

The Staff of Ramah

By T. Alan Martens

Copyright 2016 T. Alan Martens

Smashwords Edition (v.4)

Prologue

Long before there was time itself and before the world was made, there was Eternal Ya. He created the shining ones to worship him and do his bidding. They were lovely spirit beings, full of pure light. Longing for more, he created the world we know as Terros. Being a beautiful and glorious deity, he took great care in making this world a great place of awe and wonder. Deep expansive seas, snow peaked mountains and lush forests filled the valleys that were a home for winding streams of fresh water. Once he had formed the entire planet in its great expanse, he filled it with all kinds of animals. He made birds to grace the skies and beasts to roam the vast fields. Fish of all sizes and shapes flourished in the sparkling waters. Ya marveled at the graceful symmetry of his new world, yet something was missing. Not wanting to enjoy this wondrous creation with his shining ones alone, he brought forth mankind to share it with him. He charged mankind with the care of this new world and gave them reason and a will to choose how they should live. All mankind marveled at their creator and worshiped him with love and freedom.

But Belial, the brightest of all the shining ones, was not content to leave this magnificent creation for mankind to rule; he wanted the new world for his own. Sensing the ill intent of Belial, Ya cast the rebel spirit out of his presence and the fallen one took many of the shining ones with him, descending to the planet below. In their cursed state they became known as Taints, forever exiled from the presence of Ya. No longer bright and lovely shining creatures, they became a dark horde of evil spirits. Seeing that the Eternal One would not let him have Terros for his own, Belial sought to spread abomination and ruin among the people who had been granted this creation instead of him. Through the help of the taints, hatred and destruction soon spread around the whole of the world before the Fallen One's burning and hateful eyes.

Ya, however, loved his dear children, so he called forth the man Gaost to be his holy Cleric. Gifted with the holy power of Ya, Gaost was sent on a mission to discover a healer for the people, a helper that could aid the Cleric in the fight against Belial and his evil minions. He searched the world for one suitable, but the task was daunting. There were so few children of Terros that still worshiped the Eternal Ya. After many long years of searching, Gaost finally found the child of promise, a little girl born to a poor farm family on the outskirts of Jeru. Her name was Yeshu. Yeshu's family were still true followers of Ya and had been praying faithfully every day for a child, having waited many years. As the young girl grew into womanhood, the holy Cleric of Ya was able to observe her growth and help with her training. On the evening of Yeshu's 19th birthday, Ya came to her in a dream. "My beloved chosen daughter," said Ya "You are to be my holy agent of healing in this broken world. When you rise up, take with you my Cleric, Gaost to the rose patch behind your father's house. There I will show the path I have chosen for you." When Yeshu awoke that morning she immediately did as Ya had asked. The morning sun began to appear over the horizon and she slowly approached the large wall of roses that entwined the fence in the back yard, Gaost standing close behind. Having also received instruction from Ya in a dream, the Cleric asked her to reach out into the middle of the thorny patch of deep red roses. As soon as her hand touched the delicate petals, the wall of thorns sprang to life. Sharp claws from the thorny vines reached out and grabbed her arm, digging in deeply. She cried out in pain as her whole hand was pulled into the writhing patch, her warm red blood dripping down her elbow. Gaost spoke reassuring words to stave off the panic that was building in her soul. Soon the pain began to diminish and she could see the form of a smooth wooden rod shaping amongst the thorns. Thorns began to drop off all around her throbbing hand, and soon she was able to pull it free. Moments later, she stood there with a meticulously crafted staff, engraved with wooden roses. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

With this holy relic, formed by the power of Ya himself, Yeshu went from city to town, spreading the loving god's healing power. Great minions of Belial tried to slow her at every turn, but the mighty cleric, Gaost was always there with the white fire of Ya to destroy them. Seeing that his plans of destruction were being thwarted at every turn, Belial raised up his own disciple to seek out and kill Yeshu. One dark evening while Yeshu lay sleeping, this disciple of Belial killed her in a fitful rage of fire and stole the holy rod from her lifeless hand. Gaost returning from a journey, wailed with anger when he found her charred body. Belial, unable to destroy the staff of Ramah, as it came to be called, hid the fateful relic of healing in a deep dark tomb, guarded by his invisible minions. In time, the healing power of Ya was forgotten in the land and darkness thrived once again. Now only the legends speak of a strange white eyed man who wanders the land, searching for some sign of hope.

From the Terros book of legends vol. 1

***

Chapter 1

The nameless woman awoke from the same dream she had had for as long as she could remember; a nightmare. There was no escape from the dark ones that ceaselessly chased her through a deep and endless forest. She could feel their cold wet claws digging into her very soul while on and on she ran, till she came to the opening of a menacing stone tomb. Plunging into its black maw she hoped to find refuge, yet on the evil spirits came with relentless fury. A dim light at the end of the cold wet passage gave some direction but little hope. She knew that she must get to the light but did not know why. What was there?

She awoke with a scream. Waking to reality from this terrible dream gave little comfort to the young woman as she pulled her torn clothing closer around herself in a vain attempt to warm up. She wiped the cold sweat off her brow and remembered all too quickly that she actually was in a cold, dark stone tomb of sorts. A musty prison cell had been her home, on and off for most of her young life. _Good a place as any for the likes of me_ , she thought. At least in prison, she got a regular meal, even if it was only stale bread and warm water. The guard was a decent sort of man for once too. Usually the guards would force her to give favors that only someone in her profession normally would. Being beaten and used was the only way of life she had right now.

A shout came out from the small window in her cell door. "Whore, there is someone here to see you".

That name she knew all too well.

"I'm very busy at the moment" she mocked. "Tell the warden that I will make him an appointment for next year some time."

"It's not the warden, and you are not earning yourself any favors by being so mouthy."

"Who is it?" she asked. It was not like she had any family that would be coming to bail her out or even give her some decent clothes to replace the filthy torn prison rags that she wore.

"Never gave his name; just wants to talk. I would be nice if I was you."

There was a popping sound as the lock turned and the door creaked open to reveal this mysterious stranger. He wore a dark grey robe with a large hood that covered him head to toe, but she could still tell the man was very thin, and most likely, very old. All she could see clearly were his piercing white eyes, glowing like the moon when it hovers over the surface of calm water. She immediately looked away from his penetrating gaze and shuddered as she thought to herself; _he can see right through me_. If she felt exposed before, now she felt completely naked in this man's calm yet powerful presence.

"You are well I hope?" he asked with a quiet, wispy voice.

Again the sarcasm came freely as it always did for her. "I'm great, never been better. I've only been raped three times this week by the guards. It would seem that Galvin here doesn't have a thing for my type."

He showed no reaction and her harsh words did not seem to have any kind of impact on his calm demeanor. She was good at playing this game. Her caustic language was a comfort to her, a shield to hide that small part inside her where there might actually be some feelings left.

The man continued on is his calm voice. "I have a proposal for you. I will pay all of your outstanding fines if you will agree to accompany me on a trip."

Interesting, she thought. "Are you telling me that you will pay the thirty silvers that the crooked warden thinks I owe him, just to get a companion? I'm not so sure you understand what kind of company I usually provide."

There had to be more to this man than appeared on the surface. He looked like some sort of priest or holy man so what would he want with a prostitute? Sure, she had given her services to so called "churchmen" before, but there was something quite different about this man's demeanor.

"I know full well what it is you do for your meager living, Rose. I am here to purchase you, as it were, but the choice is still yours."

Rose. It was a long forgotten name she had not heard since she was a little girl living in the rundown orphanage here in the city of Sharron. She had only heard it for the first 15 years of her life, as it was a name given to her by the holy mothers who raised her. Perhaps she was so named because of the full head of bright red hair that now hung in clumps around her dirty and bruised face.

" _You are a beautiful girl my little Rose, but you always seem to prick those around you with your thorns."_ This is what mother Eunice would say to her. She could not even remember any other name other than Rose, so it had stuck with her. Since leaving the orphanage at a young age she lived without a name of any kind, other than the cruel titles given to those of her trade.

"I see you have been talking to Mother Eunice. I have not been called Rose for a very long time."

"Sad to say, the dear mother Eunice died many years ago." the man replied, "As a result, finding you was very difficult. If you wish me to use another name I can. Would you prefer the rude names given to you by all the others I have spoken to in my search for you?"

The woman thought deeply for a moment. For some strange reason this seemed like an important decision. Was she to be called "whore" for the rest of her life? Somewhere deep in the recesses of her soul, Rose still believed that she could come out of this prison of pain.

"Rose is just fine. Remember though, I may be nice to look at, but I can make you bleed if you touch." She said theses words as if spitting in his face, yet he seemed once again unfazed by her foul speech.

"Rose, I will need an answer. I wish to hire you for an indeterminate amount of time. I will pay your fines, and I want you to accompany me on a journey."

This seemed to be a simple enough job on the surface, but she was still sure there was more to it.

"Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you that right now." He said. "Give it some thought if you wish. I will return tomorrow at this time and ask you again."

"Why were you searching for me? Are there no other girls on the street that suit your fancy?"

"No more questions" he replied rather firmly. "Tomorrow you will decide one way or the other. Goodbye Rose." And just like that, he was gone.

***

The mysterious man left the prison and walked with a steady pace down the streets of the port city, Sharron. It was a rundown and seemingly godforsaken town that had few endearing qualities. Brothels and taverns where prominent here and so was reveling in the streets. As he passed the largest inn in town he was nearly knocked over by a stumbling patron. "Shcuse me father. Never shaw you there." the man slurred, obviously drunk. He was just one of many men that were drunk at ten in the morning that day. Knowing there was nothing he could do to help at the moment, the robed man hurried on down the street to his destination. He finally arrived at the old dilapidated building that was his temporary home. It was the remains of the Temple of Ya that had long since been forgotten. There were other temples in Sharron that had a working priesthood, but the Eternal Ya was no longer worshiped openly in the land. As he entered, he went straight to the altar, fell on his knees and began to weep.

"Father, I need your help. The one you have chosen is not at all what I expected. How can you use such a one for so important a task? Are there no others? There are so few left who follow your ways and I fear that I may lose all hope."

On and on he cried out to his God until he finally drifted off to sleep right there on the altar. As the single candle burned itself out, he began to dream.

Ya appeared before him in all his holiness and splendor.

"My son, fear not. Is there anything too difficult for me? Sleep well this night, for I will lead you and the Chosen One down the path I have set. It will not be an easy path, but this you already know well. I will sustain you. I will be your guide. I will be your strength. Fear not my son."

***

Rose very quickly began to regret her decision to wait in answering the robed man. That night when the guards changed and Galvin went home to his family, others came who had no qualms about taking what they wanted from a captive prostitute. Once they had had their way with her, she crumpled up in the corner; lay on the side that was least bruised and began to shiver. She thought to herself, _if I leave with this stranger, at least I may have a chance to escape. I could head to some other city, Jeru maybe._ Living conditions may not be much better there, but at least the soldiers in that city would know nothing of her reputation. Maybe she could even get a job as a maid or barkeep. As she drifted off to sleep, she once again dreamed of dark forests, clawing hands in dank tombs, and this time, of a strange hooded man with dimly glowing eyes.

***

Chapter 2

The next morning came just the same as all the others in Rose's life; cold and alone. The day seemed to drag on forever as she was lost in her thoughts. Who is this man? What is this man? There was some kind of soft and comforting way about him, yet those eyes...

Those glowing eyes took her apart inside. As she saw it, her only hope was to take him up on his offer, strange as it was, and try to escape.

A harsh bang on the door startled her from the restless thoughts.

"Back off and make room for a visitor, you worthless sow!" said the guard.

The ghost like figure, from the day before moved quietly into the room. "Leave us please." he said to the guard. This time the man pulled back his hood to reveal a rather kind face. His dull black hair was cropped short and marked with patches of grey to match his scruffy beard. The brightness in his eyes was still there but the glow seemed less eerie when his hood was off.

"This one has a mean bite," said the guard, "I would be careful if I was you."

"I will be fine constable."

The guard left, but not before spitting on Rose and sneering, "Be a good dog, or I will make you regret it later."

Sadness seemed to sweep over the strange man's face as he asked, "Have you thought more of my proposal, Rose?"

Last night's abuse was more than enough motivation for her to accept, but she still had one question. "I will accept, but under one condition. What is your name?"

He pondered the question for a moment, as if he would be revealing too much if he told her.

She impatiently chided, "Do you not have a name? 'Cuz I will not be calling you master or anything like that. You know my name, even if no others do, so I want to know yours."

"You can call me Brother Joshua. Will that do?"

"Brother Josh it is then, and yes, I will accept your deal."

He paused a moment with his brow furrowed, as if he was surprised at her response.

"Do you fully understand that I will need you for an unforeseen amount of time and you will not know where we are going at first?

"What do I care? It's not like I have so much to do here do I?"

"Very well then, I will go and make the arrangements for your release."

As Joshua left the cell, she could not help but wonder what she had got herself into. One part of her felt that there was something very compelling about this man. She wanted to know what he was all about. Mostly though, this was simply a decent enough opportunity to get out of this miserable hole and make a run for it. She would have to choose the time of her escape carefully of course. If she ran too soon he would no doubt just report her, and she would be right back in prison again.

Soon the guard returned and they left the prison building, but not before the guard took one last chance to call her some foul name and gesture rudely at her.

"So, where to now Josh?" Rose asked as she followed him down the street.

"Brother Joshua is fine, please." he said with a frown. "We are going to my place to pick up some things."

"Why the sad face Josh? You got what you wanted. I am your woman for the time being. Am I not all you hoped for in a lady friend?"

He responded in a voice that was colored with sadness, "If you wish to know the truth, I am rather disturbed by the way you let those guards treat you; as if you are a worthless slave. Do you not get tired of being treated that way?"

"And how is what you are doing any better _brother_ Josh. You have just purchased a prostitute. Is being your slave gonna be any better?"

He sighed and was quiet for a moment before responding. "I regret having to purchase you, but it was the only way I could persuade you to come along with me. I have no intention of treating you the way those men did."

She continued to chide, not noticing his growing frustration, "Am I not attractive enough for you then? Is that it? Most men that pay money for me are quite pleased with the services I provide." Rose had always known she was a physically attractive woman. Her long red hair and generous figure made it easy for her to sell the wares of her trade. Her words were designed to goad the stoic man into some kind of reaction.

"That is enough!" he firmly stated. "Please do not mock me further on the subject."

Seeing that she had upset Joshua, she chose to be quiet for the remainder of the trip.

They soon arrived at the old temple that Joshua spoke of.

"What is this place?" Rose asked. "You actually live here?"

"I am only here for a bit at a time. I travel the world mostly, so I would not really call this my home. It is a temple for the worship of the Eternal Ya."

The Eternal Ya? Rose had never heard the name before and she wondered what kind of weird religion this guy was into. As brother Joshua went off into another room to grab some things she cautiously asked some more questions.

"Where are all the other priests? I have never met a person who follows this Ya or talks about him."

"I am all there is," Joshua responded with a sad voice as he scratched his hairy face with both hands. "I am usually called a Cleric."

As far as Rose could see, all that was kept up in this building was the altar in the center of the large sanctuary. There were no pews, pulpit or furnishings of any kind. Musty carpet lay on the floor surrounding the altar, and there was a plain glass skylight in the roof overhead. The sunlight cast an eerie glow over the simple stone table that was adorned with a single white candle.

Joshua came out of the side room with two packs hung at his side and a plain white dress in his hands.

"Changing from your boring old grey robes I see?" Rose teased.

"The dress is for you Rose. You can hardly walk around in those torn rags for the rest of your days. It should fit you well enough and will cover you up quite a bit better too."

She worded her response carefully this time. The way this man was acting toward her had her feeling rather confused and slightly offended. "No offense brother, but I am used to not covering my body so much. I would rather not cause you too much distraction though, so I will wear it."

She began to strip off her rags and the holy man quickly covered his face. "Please use the side room to change. I will remain here and wait for you."

Rose was not used to this type of reservation when it came to the viewing of her body. She grinned at him slyly and conceded. "Very well then, brother. Is there a place I can wash up as well? I would not want to spoil your dress with the stink that the guards have left on me would I?"

"There is a wash basin and some soap in the side room. Come out whenever you are ready."

She started towards the side room and briefly glanced back to see if he was watching her go, when she saw a strange sight. Joshua was facing the altar with his head bowed. He gave a small flick of his right hand and the candle at the altar lit with a flash. He bowed low as if to pray so she continued on to get changed. What did she just see? She saw no tinder or fire in the room that would enable the lighting of a candle, yet the candle was burning brightly now. _Ah well,_ she thought _, not the weirdest thing that has happened today._

As the Cleric finished his prayer, he heard the soft shuffle of footsteps behind him. He got up and turned to see an unexpected sight. There before him stood a woman of great beauty in a radiant white dress. The plain white gown did not fit her perfectly, but it was a dramatic change from the torn prison garb she had changed out of. The sun shone down through the temple's skylight and glistened on her bright red hair, almost bringing more light to the dim room. Most stunning of all was the big lustrous smile that adorned her elegant face for the first time in years. Joshua took a moment to catch his breath and turned away slightly so she would not think he was staring.

"So, what do you think brother? Does this cover me enough?" she asked as she nervously curled her hair around a single finger.

"Yes." He said. "You are a testament to the Eternal Ya, creator of all things beautiful."

Rose could not have expected a response like that. She was used to being the object of desire, rather than a beautiful creation. She shyly bowed her head and her eyes began to well up, making the green color glisten. "Thank you so much Josh. I have not worn a dress like this, well, ever." It almost felt wrong for her to be wearing a pure white dress when she had been living a life full of impurity and shame.

There was a bit of an awkward silence for a moment, then Joshua spoke, "We should be going then. I have a few more errands before we head out of town."

A loud rumble in her stomach reminded Rose that she had not had much to eat in a long while. "If it would not be too much trouble, could we get something to eat before too long, or do holy Clerics of Ya live on prayers alone?"

He smiled in spite of himself, "Yes Rose. One of our errands is to stop by the Inn for some food supplies. We will need to get you some decent shoes and a warm robe for the journey too I think."

With that, they left the old temple and headed into town.

***

Chapter 3

It was mid afternoon when the two unlikely companions finally left the city of Sharron. Slow moving patches of clouds graced the vast sky letting the sun peek around them every once in a while, casting a faint light of hope on the coming journey.

"Am I allowed to ask where we are going now?" Rose asked.

"We are on the way to a farmstead many leagues north east of here. I hope to meet a friend there who will help us on our journey."

Rose teased, "And I was hoping that we would have some quality time alone Josh. Do we really need a chaperone?"

The Cleric rolled his white eyes and responded, "No Rose, we will need a companion with tracking and hunting skills if we hope to get to our destination. If you have not guessed yet, I am not much of a woodsman and our food will run out eventually."

Rose decided to pry just a little now. "Can't you just flick your hand and make food appear? I saw that little trick you did with the candle. Was that magic or something?"

"No Rose, I am a Cleric of Ya, not a wizard. As far as I know, that would be impossible." He gently corrected her, paused and continued. "I do have, shall we say, certain abilities that you will come to see soon enough."

Not wanting to annoy her only companion too much, Rose chose to walk on in silence for a while. They continued on along the winding road past many a farm. Workers were seen gathering grain, feeding animals. Once in a while other travelers would pass coming from the other direction and give them strange looks. Many would even pass around them quickly with their heads turned away.

"Do I still smell or something?" Rose asked. "It seems like these country people are scared of a city girl like me."

Joshua shook his head and answered, "I'm afraid that the problem is me Rose. People fear things that they do not understand and they do not trust a man who looks as I do."

Rose had to admit that those eyes were rather disturbing. She again risked a personal question. "Josh, why do your eyes glow? They are kinda freaky you have to admit."

