losing everything she held dear in her life.

"Something wrong?" Madelyn inquired as Aislin set aside her food.

"I'm not hungry," she murmured, feeling the need to be away from the others for a few moments of quiet in the woods. The other two continued talking about the situation, though Aislin was barely listening, preoccupied as she was with the plight of the townsfolk still trapped in Bracksford.

"It's rather simple, when you think about it," Madelyn was saying nearby. "Over the last two centuries, our kingdom gradually seized more and more of the Akoran lands, until all they had remaining was the least valuable land in the south-eastern mountains. They've harboured a grudge against us ever since, and seek to exact revenge and reclaim territory. The kingdom is still recovering from the war, and it's the perfect time to strike."

"Yer queen won't stand for it," Gordon responded. "Aielund may be weak, but yer army is still a match for the entire Akoran nation. They have to know there'll be a response to take back the town."

"I don't pretend to understand the motives of savages," Madelyn remarked. "I should like to extract some information from my captive, but I suspect the fort has professionals for that sort of thing. We should all head there immediately."

While standing amongst the trees, Aislin noticed Madelyn's horse had left deep tracks in the soft earth, clearly visible in the bright daylight and leading back from where she'd travelled — like an arrow in the ground. Suddenly feeling nervous, the woods around Aislin took on a new, more dangerous demeanour.

"Were you followed?" Aislin interrupted as she returned to the clearing.

"I didn't see anyone, though I will confess it's difficult to hide one's trail while riding a horse," Madelyn answered. The snapping of a twig from somewhere in the nearby trees made Aislin almost jump out of her shoes. She rushed back to the cave entrance as the other two stood in alarm, then followed her inside and took refuge.

"Utter one single noise and I'll slit your throat," Madelyn whispered to the big man, still lying on the cave floor. He held still and kept silent while they listened for movement amongst the sounds of nature. Aislin's heart pounded in her chest when she noticed the distinctive shapes of figures moving through the trees, only a few yards from the perimeter of the clearing. She pointed her finger in their direction for Gordon to see.

"Two, no three of them moving to block the cave entrance," Gordon whispered. "You led them right to us."

"I hadn't planned on stopping until you spoke up," Madelyn protested, from her position against the wall next to the entrance. She risked a glance around the corner, and was forced to quickly pull her head in as a pair of arrows shot through the entrance and clinked off the stone wall behind them.

"Blast, they're on to us," Madelyn spat, drawing her rapier with one gloved hand.

"Of course they are, they can see yer bloody horse right out the front!" Gordon retorted. The approaching of pounding footsteps accompanied Madelyn's horse snorting in fear. She poked her head around the corner for another fleeting look.

"Those bloody thieves are stealing Meadowyn!" she cried as more arrows shot through the gap. "Stay behind cover," she instructed Aislin. "I have enough to worry about already without you scampering underfoot. Gordon, please tell me you're armed with more than a metal stick."

"Yes and no," came his cryptic response, eliciting a look of scathing impatience from Madelyn. "It's a weapon, but I've only one shot left," he added.

"Then make it count," Madelyn advised in a quivering voice as a shadow loomed in the entrance to the cave. From her position, Aislin could see directly out into the woods, though the gap was barely wide enough to accommodate two people. The rock she and Gordon were hiding behind wasn't quite big enough for both of them, so with Sliver held tightly in one hand, Aislin dashed across to the wall near where Madelyn's bound captive was writhing around, trying to see what was going on.

Two men entered the cave with little hesitation on their part, confident they could face whoever lurked within. As soon as the first warrior came into view, Madelyn, her back flat against the wall, drove the point of her rapier deep into his side. As he roared in pain and clutched the wound, she brought her leg up and kicked his knee out from under him, forcing him to stumble into his comrade who was attempting to push through from the other side.

Her blade free of its first victim, the other warrior couldn't bring his small axe to bear with his comrade leaning heavily against him, so Madelyn rushed forward and slashed him across the chest. She took full advantage of her position, running him through with her blade before pulling back to hide against the wall.

Aislin cringed at the violence, yet was also astonished by Madelyn's apparent skill with the blade. She watched with renewed confidence as the two warriors, grievously wounded as they were, struggled to pull back from the cave. Harsh words were exchanged in their native tongue with the others who'd remained outside.

"We're not out of this yet," Gordon muttered, having the best view of the scene beyond the cave.

"How many more?" Madelyn asked.

"At least six," Gordon advised.

"Six? Earlier you said there were three!" Madelyn snapped.

"It's a narrow cave lass, I canna see everythin'," Gordon informed her with a bare minimum of civility. They had no further time to argue as three bulky men barged into the cave, this time with a measure of caution. Their lead man held a round wooden shield at the ready, and managed to deflect Madelyn's quick strike.

The three warriors pushed forward, bellowing loudly and swinging their hatchets at her, only to find the agile girl able to pivot and parry away all of their attacks. Yet, for all her skill, Madelyn was unable to find the opportunity to land a strike on the Akorans, and was pushed further back into the cave. Gordon poked his head out from behind the rock, only to be forced back down as an arrow missed by a narrow margin.

Precious seconds went by with Madelyn struggling to avoid being hit, yet unable to hold so many at bay. An Akoran hatchet slashed at her jacket, tearing the leather and the frilly blouse beneath, and leaving a line of blood trickling down her arm. Gordon, throwing caution to the wind, stepped from behind the rock with his firearm pointing at the nearest opponent, only a few feet away. Knowing what was to come, Aislin clapped her hands over her ears as the weapon went off.

The noise in the small cave was still deafening and probably did more to disrupt the fight than the firearm itself. All three warriors bellowed in pain, clutching at their heads as one of them fell to his knees and collapsed, with blood flowing from a mortal wound.

Madelyn, grimacing in pain almost as much as her enemies, took advantage of the distraction by running her sword through the one carrying the shield, and pivoted to kick the last of the three in the face. Surprised at the sudden turn in fortune, he stumbled out of the cave, giving the defenders a moment to catch their breath.

"What on earth is that thing?" Madelyn blurted, gesturing to the smoking weapon in Gordon's hand.

"Empty," he lamented, drawing a small knife and returning to his place behind the rock.

"You're hurt," Aislin said to Madelyn, who carefully dabbed at her wounded shoulder.

"Those damned savages have no idea how expensive this jacket was," she muttered, evidently unperturbed by her injury.

"Three more," Gordon warned, drawing a sigh of exasperation and fear from her. As she raised her rapier and prepared to fight once more, Aislin heard a deep whisper from behind.

"Hey," the huge captive hissed in his thick accent. "Little girl. I am friend. Untie!" Aislin eyed him warily, still in fear of the immense stranger and afraid of what he could do if he in fact, turned out to be allied with their attackers.

Aislin shook her head and focused on the fight as three more Akorans piled into the cave, hell-bent on killing or capturing them all. Without Gordon's support, Madelyn was forced to fend for herself against opponents who towered over her. Her sword flashed and whirled as they tried to simply rush in and slam her against the wall.

She cut one across the front of his tunic then, with an astonishing display of reflexes, performed an aerial cartwheel to land on her feet like a cat. The Akorans ran headlong into the stone wall behind her, though not hard enough to do significant damage. Madelyn slashed at the nearest man, cutting through his tunic and drawing blood.

During their charge they had come close to Aislin, who skittered backwards on the cave floor to keep her distance from the marauding savages. Their attention was fully fixated on Madelyn, who wouldn't hold still long enough for them to land a proper hit, and with their backs turned once more to Aislin, she knew this was her time to act.

Despite her best efforts, she still could not bring herself to stab someone in the back, but without her help, Madelyn was surely doomed as the three men bore down on her with their huge wooden clubs. Even so, Aislin's arm remained by her side, something within her rebelling at the thought of taking a life, even at the risk to herself and the others.

"I help," their captive insisted once more. "Free me!" Aislin was still uncertain and continued watching the fight, hoping Madelyn could win in spite of the odds. Unfortunately, the wild swings of the warriors had pushed her close to the entrance, and Aislin gasped as she watched an arrow fly in from outside and embed itself into her side.

Her mouth wide with shock, Madelyn faltered and fell, struggling to keep her blade up to fend off attacks. Gordon, armed only with his small knife, emerged from behind the rock and slashed back and forth, providing little more than a distraction to the towering warriors. Aislin's time was up — she had to act or lose everything, including their lives. She gripped Sliver tightly in her shaking hands and made a decision. With a series of swift strokes, she severed the rope holding their captive in place.

Freed from his bonds, the gigantic man sprang to his feet faster than Aislin thought possible and charged into the fray. Although unarmed, his hands were massive, and with them he took hold of the closest Akoran and tossed him into the nearby wall as if he weighed nothing.

The other two turned from Madelyn to confront a man who, in this cramped space, loomed large over them. One of them swung his club at their new opponent, only to have his arm grasped and his weapon ripped out of his hand. Behind them, Madelyn, who was slumped against the wall clutching her side, cried in pain as she was shot with another arrow from outside the cave.

Their new ally was struck with a club from the other Akoran, but the blow seemed to bounce off with little effect. In response, the giant hefted his newly-acquired weapon and swung it towards his attacker, whose expression indicated he knew what was coming. Aislin averted her gaze from the inevitable impact, leaving the last remaining warrior to quickly join his comrades in the realm beyond life, as their huge saviour stormed out through the cave entrance to chase down the archer.

Aislin, her heart still pounding in her chest, gingerly picked her way across the cave floor and crouched beside Madelyn, who clutched at the two arrows gruesomely sticking out of the side of her body with her breath coming in short gasps.

"Don't move," Gordon advised, gently moving Aislin aside as he stepped in to examine the two arrow wounds.

"I'm glad you said that," Madelyn answered in a voice laced with pain, "because I was about to go dancing."

"Don't speak either," Gordon added, in no mood for humour. Aislin heard the sound of a brief struggle outside as their big friend took care of the last of the Akoran marauders amongst the trees.

"You were a fool to free him," Madelyn breathed, looking at Aislin with accusation in her bright blue eyes. "He could just as easily have been working with those savages."

"But he wasn't," Aislin pointed out. "He just saved our lives." Instead of answering, Madelyn winced in pain as Gordon poked at the arrows.

"If I pull 'em out, ya might bleed to death," he muttered. "If I don't, ye'll probably bleed internally and be dead by morning."

"Oh, so I get to choose?" she asked, trying to laugh but failing miserably. Her face had turned deathly pale and sweat beaded on her brow. A shadow fell over the scene as the huge stranger returned to the cave, carrying a crude hunting bow taken from one of their assailants. He carefully knelt beside Madelyn and after one look at the injury, turned to the others.

"Must remove arrows," he rumbled. "Might bleed out, but will die either way. Do not watch."

"You're not laying one hand on me you—" Madelyn hissed, interrupted as he did just that. Taking his advice, Aislin averted her gaze and winced in sympathy as Madelyn cried out in pain, then went limp as she passed out. The big man gently wrapped some cloth taken from a pouch on his belt around her waist, which quickly turned red.

"No more can be done," rumbled the big man. "Needs proper treatment if she is to live."

"I don't have any, and I don't know of any priests o' the healing arts around these parts either," Gordon pointed out. "I hate to say it, but the real question is, do we stay here trying to keep 'er alive, or get out o' here before their mates show up and finish what they started?"

"We can't just leave her like this," Aislin protested. "She fought to save us all."

"From people who followed 'er here 'cause of 'er mistake," Gordon made clear. "'er horse was taken, Aislin. We've no food or medicines here."

"Then we need to find some more, and I know where to find both," Aislin responded.

"You're jokin'," Gordon groaned as he realised what she was talking about. "The place is crawlin' with men what like we just fought. Use yer 'ead, girl!"

"I missing something," the big man remarked.

"We have to go back to Bracksford," Aislin explained heavily, fully aware of what she was proposing. "I can return with Jaz — she knows how to mend people, or at least I can find some of her salve if she's..." her voice trailed off at the thought of Jaz's death. "I can get food, too — nobody knows Bracksford like I do."

"How do ya plan to get past the guards?" Gordon asked, not giving up on his argument for sanity.

"We go at night. I know a way in they'll never spot."

"You have heart, little girl," the big man rumbled. "I am Carthack. I will help."

"Ye'll never sneak in there being that tall," Gordon grumbled. "I will get 'er there. Yer a better choice to stay here and keep Madelyn alive."

"As you wish," Carthack agreed after a moment's thought.

"If I may ask," Gordon said to him, "why'd ya help us?"

"You needed it," came the simple reply. "Make plan for raid, I will watch her."

"It's straightforward," Gordon said as he picked up a hatchet the Akoran warriors weren't using anymore. "We wait for dusk, then move out. I can see fine at night, just like all me people, so I'll guide ye in. Now, go hide nearby while Carthack and I deal with these bodies, lass." Aislin nodded in understanding, then looked down at the unconscious girl whose life hung in the balance. She might be a pain in the backside, but she didn't deserve to die like this — Aislin wasn't going to let that happen.

9

### Raid

There were many hours left in the day before sunset, and Gordon insisted they use all of them to prepare for the evening raid on Bracksford. Aislin drew the layout of the inn and stable, the general layout of the town, in the dirt with one finger. She pointed out where to find the supplies she'd need, and where Jaz might have left her medicines. She also explained the gap in the western wall that would provide access, though Gordon wasn't happy about it.

"Sounds like I won't be able to come through with ya," he muttered. "Yer gonna have to do this on yer own."

"I'm small and quiet," Aislin pointed out. "I know where I'm going, and all the places I can hide. They'll never see or hear me."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about bein' stuck on the wrong side o' the wall," Gordon remarked. Madelyn, having been unconscious for most of the morning, moaned in pain, reminding them of what was at stake.

"We may not be able to help anyone in town," Aislin whispered, "but we can keep one person alive at least." Gordon looked at her with a measure of respect, though he remained silent. From outside the cave came the sound of approaching footsteps, indicating Carthack's return after he'd gone to cover all signs of the fight, including the remains of the Akoran warriors.

He said nothing as he stooped into the cave, and sat next to Madelyn to check on her injuries, though whether it was from his tenuous grasp on the language or out of concern for her well-being, Aislin couldn't tell. There was a tenderness to his movements that belied his massive bulk, something she found fascinating. She didn't have time to talk with him at the moment, yet any lingering doubts she had about leaving him with Madelyn were fading.

Before burying the bodies, Carthack had retrieved some useful pieces of equipment — a few fur-lined cloaks, most of which he used to keep Madelyn warm. He passed one over to Aislin, which she shortened with some careful cutting using Sliver's keen edge. Though it was a warm spring day outside for now, the evenings were still cold and her once-beautiful amber dress provided little protection against the elements. At least she had sensible boots on.

When the sun finally began to sink below the horizon, it was time to move. Aislin took a deep breath and checked to make sure Sliver was secure in its sheath by her side, then they bid Carthack farewell.

"If we're not back by mornin', we're probably not comin' back," Gordon informed him.

"I keep her alive 'til sunrise," Carthack responded in his broken speech. "After that..." he added, spreading his hands wide. Aislin took one last look at Madelyn's prone form to remind her of the stakes, then said goodbye to the big man, and followed Gordon into the woods.

The two of them retraced their steps from two days earlier, though with far more caution than last time. Carthack had reported no further signs of Akoran patrols near the cave, but Gordon wasn't taking any chances. As the light faded, his eyesight actually grew sharper, a legacy of his people's centuries-long love affair with mining deep within the earth. Only once did he call for a halt, and from the cover of some nearby trees they saw three men moving through the woods, oblivious to their presence.

It was well and truly dark by the time Bracksford's wall became visible through the trees, lit only by the light of the half-moon shining down through clear skies. Aislin drew her cloak around her a little more tightly to ward off the cool breeze drifting through the woods. The smell of wood smoke was in the air, hinting at people still alive within the town's walls.

"Nothin' on the outside o' the gate," Gordon whispered, "but I reckon they'll have plenty on the other side. The place is quiet, too. Not sure what I was expectin', but quiet wasn't it. Let's keep goin'."

Aislin followed him across the southern road, after which they moved north to approach the western side of town. Here, there was no gate, and little chance of running into guards, making it the perfect approach into town. Although she'd never taken this secret path at night, Aislin knew the area like the back of her hand and before long, the two of them crouched before the gap in the wall of logs.

"Yer right, I'm not gettin' through that," Gordon whispered as he looked upon the narrow passage. He poked his head through to peer into town for a moment, then withdrew. "The coast is clear. Are ya sure ye know what ya have to do?"

"I go to the stables first and retrieve your equipment," Aislin responded in a whisper. "Then I steal some supplies from the inn, if the way is clear. Then I'll creep around and see if I can find Jaz, or at least some of her salve. I'll see if I can find out what happened to everyone else while I'm in there."

"That's a lot for ye to take on," Gordon remarked. "Take it one task at a time. If it starts getting crowded in there, run fer it." Aislin nodded, then carefully squeezed through the gap into town. Her heart was pounding and her hands clammy as she looked around, hoping to spot any patrols in the dim moonlight. She took some comfort in the fact that anyone else walking around would have just as much trouble seeing her.

Now that she was inside the wall, Aislin could see warm candlelight shining from many of the houses and buildings in town, even if the street lanterns remained dark. The smell of smoke in the air was stronger here and she even detected a hint of hot food on the breeze that made her mouth water. She hadn't eaten since her short breakfast that morning, and her stomach growled hungrily at the tantalising aromas.

Aislin began sneaking through the undergrowth, making a beeline for the nearest house and being as careful as possible to avoid making any noise. Her boots were tough yet soft, allowing her to pick her way through the rough ground without tripping on any rocks or bushes. With all of her senses heightened, she heard the sound of heavy boots on the road nearby, and quickly dashed the final few yards to the house.

Crouching low, she crept to the edge of the house wall and peered around the corner. There, only yards away, were half a dozen burly men casually walking through town, speaking to each other in the same harsh language Aislin had heard earlier that day. She held perfectly still as they moved past, oblivious to her presence. Only once they were out of earshot did Aislin suck in a deep breath, unaware she'd stopped breathing.

With her hands shaking and her heart fluttering in her chest, she was about to move on when she heard a psst! from above. Turning around, Aislin saw a girl's head peering out of the house's window.

"Jodi?" she whispered, recognising her blonde locks in the candlelight coming from within.

"Aislin?" she responded. "How did you get out there?"

"I escaped when the attack began," Aislin explained, standing to bring her head closer to the tiny window, which had several planks of wood nailed across it to prevent people from getting out. She stood on the tips of her toes and peered through a gap, seeing a dozen other children crammed into the small room. "Is everyone alright? What about my dad?"

"He's with the adults, in one of the other houses," Jodi explained in a hushed voice. "I heard he was badly injured, but he's alive and being cared for." Aislin felt a rush of relief at this news, tempered with concern at hearing of his condition. "Can you get us out of here?" Jodi asked.

"I have nothing to remove these planks with," Aislin pointed out in dismay. "The people who invaded — do you know how many there are?"

"There's maybe a thousand of them," Jodi answered, fear evident in her voice. "They've set up a big camp in the middle of town, and there's guards on every building. They're holding us captive in our own town, you've got to help!"

"I'll do what I can," Aislin assured her. Despite their differences, she had no wish to see Jodi or anyone else hurt or held captive like this. Some things were more important than petty grudges. The sound of the patrol returning up the street caught Aislin's attention.

"I have to go," she whispered.

"Don't leave us here," Jodi whispered plaintively, but there was nothing more Aislin could do. With her heart breaking, she crouched low and crept around to the corner once more, and waited for the patrol to pass.

The brief encounter had given Aislin hope. Her father was alive, and she had learned there was an enemy encampment in the middle of town to avoid. If it was as large as Jodi had hinted, it was most likely set up on the field where the archery tournament had taken place.

Once the road was clear, she gathered her courage and headed for the inn. Since the front was most likely guarded, Aislin stuck to the west side of the road and moved from house to house, using their low stone walls and gardens as cover when needed. It was quite unnerving to move about in the dark and feel like an intruder in her home town.

Before long, the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn became visible, a welcome sight Aislin had thought she'd never see again. Not far away was the north gate to the town, and even from here she could hear what sounded like a dozen men on guard. Moving as carefully as she could, Aislin made her way to the entrance of the stables adjoining the inn. It was almost painful, moving this slowly while her heart pounded in her chest, yet soon enough she reached the outer wall of the inn and slipped into the stables without being detected.

Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, she noticed Gordon's wagon against the far wall, all but forgotten during the attack. Most of the stalls still contained horses, evidently well cared for and resting comfortably. From the back door of the inn came the sounds of quiet voices speaking in that same rough language, lending an alien quality to a place she knew so well.

After making sure the way was clear, Aislin went to the wagon and inspected its contents. Curiously, there were small metal pellets no larger than her thumb scattered over its floor, evidently from one of the bags that had been ripped open. Dim light glinted off three metal pipes lying within, two of which were sheathed in a long belt. The third was much longer, lying upon two backpacks.

Aislin carefully lifted them out one by one, draped them over her shoulder and hefted one of the bags. The pipes were heavy, and she couldn't have carried any more if she tried. With her stomach growling and her arms full, she crept across the stable floor and back to the road, following the same path she'd taken to get here on her return to the gap in the wall. Gordon was pleased to see her as she approached, puffing from the heavy load and the strain of having to move quietly.

"Well done, lass," he whispered, taking it off her hands and inspecting what she'd recovered.

"There's a lot of them walking around, so I'll find Jaz or some medicine next," Aislin advised, heading off immediately. She wasn't sure how much time they'd have before they were discovered, and she needed to make the most of the quiet evening.

Once she avoided the patrol, Aislin was clear to head back into the stables once more, though she narrowly avoided running into someone who had just exited the back of the inn. Aislin gasped and flattened herself against the wall, only yards from where warm lantern light was streaming from the doorway.

A woman wrapped in skins and furs emptied kitchen scraps in a pile, apparently oblivious to Aislin's presence, then headed back inside. Breathing deeply to still her racing heart, Aislin crept closer to the door, then peered around the corner to see if the way was clear. Judging by the dull murmuring of distant voices, the inn was packed with people. The chances of her being caught were greatly increased, yet she couldn't ignore the growling in her stomach, or the need for medicines to save Madelyn's life.

Summoning her courage, Aislin moved inside, her years of living in the old building allowing her to avoid the noisiest floorboards. The smell from the kitchens was driving her mad, and her stomach growled so loudly Aislin feared it would give her presence away. Despite the need to find Jaz, she couldn't resist going in for some food.

The kitchen was deserted at the moment, and from the sounds of it, most of the eating was taking place in the common room, around the fireplace. Aislin peered around the corner and took a quick glance at the people crowding the inn, and was surprised to see only women and small children quietly eating their food.

Unsure what to make of this, Aislin pulled back and headed for the small staircase at the back of the kitchen, which led down to the larder. Feeling dizzy from rushing blood and hunger, she almost stumbled on the last step before reaching the makeshift wooden door at the base of the steps.

She opened it and went inside, leaving it open to allow light inside the dark room. The shelves, once almost full of an assortment of food, had been stripped. Aislin went from shelf to shelf, looking for anything left over, yet it wasn't until she'd reached the back wall that she found what little food remained on a shelf, above some barrels of ale.

Loaves of bread, sausages, blocks of butter, cheese and bacon rashers were waiting to be taken, but first, she tore off a chunk of bread and stuffed it into her mouth. Aislin spent a few moments scoffing bread and chunks of cheese, then looked around for something to carry this bounty in. Finding an empty sack nearby, Aislin began stuffing the shelf's contents inside, including an old frying pan and some utensils for cooking.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs above hinted someone was coming down to the larder, so in near-panic, Aislin crouched behind one of the barrels and stayed perfectly still, Sliver held in one hand. She peeked through a gap, and saw a woman carrying a small candle descend the stairs and pause at the entrance, apparently puzzled by the open door.

The candle's light sent shadows careening across the room as she moved about looking for something in particular. Aislin held her breath, and hoped she would remain undetected, and she almost jumped out of her skin when she saw someone else's eyes glinting directly at her from the other end of the larder.

Aislin caught a glimpse of Jaz, crouched out of sight and looking back at her in silent surprise. Neither of them could move or speak, in case the woman holding the candle located them and raised an alarm. The woman slowly walked about, edging ever closer to Aislin's position and from her movements, it was clear she was searching the place for signs of intruders.

The sound of a cat meowing caught their attention a moment later, as Keg appeared in the doorway. The woman, having seen the cat, scolded him in her native tongue and shooed him back up the stairs. Muttering to herself, she grabbed a loaf of bread from the shelf right above Aislin's head, then headed for the door, closing it behind her as she ascended the stairs.

Aislin blew out a breath as the sound of footsteps faded away. She emerged from her hiding place with the sack of supplies in hand and tip-toed over to where she had seen Jaz.

"Aislin! I thought you'd been captured. What are you doing here?" Jaz exclaimed.

"I escaped during the attack," Aislin explained in a hushed voice. "I was about to go looking for you. We'll talk when we're safe. Come on, I know a secret way out of town."

Jaz nodded, and lowered the pair of goggles over her eyes, which Aislin remembered allowed the wearer to see in the dark. Aislin couldn't see much in the near total darkness, but she knew the layout of the room like the back of her hand. Cautiously, she cracked open the door and peered through the slit. Although she could hear a lot of activity, there was no sign of anyone near the larder stairs, so she crept forward with Jaz following closely behind.

Once at the top of the stairs, Aislin veered left and guided Jaz out to the stables, checking every few feet for the noise of approaching people. Surprisingly, Keg sat on his haunches in the middle of the stable, as if waiting for them. He trotted over to Aislin and rubbed affectionately against her leg, and overcome with emotion at the sight of her cat, she couldn't help but crouch down and give him a solid pat, finding a leather collar around his neck that hadn't been there before.

"Thanks for the distraction," she whispered, before heading out of the stables and along the road towards the secret gap. Once out in the dim moonlight, Aislin noticed Jaz was hefting a sack of supplies, and was wearing a heavy fur-lined coat that was far too big for her.

When they arrived without incident back at the gap, Aislin passed through the supplies before carefully squeezing through herself. Jaz was a little older than her but still quite small, and the only trouble she had was with the sheer size of her coat. Curiously, Keg had followed them and darted through her legs, while to Gordon's relief, they managed to pull Jaz through.

"I was startin' ta worry," he whispered. "Another few minutes and I was gonna try somethin' darin'."

"I was almost caught at the inn," Aislin remarked as she relaxed a little more. "Fortunately, Keg was looking out for me. We've got Jaz and her medicines, let's be on our way."

"Wait," Jaz interrupted as they were about to set off. "I don't have my satchel or any of my other gear."

"What?" Aislin blurted.

"It's all in my room upstairs," Jaz explained in equally hushed tones. "Once the inn was full, I couldn't get across the common room to the stairs without being seen."

"We really need that salve," Aislin explained with a sinking feeling in her chest. "Can you make more without your equipment?"

"I can, though I'll need to find supplies in the forest and then grind it all up with a rock or something. It'll be slow."

"She doesn't have that much time," Aislin remarked. "I'm going to have to go back."

"There's too many people, you'll never get past them all," Jaz protested.

"I have to try, or Madelyn is as good as dead," Aislin reminded them.

"I don't mean to be callous, but is she really worth risking yer life for?" Gordon pointed out.

"Just because I don't like her doesn't mean I want to see her die," Aislin answered, surprised he would say such a thing. "Wait here for ten more minutes. Just ten. If I'm not back, then I'm probably not coming back."

"Alright, I'm coming with you," Jaz said.

"I can move faster alone, and I know the place better than you," Aislin responded, which Jaz didn't seem happy about, but conceded the point.

"Fine, Keg will go along and help you instead," she said to the cat, who mewed and slipped back through the gap. "He can make a great distraction when you really need it."

"What?" Aislin asked with a perplexed frown.

"I'll tell you later," Jaz suggested. "Just trust him to help you out. If you're going to do this, crack on with it already." Aislin took a deep breath and, against her better judgement, squeezed through the gap once more.

The sound of distant talking from the centre of town had grown louder, hinting at some sort of meeting or celebration taking place. If anything, the noise would mask her movements all the better, so with her confidence holding steady, Aislin headed back to the inn. Keg was following along closely, silent and unnoticed. He was just a cat, but Aislin felt reassured by the presence of her furry friend.

Now in tune with the movement of the town patrols, Aislin moved from house, to fence to shrubbery and was soon back at the stables. After checking the way was clear, she told Keg to stay put and then made her move towards the doorway. Keg mewed and butted his head against her leg.

"Not now!" Aislin hissed while trying to remain focused on the doorway. Keg was insistent however, meowing and butting against her until he had her undivided attention. Then, he trotted over to one of the unoccupied stalls, pausing halfway to look back at her as though he wanted her to follow him. Aislin hesitated, wondering if she was really going to follow the directions of her cat, when so much hinged on her next few steps. Only then did she remember the way Keg had always been able to find his way onto the inn's roof, as if by magic.

"I can go in through the roof hatch," she whispered, half to herself and half to Keg. The cat mewed quietly and continued on to the stall, this time with Aislin hurrying along after him. He trotted into the dim recesses of the stable, and then sprang onto a rotting wooden crate.

From there, Keg leaped onto the fence, carefully walked along it until he was nearly out of sight, then sprang straight up and disappeared through the ceiling. Aislin peered through the concealed hole, which had been obscured by a load-bearing beam for many years. Following Keg's lead, she carefully stepped onto the old crate, and from there was able to climb onto the fence, which she crawled along until she reached the hole in the ceiling.

The gap was so narrow that Aislin had to remove her cloak in order to squeeze through. It took some effort, but she finally managed to climb the beam and poke her head through to the roof, where Keg was sitting patiently awaiting her arrival.

"You make it look easy," Aislin muttered as she pulled herself clear. Keg merely lashed his tail and watched as she wiped dirt from her dress, and carefully made her way across the tiled roof. When she reached the raised buttress and the hatch it contained, she paused for a moment to look over the town.

Aislin was astonished to see a mass of camp fires throughout the eastern half of the town. There were dozens of them, and from the spots of light they created, she saw hundreds of people milling about, drinking, talking and taking their ease. Aislin had hoped that if she, Gordon and the others made it to Fort Highmarch, they could rally support and bring help to retake the town. But the sheer number of Akorans occupying Bracksford made that idea seemed futile.

"We're going to need the whole army," she whispered to herself before returning her focus to the task at hand. She carefully opened the hatch and stepped inside, then climbed down the old ladder leading into what was now a closet space. It was pitch black, though there was a faint light coming through the crack under the door next to her.

Doing her best to ignore her racing heart, Aislin slowly turned the handle and peered into the hallway of the inn's upper floor. The sound of people talking downstairs was prominent, yet the rooms up here were quiet.

Entering into the hallway, Aislin crept along one careful step at a time, hearing the occasional cough or sneeze from within the rooms, ending any hope she had that they were empty. She arrived at what had been Jaz's room, and noted the lack of light from under the door. Aislin paused to listen for a few moments, though it was difficult to hear anything over the pounding of her heart.

Satisfied it was silent within, she turned the handle and opened the door, glad that Jock had gone around oiling hinges during his efforts to service the place. The only light she had to go by was that which came in through the door, yet it was enough to see Jaz's satchel in the far corner of the room. Unfortunately, the faint sound of snoring indicated the room was occupied.

Aislin froze at the noise, having missed it when she'd listened before entering. The person's breathing seemed even and regular, so they hadn't been woken up by the opening of the door. Seeing little alternative but to press ahead, Aislin quietly took a deep breath, and slowly tip-toed across the floor. The old wood creaked ever so slightly with each step, yet the person's breathing did not change.

Praying her luck would hold, Aislin inched closer to the satchel which was agonisingly close. A few moments later, it was within her grasp, and she felt around inside it to make sure Jaz's tools were still there. Satisfied, she slowly turned around to head back out when she glanced at the bed. Her eyes locked on those of an old woman, who stared at her from beneath the covers.

Aislin froze in place, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest, as she stood there in full view of the room's occupant. Then, the old woman loudly called out and although Aislin couldn't understand the words, her meaning was clear.

Aislin bolted for the door, all pretence of stealth gone as the sound of people rushing for the room echoed along the hall. She dashed down the corridor to the closet near the stairs, and heard from below the heavy thumping of booted feet closing in. Aislin took a hard left and slammed the closet door behind her, then rushed for the ladder. She draped the satchel over her shoulder and climbed as fast as she could, in near panic at the thought of being taken prisoner.

Aislin burst out of the roof hatch and almost toppled over in her rush to escape. Calls of alarm echoed throughout the inn below, and she had to fight the urge to run across the roof. If she kept quiet, they might not realise she'd already left the building. It took all the discipline she could muster to slowly walk back to the stables, where the gap in the roof beckoned.

She lowered her feet through the narrow opening and dropped down, feeling a sting of pain as a sharp part of the roof tore through her dress and cut her shoulder. Aislin ignored the wound and awkwardly shifted through the gap and once clear, she dropped into the stable and landed in a small pile of hay.

Clutching the precious satchel, Aislin hurried to the stall's gate, but before she reached it, she noticed a huge warrior standing in the middle of the stable, keeping watch for any sign of intruders. There was no other way out of here, for the gap between the roof and the fence would have been difficult even for a cat to squeeze through.

Feeling trapped, Aislin knew they would find her eventually. She had been so close to getting away with the burglary too, and felt a moment of remorse for Madelyn, who would be unlikely to survive without the medicine in the satchel. The sound of Keg mewing caught her attention. She crouched low and peered through the gap under the stall gate to see the big cat at the other end of the stables.

The guard glanced at him briefly, then returned to his vigil, unimpressed. Keg meowed louder and moved in closer, to no avail. The big man wasn't going to be easily distracted with word of an intruder lurking about. Aislin's brief hope of escape faded at the realisation, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Keg's ears flattened and he emitted a throaty growl, an impressive sound from a house cat. He began creeping closer, the fur on his back standing on end and a loud hiss coming from his fanged mouth. The guard, attention now firmly upon the hostile cat, shouted something at him and made a shooing motion with one hand.

Keg wasn't a small cat by any standard. Around three feet in length — not counting the tail — and weighing in at fifteen pounds, he was more than a match for any other animal in the area. So when he jumped on someone they certainly knew about it, which is exactly what happened to the unsuspecting guard.