"My eyes mark the touch of Ya on my life. When I was young, my eyes were a green hue, much like yours, but that was a long time ago."

"Well I would love for a man to look me in the eyes once in a while." She meant this to make him feel a little better about the whole subject.

He shrugged and said, "I am used to it and not bothered at all. Most of the time I just want to be left alone anyways."

A long silence followed that statement and they continued on for the rest of that evening in quiet thought.

As the sky grew dark that night, they set up a small camp off to the side of the road in a small grove of trees. Rose had spent a good deal of her life sleeping outdoors, so this was no strange thing for her. As she lay on the soft grass she looked up at the stars and wondered many things to herself. Strangely enough, she felt very safe. Her companion was a puzzle to her, and there was still so little that she really knew about him, but she knew that he could be counted on to care for her.

"Good night Josh and thank you for answering my questions."

"You are welcome Rose. I pray that you will have a restful sleep this night."

With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off slowly, thinking less and less of prisons and being hungry.

In the week that followed, their journey remained much the same. They walked on together at a steady pace, stopping for meals and sleeping at night under the stars. When there was opportunity, they would stay in a roadside hostel. There were long moments of silence on these walks, but Rose would still ask questions of Joshua and he would usually give her a direct answer. The Cleric always seemed to deflect the personal questions however and this would infuriate her slightly. Day by day, her sarcasm would diminish though, and eventually their conversations developed a rhythm she found delightful. Rose loved to tease the Cleric and see what kind of reaction she could get out of him. Joshua would just smile slightly at her, never losing his patience. To anyone looking on, it would seem that these two were actually starting to like each other's company.

It was mid-evening on the eighth day of their trip and they had finally passed over some high hills and were now descending into a low valley. The bright colors of autumn shone as they approached a forest that lent its shade a nearby river. This was a view Rose had never seen before and it took her breath away. This sight brought her thoughts back to what Josh had said when he first saw her in the white dress. Is all this beauty a credit to the Eternal Ya? Could there really be a God out there that created this splendor? If so, had he created her too? She was not ready to believe it yet, but the way that Josh had looked at her in that moment made her wonder all the same.

They continued along the road and entered the forest ahead of them. The sun was soon blocked out by the thick grove of large trees and the road narrowed a little, making Rose feel rather closed in. Many of the sounds were new to her as well. Birds chirping and branches waving in the wind had her nerves a bit on edge. As if sensing her discomfort, Joshua began to walk a little closer to her, looking over once in a while to show a reassuring smile.

Just then Rose caught some movement out of the corner of her eye and she looked with a start into the trees. There was nothing there.

"Did you see that?" she asked Joshua with a worried voice.

Rather than answer the question he commanded in a firm voice, "Get down and don't move!"

She dropped immediately and clung to his leg in fright. The snapping of branches and the rustling of leaves came towards them in a rush but still she saw nothing. Looking up to the Cleric's stoic face she saw that his white eyes were beginning to glow very brightly now.

"What's going on Josh?" she cried out.

His only answer was a stern "Shhhh!"

The air around them seemed thick with movement, yet she still saw nothing but the swirling of leaves. Whatever it was, it was nearly on them now, but Joshua simply stood there, as if gathering himself for a collision. He was muttering under his breath when she began to notice a bright white light building in his outstretched hand. With a deafening crack, a burst of white light shot out from the tips of his fingers and the air crackled with power. It was then that she saw who this enemy new was. It was the dark ones from her dreams, revealed by bright sparks as the white fire of the Cleric shot through them. Their pained cries were horrific causing Rose to scream in terror, clinging to Joshua's leg till her fingers ached from the effort. There was another powerful burst of the blinding light, and many more cries of pain from the unseen enemy, and then in the next moment, total silence. They were gone and all that remained was quiet tension, thick and heavy. She realized she was still clinging to the Cleric's leg as if it was her lifeline.

"You may let go of my leg now Rose." Josh said gently. "They are gone."

Slowly she got up, still shaken from what she had just seen. She had so many questions. "What were those things?"

Joshua shook the dust and leaves off of his dark grey cloak and answered with one word.

"Taints."

"Where did they come from, and why could I not see them? Can you see them?"

"I will answer your many questions, but can we please continue walking as I do so?"

She did not have to be convinced of the merits of leaving this forest. Rose was still trembling as they continued on at a much more hurried pace.

"Those are the agents of the Fallen One. Mortal enemy of Ya and all that is good. They are invisible to most men, but my eyes give me the ability to see them."

"You saw them all along! Why did you not tell me?" she said as she gave him a stern look.

"The taints do not always attack that way. They know of my power and usually do not come at me unless they have much greater numbers. You were never in any real danger Rose."

The words did little to reassure her of safety and Rose wondered if she should tell Josh of her dreams. She had seen these taints many times before.

"I am very sorry to have frightened you my dear. That was not my intention. I did have to act quickly, however."

As they continued on, Rose chose to keep the rest of her questions to herself. She most definitely was not going to try to escape any time too soon. She would be dead if not for the Cleric. She was however beginning to hope for an end to this forest. "Do we have much farther to go now?"

"We will be clear of the forest in two miles or so then it is open plains for two more leagues to the farmstead."

Rose reached out and carefully clasped the terrible hand of the Cleric, hoping to gather strength from it. He squeezed her hand firmly and they continued on their way.

***

Chapter 4

The huntress held her breath and drew back the taught longbow. Dressed from head to toe in tight leather clothes, she blended in well with her surroundings. A long, black ponytail was the only part of her in motion, swaying in the breeze as she focused on her prey. She released the steel tipped arrow and it whistled through the air to sink into a rabbit, killing it instantly. A few more of these rabbits would make for a decent stew, but Jirah really wanted to find a larger animal. Poachers had been in the area of late, so all the bigger animals were getting scarce in the lands around Jirah's little farm. When her husband Justus was still alive, he would have provided for them much better with a large garden, but Jirah did not have a green thumb, and she really could not be bothered with weeding. She continued to scout the woods looking for a few more rabbits, and now her mind drifted to thoughts of her late husband. He was the best man that she had ever known. They were so young when they met in the capital city of Jeru many years ago. She was just 19 and working as a hunting guide, having hunted her whole life. Her mother had died when she was very young, forcing her father to raise her alone, so he taught her all that she knew about tracking and living off the land. Justus was only 20 years old when they met and Jirah smiled at the thought of that first meeting. The two of them were complete opposites. Justus was a very religious man and was always speaking about the Eternal Ya; Ya this and Ya that. It drove her crazy on that first trip they took together.

Justus and a group of his friends had hired Jirah to guide them on a hunting expedition and the two of them fought the whole way. She was rough around the edges and not very feminine. He seemed to think that the whole world revolved around this Ya he spoke of all the time.

At the end of that trip, Justus had said to her, "When you come to your senses and realize that you ought to worship the creator, then come and see me at the cathedral."

Jirah had made some smart remark at the time because she really had no intention of going anywhere to see men in robes chanting and moaning. A week after that hunting trip, Jirah's father died at the hands of robbers while hunting alone in the nearby mountains. Her father was all she really had in the world and she took the loss very hard. The priests at the cathedral of Ya offered a funeral service to people who could not afford to pay for one themselves and Jirah took them up on the offer because she really did not have enough gold to give her Father the respectful service that he deserved. It was at that service that she met Justus for the second time.

After all the words were spoken and she had put her dear father in the ground, Justus came over to her to speak.

She did not give him a chance to say anything, rather she started yelling and dumping all of the pain she felt on the poor man. "If this Ya you worship is so good and wonderful, how come he could not save my father?"

To Jirah's surprise, Justus said nothing at all. With a tear in his eye, he simply embraced her and let her cry for at least an hour. When she had cried her last tear, he simply said, "I am deeply sorry for your loss."

She was so sure that the devout man was going to say some more pushy religious talk, so his kind sympathy overwhelmed her. As Justus began to walk away, she called out to him, "Do you have some time to talk with me? I do not want to be alone just yet."

Justus smiled and nodded. "Let's go and sit on the bench outside in the cathedral garden and you can tell me all about your father."

That was exactly the right thing to say at the time because Jirah did not want such a great man to be forgotten, so remember is what they did. In the months to come, the two young people met often and very quickly fell in love. Jirah did not consider herself to be a true believer, but she did love Justus, so going to services became a part of her life.

Before long they were married in the cathedral and were every bit the happy young married couple. The marriage service was performed by the Cleric of Ya which was a rare honor because the strange holy man only passed through the city once a year at most. They still did have the occasional fight, but it was more playful banter than serious disagreement.

The happy life they were building in Jeru came to an abrupt end one evening when Justus came rushing into the house and yelled, "The Cathedral is burning! Someone has deliberately set it on fire."

Jirah dropped what she was doing and asked, "Is everyone ok?"

Justus shook his head and she could tell that he had been weeping. "All the priests have been killed and there is nothing left!" he said with a quiver in his voice.

The two quickly gathered up a few important things, and left the city in a hurry. Jirah's father had left the farm to her after he died, so the young couple moved there, not knowing where else to go. The farm was in disrepair, but it did not take too long for them to fix it up and make it their own. Justus enjoyed working in the garden and Jirah spent much time hunting the area and still worked as a hunting guide. Justus even built a little shrine to Ya so he could have a special place to pray. It was always a wonder to Jirah how this man she loved could hold on to his faith in the midst of such pain and loss. He was truly an inspiration to her and she was even warming up to the thought of honoring this Eternal Ya that had become such an important part in her husband's life.

One fateful day, when she had returned home from a three day hunting trip, she found Justus in their bed, sweating and shaking from a terrible fever. In the days to come, she never left his side, but the fever would not dissipate. She would never forget his last words to her. "Ya loves you my dear, better than I ever could. Never forget that." She could hear those words in her mind like it was just yesterday. Part of her still was mad at Ya for taking all that she loved away and leaving her alone, but the mighty faith of her husband reminded her to hold on in faith to the small belief that Ya still loved her. Maybe someday, the vexing debate in her mind would be solved, but for now, she just plodded on with life. One day at a time was all she could handle, so she focused on the task at hand. Having just killed another rabbit, she turned back towards the little farm that had once held the promise of a happy family.

***

Chapter 5

The sun was just starting to sink below the far off mountains as the two weary travelers approached a run-down farmstead. Joshua broke the silence, "This farmstead belongs to a woman named Jirah. She is a skilled hunter and tracker that I have known for a few years."

"Well she must not be much of a farmer by the looks of this place."

"She lost her husband to a vile sickness only two years ago, so please do your best to be kind. I may have to do a lot of persuading to convince her to join us on this quest."

Rose brushed herself off and shook out her long hair as Joshua knocked on the front door of the small house. There was no answer. The Cleric knocked again, louder this time. Just then with a whoosh and a sharp thwack, an arrow stuck into the door nearly two inches from Joshua's head.

"Who are you and what do you want." said a rather caustic sounding voice behind them.

Rose turned to see an averaged sized woman clothed in what looked like animal skins. She had her long black hair tied back in a ponytail and a bundle of dead rabbits hung at her side. Her plain face did not look too pleased at the arrival of guests.

"Jirah, I am the Cleric of Ya. I see that you still boast a precise use of your bow."

"Not so much." Jirah retorted, "I was aiming for your head. Sorry brother, I didn't know it was you." She lowered her bow and approached the house with long, agile strides.

Rose was taken aback for a moment. This huntress was obviously very fit as could be seen from her tightly wound frame and the only real sign of age on the woman was the slight wrinkles at the edge of her eyes. Rose had always considered herself a decent judge of character. In her life it was beneficial to be able to read people but this woman was an enigma. She seemed to be very sorrowful, yet she had strength just under the surface. Jirah was nothing like her, but Rose was strangely drawn to her at the same time.

Joshua continued, "I am truly sorry Jirah that I have not been by to pray with you for a long time. I have been quite busy traveling. May we please come in and rest a while? We have been traveling from Sharron and are weary from walking."

Jirah looked now at Rose questioningly, "Who is this woman you have with you? As I understood, someone in your position is not allowed to marry."

"You speak the truth sister. I am bound to serve Ya and have never taken a wife. This is Rose from the city of Sharron." There was a short silent pause while Jirah looked her up and down carefully. Josh spoke again, "She is the one that I have been searching for."

With that, Jirah lowered her bow and stepped to the front porch. "Come in then. Don't expect a fine feast from me. I didn't have much of a garden this year."

As they entered the small farm house, Rose drifted over and sat in a chair by the fireplace. She still felt a chill in her bones from the Taint's attack. Jirah began to busy herself in the kitchen while Joshua started a fire. Rose sat silently and pondered the day's events and all that was said. What did Josh mean when he said that he had been looking for me? How did this widow know of Joshua and whatever he was up to? She still had so many questions.

"Dinner is going to be a while girl. If you want some clean clothes there are some in the bedroom. They're not as grand as that dress you're wearing, but they will be better for traveling."

Sensing that Jirah wanted to speak alone with Joshua, Rose got up and went into the bedroom to get changed. "Thank you." she said quietly, still not knowing how to act around the woman. As Rose closed the door behind her, she could hear the two old friends talking quietly in the kitchen and she wondered if they were talking about her.

"So what are you calling yourself now Cleric?" Jirah asked.

"Rose knows me as Brother Joshua for now. She already knows of my power too since the attack in the woods."

"Attack?"

"We were set upon by a group of a dozen fallen ones. Not a big concern for me, but she was very frightened."

Jirah frowned as she spoke, "I have not felt the Taints around these parts for quite some time now. You seemed to have brought trouble with you Joshua."

Joshua shrugged in response, "The Taints bother me wherever I go, just not in great numbers usually."

Jirah moved over to the fire to stir the rabbit stew she had made that was now bubbling away, wafting its spicy aroma through the whole house. "What all have you told this poor girl? Does she know what she's getting herself into?"

"She knows very little right now and that is the way it should be. If I reveal too much of her destiny at one time, she will no doubt be overwhelmed."

"Well I have enough troubles of my own, so I won't be bothering her with a bunch of questions."

Rose emerged from the bedroom to sit by the warm fire. She wore leather pants and a deep blue shirt that complimented her fiery red hair. Instinctively she began to curl a lock around one finger as she often did when she was nervous.

"Thank you for the new clothes Jirah. I did not want to ruin the dress Josh bought me."

They all moved over to the table and sat down to eat some bread and cheese while the stew finished cooking on the fire.

Rose was the first to break the silence. "Tell me more about the Taints Josh. Do they follow you around wherever you go?"

"To be honest Rose, I have not seen that large of a group for quite some time now. It makes me wonder a bit. Why do you ask?"

Feeling braver from being in this warm house Rose finally confessed, "I have dreamed of them all of my life. They have haunted me in my sleep ever since I was a little girl."

Now the Cleric understood why she had been so frightened by the unseen enemy they had encountered. "Maybe that would explain the greater numbers then. They were there for you."

This was not the answer Rose wanted to hear. Why would they be after her? Was it some kind of punishment for the unsavory life that she had been living up till now? As if reading her mind, Josh responded.

"I will give you some of the answers you seek Rose."

Jirah dished out for each of them some of the savory stew as Josh began to explain.

"I believe that you are the chosen one of Ya, destined to bring healing to our broken land. It would seem that the Enemy believes the same."

A long silence followed as Rose did her best to soak it all in. How was she supposed to react to this? It would take a long jump in reasoning to get from worthless whore to chosen one of Ya.

"Not that I believe you Josh, but what is it that you think makes me so special?"

Joshua thought quietly and scratched at his scruffy beard before he answered, "It is your blood, plain and simple. You are a direct descendant of Yeshu, the first chosen one who lived many years ago."

How could this man know so much about her past if she did not even know who her real parents were?

Joshua continued to explain, "Ya has revealed to me that now is the time to rise up against the darkness that is overtaking our land, and you are to be his chosen instrument in this task."

All this information did little to settle Rose's troubled thoughts; rather it raised more questions for her. One response would be to run away and try starting a new life somewhere, but there still was that small inclination inside her soul that wanted to be something more. She wanted to matter somehow.

Right then and there, Rose resolved in her spirit that she would stay with Joshua for the time being. In truth, she found herself beginning to rely on his quiet yet powerful presence. All she had known up till now was a miserable life of abuse. If there was a chance to make something out of this mess, she was willing to try her best.

"If it is any consolation Rose, you will never be alone in this." Joshua reassured her. "I never intend on leaving you, and there is still one more companion we must enlist before we get too far." Joshua looked over to Jirah and asked, "Would you also be willing to aide us in this quest, sister? We have great need of one with your skills."

"I will have to sleep on that one Cleric. I am not one to rush off into danger. You do not have an easy road before you I would imagine."

Josh rose up from the table, "Thank you very much Jirah for the fine dinner. I would like to go off by myself now and pray for direction. May I use the shrine out back for the night? I will sleep there as well I think, to give you two some space."

"That would be fine with me priest. The shrine is not clean mind you. I have not been in there since losing Justus. He was the one who was faithful in serving Ya, not me."

Rose could not relate to the widow's obvious pain but she still could not help but feel sad for her.

Joshua quietly left the house, leaving the two women together in the kitchen. Rose ventured an encouraging word to the sad woman. "I am very sorry for you, losing your husband and all."

The two of them spent the next two hours sharing their stories. Rose spoke freely of her life on the streets of Sharron while Jirah shared her very different story of being married and running the farm with her loving husband. They were two very different women, but they found enough common ground to slowly grow fond of each other.

Finally growing tired Rose asked, "I would like to sleep in front of the fire tonight if that's alright. I still feel so cold in my bones from those cursed Taints."

"That would be just fine, dear," Jirah answered with a slightly crooked smile on her face. "I will be in my room if you need anything at all. Sleep well, and if Ya really loves you, may you have good dreams tonight for once."

"Thank you." Rose answered simply, hoping for the same.

***

Chapter 6

When Rose stirred from her restful sleep the next morning, Jirah was already up in the kitchen preparing breakfast and cleaning the dishes from last night.

"Did you sleep well dear?" The woman asked.

"Quite well thank you. I had no dreams that I can remember other than those of eating your wonderful cooking"

Jirah smiled at the compliment. "I took the liberty of preparing a bath for you in my room. Joshua is still not up yet, so go soak a bit and get clean if you like."

Rose could not even remember the last time she had the luxury of a warm bath. Her eyes filled with tears before she could stop them and impulsively, she rushed over to Jirah and gave her a long hug.

"Thank you. For everything you have done." she said.

"Hey, we women must stick together if we want to keep that Brother Josh out of trouble." Jirah replied with her lopsided smile. "Take all the time you need."

The Holy Cleric of Ya did not have such a restful night. He had spent most of it in prayer and had yet to receive further directions from his god. As the sun rose over the horizon he left the small shrine and took a long walk around the farmstead. He approached the small stream that ran by the farm and kneeled down to wash his face in the cold water. After having a refreshing drink he looked up to see a large magnificent eagle, landing on a large rock just across the water. It looked at him intently as he rose to his feet then spoke into his troubled mind.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for I am with you wherever you go." Then the bird rose up with a great beating of its wings and Joshua watched as it flew up into the nearby trees. With tears streaming down his face, he turned to walk back to the farmhouse. He spoke aloud, "Thank you Father. Forgive my unbelief."

When Rose came out from her relaxing bath, Josh and Jirah were already seated at the table eating a breakfast of fruit, cheese and fresh buttered biscuits. She had made a decision while soaking in the warm water to act and speak more kindly to Josh and Jirah from now on. She did not want to push away the only two people that have ever treated her with respect and kindness. As she joined them, she could not help smiling to herself.

"You seem to be shining just a little brighter than the sun this morning my dear." Jirah said.

Joshua nodded in agreement.

"A warm bath will do wonders for a girl's spirit," Rose responded.

"I'm glad that you took the opportunity now Rose, for we will have little chance of a bath in the days to come," Joshua said.