He cried out in pain as Keg leaped forward and latched onto his leg, a furious ball of teeth and claws. The guard stumbled about, trying to dislodge the vicious tomcat with swipes of his hand, while Keg kept shifting about to avoid being hit. Aislin stared in open-mouthed astonishment for a moment, before realising this was her chance to escape.

She threw caution to the wind and burst through the gate, rushing past the guard and into the night. Aislin kept to the same path she'd taken on the way in, hoping the foliage and low walls would obscure her from view. With rising panic, she heard shouts from behind her as more guards were alerted to her presence, though she felt a measure of relief when she saw Keg bolt past her, also heading for the gap in the wall.

Aislin had never run so fast in her life. Only intimate knowledge of the area prevented her from becoming lost in the dim moonlight as she threaded her way around houses and walls. It sounded as though the entire town had awakened and she didn't dare turn to see if her pursuers were on her trail. She rushed by the house Jodi and the other children were being kept in and briefly heard shouts of encouragement from them as she bolted past.

It didn't take long for her to reach the wall, where she squeezed through as fast as she could, only to suddenly stop short of clearing the gap.

"Not now," Aislin cried as she realised her dress had become caught on some of the sharper pieces of wood. She tugged at it, hearing the pounding of approaching footsteps match the beating of her heart as she tried in vain to pull free.

Gordon and Jaz grabbed her arms, adding their strength to hers and with a great tearing sound she was free, albeit missing all of her dress beneath the knees.

"Go!" Gordon instructed, drawing one of his firearms and bringing up the rear as the girls with Keg in tow ran into the night.

10

### Carthack

It was well after midnight by the time Aislin, Jaz and Gordon stumbled back to the cave. They had alternated between hiding in the woods, and sprinting for cover when the way seemed clear, all the while conscious they were being hunted. Their only advantage had been Jaz and Gordon's ability to see in the dim moonlight, which had saved them from capture on two separate occasions.

Aislin had to borrow Jaz's goggles to locate the cave in the dark, and once inside, they collapsed to the ground to catch their breath. Keg plopped down next to Aislin, having kept up the entire way, apparently unwilling to stay behind.

"About bloody time," Madelyn remarked with a weak voice, evidently conscious, yet still lying on the floor where she'd been since Aislin and the others had left. Carthack crouched beside her, and a pile of blood-soaked bandages lay on the ground nearby.

"Don't ye start," Gordon grunted, setting his long firearm aside as he leaned his back against the wall. "I'll tell ya about our little excursion in the mornin'. Fer now, we'll just accept yer gratitude fer savin' yer life."

Jaz took that as her cue to get started, and reached into her satchel to produce a small candle, and the precious jar of salve. She touched the tip of the candle to a ring on her finger, and a small flame sparked to life, shedding a soft light throughout the cave.

"Your pardon, sir," she whispered to Carthack, "I need to sit there to treat your patient." He obliged, shifting his bulk enough for Jaz to sit cross-legged next to Madelyn, and examine the wound. Carthack found himself sitting next to Keg, and appeared startled by the large cat.

"What is wild animal doing here?" he whispered with one hand inching towards his club.

"That's my cat," Aislin explained wearily. "Don't worry, he won't bite."

"Haven't ya seen a cat before?" Gordon inquired with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Only larger ones in mountains," Carthack answered. "Very fierce."

"Mountain lions," Gordon supplied. "Aye, they're not to be trifled with, but not the same as what's sitting next to ya now. Don't worry mate, Ace'll keep ya safe from it." Aislin grinned faintly and ran a hand through Keg's fur, to show how safe he was.

Apparently unsatisfied with the demonstration, Carthack lumbered to the mouth of the cave, and took up the hunting bow to keep watch, while Jaz went about her work. Aislin's fingers ran over the collar around Keg's neck, and she noticed a small gemstone embedded into it, barely noticeable under his fur.

"Is this collar yours?" she asked Jaz, recalling she'd said something about it earlier that night.

"Do you remember the bracelet I recently showed you?" Jaz responded as she peeled away the bandage on Madelyn's side, causing Aislin to cringe and look away.

"The one that made you smarter?" she inquired, before suddenly realising what had happened. "Oh, you made Keg smart."

"A little," Jaz replied absently as she dabbed a cloth at the wound. "He can understand us when we speak, and he's better equipped to comprehend what's going on around him, but he won't be tackling advanced mathematics any time soon. To be honest, I don't recall reading about anyone putting one of those enchantments on an animal before, so I'm not entirely sure what to expect. Hold still!"

"It bloody hurts," Madelyn hissed as Jaz applied a handful of salve to the injury. Aislin avoided watching the scene, as there was more than a little blood on display. Instead, she looked into Keg's eyes, and saw a spark of comprehension in those golden orbs that hadn't been there before.

"Can you understand me, Keg?" she whispered, to which the cat mewed quietly. She smiled and gave him a good, solid hug as Jaz continued to treat Madelyn's wound.

"Why did you put this on him?" Aislin asked, feeling the long day's events catching up with her.

"I was trapped in my room with him when the attack began," Jaz explained absently as she worked. "I wanted to flee, but dare not risk being captured, so I popped that onto Keg and had him scout around for me. As I made my way downstairs, he was clever enough to act as a diversion, allowing me to sneak past the guards on the way through. I was so caught up in it all I'd forgotten to bring my satchel with me, and by then the inn was filled with Akorans. Poor wretches, they were starving."

"Were they now," Gordon remarked, clearly thinking some deep thoughts on the matter. Before long, Madelyn made a small sound, and Aislin turned to see a look of astonishment on her pale features.

"I can feel it working already," Madelyn exclaimed.

"You were quite far gone, madam," Jaz explained in the same polite manner with which she spoke to everyone. "The salve will keep your insides where they should be, but from what I can tell, there's still some internal bleeding. You'll have to drink some of this." She produced a small vial and began shaking it vigorously, before closing her eyes and whispering something under her breath.

Madelyn took the offered vial with a healthy dose of caution, and at Jaz's prompting, swigged the entire contents in one go.

"Ugh," she exclaimed, visibly shuddering at the potent formula. She licked her lips and a moment later a look of serenity replaced the pain evident on her face. Her eyes closed and her head leaned back against the pile of warm cloaks Carthack had set up as a pillow.

"She'll live," Jaz declared with a sigh, pulling a cloak over Madelyn before slumping on the ground next to her. The sound of Gordon's snores indicated he too had finally succumbed to weariness, and Aislin felt her eyelids growing heavy as the events of the day caught up with her. She covered herself with a spare cloak to ward off the chill and Keg nestled against her side for additional warmth. The last thing she saw was Carthack's towering form, stoically standing guard at the entrance.

* * *

Aislin awoke to the aromas and sounds of bacon sizzling in a pan. Even before her eyes opened, her stomach made a hungry growling noise, its way of telling her in no uncertain terms she would not be going back to sleep. Gordon sat next to a camp fire near the cave's entrance, using the pan Aislin had recovered last night to cook their breakfast.

Jaz was still sleeping, wrapped in the thick coat she'd acquired from the inn, and making tiny little snoring noises. Aislin stared at the coat for a moment before realising it belonged to her father, and the memory of the past two days came flooding back, waking her completely.

"Good morning," Madelyn greeted her. She was propped up against the cave wall, still covered in a cloak, with her bright blue eyes regarding Aislin thoughtfully.

"You're looking better," she remarked while rubbing her eyes and yawning widely.

"Still a little tender but yes, back from the brink, thanks to you," Madelyn responded in a surprising admission. "Gordon explained the trouble you went to keep me alive. I'm rather impressed."

Gordon glanced up at them for a moment, before focusing his attention on their meal once more. Keg sat next to the fire with his tail lashing about expectantly, staring up at the dwarf with saucer-like eyes.

"Go catch a squirrel or somethin'," Gordon muttered. "This is people food."

"I wanted to say I'm sorry I revealed your name to everyone, after you told me to keep it quiet," Aislin said to Madelyn. "Do you still hate me?"

"I cannot maintain my rage in the face of selfless charity," Madelyn lamented after a moment's thought. "Nevertheless, I only needed saving for having shed my blood in your defence, and I have not forgotten my humiliation by your words. I am however, grateful to our oversized saviour for his timely intervention." Their eyes turned to Carthack, who sat at the cave entrance with bow in hand, keeping watch over the land outside. He surely heard them talking about him, yet didn't seem to react.

"Ignoring people is rude," Madelyn called to him, finally catching his attention. Carthack's amber eyes were a stark contrast to his olive skin, and his dark hair was cropped short beneath his raised hood. Aislin briefly wondered where he got the long scars that ran down the right side of his face.

"Not rude, keeping watch," he rumbled.

"Have I thanked you for staying with me through the night? Or for coming to our aid when we needed it?"

"Will settle for apology," Carthack suggested.

"For taking you prisoner," Madelyn surmised. "I make no apologies, sir. You approached my camp, appearing similar to the savages who invaded the town, and I feared for my life. Understand that you are in fact very tall, and broad of shoulder, and heavily muscled and... I'm sorry, I seem to have lost my train of thought."

"Strangest apology I ever hear," Carthack remarked.

"I think the more important question," Gordon interrupted, "is how ya took him captive in the first place. I saw how 'e moved in the fight yesterday and no offence girl, but 'e could probably snap ya like a twig if'n 'e wanted."

"Obviously I wasn't going to allow that to happen," Madelyn answered, wincing at a stab of pain in her side. "I simply never surrendered the advantage. It's hard to do much of anything when you have the tip of a sword on your throat."

"Is that true?" Aislin asked of Carthack, who seemed hesitant to respond.

"Come now," Madelyn chided him, "there's no shame in admitting you were beaten. What am I talking about, of course there's shame. Plenty of shame to go around, and judgement too, for that matter."

"Well?" Gordon prompted.

"Could have taken you," Carthack finally confirmed. "Tiny sword wouldn't stop me. Wasn't there for fight."

"Ha!" Gordon crowed in triumph. "Not as brilliant as you thought you were eh? 'e let you take 'im prisoner."

"Why didn't you say something?" Madelyn muttered, displeased at discovering she wasn't as talented as she thought.

"Didn't get chance," Carthack explained. "You never let me speak. I wait for best time. Didn't want to hurt you."

"Well it was bloody inconvenient, regardless," Madelyn muttered as she digested this bit of unwelcome news.

"Enough talkin', time for breakfast," Gordon interjected, laying out bacon onto slices of toast and handing them around. Famished, Aislin eagerly took the offered food and ate faster than she should have, fending off Keg's silent begging at her feet for a few minutes, before finally giving him a decent sized portion to eat. Jaz finally woke up and, bleary-eyed and out of sorts, joined in the meal.

They shared introductions with one another, and Jaz gave them a brief account of their escape from Bracksford during the night, embellishing Aislin's heroics, and making her feel very self-conscious. Carthack listened impassively throughout, content to eat his double-sized portion until his part in their survival came up.

"I have three questions, sir," Madelyn said between mouthfuls. "Who are you, what are you doing in this area at this particular time, and why did you help us? You're not Akoran, despite your similar stature."

"Not true," he responded. "I am much bigger." He chuckled for a moment at this little joke before continuing. "Name is Carthack Valdis, of Escardi people. Word means 'not dead'? 'Survivors' better word I think. We are from different place, not from here."

"Another country then?" Jaz inquired.

"No, cold place," Carthack answered, struggling with his limited understanding of Aielish. "Always cold, sun never move above horizon."

"Is there somewhere up in the cold north I haven't heard of?" Gordon wondered.

"I've never heard of such a place," Madelyn remarked dubiously. "The sun never moves? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Another place, not here," Carthack repeated, growing more frustrated by the moment. "We come through magic door, live in Aielund now. I lack more words."

"I think I understand," Jaz mused. "You are from another world which, for a time, was connected to this one via an arcane portal."

"Yes," Carthack agreed emphatically, though Madelyn snorted in derision.

"You came through a 'magic door'?" she scoffed, stifling laughter. "I think you may have hit your head a little hard at some point during your life. I'll accept 'came from a far away land', and that's about it."

"Fine, from faraway land," Carthack grunted. "We live in east Aielund now, make own place. Learn words, help where we can. Escardi would be trapped in cold place if not for Aielund help. We owe great debt. I repay. I see woman near war, I help."

"Well now I feel positively awful about our encounter," Madelyn remarked. "Please accept my profound apologies for all the rough treatment." Carthack merely nodded his acceptance.

"That leads me to an important question," Jaz stated. "What is our next move? Are we planning to stay in this cave indefinitely and wait out the conflict?"

"Of course not," Madelyn said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "A town in the centre of the kingdom has been captured by a hostile force. It won't be long before a response from Fort Highmarch will come charging down from the mountain to retake it. I suggest we keep a low profile until afterward, then go on our merry way."

"We can't just sit here and hope for the best," Aislin chimed in. "My friends and family are being held inside the town. My father is hurt, and starting a big fight is just going to get more people killed. We saw Akoran women and children in Bracksford too."

"Akoran war parties don't take their families along with them," Madelyn pointed out.

"I know what I saw," Aislin protested.

"You are mistaken."

"It did kinda sound like they was keepin' the townsfolk alive to bargain with," Gordon interrupted with a glare at Madelyn. "They have to be expectin' a counter-attack."

"Never underestimate humanity's capacity for stupidity," she suggested. "That's something my father used to say, and I'm mortified to discoverer I agree with the old fool."

"Platitudes aside," Gordon continued, "this whole area is likely to turn into a war zone whether we want it to or not. I've seen the army up close — it's only a shadow of what it was. Years of fightin' a stupid, pointless war saw a lot o' people die, people who'd be called up at a time like this to defend the kingdom." Aislin lowered her head sadly, thinking once more of the loss of her brothers.

"Agreed," Carthack grunted. "War come, long and bloody fight. Everyone lose." A moment of silence descended on the group at the prospect of another conflict engulfing the region, yet it was Aislin who spoke up first.

"We have to do something," she suggested.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Madelyn inquired with a degree of incredulity.

"I don't know, but we can't just sit here while people's lives are at stake. We have to stop this war before it starts."

"I don't think I need to tell you how preposterous that sounds," Madelyn responded. "Nothing short of a major assault from a substantial armed force is going to dislodge them from that town in time for the actual army to ride on Bracksford. We seem to be a little deficient in that regard."

"The Akorans brought their families along for a reason," Aislin pointed out. "We need to find out what that is. I'll sneak back inside and look around."

"We're not goin' anywhere near that town," Gordon barked. "You used all yer luck getting' out o' there last night, and I'll not risk our lives again. We stirred up the hornet's nest, if ye've forgotten already and they won't be so easy to sneak past again."

"We can't just leave them there," Aislin whispered.

"Yer not the only one with family caught in that town, Aislin," Gordon continued in softer tones. "Me cousin's still there, and don't think fer a second that doesn't matter to me. But yer father wanted ye away from 'ere, and I'll not dishonour the man's request. We're packin' our supplies up and heading south to the fort, and that's that. A war zone is no place fer girls."

"There's an outdated concept for you," Madelyn remarked. "I suppose you'd prefer me to be in the kitchens, while the menfolk go off to die, hmm?"

"Ye can do what ya like," Gordon huffed. "I'm referrin' to the young lasses."

"Yes, we should go," Carthack added, rising to his feet. "Patrols move past during night. This place not safe. We go now."

"But —" Aislin protested, interrupted by a stern glance from Gordon.

"No 'buts'," he ordered, silencing any debate before it started. Aislin looked to the others with pleading eyes, but received nothing in response. She watched helplessly as they gathered up their meagre possessions, intent on departing the area and leaving Bracksford to its fate. Jaz noticed her apprehension and gave her a wan smile.

"I know you have family in town, but us getting caught or killed isn't going to free them," she advised. "Better that we get safe, then figure it out." Aislin nodded but kept silent, wishing there was another way.

"Can you move?" Jaz asked Madelyn, who sighed and nodded, clearly able to walk, but probably facing the prospect of a painful journey.

"I need to change my blouse, if the gentlemen would be so good as to provide me with a little privacy?" she suggested. Gordon and Carthack obliged her by stepping outside. Madelyn's frilly white blouse was torn and dark, with dried blood on the side where the arrows had struck, and while it could be mended with needle and thread, the bloodstain was likely permanent.

"Well, that's the end of this blouse," Madelyn remarked as she simply tore it off and replaced it with a fresh one from the only saddlebag she'd managed to hold on to after the theft of her horse.

"I can mend that for you," Jaz suggested to Aislin, gesturing at the tear on her dress near her shoulder.

"That's okay, I'll stitch it up when we reach the fort," she answered.

"A pity about the rest of it," Jaz remarked, looking at the tattered remains of the lower half.

"It's not so bad, actually. It was really confining around the legs but now I can move much more freely. It certainly helped last night when we were running through the forest."

"Don't remind me," Jaz said with a shudder. Once Madelyn was properly clothed, Jaz gave her another swig of the potion she'd concocted last night, and then helped her to her feet. Sensing their imminent departure, Keg took a sudden interest in Carthack's backpack, a huge leather space only half-filled with supplies, such as spare clothes and a warm blanket. The cat nuzzled his way inside and managed to claw the cover flap into place, concealing himself within, just before the huge man returned to the cave.

"Patrol pass by not far from here," he rumbled, hefting his pack and slinging it over his shoulder, without noticing his new passenger. "We move, now." His tone left no room for doubt or dissent. Gordon hurried inside and gathered up the pan and utensils, before kicking over the camp fire with one heavy boot. He then strapped on the leather sash with three of the smaller firearms sheathed in it, and with determination grasped the longer weapon in both hands.

"Aren't you taking one of them clubs?" he asked Carthack, who was armed only with the crude bow.

"If we meet bad things, I shoot," he grunted. "If they get close, I take their weapon and hit them with it. Had better bow before I met her," he added, gesturing at Madelyn who had the good grace to appear somewhat guilty.

"I relieved him of his weapon on our unfortunate encounter and stowed it on my horse," she explained.

The food was split amongst all five of them, with the two young girls required to carry a sack half-filled with supplies over their shoulders. Aislin was no stranger to hard work, but Jaz seemed to groan as she lifted her load. She strapped her goggles onto her forehead and with a silent gesture from Carthack, they quietly left the sanctuary of the cave.

The skies were leaden grey, and a strong breeze rippled through the treetops as they carefully wended their way through the woods on their way south, circling around the small rise into which the cave descended. The Highmarch Mountains loomed before them, their snow-covered tips obscured by low clouds swirling around their distant peaks.

"Are we climbing those?" Jaz asked in a voice laced with concern.

"Nay, there's a narrow pass through 'em where the fort stands," Gordon explained. "I'm thinkin' we head due south to avoid the road, keep to the wooded area 'til we're up a bit higher, and then cross over to the fort."

Carthack grunted his assent and moved ahead to scout the way. Aislin couldn't help but smile when she caught a glimpse of a sleepy Keg peering out from his backpack hiding place, evidently content to rest in the warm compartment while they travelled.

The ground underfoot was steadily rising as they moved into the foothills through the morning, with the gentle slope turning into a more difficult climb as the day went on. Madelyn was having the hardest time of it, and Jaz worried the effort was going to cause further harm to her already injured side. With signs of recent Akoran activity on the ground, Carthack refused to let them rest, so Madelyn was simply forced to endure the discomfort.

It was close to noon before he relented and allowed them a chance to eat and rest. Aislin helped ease a grateful Madelyn onto a fallen log, while Jaz went about preparing another potion to ease her injuries.

Carthack took off his pack with the intention of retrieving something from it, and fell backward in alarm as Keg leaped free when it was opened. Aislin couldn't help bursting into laughter at his reaction, as if some fierce beast had emerged from the pack to eat his face. Carthack didn't find any of this amusing and stared balefully at Keg, who merely sat nearby washing himself with his rough tongue.

"Not funny," the big man grumbled, dusting himself off and proceeding with his meal.

"My supply of herbs is exhausted," Jaz informed them after applying the last of the salve beneath Madelyn's blouse. "I'll need a few minutes to search the area for some more."

"Alright, but don't stray far," Gordon advised.

"I'll help you," Aislin offered, tearing off a chunk of bread to eat along the way. With Keg trotting along through the undergrowth nearby, the two girls moved through the sparse woodland, picking interesting plants for the next few minutes until Jaz noticed something through the trees.

"Is that Bracksford?" she quietly asked. Aislin glanced up and saw her gazing off in the direction they'd come from. Moving to join her, she looked to the north through a gap in the trees, and felt a wave of emotion as she saw her home town far in the distance, appearing small and vulnerable amid the open fields. Everyone she knew and loved lived in that tiny community, and it pained her to be leaving them behind.

She noticed something odd about it though, and it took Aislin a moment to narrow down exactly what was wrong. To the right of town was a vast, snake-like line that shimmered and rippled in the light, as if it was moving. Raising a hand to block out the sun, she stared at the dark line, puzzled for a moment until she suddenly realised what she was looking at.

"Those are people heading towards the town," she exclaimed. "I can't tell who they are though. Is it the army moving in to attack already?"

Instead of answering, Jaz fiddled with her goggles and then lowered them over her eyes. Whatever she saw through those arcane lenses made her gasp.

"They're people, thousands of them," she breathed, adjusting her goggles a little more. "I don't see a lot of weapons, though. They'd be shining brightly in the sun. I do see women carrying children and... pots, pans, clothes, everything they own. Some of them don't look too healthy, either."

"Show me," Carthack rumbled from just behind them, startling the two girls with his sudden appearance. Jaz removed her goggles and passed them over to the big man, who looked at them with a puzzled expression before holding a lens over one eye.

"This not invasion," he grunted after taking in the scene. "This an evacuation." He tossed the goggles back to Jaz and stormed back towards their impromptu camp, with Aislin and Jaz following closely behind, wondering what all of this meant. When they reached the small clearing with the rest of their equipment, Carthack reached into his pack and retrieved a piece of folded paper which he unfurled, revealing a map of the region.

"What's happening?" Madelyn asked, on edge at their hurried return.

"There are thousands of women and children moving into Bracksford," Jaz explained.

"Are they setting up home there already?" Madelyn said as she moved to join them. "It figures though — the savages are planning to use their families as living shields."

"No," Carthack grunted, carefully scanning the map. "They are running from something. Something big enough to threaten home." Gordon helped him with some of the more obscure language, though this didn't seem to help much.

"What could've sent 'em packin' from their home?" Gordon muttered, drawing the same conclusions.

"I don't understand," Aislin said peering around his shoulder at the map.

"Akora is over 'ere, about four day's journey to the east o' us," he explained, pointing to their position. "The reason they've held that land for over a century is there's really nothing else around to push 'em out."

"It's true," Madelyn added, "A hundred and twenty years ago Aielund seized the last of the Akora's territory and simply couldn't be bothered with a campaign to take what was basically a mountain fortress with little strategic or economic value."

"So why are they leavin' in droves?" Gordon responded. "What happened in their homeland that was so bad they had to get everyone out?" Madelyn didn't have an answer, but Aislin certainly did.

"We need to go and find out," she said quietly, drawing dour looks from Gordon.

"If I wasn't gonna send you back into town," he exclaimed, "what makes ya think I'll be fool enough to take you into the heart o' their territory, which could also be a war zone?"

"Our army doesn't know those are civilians," she retorted. "They're going to need information about what's going on, or they'll be marching to a massacre."

"She is right," Carthack rumbled. "I will go and scout Akora, then return. You take girls to fort, safe there."

"If we show up at the fort like this and explain what happened," Madelyn suggested, "they're not likely to wait for your return. They'll be heading for Bracksford within minutes. Although I hate to suggest this, the only way to stop a fight is to make the Akorans return home and for that to happen, we need to find out what's going on in Akora. The longer we delay the fort learning of recent events, the more time we have to do something about it, even if it's just finding out what forced the Akora from their home."

"Don't you dare suggest we stay behind," Aislin said to Gordon before he could speak. "It may be dangerous, but we've already been in danger. We still are, and so is everyone back in town, praying for someone to help them."

"If somethin' happens to ye," Gordon responded softly, "I'll ne'er be able to look yer father in the eye again."

"You can look after me just as well in the mountains," Aislin suggested. "If you want me in the fort, you'll have to drag me the entire way." Gordon rolled his eyes, indicating he both believed and dreaded the prospect.

"Among my people," Carthack added, "girl her age, already hunting. This fine by me."

"Alright," Gordon grumbled. "I might regret this, but ye proved yer steely nerves last night, so don't think I'm blind to yer talents, Ace. If we run into trouble, you, Madelyn and Jaz get to cover, and Carth and I will deal with it. Agreed?"

They nodded their understanding and with that, gathered their things and started off, this time to the southeast and unknown peril.

11

### Journey

Aislin walked with renewed vigour through the thinning woods — the towering Highmarch Mountains looming ever larger with each step. Although it would take days to reach the Akoran homelands, for the first time since fleeing Bracksford, she felt as though she was finally doing something to make a difference.

Regardless of her buoyant mood, Carthack stayed ahead of the group, keeping a keen eye peeled for trouble. For such a large man, he moved with surprising grace as he cautiously searched for signs of Akoran tracks. During one of their short breaks, Aislin noticed a curious expression on his scarred face she didn't quite understand. Contentment, perhaps?

"You're from another land, right?" she inquired.

"Not land, world," Carthack corrected, though Aislin wasn't really sure what he meant.

"This must all seem very strange to you," she continued regardless.

"Very different," he responded, gazing at the trees around them. "So much green here. Life everywhere. Beautiful."

"What was it like in your homeland?" Aislin asked curiously. Carthack remained silent for a few moments before answering.

"Not so nice," he grunted. "Past is past. Best leave it there." With that short statement, he stood and ordered them to continue on, leaving Aislin with the distinct impression the big man had come from a very unpleasant place. They continued onward, and as the sun sank towards the horizon, he raised one oversized hand and called for a halt.

"Patrol pass by here, two days ago," he rumbled, gesturing at a large patch of disturbed earth before him. "Watch for ambushes."

"The land between here and their capital could be crowded with such patrols," Madelyn pointed out. "Has anyone thought about the wisdom of heading directly toward a place so many are fleeing?"

"If they're runnin' away," Gordon responded, "then it'll be deserted."

"Except for the thing they were running from," Jaz piped up, silencing the discussion.

"We make camp here," Carthack instructed, turning to gather wood for a fire. Both Madelyn and Jaz were pleased to hear this news, feeling the worse for wear as they slowly eased themselves onto a fallen log, resting beneath a tall pine. Keg, forced to walk the entire afternoon after Carthack made it clear the cat wasn't going to be allowed to sleep in his pack, plopped down beside them in a similar state of exhaustion.

"Don't say it," Madelyn interjected before Aislin could speak.

"Then I will," Gordon chuckled. "Yer both unfit, and if nothin' else, this journey will do ya good. I'm guessing yer used to ridin' round on yer horse, Madelyn?"

"Did my riding attire not make that clear?" she asked in a manner suggesting she wasn't interested in his answer.

"I'm afraid my studies haven't prepared me for the exertions of mountain climbing," Jaz added as she took out her jar of salve.

"Oh, this is just the foothills," Madelyn informed her acidly. "The real challenge is yet to come." Jaz groaned and set about preparing the treatment.

"You could have at least allowed Keg to ride in your pack," Aislin complained to Carthack. "He's just a cat, you know."

"He is fat and lazy," Carthack responded gruffly. "Walk make him strong."

"I suppose that has nothing to do with him scaring you half to death when you opened your pack," Aislin asked pointedly, unable to keep a smile from her face. Carthack gave her a black look but remained silent as he lit the fire. Nearby, Madelyn was reacquainting herself with the distinctive flavour of the healing draught.

"How much more of this vile concoction do I need to drink?" she gasped after taking a swig.

"You're nearly done," Jaz advised. "I think your innards are probably all mended by now, but better safe than sorry. You are feeling better, yes?"

"Much, thank you, though I do wish it wasn't so unpleasant. However did you learn to make this anyway? You're barely older than a common tavern waitress." This last statement was obviously aimed at Aislin, who took no offence at its accuracy.

"It's my mother's recipe, though I must confess I've improved upon it," Jaz explained. "I add a little magic to it to give it some kick, you see. That's something I picked up during my studies. Mind you — it's easier to channel energy into mundane objects, like these goggles."

"Clever girl," Madelyn remarked dryly. "Well, if you could improve the flavour, I think you'd have something that could rival the 'blessed' healers of the Church of Aielund," she added cynically.

"What do you have against them?" Aislin asked defensively.

"Where do I even start?" Madelyn scoffed. "Have you seen any local clergy men or women around lately? I didn't think so. You may not have heard, but the Church of Aielund fell into disrepute at the end of the war. The oh-so-wise men and women in charge chose the wrong side, and came to a bad end. The institution had rotted from the inside out, so it wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway. Serves them right too, we're better off making our own way in the world without their meddling."

"I don't know about any of that," Aislin hedged, "but during the war I met a kind and generous priestess called Nellise, who helped us when we needed it."

"Ah, 'Saint Nellise'," Madelyn remarked caustically. "Her reputation spread quite far towards the end of the war, but I doubt she was as proficient as the Church claims. The statue they built to her in Fairloch strikes me as a cynical attempt to salvage their reputation, gladly accepted by the adoring masses yearning for someone to worship. Honestly, the stories I hear about her seem far-fetched indeed."

"I saw her healing the injured, right before my eyes," Aislin protested.

"Parlour tricks, no doubt," Madelyn answered with a shrug. "Simple illusions to trick the simple minded — no offence. In all of her years with the Church, my mother never encountered anything as astounding as the stories I've heard, so like much of the organisation, it was mostly smoke and mirrors. No, whatever strength the Church was in days past is long gone." Aislin went quiet, lacking the knowledge to carry on the argument, but silently sure there was more to it than the bitter young woman insisted.

Madelyn stood and raised her arms above her head to stretch, gingerly at first, but with more confidence as it became clear her wounded side had mended.

"I'm stiff as a board," she muttered as she twisted and flexed, then performed a slow, fluid cartwheel.

"How did you learn to move like that?" Aislin asked, noticing Carthack hastily appear to be paying attention elsewhere.

"Long hours of practice, and the most expensive education imaginable," Madelyn answered airily, pivoting and twirling about with astonishing grace. "I'm not serious, of course. I've been doing this since I was six. It just comes to me naturally." Madelyn bent her wrist back over itself, delighting in the expression of shock it produced from the two girls.

"Double-jointed," she explained casually. "One of my many gifts."

"What about your skill with the sword?" Aislin inquired. "I've never seen a lady from a wealthy family fight before."

"They're usually too busy sittin' around in fancy dresses, tryin' to look superior," Gordon remarked with a chuckle.

"Sir, I do not have to try," Madelyn retorted. "Certainly, my parents tried to mould me in that fanciful image with strict discipline, spending years and a substantial amount of money to send me to a finishing school, where I might learn the proper ways of high society. Yet, in their zeal to create the perfect young lady, they ended up sowing the seeds of my dissent."

"When father was brought to justice, mother, who had always been an enthusiastic devotee of the Church, become even more fanatical. She sought to assuage her guilt and our family's fall from society, and roughly two years ago, she and I were on a sort of pilgrimage to the south — her idea, naturally. We had planned to stay in Bracksford for a single night, only to be caught up in the evacuation when the war came to our doorstep."

"That was when I met you," Aislin remarked, watching in anticipation as Gordon put a pan of sausages over the crackling fire.

"Yes, we were stuck in that old musty tomb waiting to be rescued for some time, made all the more arduous by mother's incessant nagging," Madelyn recalled without enthusiasm. "She was afraid of tight spaces, and our prolonged confinement within the tomb made her all the more unbearable."

"Ever the dutiful daughter, I bore it with good grace, but there were two people I met during that dark time who greatly influenced me. One was a man with white hair in spite of his youthful looks, a man with a dangerous energy about him."

"I remember him," Aislin said with a shudder. "He was scary."

"I'd never met the like before," Madelyn remarked. "I found him positively captivating. Though I'm certain he didn't realise it at the time, he gave me some advice on my unresolved issues concerning my father and by extension, my mother. I didn't have to shoulder the abuse and punishment for being who I am. I didn't have to be the good girl if I didn't want to. I was thunderstruck — the very notion of disobedience was liberating."

"Who was the other person?" Jaz asked, intrigued by Madelyn's story.

"A woman of grace, poise and ferocious courage," she answered with a hint of respect in her voice. "We were finally rescued from our sanctuary by a small group of extremely talented individuals, led by none other than Queen Criosa herself, though merely a princess at the time. With one precise thrust from her rapier, she vanquished the leader of a rebellion, seeking to carve out a slice of the Kingdom for themselves, and in that moment, I knew what I wanted to do with my life."

"Become a princess?" Aislin asked disingenuously.

"No, carve up the queen's enemies with a bloody sharp sword," Madelyn corrected. "After we returned home, mother began participating in Church activities more than ever. I gave the impression of compliance, but in her absence, I used my charms to persuade a member of the city watch to teach me the art of fencing."

"When mother discovered my new hobby, she was incensed," Madelyn continued, her face lighting up in cynical delight at the thought. "The thought of her daughter engaging in an unseemly dalliance with a mere guardsman drove her to new extremes. I mean, what if the rest of society found out the daughter of Lady Olivia Fairchild was not only dating a commoner, but learning how to wield a sword? Scandalous!" Her smile faded and a dark look crossed her pale features, as she continued to speak in bitter tones.

"Mother screamed at me to stop, to think about someone other than myself for a change, but I refused. After a while, she stopped speaking to me altogether and joined a reclusive convent to pursue her faith, free of my 'toxic interference'. I practised night and day, pouring years of pent-up frustration into swordplay and archery. With what remained of my late father's money all but gone, I took his sword and my horse, and sought to make a living as a professional competitive archer. Things haven't exactly gone to plan."

Madelyn fell into a brooding silence, content only to stare at the camp fire as the others glanced awkwardly at each other. Gordon took this as an opportune moment to serve the meal, consisting of a couple of sausages wrapped in thin slices of bread.

"I don't suppose you could have stolen some vegetables while you were at it?" Madelyn sighed as she examined the food with little enthusiasm.

"We took what was there," Aislin answered with her mouth full, unsure what Madelyn was complaining about.

"Enjoy it while ya can," Gordon gruffly advised. "That's the last of the sausages, and tomorrow morn will finish of the bacon. After that, it's cold food fer everyone." Already in a dire mood, Madelyn's expression took a turn for the worse at this prospect. Once they'd finished eating, Aislin set about mending the tear on her dress, with a needle and thread Jaz produced from her satchel. Gordon polished his firearms with an oily cloth, pausing halfway through when something occurred to him. He checked the contents of several pouches before turning to Aislin.

"Ace, when ye were grabbin' me gear, did ya happen t'see a bag with some wee metal pellets inside?" he asked.

"No, but I did see a lot of pellets rolling around in the back of the wagon," Aislin answered. "Are they important?"

"Those are the things me weapons shoot," Gordon pointed out patiently, rubbing his forehead as if in pain.

"I thought the black powder did that," Aislin asserted, not quite understanding the problem.

"The powder lights up and kinda throws the little pellets at the target, really fast," the engineer explained. "Without 'em, it's just a whole lot o' smoke and noise."

"Sorry," Aislin apologised, "I wasn't sure if I should pick them up or not."

"It's not yer fault, ye had no way of knowin'," Gordon sighed. "I've a few left from me own personal shooter, I just hope it's enough."

"This powder you speak of," Jaz interjected, "may I have a look?" Gordon squinted at her with a measure of uncertainty.

"It's not fer kids to play around with," he cautioned. Jaz's expression of hope faltered, and she looked at him with something akin to puppy-dog eyes, withering his stoic visage. Gordon pulled out the pouch containing the black powder, and tapped a little into his palm, then offered it to her. Jaz's face lit up as he poured the fine powder into her hands and immediately began examining it closely through her goggles.

"Pungent stuff," she remarked. "I detect a trace of sulphur in here."

"Aye, and a few other things I won't be tellin' ya about," Gordon responded gruffly. "It's dangerous stuff, and I can see yer an inquisitive lass so I nay wanna tempt ye into makin' it yerself. Besides, I discovered it, I'm the one who's lookin' fer a bit o' coin fer me troubles."

"I'm just curious," Jaz assured him. She carefully moved over to a clear space nearby and poured the powder onto the ground."

"If yer done with it, I woulda preferred to have it back —" Gordon told her, only to be interrupted as a spark of flame flashed from the ring on her finger, igniting the powder. Jaz was knocked onto her backside, and Aislin covered her ringing ears as a plume of fire shot several feet into the air, leaving a cloud of thick smoke hanging over the camp site.

"My word, that was energetic!" Jaz laughed, her eyebrows burned away and her hair singed. "I wasn't quite expecting such a reaction. Might I have a little more to conduct another test?"

"Are ye mad?" Gordon thundered, securing the hardened leather pouch well away from her grasp. "You coulda blown one o' yer fingers off or somethin!"

Carthack, who had been sitting at the periphery of the camp, stormed in and kicked over the fire, smothering it and snuffing out the light instantly.

"You are fools," he growled in his deep voice. "Patrols could have heard that from far away. We are moving, right now." The girls groaned at the prospect of more travelling, and Aislin noticed Madelyn stared daggers at Jaz when she wasn't looking. They quickly packed their gear, and continued on through the dark woods for an hour before Carthack felt safe enough to make camp.

"No fire, just sleep," he gruffly ordered, and they were too tired to complain. They laid out their heavy Akoran cloaks as simple bedrolls, and did they best they could to get comfortable. They really were roughing it, Aislin thought, and silently wished she'd managed to grab some more useful equipment on her way through town.

She settled down against the thick roots of an oak tree, a warm cat snuggled up beside her beneath the cloak, and wondered how her father was coping back in town. Jaz, laying only a few feet away, rolled over to face her and made a psst noise to get her attention.

"Aislin, we have no idea what we're going to face in the Akoran lands." she asked in a faint whisper. "Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"

"Whatever's there," Aislin whispered back, "it has to be better than facing another war at home. It has to." Jaz had nothing further to say on this, leaving Aislin with a lingering doubt undermining her certainty.

* * *

In the grey half-light before dawn, Aislin was rudely awakened by Carthack, who raised a finger to his lips before she could protest. Instantly alert, she glanced around nervously, and quickly gathered her meagre possessions as Carthack awoke the others. Something had rattled him, that much was clear, though he did not speak aside from urging them to be ready to move.

"This is your fault," Madelyn hissed to Jaz. "Doubtless your little explosion was heard or seen, and now we have to run for our lives."

"Quiet," Carthack instructed as loudly as he dared, ending the discussion before it began. Aislin was anxious that Madelyn was right, and their enemies were on the verge of discovering them, so did as she was told. Once they were ready, Carthack led them away from their impromptu camp and through the woods, unaware that Keg had stowed away in his pack once more.

They travelled fast for nearly an hour, before stopping to rest on an outcropping of rock, hungry and tired. The sunrise streaked the clouds with red as they ate the bread and cheese Gordon handed out. Carthack kept a wary eye on where they'd travelled from as the others rested.

"Can I assume you spotted someone near our camp?" Madelyn inquired of him, the first to speak since they'd moved.

"Patrol scouring area, yes," he confirmed, doing nothing to alleviate the tension. "Fire bad idea. Now they track us, probably follow. We will lose them on rocky ground higher up." Madelyn shot an accusing look at Jaz, who appeared miserable at the thought.

"I'm really sorry," she apologised profusely, "I didn't mean to cause trouble."

"They would've found us anyway," Gordon reluctantly conceded. "I'm the one who insisted on cookin' a meal."

"We keep moving, stay ahead," Carthack advised, without blaming anyone for the close call. "Easier to run than track. Come, we move now." Aislin stifled a groan as she took to her feet again, noting with some sympathy that Jaz was having a harder time of it than she.

"I'm starting to think this journey wasn't such a great idea," Jaz confided. "I'm really not cut out for this sort of thing you know."

"Think of it as an adventure," Aislin offered with a measure of enthusiasm she didn't truly feel. "You'd never even think of climbing mountains otherwise, would you?"

"I'd have more sense than that," Jaz answered ruefully. Aislin offered her a helping hand to get back on her feet and together, they hurried to catch up to the rest. Before long, the woods thinned out and almost disappeared completely as Aislin and the others continued the ascent.

The view was astonishing, allowing them to see over the plains of central Aielund far in the distance, yet the mountains continued to rise even higher to the south. Great slabs of jagged rock jutted up from the inclined ground, forcing them to go around or climb over them to proceed.

If Carthack suspected their pursuers were close, he said nothing, leaving Aislin with a gnawing doubt that spurred her tired legs onward. She silently envied Keg, who rode out the journey from the comfort of Carthack's oversized pack, lazily peering out from time to time to watch the rest of them struggle.

By midday, they were a sorry looking bunch as exhaustion set in. To make matters worse, an embankment towered before them, which would require considerable effort to climb. Carthack wanted them to keep going, but they united against him in protest, slumping against the inclined ground to rest, leaving the big man with a puzzled expression.

"People of this land weaker than I thought," he muttered, accepting some bread and cheese from Gordon. Once they'd eaten, Aislin was upset to see the embankment was still there looming over them, a challenge waiting to be conquered. Carthack seemed to be the only one eager to take it on, climbing the steep incline by hand until he made it to the top, then throwing down the end of a rope to help the others.

Gordon insisted he be the last up while he kept watch on the land behind them, his long firearm held ready in case of trouble. Madelyn didn't argue the point, and was the first to ascend, with Aislin following closely behind. She had trouble with the final part of the climb, but Carthack reached down with one mighty hand and lifted her over the edge. She collapsed flat onto the ground, puffing heavily as she stared up at the sky, wondering if maybe, just maybe, this hadn't been such a great idea after all.

Sounds from below indicated Jaz was having even greater difficulty making the climb, so Gordon tied the rope around her waist and Carthack simply pulled her up. He offered the same service to Gordon but the dwarven engineer flatly refused, his pride pushing him take the climb with his own two hands.

Assembled at the top once more, they took a few minutes to rest and take in the view. Heavy clouds were gathering in the skies to the south west, a sure sign of bad weather on its way. They were about to move on when Jaz spotted something on the lands far below them. She lowered the goggles over her eyes, and didn't like what she saw.

"I see a dozen men with bows and axes," she hissed in alarm. "They're following the same path we took to get here!"

"How far?" Madelyn asked urgently.

"Roughly five hundred yards," Jaz responded with a tremor in her voice. "They're looking on the ground, probably for our tracks. They seem uncertain."

"Keep watching 'em," Gordon instructed. "Everyone keep low just in case." Aislin's heart was racing as she flattened herself against the rocky ground, waiting with baited breath for Jaz to tell them what was happening.

"They're still searching around," she eventually explained. "I don't think they can see which way we went."

"Not as good as I thought they were," Carthack mused with a grim smile. "We move, now." This time, the others didn't complain, as they pulled back from the edge of the embankment and hurried after him. Carthack led them along a path of sorts, the only way to travel with any speed along the side of the mountains. Aislin and the others managed to keep this up for an hour or more, before Carthack signalled for an abrupt halt.

Fearing the worst, Aislin suddenly understood his reasons when the ground beneath her feet briefly shook, as if something massive were moving nearby. They all took cover behind a large, flat rock just off the trail, Aislin peering with trepidation around the edge at the ground ahead.

They were perched on the edge of a rise, with a precipitous drop almost obscured by bushes not far to her left. The heavy sound that shook the earth repeated, growing with strength each time. Their first impression was of a group of large people cresting the hill, but as they got closer it became clear their proportions were immense.

Each of them were nearly fifteen feet in height. The men wore unkempt beards and as with their womenfolk, sported hair trailing halfway down their backs. Aside from their height, they seemed generally human, yet they were bulky in the extreme. Their legs were like tree trunks, and their faces broad and lumpy.

"Giants," Aislin whispered in awe as they watched five towering folk lumber past less than a dozen yards away. Although their size invoked fear, it was also an incredible sight, filling her with a sense of wonder even considering the remarkable things she had witnessed in the last few years of the war.

"I didn't realise there were any living inside Aielund's borders," Madelyn remarked curiously.

"Not live, move," Carthack pointed out. Indeed, the giants were clothed in a patchwork of heavy animal skins, and carried all sorts of gear on their backs. Much like the Akoran evacuation, they were heading west with everything they could carry.

"They're movin' pretty quick, and they've been in a fight," Gordon whispered, pointing out the red welts and bruises on their faces. "Might be runnin' from trouble."

"If they've fought the Akorans, are they our friends?" Aislin asked in similarly hushed tones.

"We canna take the risk," Gordon answered. "We might all look the same to them."

"That's a bit harsh," Jaz protested.

"I just mean we're all kinda small compared to them, and if they's been fightin' Akorans, they might think we're with 'em," Gordon clarified. They watched as the beaten giants lumbered past in proud silence. Once the last of them had moved beyond earshot, Aislin and the others emerged from their hiding place.

"If nothing else, they might keep our Akoran pursuers occupied," Madelyn remarked with relief. "This part of the mountains is proving to be a little busier than you thought."

"Still better than facing army," Carthack answered as he began heading eastward, soon followed by the rest of the weary travellers. The uneven ground narrowed as they pressed on through deteriorating conditions, with a strengthening gale chilling them to the bone. Aislin wrapped her cloak tightly around her, and Madelyn buttoned her leather jacket for whatever protection it could provide from the elements.

They had only travelled a few hundred yards along the rise when Carthack suddenly froze in place, then rushed for cover behind a nearby outcropping of rock. Instantly alert, Aislin and the others looked around for a place to hide and, ended up scattering across the terrain in their haste.

The cause of his alarm became apparent as the familiar sound of the Akoran language could be heard from ahead. Carthack must have been caught off guard for them to already be so close, and Aislin was forced to slide down a steep incline behind some brush in order to disappear from view.

Observing the area intently from her position of safety, Aislin watched in dismay as a dozen Akorans strolled into the clearing and dropped their heavy packs to the ground. They appeared dirty, dishevelled, and in a terrible mood as they shouted back and forth at one another. Signs of injury were present on these men too, quite possibly from fighting the giants — or something else.

With her heart in her throat, Aislin could see they weren't going to be moving any time soon, and from what she could tell, Madelyn and Jaz had chosen places only just out of sight of the men. As they moved around the clearing carrying on their conversation, they came perilously close to spotting the other girls. Jaz cringed and flattened herself against the ground to avoid detection, but one wrong move and they would be discovered. Should it come to blows, not even Carthack could take on so many at once.

Looking around desperately, Aislin had to distract the Akorans before they spotted anyone else. She picked up two small rocks from the ground, and looked around her position. She was to the west of the others, and an idea came to mind. Although it was dangerous, Aislin didn't feel there was any real choice.

Checking to make sure her boots were on properly, she emerged from hiding roughly twenty yards from the men, hurled one of the rocks at the nearest savage, then bolted back down the trail without waiting to see if she hit. A cry of alarm went up from the Akorans. and the sounds of their heavy footsteps in pursuit spurred her tired legs to move even faster. Light and quick, she dashed over the uneven ground far easier than the hulking men, who had to tread carefully lest they stumble to the ground or fall down the steep incline to the right.

She was uncertain if all of the Akorans had followed her, and she didn't dare stop to find out. For all her nimble speed, they would catch up to her sooner or later, but Aislin only needed to stay ahead of them just a little bit longer. Ahead was the small outcropping of rock they'd hidden behind as the giants marched, and once she passed it, she pivoted to the right and slid behind, out of sight.

Twisting around, she hurled the other rock and with all of her strength further down the trail. It bounced and clattered along the stone in the distance, and as she'd hoped, the Akorans went right past her in the direction of the sound — directly into the path of the giants.

Deep, bellowing voices, combined with cries of alarm from the Akoran patrol indicated the two forces had run into each other. Aislin was out of breath, yet still managed a smile of triumph as she slowly turned to head back and rejoin the others. It then came as a complete surprise to find the hungry yellow eyes of a large, grey wolf, staring at her from only yards away.

12

### Obstacles

Aislin froze in place, hardly even daring to breath as the wolf snarled at her. Nearby, the continuing stand off between the Akorans and the giants continued with a heated exchange of words, both parties oblivious to her peril. Slowly, with shaking hands, she reached for Sliver's handle, though she was under no illusion — if the wolf came at her, she was probably going to die.

It bared its long teeth and growled, taking one step closer, which was enough to make Aislin lose her nerve and stop reaching for the handle. Her breath came in short gasps and she considered making a run for it, when a ball of orange fur shot past and landed between her and the wolf. Keg, his fur standing on end, hissed and spat at the wolf which viewed the newcomer with surprise.

Aislin knew Keg's instincts would be to protect her, as he'd done in times past, but she worried he was taking on more than he could handle. The two fierce animals hissed and snarled at each other, though the wolf was twice the size of the cat and unwilling to give up its prey so easily. Sensing the wolf wasn't taking the hint, with claws extended Keg swatted its jaw with lightning speed, and hissed in its face.

The wolf, alone and facing more resistance than it bargained for, backed away slowly, but Keg wasn't having any of that. He pounced forward, stopping just short of hitting his startled foe, who finally broke off the attack and fled with an angry ginger cat hot on its tail.

Aislin wilted with relief, unable to stop shaking after the close encounter. She didn't have time to catch her breath however, for the sounds of fighting nearby indicated her plan to distract the Akorans had worked better than she'd hoped. She didn't know if the giants were friendly or not, but they were helping her even if they weren't aware of it.

She eagerly left the battle behind and hurried up the hill to rejoin the others, hoping Keg would catch up with them soon. By now the wind was blowing a gale and the sky had darkened as thick clouds rolled in. It wasn't long before she returned to the clearing, puffing hard, and stumbling on the uneven ground, for her legs were still weak and shaking from the encounter with the wolf.

Three Akorans lay unconscious at Carthack's feet, while Jaz and Madelyn searched through the pile of equipment left on the ground.

"Aislin, you're safe," Gordon sighed in relief. "I'm not sure if that was foolish or brave, lass. Ye coulda gotten all o' us captured or killed."

"I thought it was brilliant," Jaz remarked with a wide grin.

"Aye, I'll grant ye that," Gordon reluctantly conceded. "How long do ye think they'll be gone?"

"They ran into the giants," Aislin answered between breaths. "They might be at it for a while."

"Good enough," Madelyn responded, taking a leather backpack, a hunting bow and quiver of arrows from the pile. "Grab some of these supplies and let's get moving. It looks like a bloody great storm is on its way, and I'd rather not be caught on the side of a mountain when it hits." Jaz took a pack for herself, and Aislin found one along with a belt and water skin. Just as they were about to leave, Keg trotted into the area and rubbed against Aislin's leg, apparently uninjured from his experience.

"You're a brave boy aren't you," she said, giving him an appreciative pat. He paused for a moment to enjoy it, then dashed over to an unsuspecting Carthack and leaped onto his leg. The big man writhed and span about, trying to dislodge the cat as Keg climbed, using his claws to gain purchase on the thick coat until he reached the summit and dove head first into the top of Carthack's pack, stopping only when the big man grabbed Keg's tail with one hand.

"He just saved my life, let him rest," Aislin protested. Carthack glanced at her and after a moment's thought, reluctantly let it go of the furry appendage.

"Later, we have long talk," he growled over his shoulder, as Keg's tail vanished inside the pack. Sleet began to fall from the leaden sky and they could delay no longer. With Carthack in the lead, they hurried east along the trail in search of shelter. Large rocks jutting out of the ground appeared with increasing frequency as they travelled, forcing them to wend their way through the forest of stone.

Aislin wrapped the cloak tightly around her body, growing colder with each passing moment. The amber dress wasn't very thick, having been created to impress rather keep its wearer warm, and her exposed legs were feeling the brunt of the weather. Aislin was so distracted by the cold, she ran into Gordon's back as he came to an abrupt halt.

They had just circled around a particularly large rock to face a large crevasse which cut through the ground across their path. A rope bridge with one entire side cut loose was before them, allowing the wooden planks spanning its length to dangle about in the strong winds.

"Now what are we going to do?" Madelyn complained, her dark hair whipping about as she looked across the bleak landscape for another way to cross. "It doesn't seem overly deep. Perhaps we should climb down and then up the other side?"

"It'd take too long," Gordon reasoned, speaking loudly over the wind. "By the time we got to t'other side, the girls would be frozen solid. We need to find a place to wait out the weather and then figure this out."

"Cave across gap," Carthack rumbled, pointing at something across the twenty yard expanse. "Was leading us there. Bridge intact when I was here last."

"Well someone didn't want anyone getting past," Madelyn remarked. "It was probably those savages we just took care of. Wait a minute, how did the giants cross here? There's no conceivable way they could have crossed this little bridge."

"I guess they had to take the long way 'round?" Gordon suggested. He moved in for a closer look at the bridge, while Aislin decided she couldn't stand the cold any longer. She took off the pack and opened it, hoping to find some warm clothing to wear.

A moment's searching revealed a pair of gloves and some leather pants. She pulled off her boots and with some effort managed to squeeze into first the pants, then the gloves, discovering both were obviously made for someone a little smaller than herself. The inside of the pants and gloves were lined with fur, and Aislin was instantly grateful for the warmth they provided.

"This rope was cut on purpose," Gordon roared over the rising winds, holding up the frayed end that would have once held the bridge up. "If we want to use it, t'other side has to be secured to the ground."

"How exactly do you propose to do that?" Madelyn cried. "You need to fix the bridge in order to cross and fix it."

"Yer not helpin'," Gordon growled, his brow furrowed in thought.

"I found this in my pack," Jaz offered helpfully, revealing a metal prong tied to a very long rope. "Perhaps Carthack could toss it across?"

"Give it a try," Gordon advised. "I'll fix this end o' the bridge while yer at it." Carthack grunted and took the rope from Jaz, whirling it above his head with increasing speed. When he felt it was going fast enough, he hurled it towards the other side of the crevasse. It sailed through the air but fell short by several yards. Carthack reeled in the rope and tried a second time, roaring from the effort of throwing it with so much force. It landed closer, but still not quite close enough.

"It's the wind," he growled in frustration. Gordon, who had just finished off securing this side of the bridge with some spare rope, tugged thoughtfully at his beard while gazing across the chasm.

"Give me the grapple," he instructed while hefting his long firearm. Carthack handed it over and the dwarf carefully placed the long metal bar at the grapple's base inside the end of the pipe. "Hang on to the end o' the rope in case it goes as far as I think it might, and cover yer ears," he added, then lifted the weapon and carefully aimed it across the crevasse. The girls huddled together for warmth while Gordon adjusted his angle slightly, then set it off.

With a thunderous crack and a cloud of black smoke, the prong was sent hurtling through the air, and landed well clear of the edge by several yards.

"Result," Gordon muttered in triumph, as Carthack heaved on the rope and felt it pull tightly against a rock. Aislin breathed a sigh of relief, though they weren't out of trouble yet. Gordon secured his weapon across his back, then clapped his gloved hands together to warm them up before taking hold of the rope and swinging his legs over it.

Carthack held it firmly as Gordon bravely rappelled across, fully aware he was dangling perhaps thirty yards and more above the rocky ground. The winds buffeted him, and Aislin cringed every time he swayed around, but the rope held and he finally made it across.

Gordon spent the next few minutes repairing the damaged bridge while the rest of them kept a vigilant eye for any sign of pursuit. When the engineer heaved on the rope to pull one side of the bridge up, it appeared as though he was having trouble lifting so much of it by himself.

"I'd better give him a hand," Madelyn grumbled after surveying the other likely candidates around her.

"No, I go," Carthack responded. "He needs strength, not beauty."

"I think you're too heavy to cross on the rope," Madelyn remarked after gazing up and down Carthack's towering form. "Thank you for the compliment though." Before he could answer, she grasped the rope with gloved hands and swung underneath it, pulling herself across in short bursts of movement. Madelyn was much quicker than Gordon had been and before long, she was helping the dwarf heave the damaged bridge back into shape.

"So, who's going first?" Jaz asked with a shaky voice as Gordon beckoned from the other side. Before them, the rope bridge swayed ominously back and forth in the strengthening gale.

"I go last, make sure is safe," Carthack rumbled, leaving only one option.

"I can do it," Aislin said, though her gloved palms were suddenly sweating at the thought. Carthack gave her a reassuring nod as she approached the edge of the bridge and gingerly placed one foot upon it.

"My father always said, 'life is easy if you take it one step at a time,'" she recited, "though he might not have meant it literally." Her first few steps were nerve-wracking, and the thought of dropping through the cracked wooden planks filled her with dread. Yet with each step, the far side of the crevasse moved that much closer. Her heart pounding, she resisted the urge to run and focused on carefully placing one foot in front of the other. When she was within a few yards of the bridge's end, Aislin rushed forward and jumped over the last few planks to safety.

With a sigh of relief, she turned and beckoned Jaz to follow, flashing her a smile to show it wasn't so bad. If anything, Jaz seemed more nervous than Aislin and stood perfectly still, hesitant to place even one foot upon the ancient wood. From behind her, something moved amidst the rocky terrain.

"Behind you!" Aislin cried, pointing at the danger. Carthack whirled around just as three Akoran warriors burst from cover and lunged at him. He could have protected himself, yet in a display of selflessness he instead chose to shove Jaz onto the bridge.

Jaz screamed as she looked at the ground far below, and clutched onto the rope for support, unable to move. Carthack was grabbed from behind by two men and pulled away from the bridge.

"I told him we should have just killed them instead of knocking them out," Madelyn spat as she drew her crude hunting bow and nocked an arrow. Gordon pulled his long firearm from his back and aimed across the crevasse, though neither of them shot for fear of harming their ally.

There was nothing Aislin could do to help him from here, and Carthack couldn't risk retreating across the rickety bridge while Jaz was still on it.

"Jaz, look at me!" Aislin cried, trying to distract her from the drop below. Jaz slowly raised her head and stared back with eyes wide from fear. "Keep looking at me and move forward one step," Aislin continued, having to shout over the volume of the wind. "It's easy, just take it one step at a time. Gordon's fixed the bridge good and proper so it'll hold, don't worry about it! Just keep moving."

Jaz nodded and did as she was told, inching forward with agonising slowness. Just behind her, Carthack struggled to fight off three warriors who were pushing him towards the edge. The big man managed to punch one of them in the face, staggering him back for a moment and giving himself space to move. Another savage swung an axe towards him but Carthack caught the man's arm in mid-swing and with incredible strength, simply pulled the weapon from his hands.

Armed and dangerous, Carthack smashed the hilt into his surprised opponent's face and shoved the third man back a few steps. Jaz was oblivious to this, occupied as she was with her own predicament.

"That's it, you're doing fine!" Aislin called, encouraging Jaz to continue as she was. Carthack was about to engage the third Akoran when the first one he'd shoved away grabbed him from behind, holding his arms in place with his own considerable strength. The two gigantic men were locked together as Carthack struggled to break free from his iron grip, while the other two opponents moved in and slugged him in the stomach.

It then came as a complete surprise to the man holding Carthack from behind when an angry cat suddenly burst out of his pack and attached himself to the Akoran warrior's face. Keg was a blur of teeth and claws as he gave the man a set of bloody wounds, forcing him to let go while he flailed about with his hands.

Free to move once more, Carthack swung the axe at the opponent to his right and struck him on the chest, sending him sprawling onto the ground with a vicious wound. In the same motion, Carthack lunged to the left and rammed his shoulder into the third man, shoving him off the edge of the crevasse.

He cried out in terror as he fell, and was soon silenced when he crashed upon the ground far below. Aislin kept her eyes on Jaz, who unfortunately just witnessed someone demonstrating exactly what would happen if she fell from the bridge. She froze in place and screamed, unable to take her eyes from the ground below as she was buffeted by the strong winds.

"He didn't have a bridge — you do!" Aislin pointed out. "Just keep moving and you'll be fine." It took a long moment for Jaz to muster the courage to get moving again, and this time Aislin was relieved to see her scurrying forward on all fours.

Behind her, Keg jumped away as the Akoran tried to grab him, only to find Carthack bearing down on him. Unfortunately, another half-dozen men — probably those who had survived the encounter with the giants — emerged from amongst the rocks and moved to assist their comrade.

Sensing their approach, Carthack took in the situation and changed his tactics. He glanced at the bridge and saw Jaz nearly across to the other side. He rushed for the bridge but was intercepted by the scarred warrior who grabbed hold of him once more. Carthack was able to push him away easily enough, though it cost the big man precious time and the others were nearly upon him.

"Keep them busy," Madelyn shouted as she finally loosed her arrow, which sailed unevenly through the air, narrowly missed one of the approaching Akorans. She quickly loosed another arrow, though in these winds it was extremely difficult to aim, and she missed once more.

Gordon followed her example and shot his long firearm with a crack of thunder. The shot didn't seem to hit anyone, yet the effect of the noise was greater than any direct hit. As one, they stopped moving and seemed alarmed at the strange magic directed against them, buying Carthack that much more time.

Jaz was only a few yards away now, and a look of determination had replaced the fear on her dark features. Aislin reached out in anticipation of her arrival, just as Carthack dashed for the bridge with Keg hot on his heels. They were only a couple of yards across when two of the Akorans, each armed with an axe, swung their weapons and cut the lines holding their side of the bridge in place.

Jaz screamed as she felt the far end of the bridge fall away, and she lunged the last few feet with outstretched hands, which Aislin grabbed and held onto with all of her strength. She was dragged forward by Jaz's weight and joined in the screaming, as it seemed they would both be pulled into the crevasse. Gordon swore under his breath and lunged forward, grabbing Aislin's legs, and stopping their slide just before she went over.

Just beyond Jaz, Aislin watched in dismay as Carthack fell. He held onto the ropes and braced for the inevitable impact, with Keg clutching onto his leg, his tail sailing out behind him as the wind gusted past. The bridge impacted the side of the crevasse and from her precarious position Aislin could see both Carthack and Keg had managed to hold on.

Gordon slowly dragged Aislin and Jaz back on to solid ground, with the two girls holding each other's arms with white-knuckled tension. Once clear, Jaz scrambled away from the immediate edge and then both of them collapsed and struggled to catch their breath.

"I could use some help here!" Madelyn called as she continued to shoot arrows across the crevasse. The Akorans were similarly armed, and three of them were shooting at either Carthack or the girls. Sleet was driving almost sideways from the strength of the gale and it was impossible to aim properly in the face of such natural fury. All it would take was one lucky shot and someone could lose their life, however.

With the girls safe, Gordon tossed aside his long firearm and opened his longcoat, pulling out the first of three smaller weapons from his wide belt and shooting across the crevasse. Aislin and Jaz covered their ears as the firearms cracked, one after another. One of them was a lucky shot which grazed the shoulder of one of the Akorans and, sensing they were in a perilous position, they finally withdrew to the safety of the rocks.

Aislin crawled to the edge of the crevasse, and was surprised when Keg suddenly leaped over the edge to land right next to her. One of Carthack's huge hands appeared on the lip and with some effort, the big man heaved himself over the edge and on to flat ground. His face was bruised and bleeding, and he clutched one side of his chest in pain, but he seemed otherwise okay.

"Cave first, talk later," he rumbled as the others gathered around to help him up. With the foul weather upon them, there was no dissent as they gathered their things and hurried to the cave entrance not fifty yards distant.

They were wet and cold by the time they stumbled inside, and in desperate need of a fire. There were no signs of any fallen twigs or branches on the ground outside, although the cave did yield something of interest.

"That group we ran into camped 'ere overnight," Gordon surmised as they looked upon the charred remains of a campfire. A quick survey of the cave didn't reveal any hidden stash of wood, however Aislin had a thought.

"Check the packs we took," she suggested through chattering teeth. "They might have been carrying wood with them. They emptied the contents of the Akoran packs on the ground, discovering an assortment of simple possessions, dried venison rations and in Madelyn's, kindling.

Gordon immediately went about setting up a camp fire, while Carthack slumped against the wall and stared at nothing in particular. The others were in a similar state of relief, though the girls were shivering in the chilly conditions.

"Another cave," Madelyn eventually remarked in a flat voice. Aislin glanced at their surroundings and wasn't about to complain.

"At least it's bigger than the last one," she pointed out. "Is everyone okay?"

"Intact," Carthack rumbled in spite of his obvious injuries.

"I'll take a look in a moment," Jaz sighed, obviously enjoying the feel of solid earth beneath her backside. Keg sauntered over and laid against Aislin's side, allowing her to check for injuries. She was relieved at finding none, in spite of Keg's every effort to get into harm's way.

"All in all, it coulda gone worse," Gordon remarked with a dry chuckle as he finished piling some twigs into a pile. Jaz leaned forward and ignited them with a few sparks from her magic ring, and smoky flames began to crackle amongst the damp kindling. Before long they were huddling around the fire for warmth as the driving sleet obscured the land outside. Gordon cooked the last of the bacon and while it sizzled in the pan, they contemplated their situation.

"How much further until we reach Akoran lands?" Madelyn asked between mouthfuls.

"Two days," Carthack grunted with a shrug. "Weather slow us down."

"It doesn't show any sign of stopping," Aislin remarked, peering at the terrible conditions outside.

"At least we won't be having any unexpected visitors," Madelyn pointed out. "For a group of people supposedly fleeing for their lives, the Akorans are more than happy to try and kill anyone they encounter."

"Probably tryin' to keep anyone from gettin' word to them that count," Gordon gruffly surmised. "Last thing they want is a counter-attack."

"I'm starting to think heading to the fort would have been a better idea," Madelyn pressed. "War may be inevitable, regardless of what we find if we reach Akora."

"If?" Jaz meekly asked. She still hadn't recovered from her harrowing experience on the bridge.

"Yes dear," Madelyn replied in a condescending manner, "if we aren't killed by the next patrol we run in to, and if we don't catch our death from cold, we may find whatever happened in Akora is more than a match for us. I know you're a student and something of a tourist, but you've ended up way over your head, along with the rest of us. If you don't like it, blame her."

"Don't listen to her Jaz," Aislin protested as Madelyn pointed the finger of blame in her direction, "we're going to find out what caused all this, and then run for the fort."

"But how are we going to cross the crevasse now that the bridge is collapsed?" Jaz asked, silencing the discussion.

"How about we deal with that when we make it back here, yeah?" Gordon suggested firmly. "Until then, eat yer meal and get some rest. We're movin' out as soon as the weather clears." They ate their food in near silence, although Jaz quietly confided in Aislin when Madelyn was preoccupied with her meal.

"Getting across the bridge was the scariest thing I've ever done," Jaz whispered. "Thank you for helping me through it."

"You're having a rough time of it on this journey," Aislin replied in equally hushed tones, "but we'll get through it all, I promise. Besides, Keg is looking out for us too, right?" she added. He purred and commenced licking Jaz's hand until she smiled. They were interrupted when Carthack cleared his throat in an obvious way to gain their attention, and then pointed to his face.

"I'd better take a look at those bruises," Jaz sighed, clambering over for a closer look. After a cursory examination, it appeared he hadn't broken any bones on his encounter with the crevasse wall, and after quaffing a bitter tonic, he settled back and fell into an exhausted sleep.

As the light faded outside, Aislin jostled with Keg for a position next to the fire and lay down, staring out at the driving sleet. The early start and arduous challenges of the day had drained her completely. Gordon sat near the entrance, supposedly keeping watch for signs of approaching trouble outside, yet was distracted by smoke from the fire which trailed further into the cave.

"I'm just gonna check something out," he confided under his breath as he crept past, trying not to disturb the others. Aislin barely registered his words as her eyes drooped and she drifted off.

* * *

Her dreams were a mixture of frightening images of wild animals hunting her down, and a feeling that she'd lost something very important to her. No matter how hard she looked, Aislin couldn't find it and she woke with a hollow feeling in her chest. The ever-present sound of wind and rain calmed her thoughts and she grasped Sliver's hilt reassuringly, cosy and warm in her heavy winter cloak. Keg was curled up against her stomach as usual, and Aislin could have quite happily stayed there all day. Indeed, the way the rain was coming down, it appeared they wouldn't be going anywhere.

The faint light of dawn filtered through the entrance and the fire was burning low. Gordon sat just beyond the crackling flames, appearing thoughtful as he stroked his plaited beard. The others were stirring as well, and before long they were eating a cold breakfast, and going about their morning routine.