"Speaking of that brother," Jirah interjected, "I have decided to come with you on this journey, but I have a few conditions first."

"Glad to hear that." Joshua said. "What do you require?"

"I will need one day at least to get some things in order around here and to gather some supplies. I will also need a promise from Rose."

Rose wondered what this could mean.

"I am more than able to hunt for the food we need on this trip, but I want Rose to do the cooking for us."

Rose was taken aback. She had never cooked a meal in her whole life. "I'm not so sure that's a good idea Jirah. We may not make it very far before getting very sick."

"Don't worry dear. I will teach you all you need to know. I just need you to promise that you will try." Jirah said, extending her hand to Rose.

Rose shook her hand and shrugged her shoulders, "I will try. You have a deal."

"We can leave at first light tomorrow then if that is ok with you sister." Joshua said.

"I need one more thing yet brother." Jirah said. "I regret that I have left the shrine that my dear Justus built in disrepair. Could I trouble you to fix it up while Rose and I get things ready?"

Joshua smiled in response, "Gladly sister. I would not be a true disciple of Ya if I did not believe in the restoration of those things that are broken."

Those words struck a deep cord with Rose, and she could see from the widow's face that she felt the same way. If the eternal Ya could fix someone who was as messed up as her, he truly must be powerful.

The rest of the day Jirah busied herself with preparations for the trip and Rose helped out wherever she could. It felt good to be busy with these tasks because they kept her mind from worrying too much. The ladies packed dried fruits and meats along with various cheeses. Jirah helped Rose pack all the cooking gear she would need, all the while explaining what each item was for. It was a little overwhelming for the street girl at first, but Jirah assured her that she would help her to learn bit by bit. By mid-afternoon, all the food preparation and packing was complete and Jirah spoke, "I need to go and talk to some of my neighbors about caring for my animals while I am gone. You may come if you wish, or stay here and rest a while."

Rose thought about it for a second and answered, "I think I will go and see how Josh is coming along with the shrine. If I am lucky, he may answer some more of my questions."

As Jirah left down the country road, Rose made her way over to the small shrine of Ya on the outskirts of the farm. As she approached, she saw that the Cleric had changed out of his grey robe and was wearing some common work clothes. He almost looked like a regular farm hand now rather than the mysterious man of god that she had known so far.

"You are a man of many surprises Josh." she said. "I never pictured you as a repairman."

Joshua brushed his hand along a smooth board he had just placed on the door frame. "I have done this type of work for a while Rose, and the truth is that I have always enjoyed working with wood. For some reason I have always found carpentry to be a relaxing activity."

"Can I do anything to help? Jirah had to leave for a bit and I need something to do."

Joshua gestured for her to come inside newly renovated shack. "All that needs to be done now is some cleaning up. You can help with that if you like." Josh opened the door for her, and she entered slowly. It was a simple little building with a small bench, and a wooden altar, adorned with one white candle. "You can use this rag to wipe the dust while I replace these last few floor boards."

Rose worked quietly for a bit then ventured a conversation. "You told me last night that I am the chosen one of Ya, meant to bring healing to the world. Can you tell me how I am supposed to do that exactly?"

Between the rapping of the wooden hammer, Joshua answered, "On your own, you can do nothing to heal the evils of this world, so we go to retrieve a holy relic that will give you the power you need." Joshua rose from the floor to give Rose all his attention. "We go to reclaim the Staff of Ramah from its hiding place. Ya imbued this staff with his healing power, and it works only in harmony with the person he has chosen as his healer. That person is you Rose."

Now Rose had even more questions. "I still find it hard to believe that I am this chosen one you speak of, but assuming that I am, why is this staff hidden? Who hid it and why?"

Joshua sat on the small bench, gesturing for Rose to do the same. "I should begin by telling you of our enemy. Belial is the enemy of Ya and all that is good in this world. A long, long time ago, he killed the first chosen one and took the staff from her. It is Belial that hid the staff in a dark and unholy grove, guarded by a horde of his fallen minions. There is great danger ahead of us Rose, but it we are to accomplish the task set before us, we need that staff."

Rose shook her head. "I really think you are overestimating what I can do brother. I was no help at all against those taints that attacked us the other day. Those evil creatures scare the life out of me."

"It is not your duty to fight the taints Rose. Ya gave me the power to face them and protect you."

Rose thought for moment before responding, "I do not doubt the power you have Joshua, but if this Belial was able to kill the first priestess of Ya, how will I be any different?"

Joshua hung his head and sighed, as if feeling a sense of regret. "This time, there will be more that just one Cleric to face enemy. We have Jirah with us for the time being, and as I told you before, we have one more person to add to our fellowship."

Rose put her hand on Joshua's back in an attempt to comfort him. "I did not mean to make you feel inadequate Josh. Thanks again for answering my questions."

Joshua nodded and went back to work on the floor. Rose had a feeling that she was not going to be able to get any more answers at the moment from the somber man, so she got up to leave. "I will leave you to finish then Joshua. I will be outside waiting for Jirah's return if you need me for anything."

"I will join you soon Rose. I am nearly finished anyway."

Rose closed the door quietly behind her, and crossed the yard. She sat down underneath a shady maple tree to ponder all that was set before her, and in very little time, she drifted off to sleep.

***

Chapter 7

After a short nap, Rose awoke to a disturbing sight. Across the farmyard in front of her the shrine of Ya was burning, in fact it was already completely engulfed in flames. She got up quickly and ran across the yard, wondering what has happened, and hoping that Joshua had gotten out in time.

"Josh!" she yelled out, looking everywhere to see some sign of the Cleric. As she came closer to the blaze, the intense heat stopped her in her tracks. It was way too hot now to even get close.

"Joshua!" she cried out again, circling around the back. With a loud crash, a figure burst out of the back wall and rolled on the ground. Rose rushed over to find that it was the Cleric, and she moved in quick to help smother out the last few flames from his clothing.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

"Get down Rose! The ones who lit the fire must still be here somewhere. I am fine for now."

Rose quickly dropped to the ground, glancing all around the yard behind the burning shrine. She then saw two figures approaching from the trees just beyond them.

"You really are becoming most difficult Cleric. Why don't you just die like you are supposed to." the approaching man taunted. There was a ring of steel as the two dark robed figures got closer and pulled out two long silver daggers each.

"Run to the house Rose!" Josh cried out. They both got up and ran. Joshua however was not in any shape to run and stumbled often. Rose reached for him and pulled his arm around her shoulder to help him up.

"C'mon Josh. They are catching up." As if to taunt them further, the two pursuing them did not run, but walked slow and steady.

"All the power of your worthless god will not help you against the cold steel of our blades you weak fool." a woman's voice said though clenched teeth.

Rose was too shaken to care about who these ominous people were. She just wanted to get away. Josh stumbled again and Rose went down with him. It was too late now, and one robed enemy stood right over them, sharp blades flashing in the firelight.

"In the name of the almighty Belial, I now slay these, his enemies!" the male assassin cried out. He lifted up the blades high above his head and let out a wild scream.

Rose looked up to face her death, but then with a sickening thunk, an arrow stuck into the eye of the screaming man. He fell on top of Rose and Joshua, and she hurried to push him off, knowing that there was still another killer out there. Rose looked up to see the other killer now only a few feet away and running fast toward them.

"Die you pathetic weaklings, die!" the woman screamed in an awful hissing voice. Without really thinking, Rose fell on top of Joshua to protect him from the attack. She shook, waiting for the blades to slide into her waiting back, but all she heard was the flight of another arrow and loud painful cry from the angry woman.

"Not on my farm." sounded the voice of Jirah from not too far in the distance. Rose rolled off of Josh and they both looked up to see the last attacker on her knees with another one of Jirah's arrows protruding from her chest. It was over. Jirah rushed over to them quickly to help get Joshua up.

"Let's get into the house you two." She said as she reached down to help them up. The three scurried over to the farm house and got inside.

"Will there be any more out there?" Jirah asked Joshua.

"No more for now I think. That was a triad. They always travel in groups of three so if one or two of them die, one can get away to report what happened."

"A triad? Who would have sent them?" Rose asked.

"They are assassins." Joshua responded. "Highly trained killers sent out by those who worship Belial. This is very unfortunate for us. The third member will surely go send out another triad to hunt us down. We must leave as soon as we can."

"We are as ready as we will ever be." Jirah said. "I got us some horses to make the trip a little faster too." Rose was now wondering what would have happened to them if the huntswoman has not arrived when she did.

"Josh, why did you not use your power? Did they catch you off guard?" Rose inquired.

"The powers given to me are only to battle the unseen minions of Belial. I am powerless against a steel blade. Praise Ya that Jirah arrived just in time."

"And that she is good with a bow. I have never seen anything like that. I was terrified."

"Why did you not run when I asked Rose?" Joshua asked. "You are no more equipped to fight a triad than I am."

"I was not thinking I guess. My first instinct was to protect you. Sorry."

Jirah interjected, "You did right Rose. Without Josh, there is no reason to go on this perilous quest. We need him as much as we need you dear."

The three companions scurried around now to gather what they needed for the trip and Joshua changed back into his grey robes. Rose packed up all the cooking utensils she would need, with Jirah's help, and before too long, they were mounted each on a horse, and riding away from the farm. Rose watched Jirah's mournful face as she glanced back at her little farmstead. So much needed to be discussed about the events of that night, but all three companions were lost in thought. They rode on in silence down the winding country road listening to the rhythmic clopping of the horse's hooves.

***

Chapter 8

As the late evening faded into the dark of night, Joshua finally broke the silence. "We should camp somewhere just off the road for the rest of the night."

"No fire tonight I would suggest." Jirah said. "If there is another assassin out there, he may be still looking for us." Jirah led them off the road for a few hundred yards into a grove of large cedar trees. "The ground should be soft enough here and the large trees should hide us well enough."

"This will be just fine sister." Josh said. "I will take the first watch tonight. I am not ready to sleep yet anyway." They all ate a little dried meat and fruit that was packed, and then took out each a bed roll to sleep on.

"Wake me whenever you get tired Josh." Jirah said. "You will need your sleep after almost burning to death."

"I need some prayer time before I get to sleeping anyhow. Thank you for your concern though. I will be fine." Joshua moved over to a fallen log to sit for his watch. The two ladies settled down quietly on their mats and quickly fell asleep.

The night passed to morning without event and Rose awoke well rested, yet sore from sleeping on the ground. Josh was still sleeping, not too far off, so Rose moved over quietly to talk with Jirah, who was still keeping watch.

"Did you sleep well dear?" Jirah asked.

"I have slept in many unsavory places, so out here in the woods was no worse than anywhere else. It was nice to have you guard over me as I slept. I'm not used to that."

Jirah thought a moment before responding. "I miss being cared for. My husband was good at watching over me, but I cannot imagine what it would be like to be mistreated as you were."

Rose shrugged, "Being hurt is normal for me, but now that I have felt the caring concern of you and Joshua, I don't think that I could go back to being alone."

Jirah smiled at Rose and clasped her hand firmly, as if to share her strength with the young girl.

Rose smiled back. "I have never had a girl friend before Jirah, so thank you again for all you have done."

"No problem dear. I was getting tired of being alone too, so I am glad to have a girlfriend to share with. Now let's go wake up that sleepy Cleric and get on with this trip."

Rose moved over to where Joshua was sleeping and nudged him with her feet as Jirah started packing. "Wake up sleepy head!" she said as Joshua stirred and groaned. The holy man was obviously still sore from the previous night's ordeal. The three companions gathered up all their gear and packed up the horses.

"We are about six days journey from Jeru, so we better get going ladies." Josh instructed.

"Hey, you are the one who slept in brother." Rose chided with a smirk.

Josh groaned again as he got on his horse, "This old body is not used to jumping through burning walls I guess. I will be glad if we can recruit the companion we seek in Jeru. He is much more suited to fighting enemies that brandish blades of steel."

As they rode off down the road together, Rose asked Joshua, "So this hopeful candidate is a warrior of some type I take it?"

"His name is Logan and yes, he is a good fighter."

"Will he be willing to go on this quest with us Josh?" Jirah asked. "Men at arms and mercenaries are everywhere, but they usually charge quite a large amount of gold for their services."

"This man is not one to be hired out to anyone. You will understand more when you meet him. He is quite unique as far as soldiers go."

Sensing that Joshua did not want to say much more on the subject, the ladies did not press him further.

The next three days were quite uneventful as they continued on towards the capital city. Joshua would pretty much keep to himself, and the two ladies talked about things that were of interest to them. Rose was curious about what it was like to be married while Jirah knew nothing of what it was like to live a life on the streets in poverty and shame. As the miles turned into leagues the two women became very close and solidified their new friendship. They traveled from dusk till dawn each day, camping just off the road at night. In the evening Jirah did what she could to teach Rose the basics of cooking and they both enjoyed the lessons. On the evening of the third day, just before sunset, they arrive at the small town of Throan.

"I think we are due to spend one night indoors. Let's seek out an inn for the night." Joshua said.

"You could really use a bath too brother." Rose teased. "It is starting to smell a little downwind of you."

Joshua patiently smiled and responded, "I was thinking that it would be nice to get a break from your cooking actually."

Rose pulled her horse in closer to Joshua's and gave him a playful yet firm punch on the shoulder. "Hey! I thought I was doing pretty well for my first time you stinker."

Jirah smiled at the sight of the two teasing each other and said, "Get along now children. And besides, if you knock her cooking Josh, then you are saying that I am a poor teacher."

"You are nothing of the sort sister. I was teasing of course. I may be a quiet old man, but I do know how to tease back when the situation calls for it."

They continued on to the center of the town and stopped at a quaint little inn. It was a clean and well kept little building so it stood out from all the other buildings in the town which were quite shabby.

"You two go in and see to a room while I stable the horses." Jirah spoke as she gathered their reins and led them out back of the inn.

As Rose followed Joshua in through the neat little entrance, she noticed some strange writing on the door posts and asked, "Do you know what these symbols mean Josh? I have never seen them before."

Josh nodded and answered, "They are runes from the old language. They are invoking the blessings of Ya on this place."

As they entered the large common room they were warmly greeted by the owner and Rose soon understood why such a blessing was carved into the front door.

"Welcome my good Cleric!" the man spoke. "Ya bless' us with your presence this day." The cheerful man was short and quite fat. Sweat beaded on his bald head as he came over to greet the two travelers. He shook both their hands briskly and then continued back to working at his hurried pace.

"It is good to see you Barnas." Joshua greeted. "I hope that all is well with you and your dear Forelle."

"Yes, yes, we are in good health." the man answered back then inquired of Josh with a curious look on his face, "Will you and the lady need a room for the night?"

"We will need two rooms my good man, one for me and one for two other companions. Jirah, whom you may already know is also with us, but you have not met Rose yet."

The man stopped from all his scurrying for a second and looked at Rose closely. There was a distinct look of surprise on his face and his eyes opened wide. "Ya be praised." he whispered, "This young thing is the chosen one?"

Joshua put one finger up to his lips and shushed the man. "True friend, but she has yet to be revealed. Please keep this secret between you and Forelle at the moment."

"Yes, yes, of course." Barnas said, now with a serious look on his face. "Come along my dear and I will show you to your room." The officious little man quickly grabbed the bags for Rose and hurried towards the stairs, motioning Rose to follow.

"I will go and pay my respects to your dear wife then. I assume she is working hard as ever in the back room?" Barnas nodded and continued up the stairs with Rose close behind.

Out back of the inn Jirah was just finishing up with the horses. The stable was in fine condition just like the rest of the building, with plenty of food and water for the animals. As Jirah was coming around the front and into the street, her eye caught a figure in a dark black robe entering the tavern across from where she was. With the memory of the triad's attack still fresh in her mind, she was not willing to take any chances with ominous looking men. She waited for the stranger to disappear from sight then moved over to the tavern to have a look. As she entered in quietly she was immediately taken back by the stench of booze. This was a well frequented drinking hole so it was very loud and full of rabble rousing men. She took a seat at the bar besides a smelly drunk that had already passed out in his seat.

"Drink?" the bartender asked.

"No thank you. I'm here to pick up my uncle." Jirah lied slyly. "I do have a question though. Did you see a man enter just now with a black robe?"

"Why do you ask?"

"The dirty cheat owes me money is all."

"That weirdo comes in here all the time, but never buys anything. He looks like trouble so I leave him alone. He went out back I think with another one of those weird dark robes. Don't cause any trouble in my tavern, hear?"

"I wouldn't think of it." Jirah made her way carefully to the back of the building and poked her head out the rear door. Now she could hear two gruff voices whispering around the corner.

"What will it take for that cursed Cleric to die....." she could barely make out what was being said, but she was sure they were talking about Joshua.

"....looks like I will have to do this myself," an eerie voice intoned. "...wait for them on the outskirts of town....." Jirah had heard enough now to know what was going on so she backed in through the door and made her way out the front of the tavern. She was more than a little worried about what she had heard and briskly walked over to enter the Inn and find Joshua.

Joshua had already finished greeting Forelle in the kitchen and was now seated at a fireside table at the end of the open common room when Jirah entered. She came over to talk and Josh could tell by the worried look on her face that something was amiss.

"You look upset sister. What is it?" he asked.

"I think we have caught up with the last member of that triad. I followed him around to the back of the tavern next door and heard him talking with a cohort."

Joshua groaned at the news and frowned. "This is unfortunate. We will have to leave here sooner than expected. What did you all hear?"

"I didn't hear much, but I heard enough to know that they are hoping to ambush us just outside of the town as we leave tomorrow."

Joshua thought silently for a moment before answering. "We will only get a short rest here it would seem. We should leave in the early morning while it is still dark."

Jirah nodded and got up to leave. "I will go and tell Rose what is happening. Is she in a room already?"

"Yes. She went up with Barnas. I think I better go up to my room now too. It would be better if we kept out of sight till we go."

With that, the Cleric sighed and left to find his room upstairs.

Rose was just getting settled in her room when there was a knock on the door.

"May I speak with you a moment sweetie?" the voice was from the chubby little wife of the inn's owner.

"Come in," Rose answered and the rosy cheeked little woman entered with a big smile on her face.

"Is there anything you need my dear? I will wash and mend your clothes if you need. It is not every day that the chosen one of Ya is in my care."

Rose blushed slightly and said, "Thank you. I'm Rose by the way. I do have a white dress that needs cleaning. I got it from Joshua and it has a special meaning for me." Rose handed her plain white dress to the woman.

"You may call me Forelle. Rose is such a pretty name, and I'm sure you look just lovely in this white dress with that head of hair."

Rose was blushing even more now and twirling her hair around one finger as Jirah entered the room.

"Well, I will leave you two to settle in and I'll get a bath ready for both of you," Forelle said as she closed the door behind her.

"We will not be here for very long Rose." Jirah announced with a serious look. "There are some men in town who seek to ambush us as we leave, Josh hopes for us to sneak out in the night."

A knock came on the door just then and Rose moved over to let Joshua in.

"Has Jirah told you the plan?" the Cleric asked Rose.

"Yes she did. Is it one of those triad things again?"

"It is hard to know for sure, but I think it was the remaining member of the group we fought the other night. He talked with someone else that I could not get a look at," said Jirah.

"If this other man is who I think he is then, I want to be far away before he figures out that we are gone. I will have Barnas wake us just after midnight so we can leave while they sleep," Joshua instructed.

"Well I need a good bath still before I go to bed," Rose told them. "I can get more sleep another time."

Jirah nodded, "I will watch the door for you dear if you will do the same for me."

Joshua went to the door to leave and informed them, "You two make sure you are ready to go, and say a prayer before bed."

The ladies went about cleaning up and were in bed asleep before too long. Joshua returned to his room after informing Barnas of their plans.

"Ya protect us." he whispered quietly to himself as he nodded off in a shallow sleep.