"More bloody weather I see," Madelyn remarked, evidently in a bad mood. She appeared completely different to her usual well-manicured look in the mornings, with unkempt hair and bleary eyes.

"Don't get too comfortable," Gordon suggested, "we've a long way to travel today."

"I'm not going out in that," Aislin said, gazing with disdain at the awful weather.

"Nobody is," he hinted with a wink. "Before I turned in fer the night, I noticed the smoke waftin' further into the cave, instead o' goin' outside."

"The wind is driving it inwards," Jaz pointed out. "I thought you would have figured that out."

"Ah, but why isn't it fillin' the cave with smoke, hmm?" Gordon pointed out. "I'll tell ye — the back o' the cave goes deep into the earth. I went on a little expedition and discovered a whole network o' tunnels down there, and me sharpened senses tell me they go east from here. We can continue on to Akora underground."

"How do you know it comes back to the surface again?" Jaz asked, appearing unimpressed with the implications.

"Caves all connect here and there," Gordon explained in a way that only posed more questions. "I've spent a lot of me life in mines and natural tunnels, and I'm confident I can navigate our way through and back to the surface again. The alternative is to head out into that, and I can tell ye don't 'ave the stomach fer it."

"After yesterday, I'm willing to try anything that won't have us run into more of those foul savages," Madelyn remarked. "We're trying to be subtle and scout the area, not take on hordes of them by ourselves."

"Exactly," Gordon agreed. "So we keep movin' underground, we get close to where we need to be and find our way back up, look around, then head back with the vitals. It's possible there's a tunnel leading west from here too, so we might be able to bypass that crevasse too."

"You sound entirely too excited about this," Madelyn remarked dryly, to which Gordon could only grin. "Are we likely to run into any sort of danger?" she added.

"No more'n what's up here," he replied, and with the events of the past day fresh in their minds, it seemed like a reasonable alternative.

"If it will get us there faster, we have to try it," Aislin voiced. Carthack grunted his assent and Madelyn affirmed her support, leaving only Jaz to speak her mind.

"In my country, this would be what we call a 'majority vote', so regardless of how I feel, you've already won the argument," she sighed. Gordon clapped his hands together and started gathering his gear, while the girls set about doing the same, but with less enthusiasm.

When they were finally ready to go, Carthack doused the fire, and they followed Gordon to the rear of the cave. It was quite narrow, which was only a real problem for the big Escardi as he squeezed through the gap. The hollow echo of the increasingly distant weather slowly faded as they continued, with Jaz's enchanted ring providing just enough light for them to see by.

Keg, trotting along cautiously at their feet, tugged at Carthack's leg with one paw. The big man gazed down at the cat in thought, then sighed and nodded. Keg immediately climbed up and dove into his pack, much to Aislin's amusement.

"He's wearing you down," she remarked.

"He helped me, I help him," Carthack rumbled as they began their descent into the darkness.

13

### Deep

Once they had travelled beyond the influence of natural light, the cave took on an entirely different demeanour. Long shadows cast by Jaz's enchanted ring leered at them, as if the very darkness found their presence unwelcome. Despite her bravado, Aislin kept one hand on Sliver's hilt as they followed Gordon through the passage. Still, it was a little warmer, and free of the miserable weather outside, and more importantly, they were making progress.

The tunnel itself appeared naturally formed, and its uneven walls forced them to crouch low, or climb over abutments of rock at various times. Carthack, bringing up the rear, was having a challenging time squeezing through these sections. At one point the walls narrowed so much he had to remove his pack and inhale to make it through.

"I'm stuck," he wheezed when it became apparent his barrel chest had become wedged in the tight space.

"Gordon, we need you," Aislin called as she took Carthack's arm and attempted to pull him through. As she suspected, she wasn't strong enough to make a difference and gave him an apologetic shrug.

"I hope you're not afraid of cramped spaces," Madelyn remarked, sounding concerned, though Aislin suspected otherwise. "If that were me? I'd be screaming in terror right about now."

"I dread nothing," Carthack rumbled without even the slightest hint of concern.

"Typical male boasting," Madelyn sniffed dismissively. "If I had a copper every time I heard some blustering fool —"

"Not boast," Carthack interrupted her as Gordon arrived and took in the situation.

"It certainly sounds like it," Madelyn teased, finding his plight a little too amusing. Gordon took hold of Carthack's arm and pulled downwards, and a moment later the big man popped out of the gap and stumbled forward.

"Yer coat was stuck on a rock," Gordon explained with a straight face.

"Thank you," came the gruff reply.

"All part o' the service," the dwarf chuckled. "Now stay close, boys and girls. I don't want to lose any o' ya in these tunnels."

"See? Nothing to dread," Carthack pointed out to Madelyn. "My captain train me. 'What do you fear?' he ask. Heights, trapped, solitude, all of these things. I confront all and conquer. Now, I dread nothing."

"That must have been scary," Jaz remarked quietly, vaguely intimidated by their close surroundings.

"I think you miss the point," Carthack said with a rumbling laugh. "Cave is just cave. Will not hurt you. Come, we go," he added, pushing them onward as he put his pack with its hidden passenger on again.

They continued to travel ever downwards at a noticeable incline into the gloom. Aside from the occasional clattering of a dislodged rock and the mournful howl of the wind, they encountered nothing remarkable for the next few hours.

"Watch yer head," Gordon called from ahead, prompting everyone to look up. Dangling above them was a spider the size of Carthack's oversized hand, hanging in a web of its own creation. Aislin cringed at the sight, having had a dislike of crawling things all her life. Madelyn reacted even more violently, gasping and pressing herself against the wall at the furthest point from the spider.

"I hope you not afraid of bugs," Carthack teased as he moved past, ducking his head to avoid disturbing the extensive web. Aislin steeled herself and followed, easily passing beneath it, while Jaz actually paused and moved in for a closer look, standing on tip-toes to peer at it through her goggles.

"My word, this is fascinating," she remarked in a distracted voice. "It's so colourful! What use has colour in a dark environment such as this?"

"All I know is that I want to kill it with fire," Madelyn muttered as she inched her way past, keeping a close eye on the bulging arachnid, while fighting the urge to look away. Once they were past, she hurried to catch up with Gordon, while Aislin reminded Jaz they had a long way to go.

They continued on, feeling the weight of the stone above their heads more and more as time passed. Even Carthack, fearless though he claimed, seemed more perturbed than usual. Aislin jogged ahead to catch up with Gordon at the forward edge of Jaz's light.

"This must remind you of home," Aislin remarked to him once she'd fallen into step. From the look on his face, Gordon seemed to be the only one of the group enjoying the subterranean journey.

"Common misconception," he answered as they clambered over a large rock jutting up from the ground beneath. "Me people work in mines — we don't really live there."

"I thought Stonegaard was an underground city," Madelyn responded, all the while keeping an eye out for more spiders.

"Aye, and it's a vast, open space, not a cramped little tunnel like this," Gordon explained. "Mind you, this place has potential. A couple dozen o' me kin could turn this into a decent thoroughfare in the span o' a few weeks and yeah, it does remind me a bit from my time in the lower mines of Stonegaard."

"Why are you people so interested in the underground anyway?" Jaz asked as she caught up. "The dwarven city of Aurumgaard lies within a week's travel of my home in Lyden, and it's dug out of a mountain too."

"Do ya like diamonds?" Gordon responded.

"I'd sell my mother for one," Madelyn remarked without hesitation.

"Oh yes, I could use one to channel all sorts of arcane energies," Jaz added enthusiastically, confusing the other girls with her odd response.

"I don't think I've seen one before," Aislin said, feeling as though she'd missed out on something special.

"Well, me and my kin like diamonds too," Gordon went on. "We like all sorts of precious rocks, and the best place to find 'em is underground, see?"

"Is that why you're so short?" Jaz asked a little thoughtlessly. "All those years living in cramped spaces, hunting shiny stones in the rock?"

"Basically, yeah," Gordon answered with a laugh. "Legend has it we're related to humans in the distant past, but whereas ye and yours shot up like trees under the open sky, we grew all squat and compact for workin' the stone halls."

"That doesn't explain why you live twice as long as we do," Madelyn said, ducking beneath a stalactite dripping with moisture.

"Aye, that I canna explain," Gordon answered with a tug of his beard. "Just healthier than you lot I guess. Better lookin' too, if I might add."

"You most certainly may not," Madelyn scoffed, drawing a laugh from the dwarf who didn't take offence.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," he suggested with grin. His good humour faded a moment later as he paused. "Watch yer step, I'm sensin' a bit of a drop up ahead." Curious as to what he was referring to, they followed cautiously as Gordon crept forward along the tunnel until the wall to their left opened out into a vast dark space.

"Ohh," Jaz breathed, staring at their dark surroundings through her goggles. "It's immense," she added, and now that she was paying attention to her senses, Aislin could feel a breeze drifting up from below, and from the echoes around her, it was clear they had entered a vast cavern.

"Let me see," she whispered to Jaz, who took off her goggles and handed them over. Once in place, Aislin breathed in awe at the sight before her. The cavern was easily a hundred yards across, beyond which even the enchanted goggles couldn't see. Tiny flecks of intense colour were present here and there throughout the cavern, glowing softly as if candlelight.

"What is it?" Madelyn asked, staring blindly into the darkness.

"I have a theory," Jaz mused thoughtfully. "Carthack, can you throw a rock over there?" He grunted and crouched to pick up a loose piece of stone from the ground, then drew back his arm and hurled it with one mighty throw in the direction she was pointing. Moments later, the silence was broken by the rock hitting a far wall, and almost instantly, the glowing dots Aislin could see through the goggles lit up in an assortment of vivid colours.

"Spiders, dozens of them," Jaz remarked in awe. "They must light up to attract prey. What an ingenious development."

"Keep moving, idiots," Madelyn whispered harshly, staring around in terror as if spiders were about to rain upon them. Aislin also felt the hair on the back of her neck bristle, and she handed the goggles back to Jaz.

"Your fear is blinding you," Carthack chastised. "Is beautiful sight. You should appreciate little things in life."

"It would look better if it were bathed in flames right about now," Madelyn muttered, pushing an indignant Gordon in the back to propel him along.

"Alright, alright I'm movin'," he grumbled, leading through the cavern to another gap on the other side.

"How much longer must we endure this darkness?" Madelyn pressed him. "We've been walking for hours."

"The passage is a bit deeper than I figured," Gordon admitted. "But you felt that breeze in the cavern, right? It's comin' from this tunnel ahead, so it has to lead back toward the surface. If I had to guess, I'd say we're about halfway through the journey." All three girls groaned at this news, perplexing the men with their discouraged attitude.

"Sorry, I forget yer a bit young for this much walkin'," Gordon admitted. "We can stay here and sleep if'n ye like?"

"Are you mad?" Madelyn snapped. "I'm not closing one eye 'til we get out of this spider-infested tomb."

"I'm really tired, but I'd sort of prefer to be out of here too," Aislin added, ashamed to admit she was very uncomfortable in the deep caverns of stone.

"My legs are killing me," Jaz added. "I don't think I can walk for another ten minutes, let alone five hours."

"We're not staying here," Madelyn firmly reiterated.

"This isn't so bad," Jaz protested. "They're web-makers, not hunters. They won't bother us if we don't bother them."

"My dear, inquisitive girl," Madelyn explained in overly-patient tones, "you have no idea what other dangers lurk in this part of the world, and frankly I find your near-suicidal fascination with dangerous creatures and substances to be hazardous to our continued good health. Your talents are welcome in this little contingent of inadvertent explorers, but feel free to stay here while the rest of us make for the surface."

"Don't talk to her like that," Aislin protested, noticing Jaz appeared intimidated after the tongue-lashing. "She saved your life — show some respect."

"Why are you here again?" Madelyn wondered caustically, becoming more spiteful with each word. "Oh that's right, we're all here because of you. 'Let's go and find out what the trouble is!' you bleated, sending us on a one-way journey to whatever calamity destroyed an entire city, should we survive a horde of huge spiders and God-knows whatever else this place has in store for us."

"Enough," Carthack rumbled, placing one hand on Madelyn's shoulder to emphasise his point. She broke off her verbal assault, though she continued muttering as she turned away. "We go on, but I carry girls so they rest." Carthack continued, drawing a look of relief from Aislin and Jaz. "One at a time," he added, just so there was no confusion. Aislin sighed and gestured for Jaz to go first, and watched with envy as Carthack scooped her up in his massive arms as if she weighted nothing.

Onward they marched through stone tunnels and other smaller caverns, the contents of which Aislin barely noticed. She couldn't remember ever being this weary before, and it took a supreme effort of will just to keep placing one foot in front of the other. When it was her turn to be carried, Jaz moaned in protest as Carthack eased her to the floor.

"Keg has it too easy," Aislin muttered as she was scooped up. Too sore to sleep, she lay there for some time, rocking back and forth in his massive arms, barely aware of her surroundings until everything suddenly went dark.

"Oh, my illuminator went out, hang on," Jaz mumbled, while Madelyn whimpered briefly. They could hear Jaz whisper something unintelligible and a moment later, the magical light flickered back to life.

"It's only really meant to work for a few hours at a time, not light a lengthy expedition," Jaz explained.

"We need to get out of here before we're buried alive," Madelyn said through heavy breaths.

"Relax, me people do this fer a living," Gordon assured the anxious girl. "Me nose tells me we can't be much further from the surface now, though I got no control over the weather above, mind you."

"I protect us," Carthack added, "we not be buried here. Promise." Madelyn took a deep breath and calmed herself, nodding appreciatively.

"I fear my riding boots aren't really made for this sort of exploration," she said to him as she flexed her legs one after the other. "I don't suppose I could book passage for a time?"

"What?" Carthack responded in confusion.

"She wants a ride," Aislin explained dryly. "Wait your turn."

"Well well, what's this?" Gordon remarked from just beyond the reach of the light. The rest of them moved closer to see what had caught his attention, and noticed the naturally formed tunnel suddenly changed into something that appeared to be made by hand.

"Looks to me like the start o' a carved passageway," Gordon mused as he ran his fingers over the smooth, flat wall. "Or rather, the end o' a passage. The builder might've run out o' patience or somethin'."

"Can you see where it leads?" Jaz asked curiously.

"That way," Gordon answered, pointing further into the darkness. "The breeze is subtle but I can still feel it bristlin' me beard. This be the way out."

"Or the way in to some place," Aislin pointed out, giving everyone pause.

"Aye, could be the bottom end o' some old fort, though this kinda stonework isn't something I've seen humans carve, nor me own kin. Seems kinda primitive to me. I'm no expert on these mountains, but I canna recall any major castles built around here."

"I do love a mystery," Jaz whispered with a faint grin at Aislin.

"Well, it's civilisation," Madelyn remarked, "and that's good enough for me." Despite clearly hating every part of their underground journey, she was the first to step into the corridor leading to who-knows-where. Jaz kept pace with her to shed light, and Gordon moved along closely behind, studying the walls for any sign of who made them. He even went so far as to measure the wall with a roll of knotted string from his pouch.

"Yep, not really human height," he surmised, "and a little high fer dwarven construction. I have no idea who made this."

"Don't look at me," Carthack rumbled, having to stoop to keep from hitting his head on the ceiling.

"You can let me down now," Aislin whispered, taking pity on him. The big man didn't protest as he set her onto the flat, even floor, and to her surprise, Keg emerged from his pack and alighted on the floor next to her, where he stretched and yawned.

"Lucky sod," Aislin whispered to him, as she took out her water skin and poured a little into her palm, allowing him to lap it up with his rough tongue. After he drank his fill, he trotted alongside Aislin as they took in their surroundings.

The passage continued on straight as an arrow for perhaps fifty yards, with the quality of the carving improving as they went. Gordon marvelled at the more finished work they passed, becoming more perplexed as to who had carved this master-work of stone.

"This is expertise on a level I've ne'er seen before," he muttered, his fingers following intricate and flowing creases in the rock. "Been tryin' to figure out what these carvings mean. Is it art? Some sort of language maybe?"

"Trees," Aislin suggested, drawing a curious look from Gordon. She merely pointed at the opposite wall and for possibly the first time, he looked at the whole thing in one viewing.

"It does look like trees," he remarked, gazing at what appear to be a curving oak tree elaborately carved into the very stone. "It's like decoration or somethin'? Damn peculiar."

"Your people don't decorate your stone halls?" Madelyn inquired.

"Nah, not really," he answered. "There's a few artisans that do it fer their rooms and important places in Stonegaard itself, but empty halls leading to nowhere? I canna see the point."

"Over here," Jaz called, looking closely at the wall ahead where it diverged into two passages. Gordon stomped over and gazed at her discovery, which appeared to have a flowing script etched into the picture of yet another tree.

"Elvish," Gordon grunted. "Seen it before, though ne'er carved into stone. Trees, sure. Books? They have those. Ne'er known an elf to be interested in stonework. Not tryin' to be racist mind you, they just prefer their forests or spires to livin' underground."

"That explains the tree carvings I suppose," Aislin surmised. "Maybe they were stuck down here, and carved those to remind them of home?"

"Maybe," Gordon muttered. "It's hard to say just how old these carvings are, but they's old, that much I can tell ya."

"Stay focused," Madelyn advised. "Which way do we go?"

"The breeze is comin' from the left," Gordon answered, leaving the curious flowing script behind as they continued on their way.

Not far down the corridor, they encountered a pair of doors which opened in the middle. The door on the right was cracked, as if from a powerful impact, and its partner was open a few feet, allowing a warm, musty flow of air through.

"This doesn't bode well," Gordon remarked, taking a closer look at the damaged door. "Definitely an impact from a batterin' ram, or somethin' like it. There's scorch marks around the impact point too... not unlike what me black powder sometimes leaves behind. Wait, there's no residue here, it's just blackened from heat."

"I have a feeling more answers lie through this door," Madelyn suggested, peering cautiously beyond. Jaz brought her magical light forward and Gordon moved through first, his longarm at the ready while he checked to ensure the way was clear.

"I think it's safe," he called back after a few moments, "but I'm not sure ye want to see this."

"Me next," Carthack grunted, stooping through the doorway and entering the passage beyond.

"Balderdash," Madelyn muttered, joining him a moment later. Jaz and Aislin exchanged a shrug and went through as well, entering what appeared to be another cavern, though this one seemed to be carved much like the rest of the passage they'd travelled. The ceiling was barely visible in the darkness, and the far wall was hidden beyond the edge of their light.

Keg warily explored as Aislin laid eyes on what had disturbed Gordon. Ahead, in what was probably the centre of the vast hall was a pile of ancient and dusty bones, which stretched beyond the edge of the light. Some were dressed in metal armour so corroded with time as to be barely recognisable, with equally rusty weapons held in their skeletal grasp. Cobwebs lay thick upon the pile, where it seemed a battle had been fought and lost a long time ago.

"What happened here?" Aislin asked with a wavering voice as she crept forward, mindful of how every step echoed in the stone hall.

"Fight," Carthack said, stating the obvious as he sifted through the remains. "Bones mostly from thin people. Never seen full-blooded elf before, maybe this them?" Already on edge, everyone present almost jolted when the sound of bones moving on the stone floor interrupted their discussion.

"Keg!" Aislin hissed, noticing the cat pawing at a smaller mound of bones. He gave her an innocent look and sat on his haunches, yet the pile of bones twitched again, sending a shiver up Aislin's spine.

Carthack cautiously approached holding one of the rusty old swords in one hand, with Jaz keeping step just behind him to shed light on this strange development. Keg watched the movement amongst the bones with keen interest, resisting the urge to bat them around with his paw. Once close enough, Carthack nudged aside some broken bones with the tip of his sword to reveal whatever lay beneath.

Scared but curious, Aislin moved closer to see what horror from beyond was about to leap upon them, and saw two glinting red eyes starting up at the big Escardi.

"Not bone, metal," he rumbled, unsure what he was looking at. Jaz peered around his tree-trunk of a leg and after a moment's glance, seemed to relax.

"Oh, that's interesting," she remarked, moving in for a closer look. "It's a construct, or rather, what's left of one."

"Construct?" Aislin repeated, joining Carthack in the ranks of the unsure.

"Yes, a magical construct," Jaz reiterated. "Sometimes called a golem. It's sort of a non-living metal man, though they can be made of all sorts of materials."

"Dangerous?" Carthack inquired, still ready to act at the slightest provocation.

"It could be, though this one can't seem to move. Help me clear around it so I can find out."

"Is this really so important?" Madelyn suggested. "May I remind you we still need to find a way out of here, and your constant diversions to look at the scenery are becoming tiresome."

"Want exit? Go look for exit," Carthack advised without taking his eyes from the movement amongst the bones.

"I don't have a bloody light," Madelyn sighed in exasperation.

"I got this," Gordon assured them, heading off into the darkness to prowl around with his remarkable vision.

"Oh, look at you, you poor thing," Jaz purred as Carthack cleared some space around the construct. Aislin came close enough to see a huge metal body, not unlike a suit of armour, but for someone even larger than Carthack. It was covered in a layer of rust and bore dents and scrapes from the battle it had apparently outlived.

Its head was similar to a metal helmet, except completely sealed but for two red gems set where eyes would have been. Astonishingly, its head swivelled about and appeared to be watching them, though it seemed unable to move any other part of its body.

"You know of these things?" Carthack asked of Jaz while she examined the golem closely.

"Some of the other students and I built a small one of these just last year," she answered. "Of course, that one had arms and legs. This poor fellow has lost his, crushed or ripped from the torso. It's probably been stranded here since the fight. Oh but don't worry, it's not really a thinking person. The body holds an elemental spirit which is just smart enough to follow some very basic orders. It's just been waiting here for its master — or mistress — to tell it what to do."

"Fascinating I'm sure," Madelyn primly remarked with crossed arms. "Ask if it knows the way out."

"It can't talk," Jaz explained.

"Yes I'd figured that, I was being facetious. Can we go now?"

"I can't leave it like this, it's cruel!" Jaz protested.

"But you just said —"

"Just give me a minute," Jaz said as she pulled a tool from her satchel, which Aislin recognised as the aetheric hammer. "Don't look at the light, it's very bright," Jaz added, confusing them until the small rod in her hand suddenly flared with an intense spot of white light.

"I thought you said that was a hammer," Aislin remarked as she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

"It can do other things," Jaz responded somewhat defensively. With her goggles in place, she slowly moved the rod over the metal of the golem's chest, where it made a sharp arcing noise, and traced a red-hot line across the surface, leaving an acrid smell hanging in the air.

Aislin averted her eyes and tried not to look at the bones, which seemed to lurch and dance around in the flashing white light. She wasn't certain, but it almost looked like a pile of bones was moving around on its own. The fur on Keg's back stood up, and he hissed in the same direction she was looking, adding to the growing sense of disquiet. Sensing something was amiss, she edged away from the bones and unconsciously placed one hand on Sliver's hilt.

"Hurry it up," she said to Jaz, "I don't like it here."

"Done!" the inquisitive girl declared as the intense light faded from the room. She lifted the head of the construct, which was now separate from its body, and looking back at her with red eyes that betrayed no emotion.

From beyond the flicker of her enchanted ring, the pile of bones Aislin thought had been moving was still shifting around with a dull clattering of bones. Something was rising from amidst the rubble, and she stood transfixed by the sight.

"Don't worry about that," Jaz assured them, as she strapped the head onto the top of her pack. "It's probably just another construct like my rusty friend here. I'm sure I can just..." Her voice trailed away as it became apparent this thing was nothing like the other golem. Huge bones from something large made up most of its frame, though there were large gaps were the bones had shattered.

"Run!" Carthack roared, but the girls were paralysed with terror as the towering monstrosity reached down with three arms, and picked up two random skulls which it placed on top of its frame. The first step it took crunched bones beneath its feet as it leered silently down at them. Carthack bravely stood between it and the girls, though the rusty sword he held seemed a paltry weapon to face such a monster.

The spell of fear was broken a moment later when a thundering boom echoed throughout the chamber. One of the monster's arms shattered completely and rained shards upon the floor. It turned around and faced the dwarf, who gripped his smoking longarm.

"I believe the man said 'run'!" he bellowed as the construct lurched in his direction. With Jaz in the lead lighting the way, that's exactly what they did. Keg bolted ahead of them, more than eager to flee this strange creature and Aislin's heart was racing as they ran as fast as their tired legs could carry them, around the far side of the pile of bones. Gordon backed away and drew one of his smaller weapons, then took another deafening shot at the monster.

It was so large he couldn't really miss, and this time a rib broke off and clattered on the floor. Though Gordon tried to keep his distance, its long bony arms were able to reach out and swipe at him with filthy clawed hands. He ducked in the nick of time, narrowly averting its swipe.

Carthack rushed up behind it and swung his sword at its leg, only to be disappointed when the ancient blade shattered from the force of the blow. Aislin and the others had reached a large stone door, which happened to be closed.

"We should go back through the way we came in," Jaz suggested.

"We're not going back that way!" Madelyn cried, examining the door to find a way to open it. "There's no handle! Who designed this bloody thing?" From behind them, the sound of the fight continued on, with another loud boom from Gordon's rapidly depleting store of weapons. The construct of bone had lost one of its heads, but that didn't seem to stop it.

"Stand aside, I can get this open," Jaz told Madelyn, who reluctantly did as she was told. Jaz raised the aetheric hammer and pointed it at the lock. A dim violet light grew with intensity as she held it there, and the distinct buzzing sound of building power suggested this was going to be loud. Aislin flinched in anticipation as the light built to a crescendo and with a thudding impact, the lock of the door suddenly exploded inwards.

Madelyn shoved the door open with her shoulder, and they charged on through. Despite her fear, Aislin wasn't about to leave them behind to face it alone so she grabbed Jaz's coat and brought her to a halt. The light from her ring showed Gordon barrelling towards them as fast as his stumpy legs could manage, with Carthack hurrying close on his heels. The looming construct of bone was just behind them, and Aislin screamed as the two men hurried through the door, narrowly avoiding the monster's fist as it slammed into the stone floor.

"Close it!" Carthack ordered as he swung the door closed and held it in place.

"I destroyed the lock getting us through," Jaz wailed, with the door shuddering from the impact as the monster sought to break through. Aislin looked at their surroundings for something that could hold the door in place, and saw a large beam that was probably used for just that purpose. Gordon saw it too, and with some effort, he hefted the beam into place across the door to brace it, allowing them to pull back and watch, as it shuddered again and again from the monster's strikes.

"Now would be a good time to find a way out," Madelyn proposed, meeting no dissent from the others, who turned as one and fled through the dark halls of this long forgotten edifice.

14

### Bones

Aislin was puffing heavily, and her legs felt like lead weights as the group ran through the dark halls, searching in vain for a way to escape the pursuing monster. They'd heard the noise when it broke through the door and been spurred on to greater speed, though the rush was starting to ebb, and even tireless Carthack was struggling for breath. They stumbled to a halt for a moment's breath in an expansive room that seemed to be a dining chamber.

"The next time," Madelyn said between breaths, "we want to run... from a giant bone monster... let's not walk for ten straight hours beforehand, okay?"

"Duly noted," Gordon muttered, as he poured black powder down the pipe of his longarm. Aislin was about to speak up when she noticed the metal head on the top of Jaz's pack swivel about when she moved, as if it were looking at a particular point in the room. Glancing over her shoulder, Aislin noticed a rope tied to the floor, with its length soaring up toward the ceiling of the chamber.

Dangling high above a decrepit old table was a dusty metal ring suspended by rope, the remains of a chandelier used to light the room. It was quite huge and obviously very heavy, and an idea formed in Aislin's mind. Before she could say anything, the thudding steps of their pursuer grew louder, and Carthack ordered them onward once more.

While the others hurried on, Aislin took a chance. She urged her tired legs across the room to where the rope was tied to the floor around a heavy iron bolt, crouched low behind a chair ,and waited. It took all of her courage to sit there in the dark, as the lumbering bone monster came closer with each step, and she almost lost her nerve.

Gordon noticed her absence at this point, and as one, they stopped and frantically looked around for Aislin. Only Jaz, with her enchanted goggles, was able to see her hiding next to the rope with Sliver at the ready, and with a flash of inspiration, figure out what her plan was.

"Move over there!" she ordered the others, who followed her instructions with great reluctance. Jaz had them stand on the far side of the dining table and if the monster headed straight for them, it would pass directly beneath the overhanging chandelier. Gripping tight to Sliver's hilt, Aislin held perfectly still as the monster lumbered past, and crashed through the dining table, turning it into kindling.

Madelyn and Carthack took out their hunting bows and shot a few arrows to keep the monster focused on them, though they had no real effect. When it was about to pass right through the middle of the table, Aislin slashed the rotting rope in one stroke, releasing the chandelier and sending it on its last fateful journey.

Her timing was near-perfect, and the metal ring impacted directly onto the thing's heads. Its weight shattered both skulls and the upper ribcage of the monster, and sent it crashing forward, where it destroyed the remains of the table and disappeared in an explosion of wood and bone.

"Yes!" Jaz crowed in delight as it fell, though the rest of them were too out of breath to celebrate. Aislin slowly headed over to rejoin her friends, taking care to stay clear of the rubble in the centre of the room.

"That was bloody clever," Madelyn remarked, though Aislin could only nod as she leaned against the wall.

"Dangerous too," Gordon added pointedly.

"Don't tell me what my father would have said," Aislin interrupted him before he could say it. Gordon was about to continue when the pile of rubble shifted, and a bony hand emerged and clawed at the ground. Aislin squealed in terror and hurried behind the others, who backed away from it with shared looks of incredulity.

"Does this thing ever die?" Madelyn asked in exasperation.

"It's not really alive, so that question doesn't —" Jaz began, before being interrupted by the crash of another arm as the monster's remains pulled itself clear. Carthack, thinking quickly, rushed forward and picked up a large chunk of wood that would serve as a club, then raised it high and brought it down on its bony arm. Both the wooden club and bone were destroyed in the impact, though it didn't seem to slow the monster down.

"We really have to leave now," Gordon shouted, raising his longarm and blasting a few more ribs from the monster. Again they turned and ran, though with their reserves spent, it really was more of a jog. Carthack shouldered open a rotting wooden door that blocked their path and they stumbled on a little ways further, before coming to a dead end.

"Now what?" Aislin cried, feeling like this whole thing was getting beyond her.

"Did we miss another door, or a stairway up?" Madelyn asked.

"Nay, the corridor was straight and true fer its entire length," Gordon answered, reloading his longarm as quickly as he could. "Looks like we 'ave to make our stand 'ere." They stood there breathing heavily, awaiting the arrival of their doom, and wondering if things could have turned out differently. Aislin looked around, desperate to find something nearby that could give them an advantage, when she once again noticed the construct's head on Jaz's pack swivel to focus on a particular section of the wall.

Aislin crept over and peered at the flat stone, wondering if she was reading more into the head's look than she should have.

"Jaz, shine your light over here," she whispered, having trouble seeing in the dim conditions. Jaz raised her hand, and by its flickering light, Aislin was disappointed to find nothing special about the wall.

"What are ye lookin' fer?" Gordon asked, glancing at her curiously.

"Something, anything," she replied, running her hands over the surface to see if anything felt strange. Gordon shouldered his weapon and joined her there, and within moments, he gasped in shock.

"I'll be," he muttered, running his fingers along a crack that ran vertically from the floor. "A hidden door. I'll bet the place is full of 'em."

"Can you open it?" Aislin asked, her heart racing with hope instead of fear.

"Just gimme a minute," he answered, as their foe burst into the chamber, making an eerie scraping noise as it dragged its shattered body across the ground. Madelyn and Carthack raised their bows again, and shot the rest of their arrows in an attempt to slow it. Then Carthack tossed aside his spent bow, and rushed at the monster, leaping at the last moment and landing just behind it.

He reached down and with his mighty arms grasped onto its shattered lower half, holding it in place as it tried to pull its way forward. It reached back and tried to grab him, but Carthack managed to stay just out of its grasp. Jaz took the opportunity to step forward and raise her aetheric hammer, which glowed with increasingly intense light.

A dull boom of power roared from the device, impacting the creature's upper body, breaking bones and drawing its attention away from Carthack. Its clawed hand reached out and grabbed Jaz, who squealed in terror as she was lifted from the ground.

Carthack roared and heaved backwards on the lower half, shaking it around with all of his strength, ultimately forcing it to lose its grip on Jaz. She landed awkwardly on the floor from six feet up, but was still alive at least.

"Got it!" Gordon cried as a loud thunk came from the wall, which moved inward with a deep grinding sound and revealed a stairway leading up. Keg was the first through, the poor cat terrified by the unliving monster pursuing them, followed closely by Gordon. Carthack, seeing the way out at last, threw the bony creature to the floor and ran over its back, actually punching its clawed skeletal hand as it reached for him on his way past.

He plucked Jaz from the ground as he ran past, and by the time he reached the secret door, the others were through. By the light from Jaz's ring, Gordon was able to pull a lever that made the door grind shut again, just as the unstoppable monster began clawing its way towards them once again. The door closed with a resounding boom, leaving them in a silence broken only by the sounds of them all catching their breath.

The distinctive sound of claws scraping on the other side of the door sent a shiver up their spines, and prompted Aislin and the others to hurry up the stairs in one last burst of speed. Only when they reached the end of the stairs did they collapse onto the floor, gasping for air. Aislin's legs burned from the effort, and she could barely move, but at least they were alive.

"What... was that... thing?" Madelyn asked between breaths.

"Another golem I think," Jaz answered, barely able to talk. "Like I said... they can be made... from all sorts of materials."

"Who would make one out o' bones?" Gordon asked incredulously. "What sort o' demented soul would make such a monster?"

"Whoever attacked the place one would presume," Jaz said, wincing as she touched her side.

"You hurt?" Carthack asked out of concern.

"A few bruises from that squeeze," she answered, pulling out a small vial of healing draught, and drinking it down in one go. "Thanks for tackling that thing, you saved my life. I'll be fine in the morning... whenever that is."

"I would kill for a bath right about now," Madelyn sighed, sprawling over the floor gasping for breath. "This is the most comfortable I've been all day. I think I'll sleep here."

"We're still underground y'know," Gordon pointed out, to which Madelyn responded simply by dismissively waving a hand at him.

"At least it's a building, and not a cave, as such," she mumbled tiredly, resting her head on her pack and closing her eyes. The others followed her lead, arranging their heavy Akoran cloaks on the floor and bedding down close to one another. Although safe for the moment, the hall they'd made camp in was dark and hollow, with only the slightest breeze of musty air wafting through to indicate they were still on the path back to the surface.

"Do you think it'll get through that door?" Aislin whispered to Jaz who laid a few feet away.

"The construct? No, it's too broken up to do much of anything. I can't hear its fingers scraping on the wall anymore either. It'll probably go dormant again until something else disturbs it, the poor thing."

"Ye what?" Gordon stammered at this. "The unholy thing just tried to kill us, and yer takin' sympathy on it?"

"It's not its fault it's a mindless killing machine," Jaz explained plaintively.

"Just like the head on yer back there eh?" Gordon pointed out.

"Completely different design," Jaz said with a shake of her head. "I might be wrong but I think it was one of the defenders. I can't see elves making a construct out of bones, somehow."

"I canna see elves livin' underground neither, but here we are," Gordon muttered. "Ne'er mind, I'm too knackered to care. I'm gonna get some kip, someone else can keep watch." Nearby, Madelyn was already snoring daintily and even Carthack was sprawled flat on his belly. They had pushed themselves too hard this time and barely survived, but there was one exception.

"Keg, keep watch, and wake us if there's trouble," Aislin whispered to the cat, who sat on his haunches, glancing around at the dark surroundings with his tail lashing about curiously. He mewed in apparent understanding as Aislin's eyelids drooped, and within moments, she was fast asleep.

* * *

Aislin awoke to complete darkness, with the diminishing sound of bony fingers scraping on stone still in her ears. Whimpering with fear, she frantically reached around for Sliver's reassuring presence and held it close, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she struggled to remember where she was.

The sound of Madelyn screaming from a few yards away sent Aislin's heart racing, and everyone else was jolted awake. After a few moments of chaos, the flickering light of Jaz's ring lit up the area, which was exactly as it had been before they'd fallen asleep. Madelyn stared into the light with wide eyes, her breathing heavy as she slowly calmed down.

"Sorry, the light went out while we slept," Jaz apologised.

"I was having nicest dream," Carthack grumbled, slowly rising to his feet and stretching his arms. When Jaz stood, the light revealed Keg sitting in front of a half a dozen dead creatures, each almost as large as he. Some of them appeared to have been half-eaten, and Keg seemed especially full and quite pleased with himself.

"Ugh," Aislin said with a shudder. "Are they rats?"

"Voraxes," Gordon corrected with disgust. "Sorta like rats, 'cept bigger, and with six legs. Little buggers will eat just about anythin'. Not uncommon to find 'em underground like we are mind you, so nothin' to be alarmed about. Keg had a busy night."

"Good boy," Jaz crooned, giving the big cat a thorough petting, which he graciously permitted. By the time they'd finish eating a breakfast of dried venison and stale bread, Madelyn had recovered from her unpleasant awakening.

"How much further must we travel these benighted halls?" she asked of Gordon, who had evidently been anticipating her question.

"Can't be much further now I reckon," he responded cheerfully. "I still get a whiff of fresh air ticklin' me beard, and that's what I'm followin'."

"So, you're guessing," Madelyn concluded. "You actually have no idea whatsoever."

"Not as such, no," Gordon gruffly conceded.

"Brilliant."

"Look, so long as we can keep findin' stairs up, we'll get there eventually. Me nose tell's me we've still been headin' east this whole time, so we can't be far from Akora. All we need to do is keep lookin'."

With that settled, they stowed their gear, and wearily set out once more. They slowly plodded along on legs not yet recovered from the previous day so, they were content to take in their strange surroundings and conserve their strength. Whenever Aislin felt too weary to continue, she thought of her father and the rest of the people being held prisoner in Bracksford, and forced herself to keep moving.

She was filled with a sense of dread as they came across the remains of another battle, marked by another pile of bones. This time she and her companions crept past with their backs to the wall, keeping as far from the pile as possible.

"What befell this place that would cause so many to die?" Jaz wondered aloud.

"Another war," Aislin remarked sadly. "I wonder if they missed the opportunity to stop theirs before it started." She pondered this in morbid silence as they left the dusty pile to lie there as a monument to the fallen city.

"This look to me like defensive position," Carthack remarked. "Maybe last stand? No more fight after this."

"Ye know," Gordon added, "this place is designed more like a fort than a city. Up there in the ceiling, ye can see bulkheads and other defences that'd drop down and block the passage. We're definitely getting close to the end now, that I promise."

"It's unwise to make promises you can't deliver on," Madelyn cautioned as the passage ahead narrowed into a spiralling staircase. This one rose through the ceiling, and descended through the floor with a faint, hot wind gently tossing Aislin's hair about as she peered over the edge. The stairs below appeared mostly broken or missing, and she couldn't see where they ended.

"It sounds deep to me ears," Gordon remarked after a quick glance.

"This whole place is simply fascinating," Jaz added as she joined Aislin along the edge of the stone. "What would you say to a little experiment?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Simply this," Jaz said as she held out a copper piece. After whispering a few strange words, the coin began to glow as brightly as the ring on her finger, and she dropped it down the dark centre of the stairwell. The light fell away from them with increasing speed, shining over the surrounding stone as it plummeted to depths unknown.

"Uh... I didn't hear it hit the ground, did you?" Aislin said with an uneasy look.

"No, no I didn't," Gordon muttered. "That is one deep hole."

"Ask me, they went that way," Carthack suggested. "Last pile of bones, final stand. Others flee this way then destroy stairs."

"I don't even want to contemplate living so deep within the earth," Madelyn remarked with a shudder.

"That's okay, we're goin' up, not down," Gordon responded with a wink as he led them up to another level of the complex, though his confidence wavered when they saw the top of the stairs blocked by heavy, chiselled blocks of stone.

"Don't say a thing," Gordon muttered when Madelyn sighed. The engineer moved in for a closer look at the obstruction, and after a moment of inspection, waved Carthack up the stairs.

"Push that one — and only that one aside," he instructed. The big man dusted his gloved hands, and placed them carefully on the stone, then heaved with his considerable strength. The block held fast for a moment, before yielding with a deep grinding sound.

"Lovely work," Gordon said, clapping him on the back — only possible due to sitting higher on the stairs than Carthack. With the way clear, the dwarf carefully entered the chamber above and waved the rest of them through when the coast was clear. What greeted them was a hall in ruins, with collapsed sections and slabs of stone littering the landscape. Upon closer inspection, many of the stones were blackened and scorched, as if from a fierce heat.

"I'm not even gonna speculate," Gordon murmured.

"Powerful magic," Jaz offered, though her enthusiasm for such things was tempered by the inevitable loss of life that had happened here. As they moved through the destruction, the only clear spot was a small area on the stone floor where a circle of unblemished grey lay amidst the seared rock. In it lay a pile of mouldering bones dressed in tattered cloth. An assortment of shining objects adorned its knuckles and its claw-like hand grasped a short wooden stick.

"I think I've had my fill of skeletons for now," Aislin remarked, holding well back from the cadaver. Jaz, of course, went in for a closer look with her goggles in place.

"If I had to guess, I'd say this old chap survived the blast, before something else befell him," she suggested. "The ring of clear stone makes this obvious. Oh, he has a little power on him still. Do you think he'd mind if I borrowed some of his things? Of course not, I'm sure he was a gentleman."

"Yer a very strange girl," Gordon remarked with a raised eyebrow. Jaz plucked the rings and the stick from the dead wizard's hand, before becoming distracted by something only she could see.

"If he survived whatever happened in here," Madelyn speculated, "how did he die? Wait, don't answer that, I just remembered how much I don't care. Can we please just keep going already?"

"Just a moment," Jaz cautioned with a raised hand. "I'm seeing a strange kind of energy lingering around here. I don't think it's all that old either, certainly not as old as this poor fellow."

"More magic?" Gordon asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, it's not like anything I've studied. I'm wondering why my goggles are even detecting its presence, to be honest. I think we should keep clear of it, just to be safe."

"This place is remindin' me of me ancient homeland of Ferrumgaard," Gordon muttered as they picked their way carefully through the ruins. "Centuries of work lost when the place was flooded by a bunch o' turncoat scum. I'm startin' to think underground cities and such aren't a great idea."

"I could have told you that hours ago," Madelyn responded dryly. Movement amongst the rocks caught their attention, and Aislin gasped as she spied a large vorax peering at them with shining eyes. Keg spotted it too and instantly gave chase, sending it scurrying away with a shriek.

"Don't worry about it Keg," Aislin called. "Come back here and stay close." Keg ignored her and disappeared into the darkness.

"I think yer confusin' him with a dog," Gordon chuckled. "He'll be alright." Aislin heard the occasional shriek, and the sound of scuttling from the shadows as they continued onward, where it was becoming quite warm indeed. The scattered stone obstructed their progress a little further ahead, where a colossal pile of it loomed before them, rising all the way to the ceiling. Gordon took a minute to examine the stone while Aislin fidgeted nervously.

"I've got good news and bad news," the engineer said as he dusted off his hands. "By me reckonin', this'd be the main exit to the surface."

"And the bad news is it's blocked," Madelyn snapped. "Yes, we can all see that."

"Ah, but the good news is, I've figured a way through it, by movin' a couple of key plinths to create a path."

"I lift, yes?" Carthack offered, cracking his knuckles.

"Aye, ye read me mind," Gordon answered with a nod. He gestured to a large wooden beam half-buried beneath the rubble, and explained to Carthack how to lift it without causing a collapse.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Jaz asked as she mopped her forehead.

"Me thinkin' is there's some geological activity in the area," Gordon explained. "I don't think it'll be a problem though. We'll be out of 'ere soon enough." Carthack pushed aside a heavy block of stone, and shuffled into place next to the beam, then gripped it with both hands and heaved. The beam groaned as it rose into the air, sending dust and small pockets of rock tumbling, but most of the pile remained where it was.

"That's good, hold it steady now," Gordon remarked, as the girls stood in awe of Carthack's strength. The gap he'd opened up was just large enough for the others to squeeze underneath. Beyond the gap there was a sense of hot, rushing air that carried with it a faint hint of freshness. Gordon went through first with his longarm at the ready, closely followed by Madelyn, who was eager to leave the confines of the underground fortress.

Aislin was about to go next when the sound of screeching grew loudly from behind them. Whirling around to see what approached, she saw Keg bolting towards her with a dozen voraxes in pursuit.

"Go!" Aislin said to Jaz, pushing her through the gap before she could protest. Keg darted beneath Carthack's legs and vanished beyond, leaving Aislin the last to go through. The voraxes, emboldened by their numbers, scurried over the rubble with their large teeth glinting in the receding light.

"Hurry," Carthack advised through gritted teeth as he shifted his grip slightly, sending a cloud of dust and stones tumbling over her. Aislin ducked beneath the wooden beam, noticing it trembling slightly as he strained to hold it up. She emerged on the other side, in the middle of a huge doorway and looked back in consternation at the approaching creatures.

With voraxes nibbling at his boots, Carthack shuffled forward with the beam held high, forcing him to arch his back slightly as he manoeuvred through the gap, before letting the beam go. Half a dozen of the huge rodents made it through before the beam fell, blocking their approach and undoubtedly squishing those remaining on the other side.

Aislin squealed as a vorax leaped at her leg, and latched on to her pants, tearing through to try and bite her flesh. Keg, recovered from his moment of cowardice, pounced on the rodent and tore into it, while Madelyn drew her rapier and skewered another. They had bigger problems to contend with, however. The falling beam caused a shudder through the pile of rubble blocking the doorway, and an ominous rumble echoed through the walls.

As one they moved through the arch and along a passage as rocks and dust tumbled through the gap and down from above. Carthack stomped along behind them with four voraxes chewing on his legs and the big man struggled to swat them away as he ran.

"Hold still!" Madelyn ordered as she speared one of them with her rapier, and proceeded to take on the rest of them one by one. Carthack grabbed one with his bare hands and tossed it away, and they were so preoccupied with the nasty little things they almost ran straight over a cliff. Gordon skidded to a stop just in time and held his arms out to prevent anyone else tumbling over into a fiery abyss.

Aislin stared straight down at a river of molten rock far below, with the heat rising past them intense and overwhelming. Gordon looked up and pointed at a sliver of daylight coming from above, lighting a cavern with carved stairs along its curving edge.

Without another word, they inched their way along the narrow edge of the drop, heading for the stairs. The sounds of rock crashing to the ground behind them filled their ears as a cloud of dust rushed past, obscuring the view. Loose rocks fell from above, tumbling into the inferno below and demonstrating what would happen should one of them lose their footing. In the terrible conditions, they reached out to each other and linked hands, as they slowly made their way towards the light.

One step at a time, they left the heat and darkness further below, with the prospect of freedom tantalisingly close. Keg had climbed up Carthack's back and held on tightly as they moved, with Aislin clutching onto Jaz and Carthack's hands for dear life. Madelyn screamed when one of the ancient stone stairs crumbled beneath her feet, though she was quickly pulled up to the next by Gordon.

The others jumped over the small gap easily enough, though Gordon paid closer attention to each step as they moved. With aching slowness, they followed the stairs around the edge of the cavern, keeping their eyes ahead to avoid looking into the hellish depths beneath. When they finally made it to the top, the path moved through a narrow passage in the rock with a small waterfall cascading down the entrance. They splashed through the water, and cast their eyes upon the most glorious view Aislin had ever seen.

They were high in the mountains, able to see for miles to the north, over the High Plains and beyond. Thick clouds roiled in the skies above, the remains of foul weather that had forced them underground in the first place. Beneath the leaden sky was a lake of steaming water, with sunlight filtering through the fog, and glinting off the rippling surface.

Although snow graced the peaks around them even at this time of the year, the ground around the heated waters of the lake was warm and inviting, and with relief etched onto their features, Aislin and her companions left the darkness of the cave and headed out into that glorious light.

15

### Akoramark

Aislin staggered around a pile of large rocks on her way to the water's edge and fell to her knees, having decided this was an appropriate time to collapse. Jaz thought this was a perfectly reasonable idea and joined her on the ground, while the men reacted in a more stoic fashion, leaning against a rock, and trying to pretend they weren't glad to be out of those perilous tunnels.

Madelyn approached the steaming waters of the lake and slowly, painfully removed one of her boots, then gingerly dipped one toe. If her expression of relief was anything to go by, Aislin judged the temperature to be just about perfect for a bath. Nearby, Gordon took out the large, folded map and studied it closely, muttering to himself all the while.

"This lake ain't on the map," he finally announced, "but near as I can figure, the surroundin' lands indicate we're only a few miles west of Akoramark. See? Takin' the underground route saved us a lot o' time. It wasn't so bad, was it?" As one, the girls gave him a level stare that made him fully aware how they felt about that statement.

"Aside from bone monster, I thought was okay," Carthack answered with a shrug.

"Thank ye, Carthack," Gordon responded gratefully. "I thought it was a fascinatin' and dare I say, educational experience fer the youngn's."

"I'm going to do my level best to forget about everything we just went through," Madelyn remarked pointedly as she began to unbutton her jacket. "You two can keep watch, while we take a much needed bath."

"Aye, that's sound advice," Gordon mumbled. "We'll make camp 'ere, and set out at first light. Probably best to be well rested, as we don't know what we're walkin' into." Madelyn wasn't waiting for his assent, having already removed her jacket and boots.

"Ya sure it's safe?" Gordon inquired dubiously.

"Madelyn's not here right now, try again later," she murmured, almost trance-like as she prepared to slip into the calm, soothing waters. Keg, coloured a dusty brown from the falling dirt they'd passed through, sat at the edge, watching this ceremony curiously. He bravely dipped one of his paws and quickly withdrew it, finding it not to his liking. Gordon stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment, then gave Keg a nudge with his boot, sending the surprised cat head-first into the lake.

He yowled in dismay and thrashed about for a few moments before making it back to the water's edge, where he shook his soaked fur, and scampered away before another unexpected bath was forthcoming.

"Hmm, seems safe enough to me," Gordon chuckled. "Don't look at me like that Ace, 'e was covered in as much dirt as the rest of us. Come on Carth, let's give the ladies some privacy." Soon, all three of the girls were up to their necks in warm, cleansing water, relaxing and allowing the dirt and trials of the past few days to wash away.

Aislin lost track of how long she lay there, shrouded in mist, and almost falling asleep more than once. Her eyes lingered on the skies above, watching in a detached manner as clouds floated overhead, and not far away, the soothing sound of a crackling camp fire filled the air. Before finishing their soak, the girls took the opportunity to wash their clothes in the warm waters too.

Only when the sun began to sink towards the horizon did they reluctantly withdraw, and dry themselves off with blankets. The air around the lake was warm and humid, so Aislin, wrapped tightly in her blanket, laid out her clothes to dry, and sat near the water's edge.

"Don't become too comfortable there," Madelyn advised primly, "the gentlemen will be bathing next."

"Will we?" Gordon replied from the other side of the large rocks, where the two men had set up camp.

"You're obviously unaware of the foul aroma you two are creating," Madelyn pointed out with a wrinkled nose. "Make use of the chance while you can — who knows when you'll have the opportunity again?"

With an audible grumble, Gordon and Carthack started peeling off their filthy longcoats, as the girls swapped places with them, sitting around the camp fire and nibbling on mouldy bread toasted over the fire. Shortly afterward, Aislin noticed Jaz peering around the edge of one of the rocks.

"What are you doing?" Aislin whispered as she approached. "We shouldn't be peeking."

"See for yourself," Jaz answered with a mischievous grin. Against her better judgement, Aislin carefully joined her in peering around the rock, while trying to remain unnoticed. Gordon was up to his neck in water, grooming his beard with a comb, but it was Carthack, who stood waist-deep in the steaming waters that caught her attention. Aislin gasped, for while they already knew he was massive, they had no idea exactly how muscled he was until now.

He was shaving off a fledgling beard with a sharp knife, and hadn't noticed them spying. His chest and back were marred by a number of long scars over his hulking frame, which matched the ones on the side of his face, as if he'd fought something large and in possession of powerful claws sometime in his past.

"Get away from there this instant!" Madelyn hissed, almost causing Aislin to jump out of her skin. "You really are a couple of country girls, aren't you? In civilised society, ladies do not spy on the menfolk when they're..." Her voice trailed off into a strange, drooling sound as she glanced around the corner and caught sight of Carthack's towering figure. He seemed to hear this, and turned to see where it was coming from.

As one, the girls snapped their heads behind cover, with Aislin flushing red at having been caught in the act. Madelyn did her best to seem unperturbed by this, but Jaz simply covered her mouth to suppress a laugh. Later that evening, nothing was said about the embarrassing incident, and if Carthack was upset or pleased at the attention, he didn't show it.

They camped under the stars that night, exhausted but clean, revelling in the relief from the oppressive caverns' constant darkness. Before Aislin's eyes finally closed, she noticed the metal head, still strapped to the top of Jaz's backpack of the construct swivel about, its ruby red eyes seeming to take in the scene around them.

* * *

The next morning, a bleary-eyed Aislin woke to the sound of Jaz, sitting cross-legged on the ground, fiddling with some of the little treasures she'd recovered from the long-deceased wizard down below. Keg was sitting in front of the golem head, engaged in a staring contest with its unblinking ruby eyes.

"What's all that about?" Aislin asked, causing Jaz to jump in surprise.

"Oh, good morning," Jaz blurted, seemingly embarrassed at her reaction. "Our deceased friend had a couple of nice little emerald rings, though time has rendered them inert I'm afraid."

"Inert? They're gems — they don't stop being gems over time."

"Oh, I was referring the enchantments he'd placed on them," Jaz clarified. "Not that the gems aren't valuable in their own way. Still, this one's sort of useless." She plucked one of the rings from her palm and tossed it over her shoulder. The sound of metal jingling over the rocks caught Madelyn's attention and within moments, she was crawling in that direction.

"How can you just throw this away?" she exclaimed, picking up the tarnished ring for a closer look.

"It's no good to me, I can't enchant it again," Jaz told her. "If you like it, you can have it." Madelyn looked at her in open-mouthed surprise.

"I think I'm starting to like you now," she murmured as she fitted the ring on one finger, and held it before her. "Wait... 'like' is a strong word. I'm hating you less."

"What did I do?" Jaz asked, wide-eyed with concern.

"I'm pre-hating you for getting us all killed one day, through your relentlessly inquisitive nature," Madelyn summarised indifferently. "Case in point — you have no idea if that head you recovered doesn't consider us an enemy, along with that other monstrosity we survived. It could murder us the moment you attach a new arm."

"I can't rule that out," Jaz confessed, "but I can investigate it under controlled conditions some time down the road."

"Are ye plannin' on carryin' it around with ye?" Gordon asked with a distrustful glance at the metal head.

"Well he's hardly going to walk around on his own, is he?" Jaz pointed out with a roll of her eyes.

"It's creepy," Madelyn remarked. "The head is creepy, and you just called it a 'he'."

"Don't say that, he can hear you," Jaz whispered urgently.

"If you're keeping it for the gems in its 'eyes', let's just pry them out and toss the rest away."

"Don't you touch him, he's been through enough already without rendering him blind too!"

"What are you going to do with it — I mean, him?" Aislin inquired.

"Fix him, of course," Jaz explained. "Constructs are quite hard to create, even for experienced artificers, but all Conrad needs is a new body, and some arms and legs."

"Conrad?" Aislin asked with a faint smile. "You named him?"

"Yes, Conrad the construct," Jaz beamed. "Finding him made the whole underground trip worthwhile, in my opinion."

"Everyone's entitled to their opinions," Madelyn muttered, giving up on the conversation, to focus her displeasure on the breakfast of stale bread and dried venison.

"I think he helped me, down in the tunnels," Aislin mused as she gazed curiously at the construct's disembodied head. "He kept looking straight at the place where I found that hidden door, and before that, he was looking at the rope that held the old chandelier in place. That's where I got the idea to drop it on that horrid bone monster. Maybe he was pointing me at them?"

"Constructs can't really do that," Jaz awkwardly informed her. "They don't really think, as such. He was probably just looking around the area as we went through it."

"But he did, I swear," Aislin pressed, though nobody seemed to believe her.

"Ye don't have to make things up to explain it, Ace," Gordon responded as he leaned over and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Ye were just clever enough to spot them things for yerself." Aislin didn't know how to respond to this, and began to think she'd been seeing things in the dark.

Once they'd finished eating, and had dressed in their mostly-clean clothes, the group headed east along a narrow trail through the mountains. Even though the sun was shining brightly, the temperature dropped sharply once they'd left the warm area around the lake, and Aislin was glad she had her cloak and pants to keep her warm. The ground underfoot became muddy, and was gradually covered in hard-packed snow the further they travelled from the lake. Before long, Carthack crouched and examined the trail after noticing something curious.

"This trail used often," Carthack remarked after finding signs of passage. "Must come here to lake from city."

"Golly, I hope we didn't just bathe in their sacred pool or something," Madelyn remarked sarcastically.

"I don't think you're sorry at all," Jaz pointed out, to which Madelyn simply laughed.

"How old are them tracks?" Gordon asked of Carthack.

"Maybe a week, probably less," he grunted, his breath misting in the cold air. "Headed west. Might be from those we fought. We find out soon enough." He said nothing more as he continued on, with the others hurrying to catch up. His sense of determination spread through the rest of the group, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation to learn what had befallen the Akoran homeland.

Aislin grew more nervous as they drew closer to Akoramark, silently wondering if whatever they discovered there was simply beyond their ability to fix, or worse yet, that her idea was going to lead them to an untimely end.

"Hang on dad, we're almost there," she whispered to herself, pushing a little harder in spite of her aching legs over the next hour. The trail gradually descended along the side of the mountains, and although safe enough, the precipitous drop at their side made them extra cautious as they picked their way along the narrow track. When they finally reached the summit of the next rise, Aislin and the others looked down upon their destination in all of its glory.

A great city of stone and wood stretched before them as far as the eye could see, with steaming waterfalls feeding winding canals which flowed through the city like veins. The splendour was ruined however, by the sight of widespread destruction, with barely any buildings still standing — what had once been a place of life had been reduced to a desolate ruin.

"We have our answer," Madelyn remarked quietly as they stood there, taking in the scene of devastation.

"It looks like an earthquake hit," Jaz suggested as she peered at the city through her goggles. "I can't see an intact building anywhere. What else could cause such complete catastrophe?"

"A quake this big woulda been felt throughout the land," Gordon responded grimly. "I'll reserve further judgement 'til we get in fer a closer look." With that, he led them down the trail into the ruins of Akoramark.

They crossed over a bridge at the city's outskirts a few minutes later, taking note of the sheer scale of the carnage. The wind blew mournfully through the empty streets, and Aislin cringed as she looked into every building on their way past, expecting to the find bodies of the deceased amongst the wreckage, yet finding none. In one house she found some meagre supplies, including a child's stuffed toy, abandoned along with so many other possessions in the rush to flee this place.

"Little wonder they all fled," Aislin said, feeling small amidst the ruins. "But why did they have to attack my home? Why couldn't they just ask us for help?"

"Presumably because they're too proud to go begging to the people who took away so much of their land, over the course of the last few centuries," Madelyn surmised.

"And their solution is to start a war they can't win?" Gordon shot back. "That makes even less sense."

"Focus," Carthack growled, his scarred visage giving weight to his tone. "Find what did this. Talk of war later." Gordon nodded and continued with a more thorough investigation, picking up chunks of stone, and examining them to learn how they came apart. Keg jumped down from Carthack's pack and began prowling along with them, sniffing around here and there without much luck. In this way, they slowly moved through the freezing, empty city until Gordon finally came up with some answers.

"Judging by the way these stone bricks came apart, it definitely wasn't an earthquake," he mused, stroking his bear thoughtfully. "Doesn't look like the aftermath of a siege either, though I found somethin' odd over here. This house was blown apart with a form of combustion I ain't familiar with."

"Magic?" Jaz suggested, drawing a nod from the dwarven engineer.

"The scorch marks on t'ground appear to be from fire, but the smell and colour suggests it was... green. Bloody unnatural if'n ya ask me."

"More this way," Carthack called from around the corner. They headed in his direction, and saw a whole street whose simple houses had been blasted apart, leaving a blackened crater in the centre of each. Here, at last, were the remains of some unfortunate souls who didn't make it out of the way in time.

"Someone has a lot of power," Jaz remarked breathlessly, peering at the destruction through her enchanted eyepiece. "I'm seeing that strange energy around here, too, though it seems much fresher than the sample I saw down in the tunnels. I don't understand what it means."

While they contemplated the possibilities, a faint whisper of a voice drifted through the air, catching Aislin's attention. She held still and listened carefully, trying to determine the direction she'd heard it from. After a few moments, she picked it up again, this time a little louder than before.

"I hear someone speaking," Aislin whispered to the others, who stopped moving and listened as she had done.

"I hear it too," Madelyn whispered, drawing her rapier. Aislin figured it was coming from further down the street, and led the others in that direction. It didn't take long before they could all hear it, a man with a smooth voice, not overly deep, speaking as if in a conversation. There was nobody answering him however, further adding to the mystery.

When they reached a ruined building closer to the speaker, Aislin and the others crouched low behind a broken wall for cover. She peered over the top of the shattered stone and looked over a large, open area that could have once been a market or park. What she saw there made Aislin's eyes open wide as she gasped in amazement.

In the centre of the great open space was a pair of dragons.

One was sitting on its haunches, its wings and tail folded, measuring well over fifteen feet high. Its fine scales shined silvery-white, reflecting the hard-packed snow around it. Beyond, probably fifty yards distant, was the other serpentine dragon, though this one was far more immense. The second dragon's scales were coloured in such a way as to make it difficult to see exactly where the ground stopped and its body began, but Aislin felt her heart flutter in fear as she took in the spectacle of a creature nearly a hundred feet from head to tail.

Jaz and the others stared in open-mouthed shock at the sight of the dragons for a long moment before Madelyn finally spoke.

"Well, that's that then," she quietly said with a tremulous voice. "I'm leaving."

"Yeah, bugger that," Gordon added abruptly and with that, everyone except Aislin turned and started to sneak away before they were noticed.

"Where are you going?" Aislin hissed.

"I think Fort Highmarch is rather appealing right now," Madelyn replied. "Don't even bother to suggest doing something about those, Aislin. We've done what we came to do, and now we're getting the bleeding hell out of here."

"I didn't sign up to fight a pair of bloody dragons," Gordon chimed in. "I'm sorry Ace, but it's best we get this information to the authorities right quick. This is too big for us. Let's go." Behind him, Jaz cowered, too scared to speak, and even Carthack appeared thoroughly intimidated by the presence of such powerful creatures. Keg's ears were flattened, and he had already began trotting away fearfully.

Aislin looked at them helplessly, unable to find the words to convince them to stay a little longer. They'd turned away from her, clearly assuming she would simply follow along. The large dragon chose that moment to bellow loudly, a sound of remarkable power that caused dirt and snowflakes to skitter along the edge of the wall.

"The bloody thing's gettin' ready to go on another rampage," Gordon cautioned fearfully. "Come on Ace, we're leaving!"

Once the echoes of the dragon's roar faded, the faint sound of the man's voice could be heard again, and Aislin was close enough to make out some words. It was a curious accent, one she'd heard in the past, when Bracksford had been taken over by foreign fighters. From her position, she could only see the smaller dragon's back, so whoever was speaking was obscured by its bulk.

"... Compliance is all I require..." she managed to discern amidst the blustering wind. "... Defy me... deal is off... will never be returned. Abide here... longer until I release you from... Only then will you and... be free."

After he'd finished speaking, there was a brief flash of violet light, and then both dragons roared with such fury and despair Aislin almost lost her nerve. Despite every instinct telling her to leave, there was something about their desperate howl which pulled at her heart. Daring a peek at the great creature, she saw neither rage nor madness, but a hollow longing for something lost. In that moment, Aislin felt a connection she couldn't explain.

"They're in pain," she murmured, having felt that same sense of loss when her brothers never returned from the war. She was reminded of her brief encounter in Bracksford with a small dragon called Spartan, the one who helped liberate the town from the deserters who had oppressed them for weeks.

Although the smaller of the two dragons before her seemed similar, she wasn't sure it was the same one. Regardless, Spartan had saved them, and wasn't the sort of monster who would destroy a city, and there was the possibility these two were cut from the same cloth.

"What am I doing?" Aislin whispered to herself as she climbed over the low, broken wall, and slowly made her way across the icy ground, heading directly to the closest dragon. Her legs wobbled and her heart thumped with each step, but she fought the urge to turn back. Aislin felt tiny and insignificant as the two dragons loomed before her, and when the smaller one snapped its head around to watch her approach, she froze in place and stared.

You shouldn't be here, a powerful, clear voice spoke within her mind, as if the speaker were standing right next to her. It was a familiar voice and confirmed what she suspected.

"Spartan?" she asked, sounding like a mouse starting a conversation with a cat. The dragon turned its sleek, serpentine body around and snaked its long neck down to bring one of its eyes level with her. It was silver flecked with gold, much like the rest of his body.

I do not know you, though you clearly know of me, Spartan answered after a moment's consideration. Behind him, the huge dragon changed the colour of its scales and almost completely vanished from sight.

"We met briefly at Bracksford about four years ago," Aislin explained, unable to keep her voice from quivering. "Do you remember? I reached out and gave you a pat."

I have a vague recollection, Spartan remarked. You are far from home child, though I can guess why you have come. I see you are not alone, either. Aislin glanced behind her and saw Gordon and the others peering over the wall. When she and Spartan looked in their direction, their heads disappeared behind the stone a moment too late.

"Don't worry about them," Aislin advised, relaxing a little when it became clear she wasn't about to be eaten.

It is you who should be concerned, Spartan warned. Your lives are in peril simply by being in this place.

"What do you mean?" Aislin asked, her momentary relief vanishing. "Did you do this?"

We did, the dragon replied in a heavy voice. My shy partner and I have been coerced into destroying this city against our will.

"How could anyone force you to do anything you didn't want to?" Aislin asked disbelievingly.

My mate, who you may refer to as Ilfyn, is the last female of our kind able to bear young, Spartan explained with a measure of sorrow. Aislin looked past him to the vague outline of the other dragon, who shifted slightly at the mention of her name. You may be unaware of this, but there are few of us remaining in Feydwiir. My kind once filled the skies, but we have been reduced to a mere half-dozen, after long years of battling humanity.

"You must hate us," Aislin murmured in sympathy, unable to grasp who would harm such magnificent creatures.

Anger is like drinking poison yourself, and expecting the object of your hatred to die, Spartan responded. I am beyond such things, though others of my kind aren't so enlightened. The one exception to this is the man who stole our eggs.

"What?" Aislin blurted.

He was here but moments before you showed up, ensuring we comply with his instructions. We are to prevent any Akorans from returning here, or he will destroy our unhatched young. With this statement, Ilfyn bellowed again as if calling out to her children. Aislin heard the sound of footsteps crunching on the snow and turned to see her companions approaching.

"When I heard the tale about when ye met a dragon," Gordon said in awe when he was close enough," I thought it was fanciful nonsense. I ne'er dreamed for a moment that ye'd actually done it."

"This is Spartan," Aislin said to introduce him, feeling just a little smug.

"I know, we could hear 'im talkin' from way back there. I heard yer plight, dragon, but I still canna believe ye'd level a city just to protect yer young. How many did ya kill?"

WE KILLED NOBODY, Spartan thundered, letting out a challenging roar at the same time as his voice echoed in their minds. Ilfyn and I were charged with running them out of their city, once he'd broken their will to fight. We destroyed empty buildings and created such panic as to drive them away, but nobody fell to our advance. It was the one who stole our eggs who took the lives of innocents.

"How could one man destroy city?" Carthack asked, Keg's tail barely visible, sticking out of his pack.

This man bears ancient magic far beyond even our own. He has bargained with fel powers, and seeks to avenge himself upon your realm for past slights.

"Who is he?" Madelyn asked, somewhat meekly. Before Spartan could even speak, Aislin suddenly guessed who was behind it all.

"Mad King Osric," she stated, drawing a look of disbelief from the others that was quickly dispelled when Spartan confirmed her theory.

You know of him then. I have served with many humans in your recent war, and never before have I encountered someone with such depraved cunning as he. I fear he will destroy our eggs even if we comply, simply because he can.