***

Chapter 9

The sharp knock on the door woke Rose and Jirah with a start. Rose got up sleepily and let in Forelle who had a bundle of their clean and mended clothes.

"I hope you ladies had a good sleep, even if it was a short one. The holy man is up and wanting to go already, so you must be quick." The smiling woman moved over to help them pack up the clothes she had brought, but she stopped to pull out the white dress that Joshua had bought Rose on the first day they met. "I hope you don't mind dearie, but I fixed up your white dress a bit." She held the dress up in front of Rose.

"Put it on Rose," Jirah encouraged with a smile.

Rose stripped off her traveling clothes and pulled the soft white fabric over her head. As she moved over to get a look at herself in the mirror, her breath was taken away.

"It is lovely!" Rose exclaimed with a beaming smile. Forelle had not only tailored the dress to fit her perfectly, but she had embroidered rows of golden rose thorns around the hem and neckline.

"Ya be praised." the little woman's voice cracked and tears pooled in her eyes. "You look every bit like the chosen one now."

"You are a vision of beauty Rose," affirmed Jirah. "No man should even take notice of me and Joshua while you wear that gown."

Rose smiled and finally tore herself away from the mirror. "We better get going then. Thank you dear sister for all you have done for us. I hope we can come back here some day when we are not in such a hurry."

"No worries my dear," Forelle reassured with her ever present smile. "It is a great day for me when I can care for the holy healer of Ya, may he protect you in the days ahead." They gathered up the rest of their things and quietly moved down the stairs to find Josh.

As they got to the common room below they were met by Barnas who said, "Joshua is out back with the horses already. Better get out there using the back door. When the stocky man caught sight of Rose in her new white dress he stopped in his tracks. He quickly dropped to one knee in front of Rose and kissed her hand. "Bless me dear mother." he whispered with a quaver in his voice.

Not really knowing what to do, Rose blushed and bent down to gently kiss his bald head.

"Bless you good man for all you and your wife have done."

Barnas got up with a rather large grin on his face and then led them out the back door. No more words were spoken while they packed and mounted the horses. Joshua led them out of town through the alleys and back roads, and once they hit the road heading north east to Jeru he finally broke the silence.

"We will have to travel in silence for the most part ladies. The enemy is sure to be watching the road for us so keep watch for an ambush."

"Is there another road or back trail that we can take?" Rose asked.

"Unfortunately, there is not Rose." Jirah answered.

"We will soon have to follow a narrow passage through the fens." Joshua nodded and said, "There is no other path to take, but at least there is no place to hide an ambush in a flat swamp that goes on for miles."

"The real problem will be the mountain path on the other side of the fens that leads to Jeru." Jirah informed them. "Again there is only one path to follow, but there will be many places to hide in the rocks."

The horses continued on in the dark at a steady gallop and no one seemed to be pursuing them after the first hour, so Jirah slowed them down to a steady walk. After a few quiet hours of riding, the sun broke over the mountains and Rose could see the expansive marshland stretching out before them. The sight left her awestruck. Having grown up in the port city of Sharron, Rose had never seen such a massive stretch of mountains before.

"This place is beautiful." She whispered quietly to herself. For the first time in her life, Rose started to really believe that there must be a divine being out there that made the world of Terros.

"I think it is safe to stop for a bite to eat now." Joshua said.

"It would be good to give the horses a little rest too." responded Jirah. They stopped in a flat grassy area and got off the horses to stretch their sore muscles.

"What is Jeru like?" Rose asked between mouthfuls of cheese and fruit.

Joshua responded, "Being the capital city, it is quite large but not much larger than Sharon. It was built high in the mountains in order to offer protection from the armies of Belial."

"I met my husband Justus in Jeru." said Jirah. "He was working there at the time as a carpenter. We were married by Joshua in the cathedral of Ya, when it was still in decent shape."

"Why did you move away?" Rose asked.

"Shortly after we were wed, the whole priesthood of Ya was killed by a Triad. It was a very dark time in the city. Being a devout follower, Justus moved us far away for our protection."

"The cathedral is now pretty much abandoned just like all the other temples of Ya in the land." Joshua said. "It is a sad thing to see such a magnificent building sitting nearly empty when it was once a central place for the people to worship the creator."

Curious, Rose asked, "Was there no protection in place for the priests? How could three black robed strangers just walk in and start killing?"

"The town guard had long ago stopped caring about protecting anything other than the Magistrate and the businesses in the city." Joshua responded. "Money is the god that most worship now."

"Not much different than anywhere else."

"That is so true." Jirah answered back. "Is there still a temple knighthood in place though Josh? There was at one time I know."

Joshua dusted the bread crumbs off his robe and got up as he answered the question. "There is but one knight left and it is the man we seek to take with us. Logan."

They were all finished eating the small brunch now and mounted the horses. Joshua continued with the story. "Logan was not on watch the night that the Triad came to kill everyone. He was not even in the cathedral. He blames himself for the tragedy, though I have told him many times it was not his fault."

Rose knew exactly how that felt. She had lived her whole life till now in a cloud of guilt and shame. As they rode of down the road and into the fens, she wondered to herself if this man Logan would understand how she felt too.

***

Chapter 10

As the travelers entered the massive swamp before them, Rose turned up her nose at the stench it was giving off. "What is that terrible stink?"

Jirah chuckled and answered, "Just the smell of stagnant water dear. All swamps smell this way."

Rose groaned, "It smells like the sewer I used to hide in when I was little. The sisters in my orphanage always could tell where I had been by the stink."

"You may as well get used to it Rose." Joshua said. "We have to move through the fens carefully on this narrow road so it will take us most of the day and into the night even."

Jirah lead them along the narrow path slow and steady and before too long a thick fog crept in all around them. Not being able to see around her made Rose quite nervous so she asked, "Are there any strange creatures in here that I should be worried about?" She had been glancing all around herself nervously for a while already.

"You would think that there would be some kind of monsters in a place like this, but the fact of the matter is that it's just too dead." Jirah said. "Nothing could live here, other than bugs."

As if to drive the point home, Joshua swatted a massive mosquito on his neck. "With all this fog around us we should keep our talking to a minimum. We still may have someone following us and I want to hear them if they are out there."

With that, the three of them continued on in quiet. The only sound heard other than the soft hoof beats was the occasional swatting of a pesky bug. This monotonous pace seemed to go on forever and Rose was beginning to get very bored. She thought once again about the value of this whole quest. She enjoyed being treated like someone who was special; like she really mattered. Barnas and his sweet wife sure thought that she was important and that boosted her spirits quite a bit, but there was still this deep, nagging doubt in her soul that made her feel worthless all over again. If all these good people knew her thoughts and what she was really like, they would not treat her so special. She still had doubts about Joshua's intentions too. Did he really care for her, or was she just pawn in his crazy mission. In the midst of all these doubts and fears, Rose did something that she had never done before. She prayed. Not knowing how to do it, she simply directed her thoughts to this Ya that Joshua always spoke of.

"Ya, I am not even sure if I believe that you exist at all, but I am grasping at straws here. If you can really hear me, then I have a few things I need to know. If I am such an important person to you, then why did you let me live a messed up life? Where were you when I was all alone? Where were you when I was being used? I'm not saying that any of this is your fault; I just think that maybe you could have talked to me sooner than now. To tell you the truth, I really do not know what to think. If you can hear any of this then I want to know it. Give me some kind of sign that you can hear me."

She spoke these things in her mind like a challenge. Clearing her mind and thoughts, she hoped for a voice to speak in her mind, but none came. She sighed quietly and looked up to focus again on her surroundings. It was still so foggy that she could barely see Jirah on the horse in front of her. Then to her amazement, a bright light seemed to burst in the sky above. Jirah suddenly stopped in front as a great gust of wind blew around them. In a mighty swirl that lasted only for a few seconds the fog around them cleared and lifted up to the sky above. The blazing sun shone down on Rose with all its warmth and tears began to form in her bright green eyes.

"Thank you" she whispered quietly to the eternal god that had just answered her prayer with great clarity.

Joshua and Jirah looked at Rose with puzzled expressions.

"You are crying Rose." The Cleric said. "Is everything ok?"

Rose just nodded. She was not ready to share this moment with the others. Ya had just revealed himself to her in such a powerful way that she needed to think about it before telling anyone.

Joshua shrugged and said, "Very well, let me know if you need to talk. We'll continue on then."

"We must be near to the end of the fen passage soon." Jirah responded. "I am sure glad to be able to see around me now. That fog was getting annoying."

After another few hours of slow and careful plodding, the sun began to drop down behind them. Through the haze of dusk they finally began to see the end of the depressing swamp in front of them. Just as their spirits were starting to lift however, a dark figure in a black robe appeared, standing on the far bank blocking their way. Joshua quickly moved up to the front of the group and called out, "Who is there?"

An ominous hissing voice came from the haze, "Well Cleric. It would seem that you have come to the end of your stupid quest. You may have avoided the death squad that I sent to kill you, but now you will face the mighty power of my master."

Joshua quickly got off his horse and yelled out, "You are under a delusion as always Bane. Let us pass for I do not fear the power of Belail."

"I'm afraid that we will have to face off another time Gaost. My master has forbid me to face you directly at this time, but that is not to say that you will get by that easily." The ominous shadow of Bane clenched his fists above his head and began to chant in a low guttural voice.

"Come to me quickly ladies!" Joshua yelled. Rose and Jirah came to him fast and Jirah had her bow at the ready in a second, firing arrows. Rose was stunned to see that the arrows went right thought the shadowy figure that was blocking their way. She glanced over at the Cleric to see the power building in his glowing white eyes. All around them creeping figures of undead spirits began to rise up out of the murky waters. Rose screamed and dropped to her knees in fright. Jirah was again firing off arrows but now all around them.

"Save your arrows sister. They will do nothing to harm to these spirits." Joshua spoke in a calm voice. Jirah sunk down into the ground and clung to Rose in fright. The two of them were shaking in terror as the white light shot out from the mighty Cleric's outstretched hands. Blast after blast came from Joshua but the evil minions kept on coming. They were starting to get closer to the huddled group and Rose found herself praying again, but this time in desperation, and out loud.

"Ya save us!" she cried. She looked up to Joshua and could see that he was getting weary. Jirah was still shaking in terror, never having faced this type of enemy before. She pulled out her dagger from her belt and held it out in front of her. Surge after surge of white light blasted from the holy man's fingers but there seemed to be no end to the countless spirits that were overtaking them. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost and they would be overwhelmed, a gentle voice spoke into the mind of Rose.

"Rose, give your strength to my servant. Be his support." Too terrified to question what this meant, Rose stood up quickly behind Joshua and clasped around his waist tightly, helping him to stand up straight. From the very depths of her soul she focused on giving the weary Cleric all of her energy and love. It was then she realized that she truly did love this strange man. This was not the love between a man and a woman; it was a deep abiding love that could only come from the eternal god that had just spoken into her thoughts.

With a mighty surge, a blinding white light burst from both Joshua and Rose, and they both let out a loud cry. Having no more strength in their bodies, both of them collapsed to the ground in a heap and passed out.

***

Chapter 11

When Rose finally awoke she was laying in the soft grass beside the road with Jirah sitting beside her.

"Welcome back dear sister." Jirah spoke as she gently brushed her hair with her hand. "You are full of surprises today."

Rose sat up to see that Joshua was still lying on the ground beside them.

"What happened? Is Josh alive?"

"He is fine for now, thanks to you that is."

Rose sat quietly for a bit to let what had just transpired sink in.

"I have seen no sign of that Bane fellow anywhere, so we should be safe here for now." Jirah said. "I think that he was casting his image from somewhere else. My arrows went right though him."

Rose could see that Jirah was still quite shaken from the attack so she reached over to give her a hug.

"That was the most frightening thing that I have ever seen Rose."

Rose squeezed her tightly and said, "We were all scared out of our wits sister. I thought those evil things would never stop coming."

Just then the weary Cleric began to stir. He got to his feet quickly and looked around them with a nervous glance.

"We are safe now Josh thanks to you and Rose." Jirah reassured him.

Joshua let out a deep sigh and gathered himself.

"It would seem that our healer has come of age. Do you know what you just did Rose?"

Rose shook her head and responded, "I am not really sure, but I did pray for help."

Joshua nodded, "It would seem that Ya has favored you with an unexpected gift. When you stood and clasped me around the waist, I felt a mighty power coursing into me. It was like the power I receive from Ya was amplified tenfold."

"So that is not a normal thing that happened is it brother?" Jirah stated.

"No it is not. The holy healer is empowered by Ya through using the staff of Ramah. You seemed to take on the role of a priestess as well. Your prayer on my behalf granted me power that I have never felt before."

Slowly they all gathered themselves up and once again mounted the horses to continue on with the journey.

"Joshua." Rose asked carefully, "Who exactly is that Bane character. He scared the life out of me."

"He is the hand of Belial and has been my enemy for all long as I can remember."

"He obviously has power over the evil spirits which is not good for us." Jirah stated. "Can he control the Taints as well?"

Joshua nodded. "All the minions of Belial are his to command. He can cast his shadow anywhere so he is a hard enemy to hunt down. I still have no idea where he is at any given time and have never met him face to face."

"Why did he call you Gaost?" Rose asked. "That name seems familiar to me but I am not sure why."

Jirah and Joshua gave each other a knowing look, then Joshua answered, "I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you the truth Rose. My real name is Gaost and I have been the Cleric of Ya for a very long time."

"In fact," Jirah stated after a pause, "He has been the Cleric of Ya since the beginning. He is the first and only true Cleric."

That statement was a lot for Rose to take in all at once and she asked, "Are you telling me that you are hundreds of years old?"

Joshua nodded and responded, "I was there to discover Yeshu, the first healer that Ya brought forth. I was there when she gained the staff of Ramah, and I was the one who failed her in the end."

Rose was beginning see the reason for the overwhelming sadness that this poor man carried with him every day. They rode on is silence for a moment before Rose responded. She rode up beside the stoic faced holy man and reached out to grasp his still shaking hand.

"I have seen you fight. I am fully convinced that you did everything you could to protect this Yeshu girl. It can't be your fault that she died."

"Rose is right brother. You need to let go of the blame and self regret. It is Belial that is to blame."

Tears were now forming in Gaost's sad white eyes. Jirah rode her horse up to the other side of Gaost and grasped him on the shoulder.

"I know what it is like to live with regret brother. It eats away at your soul. Let it go." The two ladies were sensing that all their attention was overwhelming the Cleric, so they ceased to question him further.

Joshua rode on is silence for at least a half hour more before he was composed enough to speak.

"I thank you dear sisters for the kind words. You are both very right to say that I have carried this pain around for much too long. For long this regret has been the fuel for my revenge on Belail. I was wrong to let it affect me this way."

Rose rode up again beside him and this time reached over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Ya bless you Josh, or shall I call you Gaost now?"

The Cleric smiled and answered, "I think we will stick with Joshua for now Rose. Most of the good folks in this world do not believe that a man could live for hundreds of years, so I change my name from time to time."

"Are you ready to share with us what really happened to you back at the fen Rose?" Jirah asked.

"Yes, I think I am. So much happened all at once and I wanted to gather my thoughts before telling you guys. I prayed! That is what happened. I have never prayed before in my life, and did not have a clue what to do, but I just started talking to Ya. Before I knew it, I was dumping all of my pain and frustration out. I don't blame him for all the bad things that have happened to me, but I wanted to know why he seemed to have forgotten about me for so long. I do not know if this is the right thing to do or not, but I asked for a sign. I needed to know for sure that he could hear what I was saying or that he even cared at all. Then..." Rose began to choke up and could not continue with her story.

"Take your time dear." Jirah reassured her.

"I would guess that your answer was the rather dramatic lifting of the fog then?" Joshua asked.

Rose nodded and said with a still tearful voice, "He answered me! It was an amazing feeling. I have spent so much of my life being used and ignored and then to have this amazing thing happen to me..." again Rose's voice trailed off while the emotion of it all overtook her.

"Oh Rose!" Jirah exclaimed as she rode over close to her side. They stopped the horses and held each other in a tight embrace for a long time.

It was Joshua who finally broke the special moment with a dose of reality.

"I am glad for you both, but we must keep moving on. There will be more time to talk and hug when we get to Jeru."

"You are right brother." Jirah responded. "We have a good way to go yet. Do you want to camp somewhere for the night?"

"I think not. There still may be a triad after us, so we should just keep on through till the morning and we may get to the capital by sunrise."

So for the rest of the night they rode on in silence. Before long Rose slumped forward in her saddle and fell asleep to the soft falling of hoof beats on the winding mountain road.

***

Chapter 12

It was a night much like any other in the capital city of Jeru. The taverns were alive with drunken reveling and gangs of criminals roamed the streets looking for the few decent citizens that were not locked up safe in their homes at night. No one seemed to take notice of the lonely knight riding his massive tan colored warhorse down the middle of the dirty street. Man and horse were fully adorned in shiny metal armor that glistened by the light of the few torches on the city's main street. Logan was doing the same thing he did every night in this crime ridden city; he was praying for the people. He had long ago stopped trying to change Jeru for the better. There was a time when he would have tried to stop the robbers from stealing, or the immoral gangs from violating innocent women, but there were simply too many of them now for one Knight to deal with. In any case, the Magistrate had recently forbid him from policing the city, saying that it was not the responsibility of a washed up knight to do so. So Logan was doing the only thing left to him that would bring about a change, prayer. He prayed for the people and he prayed that one day the Eternal Ya would raise up someone who could bring healing to this dying city. Having prayed for the last hour and a half, the knight finally arrived back at the broken down cathedral that was his home. At one time it was a glorious landmark in the city, bustling with priests and worshipers, but now he was the only occupant. Logan dismounted in the stable behind the building and tended to his horse. Although there was little reason to follow all the protocols of his former knighthood, Logan was still a man of duty. With great care he took off the horse's trappings and brushed him off with long gentle strokes. "You are getting a little fat Abishai." he teased the horse. "I will have to take you out for a good run tomorrow." When he had finished with his faithful steed, the lonely warrior went in through the back door to the temple barracks. As he began to unhook the large breastplate from his stout chest, he thought he could hear a clattering sound in the kitchen two rooms over. With lightening speed he swiftly drew a dagger from his belt and quietly crept down the hallway to greet this intruder. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, a small dark figure burst out of the room and ran past him down the hall. "Halt!" he yelled out and gave quick chase. Logan was a muscular man but very quick on his feet also, so when the intruder stumbled around the first corner, he was quickly overtaken. Logan grabbed the trespasser by the scruff of the neck and soon found out that it was a young boy. He was a skinny little stick figure with dirty blond hair and a dirty face to match. The little thief tried his best to kick and wiggle his way out of capture but it was to no avail; the knight was too strong for him.

"What do we have here? I seem to have caught myself a little weasel trying to steal my food."

"Don't kill me sir." the young boy cried as he continued to struggle with his captor.

"You will not see death this night my son. You have had the good luck of being captured by a knight of the thorn. I have no intention of killing you."

"Let me go then sir. I never took anything I swear."

Logan did not let go, but rather dragged the boy over to a chair and sat the would-be robber down roughly.

"I will speak with you first son. Why are you here?"

The boy finally stopped squirming and answered, "I'm real hungry sir and was trying to get some food is all. I haven't eaten in days."

Logan was not a man who would usually let an offence pass, but for some reason he felt compassion for the boy.

"Do you not have food at home boy?"

"I have been on my own for many years already mister. My parents were killed when I was 7 years old and I refuse to live in the orphanage. I have heard lots of scary stories about what happens to kids there."

Logan could not relate to this story because he still knew that his parents were alive and well in a small farm town to the west of the capital. Still, the thought of living without that loving influence made his compassion well up for this poor orphan.

"What is your name son?"

"Jerhard sir, but most people just call me Jer."

Logan thought quietly for a minute then came up with a wild idea.

"Well Jer, I have a proposition for you. I have need of a squire. If you will agree to help me with my duties as a knight then I will in turn agree to withhold my judgment."

Jer thought about it for a moment and then asked, "What kinda duties would that be mister? I don't wanna be cleaning up your messes or anything like that."

"You will find that I am not too hard a taskmaster, but you must do whatever I tell you. At least you will have a warm bed and food in your belly. The only other option for you is the local jail. Make your choice."

"It's not like I have any choice then. You have a deal mister." With that, the boy got up from the chair and grabbed the nearest loaf of bread to start eating. Logan shook his head, wondering what he had got himself into.

"Tonight you can have a break from your duties but come morning, they will start. Eat well son for on the morrow you will need much energy."

Logan sat down at the table with the boy and they both ate in silence, glancing up at each other occasionally, as if to size each other up. When they had eaten their fill, Logan showed Jer to his room, and retired to his own room just across the hall. After changing out of his armor, he dropped to his knees at the side of his bed to pray before sleeping, as was his custom.

"Eternal Ya, thank you for the lessons thou hast taught thy servant this day. I have been asking of thee to send me more of thy servants to help me do thy holy work, and you have sent me this young boy. I know not why thou hast chosen him, but I will not question thy judgment in this matter. Please give me thy strength and wisdom to do the task set before me." Finished with his prayers, Logan crept over to look in on Jer to see if he had run away yet, but much to his surprise, the boy was already sleeping soundly. "Ya bless you son." he said softly, then turned back to his room to find some rest as well.

The next day, Logan rose with the sun and crossed over to Jer's room to wake him. To his surprise, the boy was already up and in the kitchen.

"Good morning to you Jer."

Jer just waved back, not able to talk because his mouth was stuffed with bread.

Logan continued, "When you are finished with breakfast, it will be your duty to clean up in the kitchen. When that task is finished, meet me in the stable out back for your first lesson."

"You got it mister." Jer answered glibly, still chewing a large chunk of bread.

"You will address me as Sir Logan from now on please. It is out of respect for my rank, and I will in turn treat you with the respect you deserve."

"Sorry sir Logan. I ain't never had to talk with a knight before."

"All is forgiven. I fully understand that you will need instruction. If you do your best to heed my words then things will go well with you. However, if you choose to rebel against my authority, you will soon find yourself in jail."

"You can relax already Logan. I may not have good schoolin', but I'm no dummy either."

"Call me SIR Logan please," the knight said with a stern expression. "I am glad to hear that you will be doing your best. Now finish up and get to your duties. I expect you to be out in the stable in short time for your first lesson."

With that, the knight stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Jer to clean up the mess he had just made.

***

Chapter 13

Rose was aching all over when she finally woke up, still riding on her horse. She sat up and looked around to see that they were still plodding along the winding mountain path. Feeling rather closed in she shuddered and asked, "How much farther to Jeru?"

"Good morning Rose," Jirah answered. "We are still a few hours away. Did you sleep well?" The sun was just beginning to crest above the mountains ahead.

"I did sleep, but now I wish that I hadn't slept at all. I do not think that I have ever been this sore in my life."

"We will take some time to recover once we get to the Capital." Joshua responded. "All of us will need to be rested up before we take on the next part of our journey."

The silence of the morning air was broken by the sound of Rose's growling stomach.

"Maybe we should stop for a bite to eat." Jirah said with a smile. "It would seem that we are not being chased for now."

Joshua nodded and they all pulled over to the roadside and sat on a large rock. As they ate, Rose inquired further about the man they were going to meet.

"So tell me a little about this Logan fellow. What is he like?"

"He is a man driven by the honor of his knighthood," Joshua answered. "He is the last of his kind, but it did not even cross his mind to abolish the Order of the Thorn."

"When I lived in the capital, the Order of the Thorn was already diminishing," Jirah responded. "There were only a handful of knights left from what was once a great number. Logan was just finishing his training at the time."

"Those who worship Ya are less and less, so it stands to reason that there are few men left who would stand up for what is right and good." Joshua said. "When I last spoke with Logan, I encouraged him to press on with trying to recruit new candidates, but I did not tell him just how futile the effort might be."

"Jirah, you said that Logan was away when the cathedral was attacked," Rose asked. "Do you know where he was at the time?"

"He was visiting his parents in Marah, a little town west of Throan. Like Joshua said, he has never forgiven himself for being away when the attack came, but he was not doing anything wrong. He was helping his father bring in the harvest on the family farm."

"It truly was fortunate for him that he was away," Joshua added. "I doubt that he would have lived if he had stayed in the city. He would have fought to the death to defend the honor of Ya."

These answers did little to ease Rose's mind about meeting this man. What would such a man of honor think of a woman like her? Till very recently, Rose had lived a life of dishonor and sin.

Jirah could sense the discomfort Rose was feeling and spoke to comfort her. "Rose, we all have a past. Are you worried that Logan will shun you because of your former life?"

Rose nodded with a worried face.

"If you are worried Rose, then you should try praying again," Joshua said. "You seem to be having success as of late in talking to the creator."

Having talked to Ya for the first time only just yesterday, Rose did not know all the rules regarding prayer. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ya had heard her first prayer, but she still doubted that they were on good speaking terms.

"To tell you the truth, I thought that I should save my prayers for times when I am in dire need. I don't want to pester the Eternal One with all of my little troubles. I'm sure he has much more important things to do and better people to listen too."

"Rose, it is time for you to fully understand who you are and who the Eternal Ya is." Joshua said as he grasped her hand firmly. "Ya knows everything about you and loves you just the same. In fact, I am just now beginning to understand why you are the perfect candidate to be his holy priestess. Ya does not need you to be strong in yourself, he needs you to trust him. When you pray, it is a time to fully understand that you need the Eternal One to be your strength. You need him to flow through you to do the work he has set before you."

There was a long silence while Rose thought about these words.

"I may as well get on with it then," Rose said, standing up with a determined look on her face. "Would you two mind if I took some time right now to share some things with the boss?"

Jirah smiled and said, "Sure thing Rose. Take all the time you need."

Rose walked to a shady tree just a few yards away from the road and got on her knees. She had seen Joshua praying on his knees before and figured that it was a good enough place to start.

"Eternal Ya, I want to start off with thanking you. Thank you for hearing me when I asked for help. I have to admit that I never believed you would hear one such as me, let alone answer in a powerful way. I also should say that I feel unworthy of your love and attention. I am worried that I will fail in whatever task you have set before me. I worry that I will let my new friends down. Please help me."

Rose lay down with her face to the soft grass and just listened for a moment. In her heart, she yielded all of her hopes for a future into the hands of her new god. She truly wanted to give over to him all that she was, and all that she would ever be. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw a brilliant light breaking through the trees above her. She looked up and saw a gloriously shining winged creature descending to where she was and she quickly covered her face in terror.

"Fear not Rose," said a soft musical voice, "I have come to tell you that your prayer has been heard."

Still trembling, Rose uncovered her face to look at the shining being. "The eternal Ya has chosen you to be his holy priestess. Go from here in his mighty power and bring healing to this broken and weary land. You will be a living example of the work that our eternal Father wills for the lives of his people. As you have been forgiven and changed, go out into the world and offer the same forgiveness to his hurting children."

Too overcome with emotion to speak, Rose just nodded silently. She could feel a powerful change deep in her soul. As the shining one rose up away into the sky, Rose knew for the first time ever that her life had meaning. With the help of her father, the Eternal Ya, she would make it her mission to heal this broken and godless land. With a look of determination on her face, she got up to go tell her friends about what had just happened.

***

Chapter 14

Across the valley of shale and high in the Spire of Ruin, was the dwelling place of the Dark One. He sat on a black throne, his burning red eyes closed in concentration. Screams of pain could be heard echoing down the hazy halls of the massive tower as the unholy priesthood carried out their duties. Belial gained a sick pleasure from the suffering of mankind, so his followers for centuries had been carrying out human sacrifices. In the halls below the Dark One's throne, a steady stream of slaves had their blood spilt on a massive wooden altar. Each time a cursed knife fell, a deep and ominous bell would ring out through the whole Spire. The bell had been rung once every hour for hundreds of years, and a black plume of smoke billowed from the top of the spire as the bodies burned. The bell had just rung once more as a large metal door swung open slowly at the end of the long, dark room. One of Belial's fallen servants floated in, to wait at his feet. The Taint kept its head bowed as it waited for his master to acknowledge his presence.

After a short wait, Belial opened his eyes and spoke in a dry voice, "Why do you disturb me."

"Master," the cursed spirit responded. "Lord Bane is here to speak with you."

The fallen creature did not wait for a response, but left the throne room in a hurry, not wanting to incur the wrath of his master.

Bane, being the high priest of Belial, was the only man who had ever seen this terrifying evil spirit face to face. As he approached the throne, he was bowed so low that he was nearly crawling. He could feel the fiery red eyes of the demi-god burning right through his soul.

"All hail Belial, the lord of Terros," Bane said with trembling lips. "I regret to inform you that all efforts to kill the chosen one have failed so far." Bane fell to his face and lay prostrate before the throne.

"Do you forget that I can send my consciousness out into the world? I know that you have failed, for I have seen that wretched Gaost and his friends nearing the city of Jeru."

Bane was now shaking in fear at Belial's feet, but he said nothing in response. He knew that no excuse would be enough to diminish the wrath of his lord.

"You have once again underestimated the enemy Bane. This woman was able to use her power to strengthen the Cleric against your attack."

"How was I to know master? I have always thought that the priestess needed the Staff to work any power against us. Gaost wielded a power that I have never seen before."

"My enemy has granted the woman a power that I do not understand yet. Because of that, I will not punish you this day. Do not fail me again Bane."

"I will not fail master. If you will allow me to face that rotten Cleric in battle, then he will surly die."

"First you must gather up some men at arms. Gaost will soon have others with him I suspect, and you will need more steel than those useless assassins can offer."

"I will hire all the mercenaries available from every city. That little band of weaklings will have nowhere safe to go. I will need you to tell me what route Gaost takes once he leaves Jeru. We know that he must be hoping to reclaim the staff, but I do not know which way he will go."

"Finding the Cleric will be your problem now," Belial hissed through clenched teeth. "There is a power that has been awakened in the priestess. I cannot find her with my mind anymore. I was trying to reach her when you came in, but to no avail."

"There is nowhere for them to go now master. We will not fail again."

The high priest of the Dark One bowed low to his master once again before he turned to go. The eternal hatred that he felt for the Cleric of Ya festered in his evil heart to the point of madness. Now that Belial had given him permission to take on his enemy face to face, he would not stop until he had Gaost's blood on his hands. As Bane descended the long spiral staircase, he pondered why his master had never let him face Gaost in open battle before. He had his suspicions of course, but Belial kept all the reasons to himself. Maybe he would never know, but none of that mattered now. He would make for the coastal city of Goram to gather all the men at arms that he could. From there, he could also speak with members of the assassin's guild as to why their triad had failed in killing two women and one man. He smiled again at the thought of killing Gaost, and he whispered to the wind, "I will not rest until I hold the beating heart of this so-called priestess in my hands. Then I will kill you Cleric."

The dark priest mounted his black horse once he reached the bottom of the spire and rode off into the darkness, with an evil smile still on his face.

***

Chapter 15

It was already mid-day when Joshua, Rose and Jirah finally arrived in the capital city of Jeru. Rose was more than a little surprised to see that there was a great wall surrounding the city, and a large iron gate guarding the entrance.

"This place looks more like a fortress than a place to live," Rose said with a mocking voice. "Are the walls made to keep people in or to keep enemies out?"

"This wall was built many years ago when there was still a king ruling the land," Joshua answered. "King James the Holy was the last ruler of Bethal that followed the ways of Ya. It was built as a last defense against the hordes of Belial that came from the north."

The travelers were now approaching the main gate and two shabby looking guards came out to stop them before the large open doors.

"Halt," a particularly fat guard called out. "What business do you have in Jeru?" Joshua got down off his horse and approached the man, pulling back his hood. When the guard saw the Cleric up close, he shuddered in fear and stepped back quickly. No more words were said as the guard waved them through. Joshua got back up on his horse and they all made their way through the gate and into the city.

"You have such a great way with people brother," Jirah mocked with her crooked grin. "That poor sot looked like he had seen a ghost."

Rose laughed at the comment and Joshua responded with a smile of his own. "Many of the folks in this town are very superstitious and I use that to my advantage. The less people I tell about where I am going, the better."

As they rode on through the city, Rose was still curious about its history, so she inquired further, "I don't remember hearing about any great war when I was growing up. Did this King James fellow really defend this city from attack?"

Joshua shook his head and answered, "I said that he built this wall to protect from the hordes of Belial, but the armies never came here."

"The king was killed in his sleep as I remember from my limited schooling," Jirah noted. "The Dark One ended the war before it even started."

"It was never proven," Josh responded, "but most believe that the king was poisoned by someone in his household. With the godly king out of the way, Belial was able to use fear and intimidation to keep the people under control."

"What about the great cathedral and the priests?" Rose asked. "Couldn't they do anything to stop it?"

"I am sorry to say that the priesthood also was overtaken by fear. With no great leader to inspire them, they resorted to hiding in the shadows and keeping to themselves. Even the knights of the thorn kept themselves holed up in the cathedral courts away from the trouble in the land."

"As long as the enemy can keep us afraid, then he has won already," Jirah noted. "He doesn't need an army if there is no one to fight against his schemes."

Rose took a moment to think about what Jirah had just said. There were not too many things that scared her, but the few times she was there to see Joshua fight the Taints, she froze in terror. She could fully understand why anyone would be scared out of their wits when it came to Belial and his followers.

"This war will not be won by armies Rose," Joshua said. "We are fighting for the hearts of men and women. Our aim is to help these poor folks overcome the fear that rules them and give them hope for the future."

As Rose looked around at the people roaming the streets of this huge city, she began to understand what the Cleric meant. Everyone around them seemed to be walking around in a daze, with no direction. She could relate because most of her life was lived that way. Until she met Josh and Jirah, she had no purpose in life either. Without the hope of better things to come, life was meaningless. Rose could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of compassion as they made their way past a brothel full of women caught up in the life that she had so recently left behind. If she could just reach out and help one of those poor girls, then she would feel like she was starting to make a real difference. Soon the three travelers reached the center of Jeru and Rose looked up to see their destination. The cathedral of Ya was by far the most beautiful building around and its great steeple rose high into the sky. As they got closer, Rose could see signs of wear and tear such as broken windows, but it still was the most magnificent building she had ever seen.

"It is so sad that such a wonderful place is left nearly empty," Rose said with a frown. She pulled her horse around and followed Jirah in behind the great building and they all were glad to finally get off the horses.

Jirah tied up her horse and came over to take the reins of the other two, saying, "You two go inside and see if Logan is here. I will be right in after I tend to the animals."

Rose took some time to brush the dust from her white dress and shook out her hair. This would be her first time meeting a knight and that made her more than a little nervous.

"Come along Rose," Joshua said with a reassuring smile. "You look fine."

"I was hoping for a little better than just 'fine' brother. I want to make a good first impression."

"You will find that Logan is a very accepting individual," responded Joshua with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "All will be well."

As Rose and Joshua entered the hallway, they could hear a commotion coming from what must be the kitchen. Joshua gestured to Rose to keep quiet and then slowly crept around to see what was going on. The sight was not quite what they expected. There was a young boy, running around in a panic, trying to keep from burning the kitchen down, or so it seemed. Pots were boiling over and a haze of smoke filled the room. The young man nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the stoic cleric coming around the corner.

"Back off mister," the wide-eyed boy exclaimed, all the while waving a long cooking knife in front of him wildly. "The master of this place is a really big guy and he will rip you limb from limb if you try to take anything."

"We are here to see Logan young man," Joshua said in a gentle voice with re-assuring hands extended. "We are his friends. Do you know where the knight is son?"

"He went out shopping and should be back soon," the frantic kid exclaimed. "I was trying to cook up some lunch as a surprise but I ain't doing so good."

Rose came into the kitchen from around the corner and was laughing quietly to herself at the sight of the mess this young boy had created. Jer froze in place at his first glimpse of Rose as she moved in to help him by taking a boiling pot off the stove.

"My name is Rose. What's yours?" The boy just stood there with a blank look on his face. After what seemed like a minute or two, the stunned kid finally shook his head, put down the knife and answered back. "My name is Jerhard, but you can call me Jer for short."

Seeing that Rose had a handle on things in the kitchen, Joshua left them to look into the condition of the cathedral.

As Rose did what she could to save lunch from its inevitable demise, Jer continued to stand like a statue and stare at the tall redhead who had come to save him.

Rose smiled and did what she could to reassure the boy. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jer. I have just recently started learning to cook as well and it's not as easy as it looks."

"You got that right lady," Jer said, finally breaking away from his stare. "It looked so easy when Logan was doing it."

Just then, Jirah also entered the kitchen, shaking her head.

"We may need you to give us a hand for a second sister," Rose said to Jirah. "I think we are in a little over our heads."

At the sight of another woman in the kitchen, Jer now dropped the pot he was holding and froze.

Rose waved her hand in front of his face and said with a laugh, "Jer, this is my cooking teacher."

"It is nice to meet you Jer. My name is Jirah. How about if you just take a seat over by the table. Rose and I will see what we can do about this lunch."

Jer was too stunned at the sudden influx of females in the kitchen to think straight, so he sat down in submission. The young squire watched carefully as the two ladies worked together and soon the smells started changing from strange to savoury. Jirah very quickly noticed that Jer was focusing most of his attention on Rose and she could understand why. Rose was working hard and was getting hot from the heat in the kitchen, so she had loosed a few of the top buttons on her white dress and rolled up her sleeves. The buxom red head was going out of her way to be talkative and friendly with the young man so his attention was fixed on her and would not be torn away by anything. Jirah thought to herself that she would need to remind Rose of the impact she could have on males of the species. The huntress began to ask the boy some questions, hoping to draw his attention back to the cooking rather than the cook.

"So, how long have you been here in the cathedral Jer?"

"Only a few days," he answered quickly. "I kinda just got a job being Logan's squire. He makes me do a bunch'a work around here and I get a warm place to sleep and food to eat."

Jirah was sure that there was more to this story but that answer explained things good enough for now. The ladies were pretty much done with the preparation of lunch and were already cleaning up when Josh entered the room with the master of the house. Rose had just looked up from setting the table and was in the process of tying her long hair back from her flushed face when she first saw Logan. The first thing that she noticed was that he was very tall, nearly a whole head taller than she was. His long hair was chin length, had a slight curl to it and was a sort of dirty blond color. Before Rose could finish looking this handsome man up and down, he introduced himself with a strong and deep voice that seemed to resonate off every window in the building. As he spoke, Roses gaze was immediately drawn to the knights deep blue eyes.

"I am Logan, Knight of the Thorn, and I welcome you all to the cathedral of Ya."

Joshua stepped into the kitchen and made some more formal introductions.

"Logan, you remember Jirah the huntress I am sure." Logan nodded and smiled.

Joshua motioned for Rose to come closer before saying, "This, my good knight, is Rose. Chosen healer of Ya and his holy priestess."

Rose was not one to be shy around men, but this man was different than any she had ever met. She found herself blushing furiously as the gentle giant bent slightly, pulled her hand out and kissed it gently. It was rather unnerving how he then looked directly into her eyes when he spoke to her.

"I am blessed on this day far above any other to meet the answer to my prayers."

It was then that Rose looked down at herself and realized the condition she was in from all of the hurried kitchen work.

"I am glad to meet you," she said quickly and turned away to button up the front of her dress and wipe the glow of sweat from her brow. This was not how she had pictured first meeting a knight of the church.

Sensing how uneasy her sister was, Jirah stepped up to shake the knight's hand.