"Can't you find them?" Jaz asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.

We have been instructed that if he discovers us attempting to locate our eggs, they will be killed instantly, Spartan explained. We cannot act... though perhaps you can. If you seek to save your kingdom from another war, please, help us.

"What can we do?" Aislin asked, unsure what they could provide.

You can move around, whereas we cannot. You can see things where we are blind. Find our eggs and bring them to us, and we will obliterate Osric, and mend the destruction we have wrought.

"Where is cave?" Carthack grated, sounding more determined than ever.

In the mountains southwest of here, though I can transport you there instantly if you wish, Spartan answered.

"Yes. I track him."

"This strange magic Osric uses," Jaz wondered, "does it leave a distinctive trail?"

Yes. It is something dragons can smell, though I doubt humans can detect it unaided.

"I think that's the strange residue I've been seeing with my omnigoggles," she exclaimed. "There's plenty of it around the craters in the city. Between the two of us, Carthack and I might be able to find out where Osric is hiding."

Please, try, Spartan asked, almost begging. If those eggs are lost, there may never be any more. But do not engage Osric himself, for he will surely vanquish you with ease.

"We will be careful, I promise," Aislin assured him.

Gather closely while I teleport you, the dragon instructed, and once they were huddled together, they were enveloped in a sheath of blinding violet light before being whisked away.

16

### Trail

Aislin felt as though someone had suddenly pulled her sideways, leaving her feeling off-balance and nauseous. When the violet light vanished a heartbeat later, the bright sun and open space of Akoramark had been replaced by a huge, dimly lit cave. Far from the cold of the mountains, the air was surprisingly warm and humid. Aislin wasn't the only one feeling ill after the sudden transition.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Jaz remarked, before lurching to one side to do just that. Madelyn leaned forward, breathing slowly to steady herself, and even Carthack appeared a little dizzy.

"What's wrong with ye?" Gordon asked out of concern, apparently the only one of them unaffected by the strange magic.

"I need a minute," Madelyn answered quietly, trying to quell her nausea.

"Take all the time ya need," Gordon nodded in understanding, giving her a gentle pat on the back as he took a look around. Aislin went to Jaz to make sure she was okay, and received a reassuring nod.

"How did you meet a dragon?" she inquired curiously. Aislin quickly explained her previous encounter with Spartan during the war, glossing over some of the details to save time. "You're full of surprises, Aislin Ballard," Jaz remarked, managing a smile.

"So, the legends of King Osric's power are true," Madelyn addressed the entire group, trying to cover how unsteady she was. "You heard what he can do — his magic destroyed most of that city. Exactly how desperate are we to take this on ourselves?"

"He couldn't do it alone," Aislin pointed out. "He needed Spartan and Ilfyn to get the job done. I'll bet they can deal with him good and proper, once we find their eggs."

"I suppose they can at that," Madelyn conceded, evidently humbled after her meeting the two dragons.

"I'd better get to work, then," Jaz sighed, wiping her mouth and peering around the cave through her goggles. Aislin didn't envy her task — the place was huge, easily large enough to fit both dragons, with room to spare. Light filtered in through an opening somewhere nearby, and the sound of running water could be heard, just beneath the mournful song of the wind blowing through the cave.

Aislin followed the noise to find a small stream trickling through the rock, and around the corner, the entrance to the cave loomed, affording a stunning view high over the mountains framed by crisp, blue skies. Beyond the stark beauty, Aislin could see steam rising from a familiar lake off in the distance, with the afternoon sun glinting off the rippling surface.

"Is that the lake we swam in last night?" she asked to anyone listening.

"Yes, water come from here," Carthack explained from just behind her. "Feed entire lake, river system, everything. All connected."

"Are you trying to teach me something?" Aislin asked suspiciously.

"Probably. I'm very deep, you know," he mused thoughtfully, before turning to the task of finding signs of tracks in the damp ground underfoot.

Both he and Jaz spent some time searching around the cave, checking behind rocks, and being as thorough as possible. As far as accommodation went, it was as basic as you could get. Although seemingly powerful and intelligent, dragons still seemed little more than animals in some ways, if this is where they chose to raise their young. It was on the far wall of the cave that both Jaz and Carthack converged, and discovered some important clues.

"Eggs sat here," Carthack reported, gesturing at a large, smooth area of mossy ground. "I find tracks, but very old. Maybe from two or three people, move around a little, then vanish."

"Vanish where?" Madelyn asked.

"Somewhere else," Carthack answered, spreading his arms wide. "No sign of come or go."

"Teleported in and out, I presume," Jaz suggested, peering at the nest and making a few adjustments to her goggles. "I see traces of that strange magical energy here, though it's probably as old as the tracks. However this Osric chap is getting around, he's not using conventional magic. I've never seen anything quite like this, to be honest. It's... disturbing."

"So, they could be literally anywhere," Madelyn blurted with exasperation.

"Well, one hundred miles is the theoretical limit for safe teleportation," Jaz corrected. "That distance is reduced when you carry more along with you too, so if he had an entourage, his range would be much less."

"Right, so, only fifty miles from here then," Madelyn pointed out sarcastically. "That'll only take us a few years to search every nook and cranny in these bloody mountains." Aislin had been half-listening, her thoughts distracted by something important dancing just beyond the edge of her comprehension.

"Is the energy you see the same as the stuff you recently saw in the tunnels?" she asked Jaz.

"Oh, that trace seemed to be stronger than this one," she responded. "That would mean it's not as old as this and therefore..." her voice trailed off and her eyes widened as thoughts within her mind crashed together.

"What is it?" Aislin eagerly asked, sensing Jaz had just put something together.

"I thought the other signature was of a different source to this one, but it could also mean it's from the same source, but is simply being used differently," she gasped, speaking almost too rapidly to understand. "Since we know Osric has been both here and to the city, it must mean that other trace is his too. That's where he could be hiding the eggs!"

"It'd be the perfect place to keep away from dragons," Gordon pondered with a stroke of his beard. "Somethin' that big'd have trouble getting deep within the earth."

"Please tell me we don't have to go back into those tunnels," Madelyn groaned.

"Yer continued presence is purely optional," Gordon responded dryly. "I'm sure we can take care o' this without ya."

"Well certainly, I'll just sit here in the middle of nowhere and starve to death."

"We stay together," Carthack interrupted before Gordon could respond. "Tracks say Osric has help. If we split up, we fail."

"We survived the tunnels once before," Aislin pointed out, "we'll survive them again. At least we know what to expect, which includes one less bone monster."

"Alright, let's get this over with," Madelyn sighed. Carthack gave her a reassuring nod, and led them through the cave's entrance to the rocky ground outside. There was no sign of a trail, so they were forced to carefully pick their way through sharp, jutting rocks on their way toward the lake.

The plan was to make their way back into the hidden tunnel behind the waterfall, and return to the deceased wizard's remains, where Jaz had first sighted the strange magical energy lingering in the air. However, they'd travelled only a few hundred yards through the gusting winds, when Jaz caught their attention with a surprised yelp.

"Wait a moment, I've found some more traces of magical residue," she called, making her way to a flat outcropping of rock. The rest of them hurried over to join her while Jaz carefully examined the area.

"Was Osric here too?" Aislin asked, finding nothing remarkable about this particular rock.

"Definitely," came the reply. "He might have sat here for a while and watched the dragons coming and going, waiting for the right time to teleport inside, and steal the eggs."

"No shelter," Carthack pointed out after a quick glance at the large, flat rock. "Dragons see him, easy. Even if using magic."

"He was clearly right here," Jaz protested. "Maybe it was just for a few minutes, but the trace is very distinct."

"Perhaps he created a diversion to draw the dragons out before absconding with their unhatched young?" Madelyn suggested.

"This is fascinatin' n' all," Gordon said impatiently, "but it ain't gettin' the job done." Aislin gazed at their surroundings, trying to make sense of this strange news, when she spied something moving off in the distance, near a large pillar of rock reaching up from the uneven ground a few hundred yards further on.

"Someone's over there," she warned, pointing at the pillar. They all turned to peer in that direction, but only Jaz with her enhanced sight could make out what she'd seen.

"I think there's two people over there," she declared. Carthack gave her a nudge, and took the goggles from her to see for himself.

"Two men," he rumbled. "They move like warriors."

"My turn," Gordon asked, taking the goggles from Carthack and fitting them over his eyes. "We're a little far out, but that doesn't look like a natural formation o' rock to me."

"Are you suggesting it's some sort of fortification?" Madelyn asked.

"Yeah, an old one, if me guess is right."

"What is there to protect out here?" Aislin wondered, taking in the desolate, rocky terrain.

"Nothing... now," Gordon suggested. "If it's as old as I reckon, things might've been very different when it was built."

"Would you say it's as old as those tunnels?" Madelyn suggested.

"Och, of course," Gordon muttered with a look of astonishment at the young woman. "That shaft we came out of, the one with the molten rock at the bottom, probably wasn't the only way in or out. I'll need to take a closer look, but that tower may well connect to 'em."

"In that case, those men would mostly likely be Osric's accomplices, guarding the way in," Madelyn surmised.

"Here?" Aislin asked. "We're only a few hundred yards from Spartan's cave."

"What better place to hide than right under yer enemy's nose," Gordon growled.

"The dragons may have made the same assumption as us," Jaz added, "that Osric teleported the eggs far from here. He may have even suggested the idea to trick them. It's not like he gave them a chance to go looking."

"Worth a look," Carthack said with an affirming nod. With a feeling of anticipation brimming throughout the group, he led them through the rocky landscape in the direction of the tower. The closer they got, the more obvious it was that the tower was indeed a man-made structure, though as Gordon had pointed out, it was in a poor state of repair.

A low wall surrounded the tower itself, and the rocky terrain was especially uneven on the approach, giving Aislin and the others plenty of cover. Carthack kept an eye out for scouts, and when certain the way was clear, directed them towards the next large rock for them to hide behind. In this way, they managed to find their way to a safe place only twenty yards away from the wall, a gouge in the ground that gave them shelter from the brisk wind, as well as prying eyes.

Much like the tower, the wall was in dire need of repair. Large chunks of stone had broken off, giving it the appearance of someone's smile missing a lot of teeth. Although they could hear faint conversation from the small fort's new residents, nobody dared walk along its parapets, and from Gordon's quick assessment, the tower itself should be knocked down.

"Couple o' brave souls standing watch up high," he whispered. "Good chance the whole thing could come down if they sneeze too hard. Architecture appears to be similar to what we found below, and the small size suggests this'd be the front entrance to them tunnels. No space for anything worthwhile on the surface."

"Can you hear what they're saying?" Aislin asked.

"It's a bit far," Gordon responded after a moment's careful listening. "Don't understand a word of it either."

"They're speaking Korat, the language of Kurhain, which I am quite familiar with," Madelyn explained. "Their realm is nearly three hundred miles south — what are they doing here?" She held up a hand when Gordon was about to respond, signalling for silence while she continued to listen. It was a sharp-sounding language interspersed with guttural noises, completely foreign to anything Aislin had heard before.

"They're telling a rather crude joke," Madelyn dryly explained. "I'd hazard a guess and say these are common soldiers." She was interrupted by the sound of a deep, booming laugh that rumbled across the landscape.

"What... was... that?" Aislin whispered fiercely.

"Giant," Gordon answered with an audible gulp. "What're they doin' hangin' around a giant?"

"This only raises further questions," Jaz complained in exasperation.

"I'll take a closer look and get some answers," Aislin whispered firmly, feeling Gordon grab onto her winter cloak as she was about to take off. She turned and gave him an impatient look, as if daring him to suggest this was too dangerous for her. His weary brown eyes gazed at her and in that moment, a silent accord seemed to form between them.

"Okay, fine," Gordon muttered. "Crack on with it, Ace," he added, drawing a smile of increasing confidence from her. Turning away, Aislin crept along the rough landscape, keeping an eye on the two men on the tower to ensure she wasn't spotted. Sure enough, they glanced in her direction when she was about halfway to the wall, so she froze in place and hoped her oversized, dirty grey cloak was enough to keep her obscured.

Aislin held still for the better part of a minute, unwilling to even look, in case they noticed even that much movement, but ultimately she had to risk a peek from beneath her hood. The two guards on the tower showed no sign of alarm, probably assuming she was just another rock on the landscape.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Aislin continued onward with her eyes cautiously flitting upwards every few seconds, until she finally reached the wall, keeping low to avoid being seen through the cracks, as she made her way along its length towards the front of the fort. With her back pressed against the crumbling stone, she peered around the corner and saw the way was clear.

Creeping towards the remains of the front gate, Aislin noticed a deep gouge in the stone to her left that was just big enough to allow her access. The long years had taken their toll on more than just its wall. Rocks and pieces of broken stone littered the small courtyard, creating a hazardous place for anyone attempting to move through, yet providing opportunity for anyone sneaking inside unseen. Snippets of conversation drifted through the gap from speakers somewhere inside, enticing Aislin to move closer.

Her heart beat faster as she crawled through the breach, and crept from rock to broken stone, making sure the way was clear each time, until she finally laid eyes on the fort's current occupants.

The giant was as big as the others she'd seen a few days earlier, a huge brute cradling a massive tree trunk he must be using as a club. Even from here, Aislin could smell a strong aroma of unwashed bodies. Just across from the giant sat two men with close-cropped hair, dressed in uniforms of black and yellow with a great cat, possibly a mountain lion, depicted on the front of their tunics. They were unshaven, and all three of them seemed quite relaxed, even bored.

Creeping to the other end of the large stone, Aislin looked through a narrow gap and saw another two men in a similar state of boredom, sitting around sharpening the edges of their swords with whetstones. They appeared to be well-fed, so they weren't short on provisions even here, in the middle of a remote mountain range.

Just beyond the three men was a dark opening the size of a large door, carved into the rock face against which the fort was built. From here another man entered, this one somewhat older than the rest, with small golden badges attached to his dark longcoat, just above his heart. He sported a well-trimmed beard, sharp features and grey eyes, and in stark contrast to the rest of the men, carried himself with a proud bearing.

The others dropped what they were doing and stood, snapping a salute to the newcomer as he approached. He casually returned the salute and brusquely spoke to the soldiers in their own language, gesturing to their shoddy appearance, and speaking sharp words which prompted them to tidy up. Once he was done berating the soldiers, the bearded officer walked forward and looked up at the giant, who towered above them, even while sitting.

"I trust my men have been welcoming to you, Torg," the officer said in accented Aielish.

"Funny blokes, your men," the giant rumbled in reply, also in accented Aielish. "Not a bad way to earn a living, Captain Jansen. Boring though."

"Military work often is, right up until the point that it isn't," Jansen remarked with a dry smile. "It's a pity the rest of your people refused to sign up. There are big changes coming my friend, big changes."

"So you keep saying," Torg the giant boomed. "When do I get to meet this king of yours?"

"He isn't my king, but you will probably sooner than you think," Jansen answered. "Until then, rest, eat and keep an eye out."

"If he's not your king, why do you follow him?" Torg asked suspiciously.

"He has given great assistance to our Grand Duke and indeed, our entire country, so I was ordered to provide what assistance I could," the captain explained. "It is a mutually beneficial agreement, much like your own. You will not be disappointed in the results, Torg, of that I can assure you." With that, the officer turned and withdrew inside the dark hallway.

Aislin figured this was a good time to withdraw with what she knew, so with careful, slow movements, she crept back the way she came and crawled through the gap, eventually rejoining the others hiding at a safe distance.

"Did you hear any of that?" Aislin asked in a hushed voice, as she sat and took a swig from her water skin.

"We caught a word or two from the men," Madelyn answered. "The giant? They could probably hear him all the way in Bracksford. How close did you get?"

"Close enough to smell them," Aislin whispered. She cleared a space on the ground and drew out the courtyard of the small fort with one finger.

"They're bored and weren't really paying attention," she explained. "I think they've been here for a while." She went into detail and answered questions about the number of men she'd seen, what they'd said and how they were armed. Nearby, Keg sat on a rock, keeping an eye out for trouble while they quietly deliberated.

"Me guess is right, then," Gordon mused thoughtfully. "The opening you mention probably goes right down into the mountain. That's where we need to be."

"Tricky," Carthack grunted. "Well defended."

"I am fluent in their language, and they've been out here on their own for some time," Madelyn pointed out. "Perhaps I could persuade them to allow me inside?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Gordon asked suggestively.

"A diversion, nothing more," Madelyn assured him. "If I keep them busy, you could sneak inside and find where they're hiding the eggs."

"No," Carthack interrupted in his rumbling whisper. "Pretty girl shows up out here? Very strange. Surprise is only thing in our favour. Can't waste it. These people helping Osric steal eggs, start war. We attack, wound a few and force surrender."

"What about the giant?" Jaz asked meekly.

"Leave him to me," Carthack rumbled. "Once they surrender, we find eggs and take to Spartan. Let dragons deal with Osric."

"Frontal assault, eh?" Gordon muttered, pouring the contents of a pouch into his palm. Two lead pellets rolled around, a fact which didn't put a smile on his face. "Two reloads, that's all I've got left."

"What about your supply of powder?" Jaz inquired, drawing a suspicious glance from the dwarf.

"Plenty o' that, but on its own it'll just make a lot o' smoke and noise."

"I imagine so," she responded hesitantly. "Say, could I —"

"Absolutely not," Gordon huffed, guessing what she was about to ask. "Ye got talent fer one so young, but this is a dangerous substance, and we all remember the last time ye got yer hands on it." Jaz appeared crestfallen at the stern rebuke, until Carthack put his sizable hand on her shoulder.

"You have idea?" he asked, receiving a nod in reply. "If she wants, she gets," Carthack said to Gordon.

"Why?"

"People need freedom to learn from mistakes," the big Escardi explained. "Also, we need all help we can get." Gordon sighed and gave Jaz a shrewd look.

"What do ya have in mind?" he asked.

"It would take too long to explain, but suffice it to say, the explosive nature of the powder could be the catalyst for an assortment of reactions," she answered. "I won't blow my hand off, I swear."

"See that ye don't," Gordon advised, reluctantly handing over one of his cured leather pouches. Jaz placed it to one side and produced a few small glass vials from her satchel, then carefully began pouring black powder into each one. When she was finished, she handed the powder pouch back to Gordon and added a pinch of metallic powder to each vial.

"What's that?" he inquired curiously as Jaz plugged each vial with a tiny cork.

"Tell me your secrets, and I'll tell you mine," she answered mysteriously, placing each of the six vials into little straps within the satchel and then pulling out her aetheric hammer. She held it in both hands and with eyes closed, whispered some indistinct words over it. "Okay, I'm ready," she declared, almost sounding confident.

"Well, this has disaster written all over it," Madelyn dryly remarked while removing her heavier gear. "I ran out of arrows a while ago, so I guess I'll be skewering them up close."

"Me too," Carthack added, tossing aside his crude hunting bow. Jaz removed her pack, and set it up against the growing pile, the metal head still strapped to the top.

"Conrad will watch our stuff for us," Jaz assured them. Madelyn simply rolled her eyes as the metal head swivelled about, almost completely useless. At this point, Keg suddenly meowed, putting them all on edge. They crouched low behind the uneven terrain while Aislin, her head covered in the hood of her cloak, peeked over the top to see what he'd spotted.

The two guards were no longer on top of the tower, and seemed to be approaching from the front gate of the fort. Keg ducked into a hole and Aislin froze in place, watching the soldiers stroll past, their eyes surveying the landscape, and long metal weapons held in their hands. Aislin blinked and looked closely, startled by what she saw, but unable to say anything with the men only ten yards away.

Satisfied the area appeared secure, the two men continued on their way to the lands south of the tower. As they moved further away, Aislin let out her breath, unaware she'd been holding it.

"Close one," she whispered to the others as she settled down behind the rise.

"Just a patrol I gather," Madelyn asked, receiving a nod from Aislin in reply.

"There's something else. The weapons they carried looked a bit like that," she added, pointing to Gordon's long firearm.

"What, this?" he blurted, gesturing to the weapon. "That's impossible, I invented it. Are ye sure?"

"I didn't get a close look," Aislin reluctantly conceded, "but it was a metal stick, a lot like that."

"Must've been a mace," Gordon said after a moment's thought. "These weapons I have on me are the only ones I've built, so no chance others got stolen or somethin'. Although, Jock did have a couple on him too... maybe they took 'em from him after Bracksford fell? Nah, it's just not possible." Aislin felt a momentary surge of emotion at the reminder of her home town's plight, and struggled to maintain her composure.

"Let's get on with this, shall we?" Madelyn advised impatiently, drawing her rapier. "With those two soldiers from the tower gone, we have an opportunity to strike, and we should do so without delay."

"I'll hit 'em with a couple of blasts to pave the way," Gordon suggested, checking each of his noisy weapons. With renewed determination, Aislin drew Sliver and checked its shining blade, although it had never needed sharpening in all the years she'd had it. Just as they appeared ready to move out, Madelyn noticed Aislin holding the dagger, and signalled for everyone to hold position for a moment.

"What, exactly, do you think you're going to achieve with that?" she asked of Aislin.

"I'm going to help where I can," she answered firmly.

"Is that so? These men are soldiers, so there's really only one way you can help. Are you prepared to take a life? To drive that weapon into a man's chest, and watch the light die from his eyes?"

"Madelyn," Gordon growled in warning.

"No, this needs to be said," the young woman insisted. She leaned in close to Aislin and stared right into her eyes. "It's a fine weapon, but it takes more than that to kill. You've done well so far, scurrying around and being a good little scout, and I'll not fault you for your courage. But I don't think you have it in you, to do what must be done."

"I can do it," Aislin whispered, doubting her own words even as they left her mouth. Madelyn picked up on this instantly, and her cold expression spoke volumes.

"Leave this to the grown-ups. You and Jaz will hold near the entrance, while the rest of us deal with them." Without another word, the rest of them followed Carthack as he cautiously led them across the uneven field of stone. Keg brushed against Aislin's leg and looked up at her, his presence reassuring at this difficult time.

"Come on Keg," Aislin whispered as she reached down and gave him a pat. "Stick with me. I don't care what she says, there's plenty we can do without sticking a knife into someone." The big tomcat gave a throaty meow, and loped along beside her as she brought up the rear of the group, feeling more than a little useless after the dressing down Madelyn just gave her.

Without anyone keeping watch from above, getting to the fort didn't take long, and they were soon in position just outside the remains of the front gate. Some incident long ago had left it a twisted hunk of blackened metal bars, leaving the courtyard exposed to attack. Just beyond were the sounds of talking between the soldiers and the giant, who seemed completely unaware of the imminent attack.

"I know you can't hear me dad," Aislin whispered as she gripped Sliver's hilt tightly in one hand, "but it's almost over. Just hang on a little longer." At a nod from Carthack, Gordon raised his longarm over the low part of the wall and took aim.

17

### Assault

Aislin covered her ears in anticipation of the blast, though Gordon didn't fire the weapon straight away. Leaning on top of the wall as he was, the dwarf was inconspicuous, allowing him to take his time aiming the firearm. Next to him crouched Carthack and Madelyn, ready to spring into action. The soldiers just ahead continued sauntering about the courtyard, oblivious to the presence of an actual threat, right on their doorstep.

Finally, with everything in position, Gordon slowly squeezed the trigger and a loud crack went off, but unlike anything they'd anticipated. Smoke and fire erupted from the back of the weapon instead of the front, startling Gordon who fell backward, patting out a small fire that had caught in his beard.

"Misfire!" he blurted, tossing the longarm aside and drawing one of his smaller weapons. It was already too late however, for the soldier he'd been aiming at had heard the noise, and glanced in their direction in open-mouthed shock.

He shouted the alarm, pointing at them and alerting his comrades to their presence. Carthack spat out a curse in his native tongue, and was about to leap over the low wall and charge in, when the soldier pulled a small metal weapon out of his belt pouch and pointed it in their direction. Gordon saw this and gaped in surprise, but still had the presence of mind to grab Carthack and pull him behind the wall.

A familiar explosion of smoke and noise erupted from the soldier's weapon, and something chipped stone from the wall Carthack had only just managed to duck behind. The sound of soldiers surging into action was partially obscured by the giant dragging his club along the ground, knocking aside a large slab of stone as he roared into the fight.

"What?" Gordon blurted at Aislin who gave him an 'I told you so' look. Setting aside this question for a later time, Gordon leaned around the side of the rock and pointed his sidearm at the nearest soldier, firing off a shot before taking cover again. Peeking around the other end of the stone, Aislin saw the soldiers also taking cover, appearing to be as surprised as Gordon at the appearance of a firearm.

The giant, unimpressed at the puny explosions going off around him, barrelled on towards the front entrance with his massive tree trunk ready to squash anyone who got in the way.

"Deal with others, get inside fort!" Carthack roared, right before he left the cover of the wall to meet the giant head-on, or so it seemed at least. When the club swept through the air to crush him, Carthack leaped to his left, the huge weapon narrowly missing him to slam into the ground to his side. In the same motion, the Escardi pivoted and with the full weight of his body behind it, punched the giant's arm with all of his might.

Torg bellowed in pain and dropped the club, clutching his arm in surprise. He recovered quickly though, leaning his shoulder towards Carthack and slamming them both straight into the wall, where they disappeared in a cloud of dust and shattered stone.

Aislin clutched at Sliver's hilt with white-knuckled tension as she watch the two oversized combatants clash. When Aislin turned to speak with Madelyn, it quickly became apparent she'd used the distraction to move in without the soldiers noticing. Aislin brought this to Gordon's attention with a quick nudge, and in response he took out his second sidearm and fired it at the enemy, not to hit them, but to keep their attention away from Madelyn's stealthy approach.

Aislin knew it was successful when another shot blasted away the stone right near Gordon's head, causing her to squeal in alarm.

"Keep yer heads down and don't even think about wanderin' in there alone," Gordon bellowed, pulling out his last loaded weapon. Aislin peered around the side of their cover, keeping her head as low as she could, to see what was going on. Madelyn had crept around to the right side of the courtyard, where the small tower came close to the wall, in an attempt to close in on the enemy position. From what Aislin could see however, she wasn't the only one who had thought of this idea.

One of the soldiers vanished behind some of the larger debris, heading directly towards Madelyn, but Aislin was uncertain if he knew she was there. There was too much noise from Carthack's ongoing struggle, and the occasional shot from a firearm to hear what was going on behind the tower, but Aislin had her answer a few moments later when the soldier's body slumped to the ground and was quickly pulled out of sight.

This was spotted by one of the other men, who shifted slightly to take aim at what Aislin presumed was Madelyn, out of her sight behind the tower. Gordon saw this, took aim with another sidearm and squeezed the trigger. The thundering report echoed from the stone walls as the soldier fell to the ground, his weapon clattering across the stone from his lifeless hand.

Two of his comrades shot back, blasting more rock from their cover and startling Gordon, who received a face full of stone dust for his trouble.

"Gotta reload," he muttered, wiping his face with shaking hands and pulling out his powder pouch. Carthack was being kept busy by the giant who, even unarmed, was a formidable opponent. They traded blows and used their weight to shove each other around the courtyard, seeking some sort of advantage. The giant was nearly twice Carthack's size, but the Escardi warrior was surprisingly fast and always one step ahead of his foe.

Aislin's attention was suddenly caught by the approach of a soldier, holding a longarm levelled at the roc,k behind which the three of them were hiding.

"Hurry, someone's coming!" Aislin advised, although if anything this seemed to fluster Gordon even more, and he dropped the unloaded weapon on the ground.

"Close your eyes," Jaz advised, holding her aetheric hammer tightly. Aislin closed them but couldn't help risking a peek as Jaz held her tool up, waiting for the soldier to show himself. As soon as he came into view, the tip of the metal rod glowed with a fierce violet-white light, and a deep thrumming sound split the air.

The soldier cried out in pain and set off his weapon, which deafened the girls from its mere proximity, though the shot went well above their heads. Apparently blinded from the intense light, he staggered around for a moment until Gordon, his weapon finally ready, stood, aimed and shot the man at close range.

Her ears ringing from the blasts, Aislin shook her head to try and restore her senses, while Jaz dashed around the side of the stone wall and hurled a small vial towards the other soldiers. It landed with a loud crack and a flash of blue flame. One of the men rolled to the ground, his tunic on fire, while another had seen enough. He pulled back from cover and ran for the safety of the dark opening beyond.

"He's going for help," Aislin cried, and was about to pursue when Carthack and Torg staggered into the scene, obscuring her view. The giant bore down on his opponent, tossing up dust as Carthack was shoved backwards through the debris. Unable to gain an advantage, the giant pulled back a little and punched at his opponent, but his lumbering fist was too slow, and ended up driving through the wall of the crumbling tower, weakening it further and sending loose bricks and crumbling mortar tumbling down on to them.

Madelyn, still hiding on the other side, stumbled out of the way of a particularly large piece of debris and ran right into the giant's leg. Whirling around, Torg clipped her on the shoulder and sent her spinning to the ground, her weapon flung from her grasp, with the last remaining soldier seizing the opportunity to try and finish her off with his blade.

Unable to wait and see the result, Aislin ignored Gordon's warning and dashed around the other side of the crumbling tower, hoping it wouldn't drop a huge piece of stone on her. Keg and Jaz hurried behind her, leaving Gordon cursing at their desertion. He fired his last shot at the soldier heading for Madelyn, missing, but forcing him to stumble on his feet.

Unwilling to try and dash past the armed man, Aislin reached down and tossed the rapier to Madelyn, who snatched the hilt and rolled as the soldier swung his sword, missing her by inches. Showing her remarkable agility, Madelyn instantly flipped onto her feet and whirled about to face her opponent, sword at the ready.

"Do whatever you need to," she instructed Aislin, moving to prevent her opponent from blocking access to the opening. "I have this one under control." She spoke something unflattering in the soldier's native tongue, which prompted an immediate response from the man.

His sword flashed in a series of sweeping strokes, each one parried with a flash of sparks from her rapier. Madelyn even managed a quick riposte, gashing the soldier's hand and drawing his attention away from Aislin, who, along with Jaz and Keg, slipped past unseen.

Although there were torches set in wall sconces along the length of the tunnel ahead, it took a few moments for Aislin's sight to adjust. An open door beckoned from just ahead, although a cursory glance inside revealed it merely contained supplies and food, as well as a small kitchen and wood-fired stove. Aislin guessed dragon eggs were likely to be much larger than chicken eggs, and therefore hard to miss.

There was no sign of anything egg-shaped in the kitchen, so ignoring it for now, she continued onward a few more yards, until the passage ended in a narrow stairwell carved into the rock, which spiralled deep into the earth. A faint breath of warm air wafted upwards, reminding her of the molten rock they'd seen on their last trip underground.

"I think I hear footsteps down there," Jaz whispered as she caught up, peering curiously down the stairwell.

"Let me sneak ahead to make sure it's safe," Aislin advised, holding Sliver before her as she headed down the stairs with light steps. The sounds of the ongoing battle outside faded as she descended, her senses heightened by the relative quiet of the underground chambers.

Downward she spiralled until, as she neared the bottom, the stone of the stairs broke away, leaving a gap between her and the floor nearly three feet high that had been filled with steel plates, serving as makeshift steps. The distinctive sound of men's voices echoing through the tunnels prompted her to hold still and listen.

She couldn't understand the language, but recognised two men speaking in Korat, as Madelyn had called it. The only words she recognised were "Capitan Jansen" and "Osric", a name which sent a shiver up her spine. There was very little light to see by, yet Aislin got a sense from the play of shadows just below her, that the passage went into another side chamber from which the voices seemed to be coming.

Creeping forward on the tips of her soft boots, Aislin caught a glimpse of two soldiers discussing something within the room, which seemed to be a sort of barracks. Bedrolls and spare clothes were stacked neatly against the roughly-hewn wall, and again, there was no sign of eggs within. Aislin pondered how to deal with this when the sound of soft steps from behind indicated the arrival of Jaz.

She poked her head around Aislin's shoulder and caught a glimpse of the scene, before pulling out one of her explosive vials and holding it before them. Aislin nodded her understanding, and stepped back a little to let Jaz through, shooing a curious Keg back behind the stairs to keep him clear of the blast. Aislin then covered her still-ringing ears and winced with anticipation.

There was a loud popping noise a moment later, as the explosive powder detonated, creating a plume of smoke that had the two girls coughing. Waving it away, Aislin peered into the room and saw the soldier's smouldering forms flat on the ground. Before she could comment, the sounds of booted feet rapidly approaching from down the hall prompted the two girls to hurriedly pull back. They hid behind the improvised metal steps, and peered through them to witness what was happening.

Three of the Kurhanir soldiers looked at the remains of the explosion, and spoke to the third man, who Aislin recognised as Captain Jansen. Clearly angry, the captain spoke sharply to them both and pointed up the stairs. They saluted smartly, drew their weapons, and dashed up the stairs, oblivious to the girls hiding just beneath them.

Jansen himself ran back down the corridor, where the sounds of heavy doors being slammed shut echoed through the halls.

"I wonder what he said to them," Aislin whispered when the sound of boots had receded up the stairwell.

"He ordered them to delay the attackers," Jaz answered. "He has no idea where Osric went or when he'll be back, so he's going to guard the eggs."

"How did you..?"

"My country shares a border with Kurhain," Jaz explained in a hushed voice. "We're taught how to speak Korat at school, along with half a dozen other languages." The sound of firearms going off upstairs abruptly ended their discussion. They sat in the near-darkness, peering up to see what was happening, and heard the heavy boots of someone limping down the stairs.

Aislin, Jaz and Keg crouched low, watching in silence as someone walked right above their heads to stop just in front of them. The familiar stocky form of Gordon MacTavish was a welcome sight to Aislin, who came out of hiding and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to almost jump out of his skin.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," he admonished her, lowering a sidearm clutched in one fist. "I heard the explosion and feared the worst."

"I thought you would have run out of shots for that by now," Jaz remarked, gesturing to the weapon.

"It's not mine," Gordon replied gruffly, his eyes haunted, longing to know how these weapons came to be.

"You're injured," Aislin pointed out, noticing Gordon favouring one leg.

"Aye, bugger slashed me with a sword afore I could shoot 'im," he answered, wincing with pain. "It's nothin'."

"Are Carthack and Madelyn okay?" Jaz inquired.