"Good to see you again Logan. It's been a while but I remember you well." She moved over to shake his hand but he chose rather to give her a firm embrace.

"I was so saddened to hear of your loss dear sister. Justus was a good man and we will miss him."

Jirah smiled slightly back at Logan and said, "Thank you brother."

"There is one very important introduction that I will have to make myself," Logan said. "I would like to introduce you all to my new squire, Jerhard."

The young boy waved shyly as every eye was now on him. "I see that you have met Jirah and Rose already Jer, so all that is left is for you to meet the Holy Cleric of Ya. This is Joshua, and I will need you to show this man the same respect that you are to show me, perhaps better."

Jer slowly approached the gray robed man, doing everything he could to avoid looking into his glowing white eyes.

"I am not going to bite you boy." the Cleric said firmly but gentle. "Come over here and let me see you up close."

Jer came up close to Joshua with his head still bowed down and the Holy man gently placed his hand on the back of the boy's head. "Bless you my son. I can feel that you have a great strength inside you but also a very mischievous nature."

Jer shuddered slightly at Joshua's touch and quickly returned to the table to sit down. With all of the introductions out of the way, the new friends all sat down around the large table and began to eat some lunch. The conversation around the table was only between Logan and Joshua as the Cleric informed the knight of what had happened over the last few weeks. Joshua was careful to leave out any details about where he had found Rose and the state that she was in. She would tell her full story if and when she was ready. Rose was very grateful to Joshua for using his discretion and it made her appreciate the Cleric all the more. One thing she could tell for sure as she listened to the man talking was the loyalty and honour of the great warrior. Joshua had not even asked him to go with them on the quest to retrieve the Staff of Ramah, yet she was sure that he would be going with them from this day forward.

***

Chapter 16

When lunch was finally finished and the ragtag group of friends were finally getting comfortable with each other, Logan got up to clean up the kitchen. The big man insisted that he and his squire clean up the whole mess by themselves since the ladies had done most of the cooking. Rose watched and smiled to see Logan, who was now just wearing a thin cotton shirt and leather pants, working in the kitchen like he was slaying a mortal enemy. His rippling muscles and popping veins showed quite clearly that the knight was in great physical shape. Her attention was torn away by Jirah, who placed a hand on her chin so she could talk to her face to face.

"Can I pry you away for a second from the kitchen and have a talk with you dear?" Rose shook her head slightly and tore herself away, embarrassed for having been caught staring. She followed the huntress to one of the side rooms, but her mind was still set on the image of the tall, blond muscular man that was doing dishes one room over.

"I just want to give you a bit of a warning about our young squire over there." Jirah started with a serious look on her face. "He was quite distracted from the glimpses he was getting from your, shall we say, physical attributes."

Rose was more than a little embarrassed to hear that she may be causing a problem with her physical appearance and actually started to get emotional hearing about it.

"I'm so sorry Jirah," she said with a shaky voice. "Believe me, I know what kind of impact my body can have on men, but I have been really trying hard to be a respectable woman like you are." Now the young woman began to cry openly and Jirah quickly moved over to hold her in consolation.

"No damage has been done at all dear. I am sorry that I made you cry because that is not what I intended at all. I know that you have been trying to move away from your old way of living. I just wanted to give you a sisterly warning is all." The two ladies smiled at each other with warmth and sat down on a nearby bench to continue the conversation.

"Is it wrong for men to be attracted to me Jirah? If it is Ya that made me this way, then how can it be such a bad thing? Sometimes it seems like no matter what I do, men are going to think dirty thoughts about me."

"That is not entirely true Rose. Let me explain it to you like my husband always said. He told me that the creator made all things for us to marvel at, and part of his creation is the way men and women look. There is nothing wrong with appreciating something that Ya has made, the problem comes when we want to use that creation for something other than the creator intended it for. Sexuality between a man and a woman should be about what a committed couple can give to each other, not about what they can get for themselves."

"So you are saying that if I do my part to not be overly sensual, then the rest of the matter is up to those around me. That makes sense I guess."

"I really don't want you to feel guilty for being a pretty woman my dear. You spent many of your days using your body as a tool to make money. With a little help from friends, you can learn to use your body as an instrument of healing and peace."

That statement really struck a chord deep within Rose. She was quickly reminded of what Joshua has said to her when he first saw her in the white dress he had bought. He had said she was a 'Testament to Ya, creator of all things beautiful.' Now that statement made sense to her, along with what her dear friend had just said.

"I think I know what I must do," Rose said with a resolute voice. "I will no longer be ashamed of who I am because the Eternal Ya has made me this way, but I will also keep in mind that I should never use my beauty to get what I want."

The two close friends hugged each other warmly and sat there for a moment in the quiet, brushing each other's tears away.

"You really think that I am a respectable woman?" Jirah asked with her crooked grin. With that, they both had a good laugh, got up to go see what everyone else was up to.

While the ladies were bonding in one part of the cathedral, the holy Cleric of Ya had made his way to the main altar to pray. The man who was first called Gaost, and who had been called many names since, slowly got to his knees and spoke in whispers to the god who had been his constant companion for countless years. No other living person could fully understand the relationship that he had with the mighty creator of Terros. No other man or woman had felt the white hot power coursing through their mortal bodies only to blast out in a blazing fury of destruction. This great power and responsibility was the reason for Gaost's disciplined prayer life. So much had been given to him by the master, and he did not take any of that for granted. He prayed without ceasing for nearly half an hour before finally being joined at the altar by the massive figure of Logan. The big man found his own place to kneel and was soon muttering soft words under his breath. After a short time, when both men had finished conversing with their god, they got up and Logan was the first to speak.

"It has been too long since I have prayed with the holy Gaost at my side. I have missed you dear brother."

"I am sure that I have missed you even more," the cleric answered with a rare smile on his face. "I have spent many lonely days wandering this ungodly land and most of the time I feel like I am the only created being that still worships Ya."

"I feel much the same living the capital city brother. The city that King James made great has long since forgotten what being great truly is."

"Well then, it is good that we are once again together. I came here to get your help Logan."

"You need only to ask and I will do whatever you need. You know that."

"Now that we have the chosen one with us, I go to retrieve the Staff of Ramah from where the dark one hid it so many years ago. We will need your swords if we hope to succeed."

Logan had a serious look on his face and did not answer right away. After a moment he spoke again in a rather uneasy voice, "I may not be fit to go on this holy quest with you."

Joshua was at a loss to figure out what this dedicated man would do to make him unfit for duty, so he asked, "Whatever you have done can be forgiven you son. There is no spot too dark that Ya cannot cleanse, you should know that."

"That I know, and I came here this night to clean the slate as it were, but I fear that if I make this trip with you, there will be temptation in front of me that I cannot bear." Logan covered his face and bowed down in shame. Whatever this temptation was, it seemed to be tearing him apart inside.

"I need you to tell me what problem is Logan, or I cannot help you. It must be a great thing because I have never seen you so shaken up."

"I am ashamed to admit to you that I find myself attracted to Rose. She is the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen and I feel like a little stable boy whenever I am in her presence."

Joshua scratched at his patchy beard to cover the smile that was forming on his face.

"What can I do overcome this shame brother?" Logan said with a slight crack in his voice.

Joshua could see that this was a very serious matter for the knight so he took a bit of time to form his words carefully.

"First I have a question Logan. Have you kept lust in your mind for Rose?"

"No brother! I would never do such a thing. She is very attractive though and I am finding too much that I like how she looks."

"This may come as a revelation to you my son, but I feel that you are doing nothing wrong." Joshua could tell by the puzzled look on Logan's face that he had some more explaining to do. "Answer me this question then son. How come Rose is such a beautiful woman?"

"She is what she is because the Eternal Ya has made her with his hands. All that Ya made is beautiful. It is the enemy that turns things ugly."

"Why would it be wrong then for you to think that something Ya made beautiful is attractive? It is a natural thing for a man to find a woman pretty. They were made that way on purpose." Logan still looked a little confused so Joshua continued to explain. "Would it surprise you to hear that I too find Rose to be a very beautiful woman?" The big knight remained silent in thought as Joshua got up to give one last word of wisdom. "Take some time to pray a bit more my son and think about it. Whenever you notice a pretty woman, praise Ya for his glorious creation and get on with your day. Don't dwell on it and you will be fine." Joshua gently patted the big man on the shoulder and left him alone to work things out for himself.

Rose and Jirah returned from their heart to heart talk to find that the kitchen was already clean and the dishes had been all put away on the neatly stacked shelves. Both of the ladies were more than a little impressed at how a man of the knighthood took such care in even the menial tasks of life. They were about to leave the room in search of the others when they noticed the small figure of Jer, stirring on the long wooden bench that ran along the wall. The young squire quickly sat up when he discovered that someone was entering the room and said in a nervous voice, "I was just checking to see if something had fallen under the table. Nothin' there I guess." As he got up, he was rubbing his eyes with his knuckles and anyone who was observant enough, could see that the tired young boy had just woken up from a nap.

"It's ok with us if you were sleeping Jer," Rose said with a smile. "We won't get you in trouble with Logan."

With a sigh of relief the boy sat down again to relax for a minute. "I gotta tell ya lady, that Logan guy has been working me pretty hard. I have only been livin' here for a week or so and I have never been this tired in all my life."

"Why don't you go and lie down in your bed for a little while son," Jirah suggested, getting the nervous boy's attention. "Could you show us where we will be sleeping first? We want to clean up and bring in some of our clothes for cleaning."

"Sure thing lady," Jer said, slowly stretching out his sore limbs and getting to his feet. "Just follow me."

Rose and Jirah followed the boy down the vast halls and into what must be the living quarters. It took them a few minutes to arrive at their rooms and Jer told them little stories the whole way. The ladies looked at each other and grinned, understanding full well that this young man must talk too much when he was nervous. Rose hoped that in time, the boy would not act so strange around her. Jer showed them where his room was, and also noted that Logan's room was right across from his. There were rooms set aside for Jirah and Joshua right beside those two, but for some reason, Rose was given a very large room at the end of the hallway.

"Logan said that this room is for you," Jer said to Rose, venturing a quick look into her green eyes. "He said something 'bout you bein' a chosen one or somethin'. Hope you like it lady."

Rose smiled at the boys attempt to be polite with her and was tempted to give him a kiss on the forehead for being so sweet, but she chose rather to simply say, "Thank you Jer."

Now that they all knew where the rooms were, Jer quickly went into his and closed the door behind him.

"It will take a bit of work," Jirah said, "but I'm sure we can make a gentleman out of that boy yet."

"Would it be wrong of me to have a quick bath Jirah?" Rose asked as she moved over to open the door to her room.

"Go right ahead dear, I think that I will have one too. How about you get the bath ready and I will go and get our stuff from the horse packs. You no doubt will have a private bath tub in that big room of yours, so I will leave your things on your bed."

"Thank you sister, I am starting to feel a little spoiled."

"Enjoy it while you can. I am fairly sure that there will be few moments like this on the road ahead. Make sure that you lock the door behind you when you bathe too. Some young boy may just try and get a peek if you don't."

Rose frowned, not really wanting that to happen. "Good advice, thanks again Jirah." With that, the two ladies parted, both with the hope of soon soaking in a warm, relaxing bath.

***

Chapter 17

It was a simple thing for a boy of Jerhard's size and skill to slip quietly out his bedroom window without being seen. Logan had been keeping him very busy with his new duties, but that never had stopped him from getting out and roaming the city whenever he had the chance. Having a job was a good thing in one way, but the street kid missed the freedom that he used to have to go wherever, whenever he pleased. Jer was quite adept at avoiding the watchful eye of soldiers and merchants; in fact, Logan was the first person who had ever caught him in the act of stealing. A life of secrecy and crime was all he had known for so long and the choices before him now were making things difficult in his mind. Part of him wanted to believe that he could stay working for Logan as a squire and maybe even become a noble warrior some day, but the restrictions of that type of life were already starting to cramp his free and easy spirit. At any rate, he had slipped out today to check in with his first boss, Willy the Rogue. Willy was the man who had taught him everything he knew about avoiding detection, sleight of hand and general thievery and the old cutpurse would for sure be wondering where he had been this last week. For the last few years, Willy had been losing his sight, and was nearly totally blind now, so Jer felt a need to bring food and money to the old guy. There had been many opportunities for Jer to join some of the other crime gangs in the city, but Willy had been like more of a father to him than a mentor. The old crook would often beat him, but Jer usually deserved it, and the young boy was sure that most fathers must whip their kids anyways. The young thief made is way in and out of back alleys and in very little time he arrived at the dingy little basement room that Willy called home. As far as he could see, no one was watching him, so Jer carefully opened the door and entered his old hideout. Another thing that was weighing heavily on his mind was the rather persistent image of an alluring red-headed woman. He had grown up really fast while living on the streets of a big city, and he already knew much about the ways of men and women for such a young boy, but this was the first time that he had ever felt so weird around a woman. The minute he had laid eyes on Rose, thoughts of her had taken over his mind in a flurry. She was quite simply the most beautiful lady he had ever seen, and she was so kind to him too. To top it all off, now he had to deal with this nagging suspicion that there was a god out there who knew about him. Logan was always talking about Ya and how great he was. His simple life was getting way too confusing and he really hoped that ol' Willy would know what to do about it.

"Where have you been you rotten little weasel?"

Jer was always real careful to not make any noise, but the sly old thief always seemed to be able to hear him. "Hey Willy, something has come up and I gotta talk to you about what I should do."

"Come closer boy and let me give you a hug," Willy said in his scratchy voice. "I missed you."

Jer knew better than to trust that statement. Willy had never given him a hug ever and would be sure to give him a swift rap on the noggin with his cane if he got too close.

"I put some food here on the table and a bit of cash if you need," the little thief said as he carefully stayed just out of Willy's reach. "I kinda found myself a new job and I want to know what you think."

"You already have a job boy, answer my question. Where have you been?"

Jer took a few seconds to form his answer, not wanting to upset his old mentor further. "I really do appreciate all that you have done for me Willy, but now I have a chance at a different job. It's a legit one too."

There was another short silence as the rogue considered what the boy had just said.

"There is a knight that lives in the old cathedral in town, and he sorta hired me on as a squire."

"So, now that you have a real job you are just gonna leave the old man to starve? Is that it?" Willy did not seem very pleased, but Jer noticed a slight hint of sadness in his voice.

"Well, you do have other new prospects working for you now, so I just figured that it may be a good time to move up in the world. I still was gonna bring you stuff once in a while. It ain't like I'm gonna forget about where I came from."

"You want me to give you my blessing? Is that it boy?" There was an obvious crack in his elder's voice this time and Jer stepped back a little more, just in case the hard cane could reach his head from where he was standing. "Answer me this Weasel. Are you gonna forget all the things that I taught you when you become a big shot? Was it all a big waste teaching you to pick a lock and move around without being seen?"

Standing in the presence of his teacher still stirred up strong feelings in Jer, but those feelings stood in strong contrast to the way Logan had been treating him. Willy had always controlled him with the treat of a beating, while the knight had never once raised a hand to hurt him. It was in this very moment that Jer now made his decision to get off the streets and begin a new life with Logan.

"I will always remember the things you have taught me Willy," Jer said, bravely stepping closer to his former boss. "I guess I just wanted to come and say thank you. I didn't want to leave without telling you what happened to me."

Willy nodded in resolution, as if realizing that this day would come eventually. Slowly, the aging bandit got to his feet and moved to open a cupboard at the far side of the room. He took out a small bundle from the top shelf and turned to place it on the table in front of him.

"You are the best thief that I have ever trained boy. You have skills that almost match my own, so don't forget how to use them." Willy again sat down in his creaky rocking chair and a wrinkly frown grew on his pale face. "I want you to take these and carry them with you, so you don't forget old Willy eh?" The sad man gestured to the bundle that he had just set on the table.

Jer moved forward and carefully opened the bundle to reveal a bright silver dagger, small enough to fit in the top of a boot, and a steel lock pick set.

"Thanks Willy, I know what this means to you." No more words were said between the two because neither of them was very good at saying goodbye. Jer neatly slipped the dagger into the top of his boot, tucked his new lock picks into the hidden pocket on his left sleeve, and softly stepped out into the deserted street. In his heart, he hoped that he would see Willy the Rogue again someday, but he could not help but feel a sense of promise for better days to come. No sound could be heard as the lithe young thief crept from shadow to shadow, making his way back to the cathedral.

While the Holy Cleric of Ya was praying in the once grand temple in Jeru, another man in the capital city was praying to an altogether different entity. Malak stood before a bloodstained altar muttering dark curses against the Creator Ya and all those who would follow him. Robed all in black and with a long sharp dagger raised high above his head, the priest of Belial never once looked down to the terrified young slave girl that lay bound before him. His network of spies had recently seen that his enemy arrived in Jeru and was staying at the cathedral with two strange women. One of the women in particular was robed all in white, so Malak was now preparing to spill the blood necessary for gaining an audience with the almighty Belial. Surely his master would know that the enemies were in the city, but he needed further instruction before taking action against them. He was aware taking a stand against the eternal man Gaost would be useless for one of his power, but he did not want to miss this chance to gain favour with the Dark One. Long being bereft of compassion, he finished his prayer of invitation and deftly dropped the blade into the waiting sacrifice. As the long cry of pain died out, the shimmering figure of the Fallen One rose up high before the now penitent priest and called out,

"Speak Malak."

Knowing that he had very little time to speak with his master in this way, Malak kept his words short. "Master, Gaost has arrived in Jeru with two women, one who looks to be of special interest. What would you have me do?"

"It is good that you called out to me my priest. The special one that you speak of is the so-called chosen one of Ya. A power has awaked in her that works as a shield against my mind. Bane has twice failed to kill this white robed witch but she must be killed at any cost."

"I would kill her for you master. How would you have me do it?" Malak was all too eager to do his master's bidding if it involved the taking of an innocent life.

"Don't be such a fool. She is no doubt guarded by the Cleric and that foolish knight who haunts the crumbling cathedral of my enemy." Belial answered in a booming voice that shook the whole room. "I would have you spread rumours and lies about this woman and those who protect her. Set the people of Jeru against her using their superstitions and fears. When they leave the city, follow them wherever they go and do the same thing, understand?"

"Yes master, I understand fully," Malak said with an evil grin. "I will do what I can to disrupt them every step of their journey."

"That mindless Cleric hopes to recover the cursed staff of healing that I hid so many years ago. I am sure of it. Slow them down and allow Bane the time he needs to gather his small army." The Dark One's voice was already beginning to fade so Malak spoke his last words quickly. "It will be done as you wish master. All hail Belial!"

As the innocent young girl on the altar drew her last breath, the presence of Belial finally faded away, leaving Malak alone, rubbing his hand together in eagerness. The forces of evil had long held sway in the land and the dark priest was not about to let Gaost turn the tide. He quickly washed up and set out to stir the hapless people of Jeru into an angry mob.

Rose was still drying herself from the long luxurious bath when a soft knock on the door startled her. "Who is it?" she asked, absently rubbing the ugly scar on her left shoulder.

"It's me, dear," spoke the voice of Jirah. "Can I come in?"

Rose moved over to unlock the door, and continued to dry herself in front of the mirror. "You smell good Jirah. We were both beginning to smell too much like horses for my liking."

Jirah was once again wearing her tight leather hunting clothes and had her straight black hair tied back in a long ponytail. She had a very athletic build which served her well when hunting and tracking. She had never seen the pretty red head unclothed however, so Jirah was more than a little shocked to see the many scars that marked Rose's frame.

"Oh dear," Jirah said in a sympathetic voice. "What have they done to you?" The caring widow moved over to the young girl and gently touched one of the large scars that stretched across her back.

Rose shrugged and answered simply, "This is what happens to all the girls in my profession. Some men are not seeking simply the pleasure of a woman, but rather someone to have power over."

"Do they hurt?"

"Just this one," Rose said, again rubbing the deep scar on her left shoulder. "A particularly mean soldier stuck a dagger right into the bone here."

A small tear fell on Jirah's cheek as she helped Rose get into some new traveling clothes they had found in her room. "You must remember dear, you are no longer in that profession. You are meant to be a healer."

"Old habits die hard I guess. I am so glad to have a good sister like you to remind me. For so long, these scars have been who I am."

"Who you are on the inside is what matters to the Creator," Jirah affirmed. "I am glad for that, because then beauty can be found in an old gal like me too."

"Old gal?" Rose laughed. "Don't sell yourself short sister. If I could get you into a pretty dress, I'm sure you could turn the head of any man."

Jirah shook her head and answered sheepishly, "I have worn a dress only one time in my life, and that was on my wedding day. Besides, Ya did not bless me with curves like he did with you. I will stick to wearing practical clothes for now."

"For now," Rose responded with a mischievous grin. "I will get you into a dress again someday." Both ladies laughed heartily as Rose finished buttoning up the white blouse that Jirah had picked for her. She really loved her white dress and would be sure to take it wherever they traveled, but she did not want to soil it either. With Jirah's help, all the tangles were soon brushed out of Rose's long wavy red hair and the two unlikely soul mates left the room, arm in arm.

"It is about time for supper," Jirah said. "How about we cook up something special for the boys tonight?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Logan and Jer do well enough in the kitchen, but they are no match for the likes of us."

***

Chapter 18

It did not take long for the males to appear in the cathedral kitchen, once the smell from the ladies cooking had wafted through the corridors. Jer was the first to poke his head around the corner and he was soon hovering over the steaming pots, dipping his fingers in for a taste test.

"Hands off son," Jirah said, gently rapping Jer's hand away with a wooden spoon. "You will get to eat soon enough."

The young thief quickly moved over to sit and wait at the dinner table. No less than a minute later, Joshua and Logan also made an appearance in the kitchen and Jer was quick to warn them. "You guys better just come and sit down if you wanna stay out of trouble." The two men heeded the words of the young squire and quickly sat down beside him to wait.

"Thank you ladies for taking the time to cook supper," Logan said with sincerity. "This is a pleasant surprise." The Knight and the Cleric spoke quietly to one another as the ladies continued preparing the meal and Jer simply sat there, staring at Rose once again. Rose could feel his young eyes looking at her so she quickly looked down to make sure that her shirt was covering everything it should be.

Jirah softly placed a hand on Roses shoulder, as if to reassure her that she was doing nothing wrong, then she asked the young boy, "So where did you slip off to this afternoon Jer?"

The look of shock on the boy's face made everyone in the room smile, except for the big knight, who now had a stern look on his face.

"Yes Jer," Logan said firmly. "Where did you go this afternoon?"

With all eyes now on him, Jer was very nervous and he wondered how much he should tell them.

"Don't be too harsh on the boy," Joshua said with a rare smile on his face. "He did come back after all."

Rose now moved over to gently brush the young man's hair in reassurance and said, "It's ok dear. We are your friends now. You can tell us everything and we will love you all the same."

With that touch, and those words, there was a stirring in the heart of the young thief. He felt a deep compulsion to tell this enchanting woman every secret that he had ever kept. He did not know why, but he knew that he could trust her completely.

"I went to say goodbye to an old friend. Willy the Rogue was my mentor on the street." Jirah brought the food to the table and they all began to eat while Jer continued with his confession. "He took me in when I was little, gave me a bed to sleep in and food to eat."

"So he must be like a father to you Jer." Logan said between mouthfuls

"Sorta," Jer answered back while chewing on a mouthful of potatoes. "I worked for him, you know, stealin' stuff. If I came back to the den with enough loot, then he wouldn't beat me." Jer continued eating his food calmly, like getting beat up was a normal thing.

Rose again felt compassion for the street kid, looked directly in his eyes and said, "It is not normal to be treated that way Jer."

Jer shrugged his shoulders and went on eating like a ravenous wolf. If all the care and concern being given to him was reaching his heart, he was not about to show it right now.

"I am glad that you shared that truth with us Jerhard," Logan spoke while patting his young squire on the back. "Choosing to stay with me will grant you many more opportunities than your former life of crime would, and you have also shown a great strength of character in showing loyalty to this Willy fellow."

After a few minutes of silence, it was Joshua that spoke a final word on the subject. "Everyone in this room has done something that they regret. Lucky for us, we serve a god who can heal and restore. The scars may remain, but the soul can be cleansed."

For the rest of the meal, the unlikely group ate without exchanging a word as they let what Joshua had said soak in. Once the dinner was complete, it was Logan who broke their meditation by rising from the table and asking his young squire to help him with the clean up again. Jer jumped up to the task, and many thanks were given to the cooks before Joshua spoke up to gain the groups attention.

"I think that it is high time for some full disclosure regarding why I have brought you all together. You listen up too Jer. I have a feeling that Ya has brought you into our lives for a reason."

"Go ahead boss," the smiling young squire said. "I can wash dishes and listen at the same time." They all smiled at Jer's youthful sense of humour and then looked to the Cleric to hear what he had to say.

"I have much to tell and you are sure to have many questions. I will answer them all in due time, but for now I need you all just to listen, agreed?"

Everyone nodded their agreement and Joshua continued, "The Eternal Ya created the whole world that we live in, but before Terros came to be, he created the Shining Ones. These spirit beings were made to worship Ya and serve as his helpers, but one of these special creatures was placed in charge of all the others. Belial was the most beautiful and powerful of all the Shining Ones, but he was not content in his role. When Ya created mankind to inhabit the new world, Belial assumed that he would be given these new creations to rule over as well, but he was mistaken. Ya gave the inhabitants of this new world a will of their own to choose between good and evil. Belial was angered greatly and rebelled against Ya, so the Creator cast the lord of the Shining Ones from his presence. A good number of the Shining Ones joined Belial in his rebellion and as a result, they, along with their new master became the cursed beings we now know as Taints. The Fallen One, with the help of his evil helpers, sought to spread fear and destruction among the peoples of Terros. If he could not rule them in power, then he would do all he could to set them against the Creator. As I said already, Ya had given the people of Terros a will to chose for themselves, but that did not mean he would leave them without a champion. It was then that Ya called me forth to wage war against the Taints and he granted me the power needed to destroy them. My true name is Gaost and you may as well refer to me by that name from now on. I am through with hiding behind other names. Anyways, I did what I could to fight off the fallen creatures wherever my path took me, but Belial fought back with powers I could not counter. Disease and pestilence was spreading fast among the people and I had been given only the power to destroy. Day and night I prayed to Ya for help and in time, he chose to call another helper into his service. I will not tell you the whole story now, but suffice it to say, Ya called a woman named Yeshu to be a powerful healer. Wielding the staff of Ramah, formed by the hands of Ya himself, Yeshu spread healing and love wherever she went. I traveled with her of course, as a protection against the Taints who attacked us at every turn and it looked as though we were winning against Belial's evil efforts. I regret to admit that I became over confident at that time and embarked on a journey to seek the dwelling place of the Fallen One himself. I left Yeshu alone in the small town of Throan, where she married and was raising a small family. One day, while Yeshu's husband and young daughter were at the market, Bane himself found her and killed her in cold blood. He stole the Staff of Ramah and carried it away to his evil master. It was weeks later when I arrived back in Throan to find that Yeshu's husband had killed himself when he found his dear wife bleeding on the floor of their home. A loving couple in the town had taken in the young daughter of Yeshu and I did check in on her once in a while but I took the loss of the healer very badly. I spent many years angry at Ya for allowing such a tragedy to happen and lived in seclusion, hidden away from the trouble of the world. In time, Ya called out to me again to raise me up from my self-pity and anger. He told me that in time, he would bring forth another healer from the family of Yeshu who could once again channel his healing power in the world. So from that time forth, I have had two tasks. I have searched the world over to find the hiding place of the Staff, and I have followed the decedents of Yeshu in anticipation of the promised healer. Finally a time has come when I have found both of these things."

Gaost stopped for a moment and looked at the faces of all those in the room one at a time to see if all this history was being understood. He spoke again, "History lesson is over. Questions anyone?"

"Why would the Fallen One not just destroy the staff?" Logan asked. "Why would he hide something so powerful?"

"Even Ya himself cannot unmake something that has been created," Gaost said shaking his head. "If Belial tried to destroy it, then he would surely be destroyed himself." Another long silence follow as the small group considered all that the Cleric had told.

"You say that you have found where the Staff is hidden," Jirah stated. "How did you find out where it was?"

"It took many years of searching, but once I understood that Belial fears its power, I began to look in places far away from his dwelling in the spire of ruin. One thing that made seeking the staff so hard was my continued commitment to protecting the descendants of Yeshu. I had to keep constant watch over your family Rose because the enemy has been watching them too."

All of this information was too much for the young woman to take in all at once so she sat without responding. She had so many questions that needed answers, but they would have to wait for another time or the emotion that was welling up in her heart would pour out like a flood.

"Now we should discuss our plans for the future," Gaost said resolutely. "As soon as possible, we must set out to retrieve the Staff of Ramah from the Isle of Shadow. All of you should understand fully that there is much danger involved in this quest. I will not force the matter on any of you, but if we are to succeed, all of us must go; even you Jer."

Without hesitation, Logan was the first to respond to the Cleric's challenge. "I will go. I have been praying long and hard for many years for this day to come. Know this Rose. You will have my sword with you every step of this journey and with the help of Ya, we will prevail."

"Rose, you are like a sister to me already, even if we have only known each other for a short time," Jirah affirmed, clasping the young woman's hand. "I will go with you wherever Gaost leads."

Rose smiled slightly at the widow's kind words but still said nothing.

"I have been running from trouble my whole life," Jer said with a shrug. "I don't wanna end up alone in a dark basement like Willy, so I will go wherever my new boss wants to go."

Logan smiled broadly and firmly clapped his big hand on the young squires back. "I really don't think that a little guy like me can do all that much, but I will do what I can."

"Your size matters not Jer," Goast said with firmness. "Ya will use anyone who is committed to his cause.

Now all eyes turned to Rose. Her thoughts were swirling around like a torrent in her head. A few short weeks ago, she was a worthless whore, left alone to die in a dank prison cell. Now the fate of the whole world was resting on her trembling shoulders. Looking out to her new friends and seeing their smiling faces, Rose was reminded of the time she had first prayed. Ya had forgiven her so much, and on the day of that first prayer, she had determined in her heart to become an agent of forgiveness and healing. With a newfound boldness in her heart, she stood to her feet and said with a resolute voice, "Wherever Ya sends me, I will go"

With that proclamation from the Chosen One, all of the newly committed companions got up to hold the young woman in a warm embrace.

***

Chapter 19

The moment of celebration was cut short by a loud crashing sound that echoed from the front door of the cathedral. Startled into action, they all ran to the entrance to have a look, with the big knight taking the lead. It was Logan's regular practice to bar all the doors leading in to the building and that was very fortunate, for when they arrived at the source of the noise, another loud crash reverberated on the wooden beams. Angry voices could now be heard coming from the street outside and Logan slid open a peep hole to see what was going on.

"Give us the witch with the red hair," one gruff male voice exclaimed. "Send her out or we will burn this place to the ground!" Logan did not answer back but quickly locked up the big wooden doors as best as he could.

"How many are there?" Goast asked quickly

"There are at least 40 angry men out there with torches and assorted weapons," Logan answered with lines of worry forming on his face.

"Ladies," Gaost spoke now with urgency, "Go quickly and gather all that you can for supplies. It looks like we will have to slip out the back and start our journey sooner than expected."

"The door should hold for a while, but all of us should gather our packs quickly and meet at the back door," Jirah said sternly.

"Agreed," Gaost said quickly and they all dispersed swiftly to their rooms. In a few short minutes, they had all gathered near the back entrance with packs ready and stern faces. Jer helped Logan with the last few tie straps on his armour and once he was ready, the big knight was the first out the back door.

"Are we taking the horses?" Jirah asked Gaost.

"I think we better leave them behind. I want to move from here without being seen and the horses will make that next to impossible."

"If it is sneakiness you need boss, then I can help in that department," Jer said with a mischievous grin. "I can get us out of here without being seen."

"Lead on then Jer, we will follow you."

"Wait here for a sec and I will scout ahead." The boy was gone around the corner in moments.

The remainder of the group waited in the dark stable behind the cathedral without saying a word to each other. The angry shouts and the clanging of makeshift weapons still echoed through the air and it made all the companions very nervous. Without any warning, a dark figure jumped out from behind Rose and grabbed her, pulling her thick red hair with one hand, and holding a long wicked looking dagger against her throat with the other. Logan's swords were ringing in an instant along with the drawing of Jirah's bow.

"Don't do anything stupid or the witch dies right here," the would-be assassin hissed through his teeth.

"You cannot succeed in your task Malak," Logan said with firmness. "Let her go, for I do not wish to kill you."

"You stupid fool of a knight. There is nothing you can do about it," the wicked looking man said, slowly backing away from the stable, his knife now making little cuts along Rose's throat. "I have been serving Belial for years in this town, right under your nose. Jeru belongs to my master now and there is nothing you can do about it." The evil priest of Belial fully intended to drag Rose back to the dark altar in his basement in order to spill her blood before the Fallen One, but he never counted on Jer. To everyone's surprise, the little thief jumped out of the shadows behind Malak and drove his silver dagger into the man's lower back. Malak's face contorted and he writhed in pain, yet no scream came out of his open mouth. The young thief let him drop with a soft thump as yanked out the deadly knife and bent down to wipe it off on the grass. Rose turned to clasp the boy firmly to her, still trembling in fright. All the others put their weapons away and quickly moved over to console the terrified young woman, thanking Jer in quiet whispers as they came.

"That was a close call," Gaost said in a whisper. "Thank you Jer. It would be best if you could lead us out of here as quickly and quietly as possible."

The boy simply nodded and waved for them to follow. They followed Jer carefully through many back alleys and dark streets, stopping when he stopped, and staying close together. Jirah had moved over to walk next to Rose and held her hand in comfort as the crept along in the middle of the group. The only sound coming from the group was the occasional creak of Logan's armour at the rear of the party. After a quarter hour of sneaking through Jeru's underbelly, Jer stopped them all at what seemed to be an abandoned building that butted up against the outer wall of the city. He gestured for them to come in close and whispered, "There is a secret door in this place that leads out through the wall. I am the only one who knows it's here as far as I know, but we should be on the lookout just the same."

They all agreed and continued to follow the able young boy through the house. There was no light at all in the building, so all they had to follow was the sounds of Jer's shuffling feet, but in very little time, a small door opened to reveal the outside of the city. The moon was nearly at full and its light shone through the quiet woods surrounding Jeru. Everyone took a quick glance around them to see if they would be discovered, but no one was there.

"Thank you Jer," Logan said, brushing the boy's hair with a large gloved hand. "You have proven yourself to be very useful already."

"Yes, I would agree son," Jirah said. "You nearly scared the life out of me when you popped out from behind that dark priest."

Gaost nodded in agreement to all the encouraging words and asked, "How is it that Malak did not cry out loudly when you stabbed him?"

"I really hate doing that," Jer said with a grimace on his face. "I have only done it a few times before, just to save my life you know? If you stab right into the kidneys at a certain point, then the bad guy gets sorta frozen and can't scream."

Rose could tell that the boy was rather shaken by the whole incident so she did her best to reassure him. "Well I am sure glad that you happened along Jer. You did what you had to too save me and for that I am in your debt."

Jer blushed furiously as both of the women now kissed him, one on either cheek.

"We are all in your debt Jerhard," Gaost said in agreement. "Now we should be moving on. Logan, you can take the lead."

"I start every journey with prayer holy one. Would you like to pray or shall I?"

"Go right ahead," Gaost said, sounding somewhat impatiently. "Just make it a quick one please. We are not out of trouble quite yet."

The knight dropped to one knee, held both his hands open and closed his eyes before offering his prayer to Ya. "Holy and Eternal Ya, thou hast set before us a long and perilous journey. We dare not undertake such a quest on our own strength, so we look to thee for thy help and guidance. Bless and protect thy servants and grant us thy strength to face the enemy with brave hearts. Amen." The big man slapped his metal clad right hand firmly against his chest plate and rose up with a bright look in his eyes.

"Well said brother," Gaost said. "Let's start walking and I will explain to the others the route we are taking as we walk."

The massive knight started off with Rose directly behind him, followed by Jirah. Gaost walked to the rear and Jer, still a little restless, chose to rather scout all around the party.

"We are staying off the road then I assume?" Jirah asked.

"We must assume that the enemy has eyes everywhere, so we will stay off of the well traveled routes," Gaost said "Logan has told me that he knows of an alternate route westward that bypasses the fens."

"Do not the fens run northward right to the great cliffs?" Jirah asked. "I have never even heard of so much as a goat trail that goes around the north side."

"Very true sister," Logan answered back. "The mighty wall of James runs from the north right down to the great cliffs. There is however, a cave that the knights of the thorn have used for many years. It was built secretly into the wall right where it connects to the escarpment, and leads down into the edge of Murken wood. I have taken it a few times over the years when I go to visit my family in Marah."

They walked along at a brisk pace to keep up with the long strides of the big man, but Jer was not one to walk on a straight path. The energetic young boy crossed the group often, moving in and out of the bushes that lined the trail.

"Don't wander too far off son," Jirah said with a worried face. "There are most likely creatures in this area that you have never had to contend with."

"Sorry lady," Jer said with a sheepish grin. "I have never really been in the woods before. I just wanna see what's out there."

"You can call me Jirah son, besides; my heart skips a beat every time you pop out of nowhere right in front of me."

"Alright, sorry Jirah," the boy said, a pout forming on his lips.

Jer walked along with the huntress for a while after that, asking her many questions about animals, hunting and tracking. Having never left the capital city, the boy was fascinated to hear Jirah tell all her tales of finding and killing the wild beasts that roamed in the wild.

"I remember hearing stories about bears and wolves," the orphan said. "Is it true that they will tear a man apart?"

"I have never been attacked by a bear myself. They are just as afraid of us as we are of them. Wolves are another story though because they always travel in packs. They do not hunt people as far as I can tell, but I try to stay away from them all the same. To answer your question though, yes, most wild animals with sharp teeth and claws can tear you apart."

Now Jer walked just a little closer to the huntress. If there were animals out there that could rip him apart, he wanted to be close to the one person that knew how to kill them.

"Have you ever been attacked by somethin' Jirah?"

"Not very often Jer, most of the time I kill them with my bow before they even know I am there. You are not the only person who can sneak around without being detected."

The young thief smiled at that remark and the unlikely pair continued to walk together for at least an hour discussing various subjects.

Rose was delighted to hear the two sharing all of their trade secrets with each other. It would be obvious to any observer that Jirah would have made a great mother and it made Rose wonder why Jirah never had a child of her own.

"We will not reach the south section of the wall for another hour or two," Logan turned to inform them. "Shall we continue on or find a place to sleep here for the night?"

"There seems to be no one following us," Goast answered back, "but I would like to continue on just the same."

Rose nodded in agreement and said, "I don't think I could sleep right now anyway. I am still restless from being nearly killed tonight."

"Onward it is then," Logan stated quickly, and then the big knight turned to continue leading them down the rocky path. The sparse forest that they had been walking through since leaving the capital was now changing into a rocky open area. Soon there were no trees and only the occasional shrub growing in the cracks of the dark grey shale that was making the walk a little more difficult. Rose lost her footing more than a few times and with every slip, Logan would turn to make sure she was alright. One time, when she had fallen squarely on her behind, the knight turned and held out of his big hands to help her up, making her blush slightly. Rose chided herself quietly for feeling so out of place around the gallant man. Each time he would help her, it made her slightly embarrassed, but she also found herself growing fond of his gentle touch.