"Aye, they're buyin' us time to get this done, but don't the two of you run off like that ever again."

"Never mind that, their captain went this way talking about guarding the eggs," Aislin quickly explained. "Come on, we have to stop him before Osric gets back." Grabbing Gordon by the arm, she tugged him in the direction Jansen had taken, with Jaz and Keg following them close behind.

The corridor opened out into many side passages as they travelled, planting the seeds of doubt in Aislin's mind as to which way the captain went, but a rusty metal door barred their way a little further along, reassuring her they were heading the right way.

"I heard doors slamming as he ran," she explained, with Gordon moving in to examine it closely.

"This place looks like it was built fer defence," he mused, pulling some small tools from a belt pouch. "Reinforced metal doors, maze-like hallways, the works. Fortunately, time makes fools of us all." He inserted the picks and began working on the rusty lock, while the girls nervously kept watch behind them. "I should also point out I've ne'er picked a lock that wasn't legally broken before — I used to apprentice with a locksmith when I was a wee lad."

"Your secret is safe with us," Aislin assured him as the lock clicked open. Jaz reached forward to push the door, but Gordon's hand snatched her by the wrist.

"Like I said, the place was built fer defence," he whispered, bending in closer to carefully check the door. After a few moments of examination, he snorted in triumph and pulled a pair of clippers out of his pouch, which he used to snip a thin piece of wire on the edge of the door. "Not sure what this woulda set off, and I reckon we're better off not findin' out." Gordon then slowly pushed it, wincing as it opened with a squeaking groan which set their teeth on edge.

"Not exactly a stealthy approach," Gordon muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow as he limped through the door. "The good news is, the man's takin' time to reset these traps after passin' through. That'll hold him up some."

"If we miss one, it'll hold us up more," Aislin pointed out. Gordon took the lead as they continued on, the corridor swerving every few yards and adding to their sense of disorientation. As they took another sharp turn to the left, two large panels of metal suddenly opened up beneath Gordon's foot just as he placed it down.

He immediately wheeled his arms backward to try and stop his fall, and although this seemed doomed to fail, the half-second it delayed his descent gave Aislin enough time to grab his longcoat and pull. She managed to hold him in place, suspended over an abyss for a long moment, until Jaz added her strength and he finally pitched backwards, falling onto both of the girls.

"Thanks," he muttered with a shaking voice, painfully rising back on his good leg, and peering over the drop with a visible shudder. "I don't want to alarm ye, but I canna see the bottom."

"How are we supposed to get past that?" Jaz complained, having planted herself against the wall, as far from the gaping pit as possible. "Do not suggest we jump the distance."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Gordon assured her. "It's gotta be four yards at least."

"There's a little bit of floor still left on either side," Aislin pointed out. "Maybe we could —"

"No," Jaz interrupted, staring at the pit in horror.

"There's probably a mechanism to close it on t'other side," Gordon suggested. "I'll try to inch me way across and close it up, so ye can just walk over it."

"Don't be silly, you couldn't squeeze across that tiny ledge on your wounded leg," Aislin pointed out. "I'll do it. Tie a rope around my waist and hold onto it, just in case."

"Well..." Gordon hedged, "if ye think yer up for it." Aislin was already pulling a coil of rope from his pack and tying it around her waist. With a sigh, he secured the other end around his stout middle and before long, Aislin stood before the pit, her hair lifting in a warm breeze rising up from below, carrying with it the smell of sulphur and deep earth.

Although accustomed to walking along the roof of the Bracksfordshire Arms, the prospect of slipping to her death in this pit seemed far more dangerous, even if she was tethered to Gordon.

Her heart pounded as slowly she set out along the narrow ledge, which measured a mere few inches across. Aislin kept her back against the wall as she sidestepped forward, shuffling her feet one tiny step at a time, and refusing to look down in case she lost her nerve. When she was halfway to the other side, her confidence grew and, sensing time was important, leaped the final few inches to safety, only then noticing with a measure of concern that Keg had followed closely behind her.

"You should have stayed back there you idiot," she chastised him. Keg simply sat and stared at her, as if daring her to try and make him.

"Nice one, lass," Gordon called across the pit with relief. "Now, look around on the wall nearby, ye'll probably see a switch or lever ye can pull." Aislin did as instructed and before long, found a lever just beneath a flickering torch set into the wall. She wrapped her gloved hands around it and pulled downwards, lifting her slight frame into the air a little, before it finally clunked into place.

The sound of ancient gears grinding in the walls accompanied the groan of the floor plates, as they slowly lifted back into position, slamming shut with a resounding boom moments later.

"How do we know it's not going to open again when we try to walk on it?" Jaz asked nervously as Gordon approached the trap.

"Was there just the one lever?" he called to Aislin, who examined the wall closely and discovered the lever had another notch it could slide sideways into. She described it to Gordon, who enthusiastically told her to push the lever across. Once this was done, a heavy thunk sound came through the wall behind it.

"That's done it," Gordon muttered in satisfaction. Still, when he placed his foot on the floor once again, he did so with extreme caution, before standing on it fully and even hopped once to demonstrate how safe it was for their reluctant friend, who was visibly relieved when they finally made it across.

"Chin up, we're getting through," Aislin assured her with a brief smile as she removed the rope from her waist.

"I'm not terribly fond of heights," Jaz confessed.

"I noticed, but it's okay. Come on, it can't be much further now." With growing confidence, Aislin helped Gordon hobble along through the passageway, which ended in another winding set of stairs, heading down even further into the depths of the earth. There were no torches lighting the way here, so with a whisper Jaz lit her enchanted ring and held it high, as they slowly descended under its soft light.

It came as a complete shock when the steps suddenly flattened beneath their feet, turning the stairwell into a chute. All four of them lost their footing and with a scream, plunged down and around the spiralled embankment, picking up speed as they fell to whatever fate awaited them. Gordon was in the front, with the two girls and Keg piled up, practically on top of him, so in an effort to slow their descent, he spread his arms wide and used his leather gloves to grip the smooth surface.

Although he kicked up a great deal of dirt and tiny stones, Aislin felt it was having an effect, so she used her gloves in the same way. Growing desperate, Gordon dug the boot from his uninjured leg in as well, growling with the effort. Slowly but surely, their speed diminished just in time to bring them to a halt at the precipice of an open trapdoor, at the bottom of the stairs.

Puffing and panting from the exertion, the pile of two girls, a dwarf and a cat lay there with one of Gordon's legs dangling over the drop. His sidearm skittered over the edge and dropped, making an ominous clattering sound as it struck the walls inside the hole before finally detonating far below them with a distant boom.

"Ace," Gordon calmly asked, "be a dear and pull the lever above yer head." Aislin looked up and spied the control protruding from the wall and wondered how she was going to reach it without letting him go. Keg seemed to grasp what needed to be done, however.

The cat clambered on top of Aislin and tamped down his rear paws, then sprang upwards and latched onto the lever. His weight was just enough to pull it downwards, which caused a grinding sound throughout the stairs as they shifted back into place, and the hole beneath Gordon's foot closed up once more.

"Didn't see that one comin'," he remarked between breaths as they picked themselves up. "Ye're alright, yeah?" Both girls nodded, though they must have been quite a sight, covered from head to toe in dirt. Gordon dusted off his gloves and crunched the lever into its locked position, to prevent the trap going off again, then turned his attention to the short, well-lit passageway before them.

Gordon led them onward, carefully searching the walls and floor for signs of further traps as they moved. A chamber beckoned just beyond the end of the corridor, with flickering shadows that hinted something or someone moving inside. Eager to find out, Aislin was about to head past Gordon for some stealthy investigation when he stopped her with a raised arm.

"Whoever made this place was clever," he admitted in a hushed voice, "but I think I figured 'em out." He leaned down and lightly dusted a metal plate that was placed almost invisibly over the flagstones. With his cutters in hand, he carefully clipped a thin wire he traced alongside the plate.

The instant it was severed though, two metal doors descended out of the ceiling in front of and behind them, slamming into place with a loud boom that caused everyone to jump. Narrow slits slid opened in the walls on either side of them, and the click of crossbows made Aislin squeal as she covered her head against the inevitable.

When nothing else happened, she eventually risked a peek and saw they were still alive and unharmed, from an evidently faulty trap.

"I guess the new residents never bothered to service this one," Gordon mumbled with relief. "That trap was itself trapped. Sorry girls, this ain't exactly my area of expertise."

"Never mind that," Aislin responded, trying to keep the fear out of her voice, "how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Whoever built the place would probably open it up once they'd confirmed we weren't a threat," Gordon mused. "Of course, if'n we were, those arrow slits along the length o' this chamber would let 'em make short work of us."

"That really doesn't help us right now," Aislin pointed out, tugging on her cloak when she realised it'd been caught beneath the metal barrier when it slammed behind them. She unclasped it and tossed it aside, too hot from the stifling air in this underground maze anyway.

"Carthack might be able to lift it," Jaz remarked with a cursory examination of the old metal plates, "but we've no way to contact him, and we probably don't have time to wait for him to show up, either."

"Still not helping," Aislin responded impatiently.

"Come on Jaz, work the problem," Jaz muttered to herself. Her gaze moved towards the ceiling, where the forward plate met the carved stone. "It came down rather quickly, so I'd imagine some sort of counterweight was holding them up, primed and ready."

"On t'other side o' these bricks, yeah," Gordon answered dubiously.

"Everything I think of involves us being on the other side of the door," Jaz exclaimed in frustration. She stared at the door looking for inspiration and it occurred to Aislin both doors had a small, barred hole in the centre, around head height for an adult.

"I've got it," Jaz blurted, snapping her fingers in excitement. She reached into her satchel and pulled out the aetheric hammer once more, then reached up and placed its tip against one of the short bars blocking the hole.

"Cover your eyes," she advised, pulling her goggles into place. Aislin looked away and grabbed Keg, so he wouldn't accidentally stare at the intense light the magical tool could produce. It flared to life, and the acrid smell of hot metal filled the chamber as Jaz used it to cut the bars, one after the other. Only a minute later three severed bars clanged to the floor, leaving a gap almost wide enough for one of them to squeeze through.

"I'm small, but not that small," Aislin hedged.

"I wasn't thinking about you, actually," Jaz assured her, casting her gaze upon an innocent-looking Keg. Moments later, they were awkwardly stuffing the big tomcat through the hole, where he alighted on the floor in a vain attempt to regain his dignity.

"Boost me up so I can have a look," Jaz whispered, with Gordon managing to hold her aloft while she peered through the hole. "Keg, jump on that lever on the wall," she hissed. "Don't look at me like that, you did the same thing just a few minutes ago. Okay Gordon, let me down." The dwarf complied and a few moments later, the doors began to rise with the sound of grating metal just behind the walls.

Aislin and the others emerged with a sigh of relief as Keg let go of the lever and landed on the floor, receiving an adoring pat from the girls for his efforts. While Gordon secured the mechanism to make sure nobody else would trigger the trap, Aislin noticed flickering torchlight coming from a room not far ahead.

Cautiously, she moved towards it while keeping an eye out for anything out of place on the floor. Her vision was increasingly drawn to curved lines sculpted into the stone walls, much like they'd seen in the lower sections of the complex. Beautiful carvings of trees, plants and clouds lined the room ahead, the ceiling of which was much higher than the tunnels.

Gordon gently stopped her from entering the chamber, until he'd thoroughly checked the doorway for signs of wires, plates, or anything else that might go off in their face, then pulled another small firearm out from beneath his longcoat.

Together, they stepped inside the large chamber and viewed the carved walls up close. On the far side, a collection of torches ringed a clear section of floor covered in furs, upon which rested three scaled eggs, each of them twice the size of Aislin's head.

Standing next to them was Captain Jansen, who calmly watched their entrance while holding a sidearm in one hand. It was aimed directly at one of the eggs, mere inches away, and the look in his eye said in no uncertain terms he was prepared to pull the trigger at the slightest provocation.

18

Eggs

"Place the weapon on the floor, and step back," Jansen instructed, in a manner suggesting he was fully prepared to shoot if not obeyed. The tip of his firearm hovered uncomfortably close to the nearest egg, and the captain's finger was firmly on the trigger.

"If I do that," Gordon answered slowly, "nothin' is gonna stop ya from killin' us and them eggs."

"I have no interest in killing human children," Jansen responded, his voice echoing around the large chamber. "But if you do not drop the weapon, I will shoot the first egg without hesitation."

"Ye ain't got but one shot with that thing," Gordon reminded him. With his free hand, Jansen pulled back his longcoat and revealed another three sidearms secured on a pair of belts from shoulder to hip, and a sword sheathed by his side. Gordon groaned, then eased his weapon onto the floor in surrender and raised his hands slowly, a sight which made Aislin's heart sink within her chest.

"Step back," Jansen ordered, to which all three of them reluctantly complied. "You have done well to make it this far. The people who constructed this facility suffered no trespass."

"Poor maintenance is a terrible thing," Gordon remarked, drawing a half-smile from the captain.

"Magnificent, is it not?" he asked, glancing around at the chamber with its elaborate carvings, rising all the way to the high ceiling. Ancient chairs and tables of strange design were piled nearby, covered in aeons of dust, yet still appearing intact and strong despite the passing of the years. "Centuries old, yet still it endures. Truly they were masters of their craft. Now, who are you, and what are you doing in this remote region?"

"I might ask ye the same thing," Gordon countered.

"Answer me, or the first egg will perish," Jansen responded, his tone grating with impatience.

"We're just locals, travelling around," Aislin piped up, her sight fixated on the eggs.

"Your northern accent indicates you are likely telling the truth," Jansen mused, "yet the dwarf and the dark-skinned girl are clearly not from here, to say nothing of your brutish companion who faced off against the giant upstairs. I find your presence here at this time highly suspicious, so I will ask one more time — what are you doing here?"

"We're refugees from Bracksford," Gordon explained with a defeated sigh. "When the place came under attack, we got away and came 'ere to find out why."

"The truth at last," Jansen answered with satisfaction. "I commend you on your bravery and resourcefulness, yet now you know what is at stake, I question why you risk your lives for these monsters."

"They're not monsters," Aislin blurted, "they're just like people."

"Yes, as I said child, monsters," Jansen cynically pointed out. "Woe betide humanity if one man ever acquired the power of a dragon. No, it would be a mercy to slay these beasts before they grow, both for their sake, and that of their inevitable victims."

"Yet ye haven't," Gordon shrewdly remarked. "Could it be 'cause yer waitin' on word from the one yer takin' orders from?"

"You are correct," the captain conceded. "My task is to guard these eggs, until such time as we have no further use for them, and much as I would like to continue this discussion, I simply cannot allow you to foil our plans."

"Which are?" Gordon prompted, drawing a dry laugh from Jansen.

"Most amusing. I have nothing against you personally sir, so I give you this one chance to take the children and leave. I give you my word you will be spared."

"What about our friends upstairs?" Aislin asked.

"They have most likely been killed by now, or they would have joined you, yes?" Captain Jansen responded. "Torg isn't very bright, but his fury in battle is renowned amongst his people."

"You bastard," Gordon snapped, which didn't seem to upset Jansen in the slightest.

"Why are you working with Osric?" Aislin plaintively asked. "Don't you know what sort of man he is?"

"I have my suspicions," Jansen admitted, "though I dare not give voice to them in his presence. My opinion counts for little, anyway. I am duty-bound to follow orders, and my orders are to assist him in this grand endeavour. Whatever my personal feelings, they pale into comparison with the power he has delivered for Kurhain. But enough of this distraction. This is your last chance," he warned. "Go, now, before things become unpleasant." In the shadows behind him, two familiar yellow eyes shined, giving Aislin a surge of hope.

"We're not leaving without the eggs," she said emphatically, meaning every word of it.

"A foolish decision," Jansen answered, just as a furious ball of ginger fur latched onto his firing arm, causing him to cry out in pain and surprise. The weapon discharged, but with Keg's weight on his arm, Jansen completely missed his mark.

Unable to shake off the angry cat, the captain awkwardly used his free hand to reach for another firearm.

"Gordon!" Aislin squealed, although the dwarf was already making his move. He pulled aside his longcoat and drew a sidearm he'd kept hidden, aimed and fired. Keg sped away at the deafening sound and Aislin flinched, gasping when she saw Jansen fall to one knee, clearly wounded, but still trying to draw the weapon.

Gordon saw this too and, realising his weapon was empty, eyed the sidearm he'd left on the floor just a couple of yards in front of him. He leaped forward, skidding along the flat of his stomach with an arm outstretched, scrabbling frantically until he grasped the weapon's hilt. In one swift movement he lifted it, aimed and fired.

Jansen flinched from the impact and seemed to stare at nothing for a moment, before his body fell to the stone floor.

"Result," Gordon grunted, slumping with relief. Aislin immediately rushed to the eggs and kicked the weapon from Jansen's hand, although it was clear he was no longer a threat. Her attention was caught by the sight of Keg, crouched on the other side of the eggs and panting in obvious pain. A large chunk was missing from his bloodied right ear, and a line of fur had been burned away along the side of his face.

"You brave boy," Aislin whispered, crouching beside him to give him a hug. Keg growled plaintively when she accidentally touched his injury, so she placed him back on the ground to let Jaz inspect his wounds, as Aislin turned her attention to the eggs.

The torches flickering around them were probably here to provide heat more than light, making sure the unhatched young were kept alive during the prolonged absence from their mother. Their surface was scaled, and they were coloured a mottled silver and brown, much like their parents. Aislin gently placed a hand against the rough surface, enchanted at the thought of touching a genuine dragon egg.

"I should have asked where they got these weapons," Gordon lamented nearby, standing over Jansen's unmoving body as he examined a sidearm in each hand.

"Perhaps they simply came up with the idea at the same time as you?" Jaz suggested as she dabbed some of her healing salve on Keg's ear.

"That's a bit too much of a coincidence fer me liking," Gordon grumbled. "Besides, they're exactly the same as me own designs. The same! How can this be?" The sound of shuffling footsteps approaching from the corridor caught their attention, sending Aislin's heart into her throat until Madelyn and Carthack emerged, the slim young woman helping the big Escardi to walk.

"You're alive," Aislin breathed, almost wilting with relief. Madelyn was struggling with Carthack's weight, and didn't answer until she had deposited him onto the floor and practically collapsed beside him. Her riding pants and jacket bore several long cuts with clotted blood showing beneath, but it was nothing compared to Carthack, who was bruised and bloodied.

"Looks like you've got things under control down here," Madelyn mumbled, barely coherent. "A pity, because I was absolutely itching to fight another five people at once."

"My word, you both look terrible," Jaz exclaimed, as she finished tending to Keg and hurried over to help the other two.

"Other guy, much worse," Carthack answered with a tired grin. "Good fight, he sleeping now."

"I thought the giant wouldn't stop unless he was dead, but Carthack managed to knock him out cold, it was remarkable," Madelyn added with some rare, genuine approval. "I see dragon eggs."

"There's nothing wrong with your eyes, anyway," Jaz remarked, taking some more of the healing salve from a jar, and dabbing it on Madelyn's injuries. She winced at each touch but appeared too worn out to complain aloud. Aislin touched an egg again, growing concerned at the lack of any other signs of life from within the hard shell. It occurred to her they may already be too late to save them.

"We have to move these somewhere safe before Osric finds out," she said to the others.

"Aye, he can't blackmail them dragons if he doesn't know where these are at," Gordon puffed, lowering himself to the floor while clutching his wounded leg. "Safest place would be back with Spartan, though it's a long way back to the city from 'ere. Still, it's better than stayin' in these tunnels."

"I can carry one," Aislin announced, carefully testing the weight. "Can I get some help with the other two?"

"Give me a few minutes to patch these three up," Jaz suggested while she worked.

"Me leg's gone all wonky, Ace," Gordon responded. "I might end up droppin' one."

"I carry when room stop spinning," Carthack rumbled. Silence fell as they looked to Madelyn, who appeared to be trying to think of a way out of performing manual labour.

"I seem to have been volunteered," she finally sighed, getting back on her feet, and reluctantly moving to join Aislin.

"Head back to the entrance and hide 'em somewhere nearby," Gordon advised. "By the time you get back 'ere for the third one, we'll be ready to move. Right?"

"Sure, why not," Carthack grunted, appearing as though he wasn't going anywhere any time soon."

"I'll do my best, but there's a lot of surface area to cover," Jaz added, gesturing at Carthack's massive frame.

"Carefully now," Aislin whispered to Madelyn as they each chose an egg, and gently lifted with both hands. The girls clutched the eggs close as they made their way to the passage, slowly at first but with growing confidence. With all of the traps disarmed, they had little trouble finding their way back to the entrance, though the two sets of spiralling stairs did pose some challenges.

Aislin's arms ached terribly by the time they saw daylight streaming in through the main entrance. She was about to head outside when Madelyn, who was equally weary, made a suggestion.

"Let's keep them separate in case someone comes looking for them, shall we? Put yours in the kitchen and cover it well, I'll find another spot nearby."

"Okay," Aislin answered, heading through the door and finding some space behind several bags of flour. The kitchen was actually very well stocked, and she took a moment to guzzle some water from a wooden jug, and steal a chunk of fresh bread to eat on the journey back.

She found Madelyn at the base of the stairs, and together they followed the winding corridor back to rejoin the others. They weren't far from the ornate chamber, when Aislin thought she saw a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye.

"What was that?" she whispered, searching frantically in the dim torchlight.

"What was what?" Madelyn responded, oblivious to any danger.

"I saw something moving."

"It was probably the shadows," Madelyn said with a shrug. "But just in case it wasn't, let's move this along shall we?" In spite of how tired they felt, the girls picked up the pace and hurried down the final set of stairs to the chamber. Gordon was back on his feet, and Carthack was drinking one of Jaz's healing draughts, when a blur of movement flashed in front of them.

"There it is again," Aislin exclaimed, her eyes darting around nervously.

"I saw it this time," Madelyn answered, drawing her rapier and searching the chamber for the source. Gordon held his reloaded longarm once more, and Carthack picked up Jansen's sword as they all gathered around the centre of the chamber, back to back. Aislin's heart pounded as she drew Sliver, clutching it fiercely.

"Let's move the egg out of here," Jaz suggested with a tremulous voice. Before anyone could answer, the blurring movement came again, much closer than before. A momentary flash of light lit the area and Carthack's sword was cut in half, the tip clattering to the floor with a line of white-hot metal across the severed blade.

"Get behind cover, now!" Gordon ordered Aislin and Jaz, who scurried behind the stack of old tables and chairs, peering out at the scene with wide-eyed fear.

"Who brings children into a battle?" a honeyed male voice purred from the darkness, sounding as though it could be coming from anywhere. Aislin recognised it and froze with fear — the Mad King had arrived.

"Yer done here, mate," Gordon shouted defiantly, scanning the chamber for a target. "Yer allies are dead, or runnin' for their lives. Better to just give up now and bugger off, I reckon."

"They were useful, but not essential," Osric answered without a hint of concern. "Poor Captain Jansen's loss will be felt, but otherwise, your intervention here is a mere inconvenience, nothing more."

"I got yer inconvenience right here," Gordon snapped, slapping the longarm with one hand. Then, Osric appeared from the shadows a dozen yards away. Aislin covered her ears as Gordon immediately aimed his longarm and fired, obscuring the view in a cloud of black smoke. When it cleared a few moments later, there was no sign of the man, or any indication he'd been hit.

A blur of movement dashed past them and with it, a sizzling flash of intense light which severed the pipe on Gordon's weapon in the same manner as Carthack's sword, leaving a ring of hot, glowing metal in its place. Osric came to a stop mere yards away, a sly grin on his fair features as he faced off against them.

He was very much as Aislin had pictured him — clad in fine black leather, with a heavy black cloak fluttering about with each graceful movement. He wasn't especially tall, but his skin was fair and his hair blond, though ragged and unkempt. His chin was unshaven, and his entire appearance hinted that he'd been roughing it for a while.

While very handsome, there was something about his dark brown eyes Aislin found disturbing, as if he suffered an insatiable hunger for something he couldn't understand. His left forearm was covered in a strange-looking metal band, much like a bracer or gauntlet would be, but with small glowing dots and nodules upon it. In his other hand he held a bizarre weapon, appearing much like a clear sword, with an edge of crackling blue light.

"Filthy weapons," Osric remarked, referring to Gordon's severed firearm, to which the dwarf responded by quickly drawing one of his sidearms and shooting Osric in the chest. This time they saw the shot impact, causing a brief flicker of glowing light in the shape of ghostly armour to appear around him.

"My turn," Carthack rumbled, lunging for Osric with the remaining half of Jansen's sword in one hand. The former king sidestepped the assault with blurring speed, and brought his glowing weapon down on Carthack's damaged blade, sundering what remained of its length. This didn't slow the big man at all, as if he'd been expecting it. He reached over with his free hand and grasped Osric's, twisting it, and forcing him to drop the weapon.

Though he wasn't moving nearly as fast as his foe, Carthack backhanded Osric and followed it up with a serious of repeated blows, slamming his fists into the man's body again and again. The flicker of ghostly armour appeared with each strike, and although he was being pushed back from the sheer force of the assault, Osric appeared otherwise unharmed.

With a smug smile he watched the concerted attack, as if studying his foe before finally lashing out to grab Carthack's fist mid-punch, holding it in place as the two men sought dominance in the struggle. Aislin was alarmed to discover that in spite of his diminutive frame, Osric's strength seemed to match the Escardi's. With a flick of his wrist, Osric sent Carthack tumbling into the wall with enough force to leave him dazed for a moment.

Like Aislin, Jaz had been hiding behind the furniture and nervously watching the fight, but seeing how it was panning out, she decided to take action. She took out one of her little explosives and hurled it at Osric, striking at his feet, and creating a cloud of smoke which blanketed the area, giving Carthack time to get back up.

Gordon pulled out another sidearm, ready to fire while waiting for a clear shot as the cloud slowly dispersed. When it did, Osric and his magic sword had vanished. Carthack wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and staggered back to his feet, wincing in pain from his impact with the wall. He'd barely had time to recover from his battle against the giant Torg, and seemed to be just about spent.

"Two of my precious eggs are missing," Osric's voice echoed from somewhere in the darkness. "Tell me what you have done with them."

"That would defeat the purpose of hiding them in the first place," Madelyn cynically explained.

"You will tell me, one way or another," Osric assured her with ominous foreboding. Silence descended after he spoke, disturbed only by the beating of Aislin's heart. Everyone kept a close eye on their surroundings, waiting for Osric to make his next move, but he remained hidden, raising the tension to unbearable levels.

Keeping low, Aislin crawled over to the last remaining egg, intent on protecting it with her life if she must. Keg crouched next to her, his keen senses alert for danger.

"Stay out of this, Keg," Aislin nervously whispered to him. Suddenly, Jaz squealed in alarm as she was grabbed from behind. The light from Osric's blade flared to life, illuminating both of them as he held the deadly weapon to her throat.

"Such a lovely young girl," he said with menacing intent. "I dearly wish to avoid harming her, yet you have left me little recourse. Should you fail to answer my question, she will suffer, and then each of you will suffer in turn. So I ask again — where have you taken the eggs?"

"Don't tell him," Jaz courageously blurted, her eyes locked on the glowing blade an inch from her neck, with the others watching helplessly at a distance.

"We know what you've been up to," Madelyn said accusingly. "If you think we're just going to let you win without a fight, you're sorely mistaken."

"Have you ever smelled burning human flesh?" Osric asked in response. "It's very unpleasant. Permit me to demonstrate." The blade in his hand slowly moved closer to Jaz's neck, heightening her fear as the others looked on helplessly. Aislin gasped, reluctant to watch but unable to look away. Then, Jaz raised her left hand and whispered something soft under her breath. The ring on her finger, the one taken from the deceased wizard in the underground complex not far from here, glowed an incandescent blue.

A crackle of electricity filled the air as tiny bolts of lightning surrounded her, causing both Jaz and Osric to scream in pain as they were shocked by the ring's enchantment. His arms momentarily numb, Osric staggered backwards, allowing Jaz to fall to the ground, twitching and apparently unconscious.

Gordon seized the opportunity and raised his sidearm, squeezing off a noisy shot which grazed Osric's arm. His magical protection neutralised the effect once more, but he was still recovering from Jaz's unexpected sacrifice and appeared off-balance. Madelyn dashed forward to slash and stab at Osric with her rapier, each attack causing his magical protection to flash, thwarting her efforts yet keeping him occupied.

The Mad King shook his head to clear it, and with uneven movements, began to respond to her assault. Though their swords never met, they cut and stabbed at each other, narrowly missing as they evaded each other's attacks. It was almost like a dance, with Madelyn's fluid movements complimenting Osric's even as they sought to harm one another.

Carthack, back on his feet once more, grabbed a chair from the nearby pile and moved in, waiting for the right time to make use of his new weapon, which he smashed over Osric's head when he was busy dodging one of Madelyn's ripostes. The old furniture shattered from the blow, scattering splintered pieces of priceless wood over the floor yet failing to slow Osric for more than a second.

If anything, this had the effect of reminding him that none of their weapons could actually cause him harm, so he stopped trying to dodge Madelyn's rapier and allowed it to stab him squarely in the chest. The weapon's tip came to a stop a fraction of an inch before it would have pierced his clothing, and in response, he reached over and seized her wrist, spinning her around and bringing her in close, under the threat of pulling her shoulder out of its socket.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" Osric purred, about to bring his sword to her throat to threaten her life when an astonishing thing happened. Madelyn ducked, with the arm Osric held bending backwards beyond the point it should have broken. The crackling magic blade actually made contact with his chin for a moment, causing him pain and leaving a burn mark on his otherwise flawless face.

While recovering from the unexpected blow, Osric released Madelyn's hand, which sprang back into place as if nothing strange had happened. She pulled back as they marvelled at the first sight of Osric actually being harmed from the fight.

"Right then," Carthack growled, now understanding the only way to harm Osric was with his own blade. Summoning his last reserves, Carthack went on the offensive, punching and twisting in an awesome display of fighting prowess, as he attempted to disarm the Mad King. Evidently aware of this, Osric made every effort to keep the big man at bay, slashing the glowing weapon back and forth and slicing Carthack's longcoat and tunic to shreds, leaving lines of burnt flesh in its wake.

Madelyn dashed around to flank Osric, putting him on the defensive while Carthack tried again and again to seize the weapon's hilt, until he finally succeeded. Again, Osric's unnatural strength saw the two men locked in a struggle for control of the weapon, shoving each other back and forth. Madelyn attempted to distract the former king by slashing his gloved hand, but her weapon simply couldn't penetrate his magical defences. Osric simply ignored her as he locked eyes with Carthack, a taunting smile appearing as he slowly began to win out over his mighty foe.

Aislin had been entranced with the battle, yet now realised her companions would be unable to prevent Osric's victory, and were resorting to delaying actions. Sensing this was her chance to act, Aislin picked up the egg and, keeping low, slowly made her way towards the passage outside. Gordon nodded as he saw what she was planning, while he continued to furiously reload his weapons, even though he must have understood the futility of his efforts.

Risking a peek behind her, Aislin saw Osric suddenly twist his arm to one side, catching Carthack off-guard as the former king's other fist slammed into his jaw. Osric's smug appearance had faded, replaced with a look of cruel intention. He kicked the prone Carthack repeatedly in the gut until he was rolling around in agony, gasping for breath and bleeding from a number of wounds.

Whirling to face off against his other foe, Osric slashed and cut at Madelyn, who was slowing from the prolonged fight. She managed to evade Osric's blade by bending over backwards in another display of her uncanny flexibility, though her jacket and blouse smoked from the close encounter.

Osric snarled in frustration and set about stabbing and slashing at Madelyn, forcing her to roll and flip around to avoid his magical blade. Aislin had been creeping toward the hallway the entire time and although eager to flee with her precious cargo, she didn't dare risk moving any faster. Most of her path had been obscured by the dim lighting, but two wall-mounted torches lit the passage opening and as she moved into their influence, Osric finally noticed what she was doing.

"No you don't," he spat, disengaging from an exhausted Madelyn, and rushing in Aislin's direction with astonishing speed. Gordon moved to stand in his way and aimed his sidearm, firing as Osric approached and catching his shoulder, which did little except make him unsteady as he ran. Expecting this however, Gordon had also stuck out his stubby foot with predictable results.

Osric went stumbling head-over-heel, with all of the speed built up from his run sending him careening past Aislin into the wall. Gordon raced to catch up and was on top of him before he could recover, firing another shot at point-blank range and kicking Osric in the head, none of which made it past the Mad King's magical protection.

"Don't just stand there, run!" Gordon bellowed to Aislin, who didn't wait around to see what was going to happen. With her heart hammering in her chest, she clutched the egg tightly and hurried along the passageway, wincing at the echoing roar of two more shots being fired as the dwarf used the last of his weapons to buy her time. She didn't look back as she heard the struggle and Gordon's cry of pain followed by silence, interrupted only by her own pounding footsteps echoing in the desolate old tunnels.

19

### Courage

Aislin moved as fast as she dared, breathing hard as she dashed along the corridor, intent only on escaping the underground complex with the dragon's egg intact and free from Osric's control. The constant struggle of the last few days was weighing heavily on her aching muscles, and each step only made it worse, yet she refused to slow down and rest, knowing that Osric was most likely right behind her.

She tried not to think about the fate of her companions, lest it weaken her resolve. For all she knew, Osric had slain them all on his way out, and the brief moment Aislin allowed herself to think of this possibility caused tears to stream from her eyes.

She hurried up the first stairwell, taking each step with care in spite of the burning in her legs, as she clutched the egg tightly in both arms. Aislin silently wished the lever to control the trap was up here instead of down below, so she could drop Osric down a trapdoor, but the place was designed to keep people out, not trap them inside.

Taking a moment to catch her breath after the climb, Aislin forced herself onwards, hopeful of reaching the exit before she was caught.

"Sweet girl, where are you?" came Osric's voice echoing along the corridor from somewhere behind her. The sound was like a fist of ice around Aislin's heart, spurring her on to greater speed until her aching legs gave way. She stumbled, but managed to catch herself before falling, and knew she couldn't keep this up any longer.

"I don't want to hurt you, child," Osric called again, this time sounding a little closer, quite possibly ascending the stairwell at that moment. "You're carrying something very precious to me. Return it and I shall reward you with riches."

Struggling for breath, Aislin didn't bother to reply. Instead, she kept plodding onwards, looking for some sort of advantage.

"Your silence speaks volumes, girl," Osric remarked. "Money does not interest you? Think carefully — I know how hard times have been in Aielund of late. The war was a terrible thing for both our countries. We're all in pain. I seek to make life better for all of us, but I can only do that if I am returned to my throne."

"Liar," Aislin blurted, unable to help herself. "You're trying to start another war!"

"There you are," Osric's voice growled, giving up the pretence of civility. Aislin went silent, regretting her outburst as she frantically looked around for a place to hide. There had been very few features along this corridor, which as Gordon mentioned, was designed primarily for the defence of the edifice below. For the most part, it ran in a very straight line from the side of the mountain, all the way down into the large chamber below, yet the walls were uneven, with shadowy nooks and missing bricks here and there.

Crouching low, Aislin found one of these missing pieces of stone not far ahead, and peered inside. Although her eyes couldn't penetrate the darkness beyond, a faint breeze wafted across her cheek, coming from somewhere inside the gap. Out of options, she felt around with her leg and discovered a hollow interior beyond the wall.

Squeezing through the hole, Aislin carefully pulled the egg after her, only to discover the small gap didn't connect to any sort of tunnel. The air was wafting through a tiny gap in the wall, probably coming from somewhere above, yet it was far too small for her to fit through. She briefly considered crawling back into the passage and trying to run when, from just down the corridor, the sound of approaching steps announced the arrival of the Mad King.

Aislin froze in terror, barely breathing as she watched his booted feet pass within inches of her face. He stopped a few yards further along, listening intently for the slightest sound before continuing on his way. Aislin gasped for breath, flooded with relief at the close encounter, before realising Osric now stood between her and the way out.

"You can't hide from me forever, girl," he called from up ahead, still oblivious to her true location. "If you keep running around in this dangerous place, you might end up plummeting to your death. Think of the egg, child! I do plan to return it to its parents, you know. I will have no further need of it soon, and the dragons can go on their way. No one else has to suffer, my girl."

Aislin stopped listening after he made mention of the dangers of this place, as she realised he was now ahead of her. She cautiously poked her head out of the gap and peered along the torch-lit corridor. There was no sign of Osric in the immediate area, so she pulled herself out and carefully grabbed the egg before trotting along the corridor, keeping an eye out for a lever protruding from the wall.

The passage twisted left then right and sure enough, just ahead, she saw the black-cloaked figure of Osric, just about to walk over the floor trap Gordon had almost fallen into on their way down. Creeping forward as quietly as she could manage, Aislin closed in on the wall lever beckoning from only a few yards away.

Closer and closer she crept, her eyes locked on Osric's back as he sauntered along, confident in his inevitable victory against a young girl. He was inches away from stepping onto the trapped floor when he paused, as if listening carefully. Aislin ever so slowly reached for the lever with one hand, the egg nestled in the crook of her other arm as she waited for Osric to take one more step.

She was barely breathing and every muscle in her body ached, yet she held still a few moments longer until he finally took that fatal step. Then, just as she touched the lever that would set it off, Osric span around and the two of them locked eyes. A second later, she threw the lever out of its safe position and the floor opened beneath him with a resounding thump. His scream echoed along the walls of the vast pit, though Aislin didn't stand there relishing his fall.

She pulled the lever down and across, closing the doors and locking it in place once more, then dashed across the dangerous floor and through the passage beyond, for she knew that his strange magic would probably allow him to survive the fall. Moments later, as she'd feared, there was a flash of violet light from behind her, as Osric teleported to the safety of the corridor.

"I'm going to make you suffer for that," he roared, his true personality finally revealed beneath a thin veneer of civility. Gone were the promises of safety and wealth, replaced only with a monster bent on taking what he thought was rightfully his. The brief rest Aislin had snatched had given her what she needed to keep going, and she ran once more in a desperate attempt to make the exit before Osric caught her and made good on his threats.

She reached the second stairwell and, puffing hard for each breath, began to ascend, her boots clunking heavily on the stone as she struggled to lift them with each step. Exhausted, alone and facing a horrible fate, she struggled to keep her tears at bay a little longer. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of allowing him to see her weakness.

"Stop!" Osric ordered from just below her, making her squeal in alarm as he stormed up the steps, not far behind her. The sight of daylight streaming in from the corridor ahead gave Aislin a brief burst of hope and energy for the final push, and with her legs and lungs burning with each step, she burst into the courtyard.

Frantically she looked around for a place to hide the dragon's egg, knowing there simply wasn't time. There were only three dead soldiers here and no sign of the giant, so she assumed the survivors had run off when they'd awoken. When she heard the sound of footsteps just behind her, Aislin placed the egg against a rock on the ground and whirled around to face Osric, Sliver held in her shaking hands.

"Well, aren't you adorable," he purred as he emerged into the light. "Such a lovely dress you're wearing, though perhaps a little formal for this setting, don't you think? It doesn't really match your dagger, either. You might want to put it down before you hurt yourself." Aislin did no such thing, grasping its hilt even tighter than before. "I congratulate you on your cleverness too, I might add. If it wasn't for my unique equipment, I would surely have fallen to my death."

"Go back and have another try, then," Aislin advised through gritted teeth, holding Sliver up as she stood between the former king and his prize. He merely chuckled as he caught his breath, his confidence and civil facade in place once more.

"Courageous to the end," Osric complimented her. "You've led me on a merry chase child, but it's over. Step aside and I'll take what's mine, and then you'll get what's coming to you." He took a menacing step forward and raised his hand, in which he held the hilt of a sword. With a press of his thumb energy crackled forth, outlining the sword's edge in a display of power that was supposed to overwhelm her.

"Is that what you did to the others?" she asked with a tremulous voice, "did you kill them too?"

"I could have, but I didn't," Osric confessed. "Unfortunately, I can't kill any of you until I know where you've hidden the other eggs. I simply can't risk losing a single one, or my plans may well be for nought."

"Why are you doing this?" Aislin sobbed, barely keeping herself together.

"Why?" Osric repeated thoughtfully. "I was the rightful king of Tulsone, destined for greatness until my brother conspired with your Queen Criosa to steal it from me. He now sits on the throne, a pretender and a drunk, with no idea how to rule, while my country languishes in poverty." Osric took a step closer, his eyes locked on Aislin's as he spoke.

"I have been reduced to an outcast. I, who once dined with royalty and other powers beyond your comprehension. But not for much longer. I have forged an alliance with new allies, who are more than happy to create a lasting relationship with me, in exchange for power to conquer their own enemies." Aislin glanced around, looking for signs that maybe Spartan was nearby, coming to her rescue. There was nothing but her and a madman, facing off on the side of a mountain.

"Together, we will liberate my country, and I will reclaim my throne while avenging myself upon Aielund. I have no ill-will to the Akorans, but they turned out to be the perfect weapon with which to strike back at my enemy. Their decades-old enmity made them easy to manipulate, given the right conditions, and nobody would suspect another player was involved. They only needed a push, something big enough to force them to make the hard choice seem like the easy one. They will keep Aielund occupied while my allies crush my brother's resistance, and by the time your queen is free to aid her ally, it will be too late."

"So you stole the dragon eggs and forced them to destroy the Akoran city," Aislin said, trying to buy time, though for what, she hadn't yet figured out.

"Yes, and my plan will succeed, unless someone gets in my way," Osric answered, taking another step. "Is that you, girl? Are you going to stop me with your little knife?" Aislin didn't answer, instead focused on keeping the tears from her eyes as she faced her own demise. "Well go on, stab away." He spreads his arms wide, inviting her do just that.

Aislin knew it was futile. If she could have figured out a way to get his magic sword, she might have been able to hurt him, but as it was, her attempt would be little more than entertainment for the twisted man. She'd never used Sliver to hurt anyone, but Osric was a monster and he had to be stopped, or else her father and everyone else at Bracksford could die in the coming war.

She wished her father was here, or anyone else for that matter. Aislin didn't know why it had fallen on her to be the last one standing against his schemes, but there was nothing else for it. Sobbing at the injustice of it all, she gripped Sliver's hilt tightly and thrust it at Osric's leg.

His sudden scream of agony came as a complete surprise to Aislin, as the dagger slipped right through his magical protection and sank deep into his thigh. Osric staggered backwards, staring down at the weapon sticking out of his leg in disbelief, while Aislin watched in wide-eyed shock, until he backhanded her across the side of her head, sending a flash of searing pain across her face as she fell to the ground.

Clutching her face, Aislin watched as Osric slowly extracted Sliver from his leg and glared at it for a moment before tossing it aside. Barely able to stand, and with blood flowing freely from the wound, he glared at Aislin with unbridled rage and hobbled forward, his sword crackling with similar fury.

Then, a vast shadow engulfed the entire courtyard, and turning to see what was happening, Aislin watched in astonishment as the vast dragon Ilfyn blotted out the sun, as she dived straight for the Mad King, with an ear-splitting bellow erupting from her massive jaws.

Osric stared in open-mouthed terror at his impending doom, yet had the presence of mind to fumble for the object strapped to his wrist. When he touched it, he vanished in a flash of violet light, just as Ilfyn's jaw snapped at the place he'd been standing a heartbeat before. Her vast bulk slammed into the side of the mountain, shaking the very ground as Aislin slumped onto the rocky ground, gasping with relief.

Ilfyn growled in dismay at failing to catch her prey, but quickly forgot this as she turned her great head and saw one of her eggs nestled nearby. Gently, with remarkable tenderness, she nudged it with her snout while making a faint purring sound not unlike a cat. Gathering her courage in the face of such an immense creature, Aislin climbed unsteadily back onto her feet, which did not go unnoticed by the dragon, who simply stared with one of her huge reptilian eyes.

"The other two are hidden nearby," Aislin responded after an uncomfortable silence. "I'll get them. Just wait here." She went inside entrance and retrieved the first egg from the kitchen, depositing it at Ilfyn's feet, then went back for the last one. By the time she returned, Spartan had arrived, the smaller dragon perched on the wall nearby while his mate nuzzled her beloved eggs.

Thank you, came a whispering, feminine voice in Aislin's mind. Ilfyn grasped the eggs in three of her claws and spread her wings wide, sending up a cloud of dirt as she powered into the air. The huge dragon wheeled around, then all but vanished from sight, using magic to become invisible as sailed into the pink hues of the twilight sky.

To Aislin's delight, her companions, battered yet still very much alive, emerged from the cave entrance to witness the sight of Ilfyn's departure. Carthack and Madelyn bore the worst of their injuries, with their attire bloodied, shredded and burned by Osric's blade.

"I'm so glad to see you all," Aislin whispered, finally allowing tears of joy to fall as she rushed in to hug Gordon and Jaz at the same time.

"The feelin's mutual, lass," Gordon replied with a catch in his voice. "Not so tight, we're pretty beat up in case ye hadn't noticed. What happened out here?"

When she heard Osric's scream, Ilfyn knew he was vulnerable, Spartan remarked, settling into the courtyard and folding his wings. It took great courage to face him as you did, Aislin Ballard. We are both in your debt.

"I didn't expect to win," Aislin confessed, tiredly walking over to where Sliver lay sparkling on the ground. "It went right through his magic armour somehow."

"Give us a look at that thing," Gordon muttered, holding out his hand expectantly. Aislin handed over Sliver, which he examined closely with an expert eye.

"Vythir," he breathed incredulously. "I ne'er gave this thing a second glance 'til now."

"Is that why it cut him?"

"Nay, 'tis a strong metal with the sharpest edge that can be made, and worth a fortune, but still wouldn't have done what ye describe. There's some inscriptions on the blade, however."

"That's my area of expertise," Jaz interjected, holding out her hand.

"There's some words on the other side I'm told are dwarvish," Aislin added, causing Gordon to hang onto the dagger for a moment longer. He flipped it over and read what was inscribed onto the blade. His face fell and he seemed thoughtful as he absently handed it over to Jaz.

"What is it?" Aislin asked the dwarf.

"You say it's called Sliver, yeah?" he inquired, to which Aislin nodded.

"That's what Lord Aiden said it was called, when he gave it to me during the war," she added. "Captain Ellis says that's wrong though." Gordon smacked his forehead as he put something together.

"Of course, that's where I seen it before," he exclaimed. "There was a man who travelled with Lord Aiden, a man who carried two daggers for a time, one of which was dwarven-crafted vythir. He was a dangerous bloke, known for murderin' people what he didn't like. Tried to reform himself towards the end of the war, but 'e couldn't outrun who 'e was inside, I guess."

"This man," Madelyn asked, appearing pale and dishevelled in her tattered attire. Numerous bruises and cuts were visible on her fair skin. "Did this man have white hair?"

"Come to think of it, he did," Gordon remarked. "How did ya know that?"

"I met him," she whispered absently, falling silent as she sought a place to sit. Aislin glanced at the arm Osric had held when they were fighting, and saw that, aside from a few bruises and cuts, it appeared completely unbroken.

"How did you get out of that hold he had you in?" she asked Madelyn, who answered by bending her arm backwards at the elbow, a move that made Aislin cringe.

"Double-jointed, remember?" she casually explained.

"Ah-ha," Jaz suddenly exclaimed, holding up the dagger in triumph. "This bears a powerful enchantment which allows it to cut through just about anything. The pommel of this thing would have to be filled with gems to hold such a powerful work of magic. I can't even calculate how much it would be worth."

"Good knife," Carthack grunted, slumping against the wall to watch the conversation with mild interest.

"Gordon, what does the dwarvish writing mean?" Aislin asked when he didn't show any enthusiasm for their discovery.

"It's probably best ya don't know," he answered after a moment's pause.

"Tell me," she insisted, staring at him until he finally relented.

"The cap'n was right, it ain't called Sliver," Gordon confirmed. "The wording is very clear. Ya see, there's a particular branding given to weapons that have done momentous things. In this case, yer dagger is called 'Betrayer', the mark given to a weapon used to kill someone loyal to ya. Given the previous owner's history, the rumours of 'im killin' a good man who helped him during the war are probably true. I'm sorry lass, it's sort of a curse."

Aislin took the weapon back and stared at it, wondering what foul deeds it had been used for in the past.

"Don't worry, it's not an actual curse," Jaz pointed out. "It's just a bad reputation."

"Don't go showin' it to any of me kin, or they'll think yer a murderer," Gordon added grimly. "That's curse enough, I think."

"Why would it be labelled as such?" Madelyn wondered. "Did this man pay to have it inscribed, or did someone do that without his knowledge?"

"Knowin' the man of whom we speak," Gordon muttered, "he was probably feelin' guilty and had it done himself."

"Is just weapon," Carthack suggested to Aislin, who appeared downcast after learning of her blade's chequered history. "Is like tool, use it as you see fit. Want to save people? Do that. Want to call it Sliver instead of Betrayer? This thing you can control. Want to murder? It can do that too. But do not murder, is very bad thing."

"Thanks Carthack," Aislin answered with a faint smile, as she sheathed the blade once more. Gordon crouched to the ground and lifted a pair of firearms from one of the fallen soldiers.

"I think we've done good here today, but I've gotta answer this question," he mumbled. "These are me own designs they was shootin' at us. Me own weapons! Ye can all head back to town if'n ye want, but I'll be headin' south to find out how this came to be. Someone owes me a lot of money, or I owe 'em a knuckle sandwich."

"I was heading south anyway," Jaz said. "I'm still trying to get home, so I'll come with you. Kurhain isn't far from where I live, as it happens."

"I'll escort ye home, then," Gordon offered with a gruff smile.

"I come too," Carthack added. "After I rest, of course. Very sore. But these Kurhain people come to aid of Aielund's enemy, this Osric. I would find out more to stop happening again. Aielund my people's home now too."

"You raise an interesting point," Madelyn mused. "These men engaged in hostile actions on Aielish soil, and seek to help our enemy. I feel it is my patriotic duty to investigate further in the name of Her Majesty and the Crown."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with your family being cast out from Aielish society, leaving you no place to go within its borders without being harassed and scorned, would it?" Aislin inquired pointedly.

"That may have something to do with it," Madelyn confessed with a measure of embarrassment. "Perhaps if I serve the country in this way, I can clear my family name, and return to the life I so desire."

"Sure you can," Carthack offered in encouragement. "You just need new clothes first."

"I'll thank you not to stare, sir," Madelyn responded self-consciously, drawing the remains of her leather jacket across her chest. "You know, if we want to track down Osric, finding the source of those weapons would be a good place to start," Madelyn suggested. "They're his allies, after all."

"Ye make a good point," Gordon gruffly agreed. "I might just be able to tolerate ye for a few more weeks if ye keep that up, ya snooty, privileged, failed princess."

"Perhaps you'd consider bathing more often so as not to set everyone's nostrils on fire every time you walk past, you ungodly, hairy little troll."

While I find all of this fascinating, Spartan interrupted delicately, I have a debt to fulfil. Your efforts have restored my faith in humanity, and our line shall continue for another generation. You have my undying gratitude.

"Where will you go now?" Jaz asked.

Ilfyn will find another place to raise our young, far from humanity where peace can be assured. Perhaps it was folly to nest so close to the Akora, but the seismic activity made it a perfect place to hatch. It is now time for me to leave.

"Wait," Aislin blurted. "We have to go to Bracksford and stop them from fighting. Osric said the war would start at any moment."

Yes, we should do this quickly, before the fighting begins. I can teleport us there, but at that distance, I can only take one of you.

"Well, this is yer chance to get a ride back," Gordon suggested to Aislin, who brightened at the prospect of going home at last. "Give me best to yer father, and to Jock, should ye see him. Let 'em know what we're up to, yeah?" Aislin nodded and then stumbled forward to embrace Gordon in a fierce hug.

"I'm going to miss you all," she whispered, her exhaustion making this a tearful farewell. She repeated this with Jaz and Carthack, though Madelyn eyed her with disdain as Aislin approached.

"I suppose I could consider us even at last," Madelyn remarked rather distantly. "But we're not hugging, so turn those puppy-dog eyes elsewhere." Aislin ignored this and rushed in to give her a quick hug, which the young woman reluctantly accepted.

"Alright get it over with," Madelyn muttered, somewhat embarrassed before the wide smiles of their companions. Finally, Aislin stooped down to embrace her dangerous tomcat, who was purring like a tiny thunderstorm.

"I can't take you with me, so I need you to look after them, okay Keg?" she asked, eliciting a meow she took as an agreement. It was still quite odd to know how aware he was now, and their years-long friendship had only grown in recent days as a result. The thought of leaving him was painful, but she felt better knowing he was in good company.

Aislin couldn't hold back the tears any longer as she turned and hurried to Spartan's side. The dragon lowered his serpentine body enough for her to climb onto. His silvery, scaled skin was rough to the touch, giving her enough grip to hold on tightly with both hands.

"Goodbye, Aislin!" Jaz called. "Thank you for everything!"

"Take care of yourselves," she called back. "You mean more to me than you know. Goodbye!" Her awkward farewell finished, Spartan beat his wings and leaped into the air. The enormous panorama of the world spread before them, allowing Aislin to see the forests far to the north, and the red dirt of the desert lands not far to the south. She shivered, wishing she still had her fur-lined cloak, as she felt the full brunt of the cold winds.

Brace yourself, for we will be arriving in Bracksford on the cusp of war, Spartan advised. Then, just as she thought they were going to fly off to the west, Spartan drew his wings in tightly and dived. A flash of violet light surrounded them for a moment, the now-familiar feeling of being transported to another location with magic. The scene around them changed in an instant, from mountainous terrain to green fields as far as the eye could see.

Far below them was a small town, with people appearing as no larger than ants at this distance. Spartan kept his wings closely folded along his flank, causing them to plummet towards the ground at an amazing speed.

Aislin wrapped her arms around Spartan's neck and held on tight, screaming from a heady mix of fear and delight as the wind rushed through her hair. The thrill of flight was incredible, though she felt a measure of relief when the dragon finally spread his wings and spiralled gently towards the middle of Bracksford.

Her keen eyes spotted a large mass of people to the west of town, soldiers, judging from the shine of their weapons and armour. Aislin pointed this out to Spartan, who was very much aware of their presence.

We have arrived just in time, he remarked, his voice sounding clear and strong in her mind, despite the strong winds. With a flurried beating of his wings, Spartan landed in the centre of the main road, just outside the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn and was almost instantly surrounded by a dozen Akoran warriors, fearfully pointing their spears at the new arrivals.

Drop your weapons, for I am not here to fight, Spartan declared to the gathering of warriors. If I were, you would already be ash and dust.

A tall Akoran woman with grey hair pushed her way to the front, glaring at Spartan suspiciously. By the way the men looked at her, this woman held great authority and respect amongst her people.

"First you raze our city, now you come here in peace?" she spat in accented Aielish, possibly for the benefit of the locals, who were staring through the windows of nearby buildings at this remarkable development.

"He's not here for a fight," Aislin called out, much to the surprise of the assembled warriors. "We're here to stop one."

My mate and I were coerced into attacking your city. An act I am not proud of, Spartan somberly added. I come here now of my own free will to stop the fight that is about to happen, and restore you to your true home.

"The one who destroyed our homes with sorcerous fire," the woman continued, still unconvinced, "he is not with you anymore?"

He has been defeated, and never again will I be beholden to the will of another. But in penance, I will help you rebuild Akoramark, and undo the terrible destruction we wrought. I ask that you lay down your weapons, and leave this place before the warriors of Aielund storm the walls, leading to ever more bloodshed.

The woman considered this for a long moment, with those around her waiting nervously for her answer. If she disagreed, it seemed likely they would have to fight a dragon, something none of them seemed eager for.

Finally, she raised her arm and gestured for her men to lower their weapons. First this group, then all of the warriors occupying Bracksford followed in kind.

You have chosen wisely, Spartan purred. We have much to discuss, but first I will meet with the Aielish commander to explain the situation.

"And if he does not approve?" the woman prompted.

He will not have a choice in the matter, Spartan growled.

"Aislin?" interrupted a familiar voice from near the inn. Tom Ballard, wounded but still alive leaned against the door, and stared in astonishment at his little girl, riding on the back of the dragon who had just arrived to save the town.

"Dad!" Aislin cried in relief. She slid off Spartan's back, stumbled across the street and collapsed into his waiting arms. A cheer went up from the local residents as it seemed their dark days were finally at an end.

Epilogue

A tense evening of negotiation took place between Spartan, the commander of the Aielish military and Captain Ellis, who seemed to be representing Bracksford's interests. Beside them was Vasha, the leader of the Akorans who had invaded the town, or as she put it, "sought refuge from a monstrous enemy". Perspective was important in matters such as this.

Aislin stayed by her father's side the entire time, grateful to be reunited at last. She spent the evening enjoying a simple, sparse meal, and answering the questions from her father, Vicki and many others about her adventure, until she could barely keep her eyes open.

The common room was still fully occupied by the Akorans, but from what Vicki said, they had all actually gotten along quite well in the end. The warrior chieftain who had led the attack had actually perished by an arrow from David Patel's longbow, ending an internal dispute over how to take the town, and creating a vacuum of power Vasha had stepped in to fill.

With her wise guidance, what could have been a brutal occupation turned into a mutual quest for survival. Aislin listened for as long as she could until she fell asleep by the fire. Maybe it was all of the recent events playing on her mind, and maybe it was old memories resurfacing, but Aislin once more dreamed of hiding from the soldiers who had come to take over the town.

When she awoke, the first rays of morning light were streaming into the now deserted common room. Still trying to shake off the fear she revisited in the nightmare, she grasped Sliver's hilt to reassure herself and looked outside the window. Columns of Akoran men and women were solemnly marching toward the east gate, carrying all of their possessions. Apparently, the leaders of the various factions had come to an agreement, and the Akorans were now peacefully withdrawing. The crisis was over.

Across the room, Tom Ballard slowly hobbled through the hallway of the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn, making his way to the counter as best he could. A bandage was wrapped around his head, his right arm was in a sling, and his old wounded leg was worse than ever. Still, he was alive, which is more than could be said other townsfolk. The poor old mayor hadn't survived the initial invasion, leaving them leaderless for much of the last week.

Aislin went to her father's side to help him as they surveyed the kitchen, where the new waitress Constance smiled at them. She'd had the misfortune to start work here just before their troubles began, and had apparently been forced to work in the kitchens day and night, feeding their unexpected guests.

"I think you've earned a break, Connie," Tom suggested. "God knows we've all earned one."

"Thank you, Mister Ballard," Constance answered tiredly, "but I'll rest when the place is all put back to rights."

"As you wish," Tom said, more than happy to put the last week behind him. He and Aislin looked out over the common room. The throngs of Akoran women and children sheltering within had left quite a mess in their wake. "It'll take days to clean all this up," he muttered aloud.

"It could have been a lot worse, dad," Aislin whispered. He squeezed her affectionately in reply, knowing how close they came to losing each other.

"I wish we could get you some clean clothes, chook," he said with a wan smile. "The Akorans took everything they could to feed and clothe their own people. I don't begrudge them the supplies though, they're heading back to an absolute ruin by all accounts."

"They really are," Aislin agreed, having told them of the city of Akoramark during her brief visit.

"We'll have some supplies brought in from Culdeny in a few days," her father continued. "After things settle down, we'll see what we've got left and make do 'til then. Things'll be tighter than ever around here though."

"We'll manage," Aislin assured him, watching curiously as Vicki fearfully peered out through the windows.

"Is he still out there?" she whispered from near the fireplace. The sudden appearance of the dragon in the middle of town had caused quite a stir amongst their guests, and a good number of locals too. Aislin helped her father to the window, and they peered out through the torn curtain to see Spartan's shining serpentine form, towering over the gathered soldiers from Fort Highmarch as he monitored the withdrawal.

"Yeah, he's kind of hard to miss," Tom finally answered. "Everyone's being very polite to him, no surprise. Strange to hear only half the conversation, too. I guess he's doing that thing where he just talks straight into your head."

"I thought a fight was going to start right in the middle of the street," Vicki muttered. "Imagine that, just appearing right above the town and landing in the middle of all those Akoran men. What was he expecting?"

"Probably going for shock value," Tom chuckled, admiring the dragon's approach to diplomacy. "And with my little girl on his back. You're going to be quite popular around here with the other children, I imagine." Aislin nodded absently, too caught up in events outside the inn to consider her father's words.

"At least they're all listening," Vicki remarked. "Once blood has been spilled, it's so hard for anyone to let go."

"Aye, that it is," Tom agreed with a nod. Dozens of Akoran men and women were being escorted along the main street by several tense-looking cavalry. The Akorans, carrying their meagre supplies on their backs, appeared downcast and forlorn after effectively losing this battle before it even started. They were joining up with hundreds of their kin outside of the eastern gate to begin their long march home.

When the road cleared, Aislin could see Captain Ellis shake hands with the commander from Highmarch, and then repeated the gesture with Vasha, who then moved to join the rest of her people.

"Looks like Ellis got the deal he wanted," Tom remarked, noticing Kirsten gazing at the captain through the windows as she mopped the floors. Ellis finished speaking with the military me,n before heading towards the mayor's office. He did however, glance at the inn to see Kirsten watching him, and gave her a quick wink and a smile, which she cheerfully returned.

"You know," Vicki remarked slyly, "he's done so well for us this last week, keeping everyone calm and making sure nobody tried to be a hero. I reckon he'd make a smashing new mayor, and I'm not the only one saying it, either."

"Yeah, he's got a good head on his shoulders, that one," Tom agreed, watching for Kirsten's reaction. "Single, too."

"I'll uh, be back in a little bit," the waitress absently informed them, tossing aside her mop and heading for the door to catch up with Ellis, as he made his way through town. Aislin shared a knowing look with her father as the sound of hammering came from the other end of the common room. Jock was starting work on repairing the inn once again, but this time with a proper payment coming his way.

"Pace yourself, mate, you've got a lot of work ahead of you," Tom called.

"S'alright, I'll be 'round fer a while yet," Jock answered with a gruff nod, more than happy to focus on his new job as town repairman. "Nice to see ya again, lass. Gordon did alright, by the sound o' it."

"He certainly did, sir," Aislin assured him.

Excuse me, may I come in? Spartan's voice spoke suddenly within their minds. Vicki squealed and ran to the kitchens, while Tom tried to appear brave and calm in front of his daughter. Spartan's head hovered at the doorway, waiting patiently for his response. Caught off guard, Tom coughed and gruffly gestured his approval, watching as the serpentine head snaked inside the foyer.

"He's not going to bite you," Aislin assured him while trying not to laugh.

Quite so, Spartan agreed. I wanted to wish you farewell, and apologise again for my part in this matter. Rest assured it will not happen again. Furthermore, you should know that your daughter is a person of courage and conviction sir, and without her aid we would all be at war this very moment.

Tom was too overcome to say anything, but he was brimming with pride as he looked down at Aislin.

"What about Osric?" Aislin asked Spartan. "Are you going to hunt him down?"

I wish I could, but I must help the Akorans rebuild their city, and then I will return to Ilfyn to ensure the safety of our young. I will not be revisiting your lands for many years. Fear not, your friends will soon be leaving for the southern lands to pursue Osric and his allies.

Tom mumbled something gracious to the dragon, but Aislin had stopped listening. Her friends would have perished without her help, and if they were intent on tracking down Osric, she couldn't leave them to do it alone. The mere thought of losing them was as painful as if she had lost one of her own family.

She glanced around the inn, her home for as long as she could remember. Images from her nightmare of previous assaults on the town flashed through her mind and feelings of fear returned. Spartan's head had withdrawn outside once more as he prepared to take flight, and with her father propped up against the side of the door, Aislin looked up at him and knew he'd never agree to what she was about to do.

"Look after Dad, Vicki," she requested, receiving a confused look from her. Aislin left her father's side and rushed through the door, practically leaping onto Spartan's back in one go before he could stop her.

"Aislin, what are you doing?" Tom blurted in surprise.

"I can't leave the others to do this alone," she called as Spartan curiously looked on.

"They're grown men and women, who know what they're doing," her father shouted across the distance. "You can't just leave here, you only just came back!"

"They do need me, Dad, they're like my family now too!" Aislin answered. "Don't worry, I'm coming back someday, hopefully soon. I love you, Dad!"

She was causing quite a scene in town, as practically everyone she knew gathered at a safe distance to watch. Spartan, who had an understanding of the dramatic, chose that moment to beat his wings and take flight, soaring into the air in a great spiralling flight. Far below, Aislin's father waved helplessly from beneath the newly replaced sign of the Bracksfordshire Arms Inn as they left the little country town behind, until they suddenly disappeared in a flash of violet light.

They reappeared just above the ground where they'd left the rest of her companions the previous evening. Gordon, Jaz and Carthack were surprised when Spartan deposited her at the fort, and while they had reservations about her choice, they were pleased to see her anyway. Madelyn didn't seem to care overly much, but Aislin knew that was just her way.

"Thank you, Spartan," Aislin said to the dragon, who politely bowed his head.

I wish you all good hunting, and remember this — Osric is no fool. He will not make the same mistakes twice.

"We'll remember that," Aislin replied. She stepped back as he spread his wings once more and leaped into the sky, the morning sun glinting from his shining scales as he circled higher and higher.

Farewell, and thank you, came his final words as he soared off towards the ruined city of Akoramark to begin the rebuilding.

"Not that we ain't happy to see ya," Gordon greeted after Spartan had vanished from sight, "but why on earth did ya come back? Didn't ya want to stay home?"

"I couldn't do it," Aislin quietly answered.

"Ye what?" Gordon repeated as they all looked at her in disbelief.

"Why would I stay? So I can go back to hiding under a table at the inn, the next time Osric decides to attack us? Or be like Captain Ellis, waiting for Osric to come for him out of vengeance? I spent a lot of time during the war too scared to do anything, and can't do that any more. I'm not going to hide. Osric is still alive, and he wants to get back at Aielund for losing his own kingdom. He's going to try again, unless we find and stop him. Besides, of all of us, I'm the only one who managed to properly hurt him."

"That was just your weapon," Madelyn pointed out. "You could just give Sliver to Carthack or myself, and we'll deal with him."

"Nobody's taking this dagger from me," Aislin firmly stated while grasping its hilt. "The next time I meet Osric, I'm not going to hesitate. I'm going to stop him good and proper."

Keg chose that moment to break the mood by rushing to her side, purring and meowing his delight at seeing her once more.

"Don't be fooled, he's just looking for a feed," Aislin remarked with a knowing grin.

"Can I offer you some breakfast?" Jaz suggested. "The people here were very well provisioned." Aislin nodded and smiled, joining her friends as they went about preparing their morning meal. They were still recuperating from the fighting and so they were content to rest and eat some of the exceptional food they'd found in the small kitchen — carrots, beans and potatoes complimented meat found in a cold room adjacent. Aislin remarked that they were eating better than anyone in Bracksford, a fitting reward for their efforts.

That evening, as they sat next to an open fire after enjoying the finest meal they'd eaten in days, Jaz and Aislin were busy mending their clothes using leftover material the Kurhanir soldiers had stored at their camp. Madelyn's blouse and riding pants took on an odd look as the darker material marred their appearance, but she was nonetheless grateful for intact clothing.

Aislin looked at her amber dress, worn, dirty and altogether ruined after enduring the events of the past week or more. Like her, it wasn't designed for a life of roughing it in the wilds and facing danger. A long, quiet life back in her country home, attending dances and going about a normal life was all it had been made for. Yet in spite of this, they had both held together better than she'd thought possible.

A pang of homesickness came over Aislin at that moment, but she steadfastly refused to back down on her earlier words. She looked up at the sky, absently running a hand through Keg's fur as he lay by her side and focused her thoughts on the journey before them.

About the Author

Stephen L. Nowland resides in Frankston, Australia, where he spends his time creating stories, games and art to astound and entertain.

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/sln

Further information on this novel and upcoming titles can be found at his website, and you can follow his progress on Facebook and Twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/stephenlnowland

www.stephenlnowland.com.au

@stephennowland

The Ballard Trilogy

In the Wake of War

The Fortress of Gold

Upon the Ashes of Empire

Other titles by the same author

The Aielund Saga

Soldiers of Winter

Soldiers of Avarice

Soldiers of the Crown

Soldiers of Ruin

Soldiers of Legend

Soldiers of Tyranny

Soldiers of the Heavens