The towering wall was now coming into sight ahead of the group when Jirah called out in a fierce whisper, "Shhh! Nobody move."

"What is it?" Jer said, his head darting back and forth to see what was out there.

"Nothing dangerous, I don't want to scare away our lunch for tomorrow."

Jer crept closer to Jirah and looked in the direction that she was pointing her notched arrow. A large bird, only slightly smaller than the little thief, was slowly pecking his way along an outcrop of rocks that stuck out just 20 feet away from them.

"What the heck is that?" Jer asked eyes wide with excitement.

"Just a wild turkey son so you can put your dagger away. Just watch and learn." They all stood quietly to watch the skilled huntress as she let the arrow fly. In seconds, the big bird was flapping wildly on its back with an arrow protruding from its head.

"Nice shot!" Jer said with excitement as he ran over to claim the prized turkey. "That was the coolest thing that I have ever seen!" Now everyone was smiling, to see the wide-eyed kid having so much fun.

"Yes. Well done my sister," Logan said. "Your skill with the bow far exceeds my own training."

"It is not that hard to hit a target that is just standing there," Jirah said, slightly embarrassed at all the attention.

"All the same, I think I would have you train the boy on his bowmanship rather than myself, if you would agree to this of course."

"Please Jirah," the boy was now pleading. "Will you teach me how to shoot like you?"

"Of course son," Jirah responded, taking the big bird out of Jer's hands. "I will be more than happy to train you."

"I suppose that I will have to learn how to cook that poor animal now too?" Rose asked, raising one eyebrow."

"Of course dear," Jirah said with a smile. "It will hang for the night, and we can roast it over the fire in the morning."

Logan turned again to lead the group along the rocky path that soon got them to the base of the long stone wall. He stopped at a large section of flat stone, right at the base a tall tower and drew out one of his swords. Looking up at the tower, Rose could tell that this was a building of some sort. Windows lined the parapet, but as far a she could see, there was no door that would grant them entrance.

"How do we get in this place Logan," Rose asked. "Please tell me that we will not be climbing up."

"There is a secret entrance, as you will soon see." Logan slowly raised the hilt of one of his swords up to his face, with the tip pointing to the sky and muttered a quiet prayer. To everyone's surprise, there appeared in the smooth wall, a small notch, just big enough to fit the sword that Logan had in his hands. He slid the blade into the opening and a faint click could be heard, followed by the shifting of a stone door that now opened wide in front of them.

"Even if someone stole this blade, they would not know the prayer needed to access the lock. We will be very safe in here."

Everyone gathered up their things and walked through the stone opening and once they were in, Logan pulled a small lever on the inside to close the entrance behind them.

"You may light a fire in the hearth Jer," the knight instructed his squire.

"Sure thing boss," the boy said rubbing his eyes. They stood in a large room that was dimly lit from the faint moonlight creeping through the windows in the high stone wall. As the fire began to crackle in the hearth, its light shone brightly to reveal more of the guard house. Wooden cots were placed in neat rows to one end of the room, and a small dining area sat next to the fireplace. There was a long winding staircase that seemed to lead up to the top of the parapet, and a second door that lead to the passage Logan had told them about.

"Not a very fancy place to stay, but that is to be expected from the knights of the thorn," Jirah said, hanging the wild turkey out of a high staircase window.

"No knights were ever stationed here on a permanent basis," Logan replied. "This was meant to be a place to hide out or just get out of the cold and rain."

"It will serve our purposed very well," Gaost said. "We can all have a good sleep tonight free from the worry of intruders." It did not take very long for them all to settle on a cot and drift off to sleep as the fire cast it's warmth through the bleak stone room.

***

Chapter 20

Rose awoke the next morning to the sounds of Logan plucking the feathers off the great bird that Jirah had killed the evening before. She got up quietly, so as not to wake the others, and moved over to sit beside the big man.

"Have you been up very long?" she asked

"Just an hour or so; Good morning Rose. You slept well I hope?"

"Yes, I had a great sleep and I have not had any nightmares for a while now."

Logan nodded and continued at his labour without responding. The great man was a good listener as far as Rose could tell, so she continued to share her feelings. "For so much of my life, my sleep had been haunted by images of those horrible Taints, I wonder why the bad dreams have stopped."

"Could it be because of your newfound bond with the one who has called you to be his healer?"

"I think you may be right Logan. Ever since I gave myself over to the will of Ya, there has been a strange sort of contentment in my heart. On one hand, I am terrified of the task set before me, but at the same time I know I can do whatever he has asked me to do. Does that make any sense?"

Logan turned and gently grasped the hand of Rose before responding, "That makes all the sense in the world Rose. I have found it true in my life, that Ya will not set a task before me that is beyond my capabilities, as long as I trust him to be my strength."

Rose squeezed the knight's hand firmly, as if to thank him for the encouraging words.

"I must confess Logan, I have a hard time seeing you in need of anyone's help," Rose said, looking into the knight's deep blue eyes. "You may be the strongest and most confident man I have ever met."

Logan shook his head and responded with a grave voice, "I am haunted too Rose. I live with the regret of being far away when assassins came to kill nearly everyone in the cathedral of Jeru." He began to shake at the thought in spite of how much time had passed since the incident he spoke of.

Rose let go of Logan's hand and placed both of hers now on the face of the sad knight. She forced him to look directly at her and told him in a firm voice, "You must let that regret go Logan. Ya cannot give you peace in your heart until you make room for it."

The words that Rose spoke were simple, but what happened in that moment was far beyond normal. Tears began to well up in the warrior's eyes and he felt a peculiar warming sensation surging from the hands of this kind young woman. Her hands tingled on his face and bit by bit, he could feel the regret seeping from his heart. Big tears began to flow as Rose offered up a short, quiet prayer for the broken man. Her words were a whisper, too quiet for anyone to hear, but the results of her intercession were felt immediately. Where once there was pain and regret, there came an overwhelming feeling of peace and contentment. Once the sensation of the event started to dissipate, Rose withdrew her hands from Logan's face, her eyes wide with surprise at what had just occurred between them.

"How did you do that?" Logan asked her, getting to his feet. A rustling sound in the room behind them revealed the presence of Gaost, who had most likely seen what had just taken place.

"It would seem that our healer can already work wonders, even without the Staff of Ramah," Gaost interjected. "She did the same thing to me Logan. In fact, I think we are only just now beginning to see small bits of what Ya's priestess can do."

"I really do not know how I did that," Rose said, shaking her head. "I was just acting on impulse."

The young woman got to her feet and Logan immediately reached out with both of his long, strong arms to hold Rose in a long embrace. He whispered in her ear, "Thank you sister."

"Glad to help Logan. You had a part to play as well you know."

Logan raised one eyebrow and gave her a questioning look.

"She is right, friend," Gaost said. "You had to let go of what was rotting away your spirit before any healing could be done. Rose just seems to make it easier to let the pain go."

"I do not know why, but I felt like I could tell you everything about me Rose. Your touch made me feel safe." Rose's face was now nearly the same shade of red as her lustrous hair.

"What's going on?" Jirah asked, finally getting up from her cot and stretching out her sore limbs. "I get the feeling that I just missed something."

"I can fill you in later Jirah," Rose told her. "Now that you are awake, you can show me what to do with this massive chicken you killed."

Jirah moved over to the kitchen area and the ladies were soon roasting the wild bird over the fire and preparing a breakfast at the same time. Logan had to shake Jer a few times to wake him up, but before long, they were all breaking the nights fast with bacon, toasted bread and dried fruit. The small stone room filled with warmth and laughter as the companions took turns sharing funny stories that they knew. After all the serious discussions from prior evenings, it was relaxing to have such a light hearted conversation. Once the meal was done and everything in the small room was cleaned, they packed up their belongings and readied themselves for the days walk.

"When do we get to eat the turkey Jirah killed?" Jer asked.

"Are you still hungry son?" Jirah asked, socking Jer on the shoulder and laughing. "We will have some for lunch and supper. Do you think you can wait that long?"

Jer drooped his little shoulders and seemed very disappointed when he spoke, "Aw, I wanted to try some last night even. I ain't never had turkey before."

"You will just have to wait a little more my dear," Rose said, patting the boy on the head. The boy grumbled a little, but his disappointment was soon turned to glee as Jirah handed him a fairly big piece of cooked meat to snack on as they walked.

Logan grabbed one of the lit torches from the stone wall, opened the passage door, and they followed him down into the dark corridor.

Rose chose to walk close behind the knight so she could talk with the big blond man. He was still such an enigma to her and she wanted to know how he had become such a noble person. In her limited experience, men had always reduced themselves to animals when they were in her company.

"So what made you decide to be a Knight of the Thorn Logan?" Rose asked as they walked.

"It was not so obvious a choice as it might seem on the surface Rose. I grew up on a farm that was fairly isolated from the rest of the world and when I was young, my family had never even heard of the Eternal Ya."

The passage ahead of them was just wide enough for them to walk side by side, albeit very closely, so Rose moved up to walk beside the big man as he continued his story.

"We lived on the outskirts of the little town of Marah, a town that was mostly overrun by gangs of wicked men. My father and I would only go to town when there was great need because there was always the chance of being taken as a slave. Young boys and girls were often taken by these gangs to be sold in the port town of Goram, so the folks from that area lived in constant fear."

"That kinda stuff happens in Jeru too," Jer interjected, obviously listening in to the conversation. "Young kids that lived on the street would disappear all the time."

Rose knew exactly what slavery was all about. In her young life, she had seen many little girls taken from the alleys of Sharron, never to be seen again. She nodded in understanding and let Logan continue.

"One day, when I was nearing the age of manhood, my father and I encountered Gaost for the first time. He had run into some trouble with one of the gangs in town and had just escaped with his life. My parents, who were always kind to strangers, took him in and nursed him back to health. It was in those days that we all began to understand the ways of Ya as Goast took the time to teach us. He told me stories about the Knights of the Thorn and it became my greatest desire to one day be one of those gallant men."

"You are the first gallant man that I have ever met," Rose said, "aside from Goast that is."

"The world is in a sad state, truly," the knight said, shaking his head. "I am finding more and more that it all comes down to choices. A man will choose to live with honour, or without."

The passage began narrowing in front of them and soon Rose was unable to walk beside the knight. As she moved in behind him, she responded to his bold statement about honour. "What about people who have big decisions made for them Logan? I can't really say that I agree with you on that point."

"I think the same Logan," the young thief now spoke. "My mom and dad died when I was really young. I did whatever I had to too get food, and if that meant stealing, then that's what I did."

Logan shook his head and replied in a calm voice, "You both make a good point, and I will concede that many people have very limited opportunities to do what is good, but I still say that one can choose to do good rather than bad."

Rose did not respond to the knight's last statement for fear of divulging more information about her past. Only Goast and Jirah knew of her former life and she was not ready for the godly man to hear of all the sins she had committed during her life.

"Well I sorta did make the right choice when you gave me one, right Logan?" Jer asked of his new mentor.

"Very true Jerhard. When the opportunity came, you took up the challenge like a man. You should be proud of that."

Logan's word had obviously left the young thief feeling better about his place in the group, but Rose found herself feeling rather flustered. Her attraction for the big man was growing every day, but now she saw that her past would be the one thing that may keep them apart. How would he react when he found out that she had spent the majority of her young life selling herself to evil men for pleasure? Logan could tell from Rose's silence that he may have said something that upset her, but he was not sure, so he and Jer continued along the narrowing passageway together, talking about life in Jeru, and various other things. Rose moved closer to the back of the line, not by choice, but Gaost moved ahead of her to join Logan and Jer's conversation.

After many hours of trudging slowly along the descending cave trail, it was Jirah who finally called for them to stop. "I don't know about you guys, but I need something to eat."

Everyone seemed to agree with the sentiment, because they all quickly stopped walking and soon there was the smell of roasted turkey in the air. They were all glad for the break but they soon got back on their feet to plod down the seemingly endless passage.

"We will be into the open air within the hour," Logan stated.

The group's spirits were lifted at the thought of finally getting out from the dank cave.

"That's good to know," Jirah said to the knight. "I am beginning to feel closed in by these rock walls." The huntress had spent most of her life outdoors and all the others could see that she was nervous about being under the mountain rather than on top of it.

Logan picked up the pace and the group soon arrived at another stone door. The bright light of the sun overhead was a welcome sight but they were all most glad to breathe in the fresh air of the forest that lay before them.

"We will travel westward now and stay under the cover of the forest for at least a few days journey," Goast said. "I suspect that the enemy will have lost track of us because he can no longer find us with his mind."

"Belial can locate us with his mind?" Rose asked. "That must be why there have been bad guys after us every place we go."

"The Dark One uses his network of Taints to gather information from everywhere in the world, but till now, he has also had the ability to find us with his mind alone."

"What has changed?" Logan asked.

"In my prayers this morning, Ya told me that Rose has gained a newfound ability to act as a shield against the mind of Belial, so if we stay out of the reach of his minions, then we should be able to move without detection."

"That makes sense I guess," Rose responded. "Ever since I gave my heart over to the Creator, I haven't had any nightmares. It is disturbing to finally realize that I have been haunted by Belial for most of my life."

"We are all glad for you dear," Jirah said to her young friend. "Belial is the last creature that I want invading my mind."

"It should be noted that the enemy does know exactly where we are headed," Logan stated. "We should still be wary of his schemes."

"I am, as ever, always looking over my shoulder for those who would destroy me and hinder our efforts," Goast replied with a stern voice. "Good advice Logan."

Jirah took over the duty of leading the party through the thick woods. They wound in and out of the massive trees and around the thick underbrush that lined the forest floor. There was an eerie calmness about the daunting forest and the travelers spoke seldom for fear of alerting the wildlife that was sure to inhabit this domain. Rose stumbled on the rough ground every so often because she kept darting her gaze to and fro. She was sure that she had seen dark figures of unknown black beasts wandering among the trees around them, but she also knew that Jirah must be aware of any possible threats. A chill shot down her spine when she heard an ominous howl from what seem to be right behind her.

"Come to me quickly everyone!" Logan shouted. "It looks like we have company." Rose quickly moved over to the big knight who had already drawn his swords and Jirah stepped in beside them just as quick, her bow drawn and ready.

***

Chapter 21

Emily Katherine had no idea where she was being taken to, but she knew that wherever it was, it must be a bad place. She had spent what must be three days in this rolling cage, but she was already aching in every part of her body. The pain that coursed through her small frame was nothing however to the pain that throbbed in her heart. She could still see images in her mind of these evil captors killing her dear mother in cold blood right before her eyes. She would never forget the things the monsters did, but she could understand why her mother had fought back so hard. Though Emily had not known her father, she had never once doubted the great love that her mother had for her, and as a result, the proud lady had fought back with the tenacity that only a mother could have mustered. Would she still be alive if she had given in to the slavers and come along quietly? Emily would never know the answer to that question, but she was sure of one thing, she would do everything in her power to escape. She owed her mother that much at least. She looked around her small cage to the other people who were locked up with her and could see no life left in any of their eyes. All heads were bowed in the resignation that their lives were over and only death awaited them. Emily shook her head as if to shrug off the air of defeat that hung thick like a cloud and once again worked at pulling her little hands free of the iron shackles that were clasped tightly around each wrist. She cried out with a sharp scream, as one of the dirt faced men poked her hard in the ribs with his long staff.

"None of that slave," the ugly man barked. "If I see you trying to escape, I will beat you to a pulp."

Emily still had some fight left in her so she answered back glibly, "You won't get much of a price if you mess up the merchandise will you?"

"Where you are going, no one cares how you look. I don't want any back-talk from you either, or I will come in there and do a lot more than just beat you. Understand?"

Emily knew full well what that meant, so she closed her mouth tight. From now on, she would have to be as sneaky as possible when it came to getting her hands free. As bad luck would have it, the slaver that had seen her escape efforts kept a watchful eye on her for the rest of the day, so she chose rather to close her eyes and attempt to sleep. The newly orphaned girl cried in silence, dozing fitfully as the prison cart bumped along down the rough road.

***

Rose was shaking in terror as she clung desperately to Logan, her eyes following the movement of the pitch black beasts that were emerging from the trees all around them.

"I will keep you safe sister," the knight said to her, "but you will have to let go of my sword arm if I am to do any damage to these foul creatures."

Rose quickly let go of Logan's arm and chose rather to get a hold on Jer, who was also trembling at the sight of the wolf pack. Arrows were already snapping off from Jirah's bow and with each shot, a black beast would fall to its death. In minutes the angry pack of snarling wolves were running around them in a circle and gaining momentum for an attack. Each one stood at least three feet high except for a very large one that seemed to be the pack's leader. To everyone's surprise, the vile beast spoke to them in a deep, menacing tone.

"You think to hide from me in the darkness of this forest Gaost? You are a bigger fool than I thought."

Not one to be shaken easily, the Cleric answered back, "I see you have resorted to inhabiting the wild beasts now Belial. It must frustrate you terribly to have lost your mind's eye."

"That weak woman you call a priestess may have set me back for a moment, but there is no escape from me Cleric," Belial growled back. "I have eyes everywhere and today these wild beasts will feast on her soft flesh."

The thought of ravenous wolves tearing at her body made Rose shudder with terror even more and she dropped to her knees, still holding Jer close to her in protection.

The threat given by the Fallen One did not scare the stoic Knight of the Thorn though. Rather it spurred his massive swords into action, and with a loud shout of defiance, Logan was soon hacking the beasts all around him into ribbons. Seeing that the big man was their biggest threat, all of the wolves quickly moved in to attack Logan in rush.

Rose shifted her worry from her own safety and held her breath at the thought of losing this gallant man.

Jer looked up to her serious face to see her eyes closed in prayer and her lips moving lightly in a soft whisper. He looked around to see Gaost and Jirah moving in around Logan to do what they could to offer protection, but there was little they could do to help with the weapons they had. The young boy looked over to the knight and was filled with awe as he watched the big man in action. He had never seen a man with skills like Logan possessed. It was a terrible sight to behold the spraying of so much blood and he plugged his ears at the sickening sounds the swords made as they crunched the bones of the vile beasts. Jer thought his eyes may be playing tricks on him, because the mighty blades of Logan were beginning to glow slightly. All questions of the strange phenomena were soon answered as the shiny steel burst with a brilliant white light.

Logan stopped swinging for only a moment to consider what was happening, then continued his flurry of swings, pressing in closer to the massive wolf inhabited by the mind of Belial. The remainder of the fight seemed to move forward in slow motion as each deft stroke from the two-sided edges dealt a killing blow. With an agonizing scream, Logan dropped one glowing blade straight down onto the head of the giant black wolf and cleaved it in half from top to bottom. The handful of smaller animals remaining, froze in place at the sight of this great swing. The light emanating from Logan's swords burst out from his entire body, and the stunned companions covered their eyes at its brilliance.

A moment later, the air was calm, and everyone looked up quickly to see the great man standing alone in the center of the tree grove with only the charred remains of the angry pack laying at his feet.

"Logan!" Rose cried out in worry as she rushed over to the tottering man.

Jirah came with her and the two ladies did what they could to help him sit down against a tree to recover.

"That was amazing!" Jer exclaimed. "I never knew that a knight could do those kinda things." The big man was still catching his breath so he did nothing but shake his head in response.

"I am confident that Logan has never wielded glowing swords before this attack Jer," Goast answered. "Once again the prayers of our dear Rose have turned the tide against the enemy."

"I never even saw what happened," Rose said in response. "I had my eyes closed the whole time."

Jirah, who was moving throughout the area recovering arrows, explained what she had seen. "It was the same great white light that burst from Gaost when we were attacked in the fens."

"I have never felt the mighty power of Ya in that way before," Logan interjected. "I felt as if I could march on the gates of Belial's mighty tower and raze it to the ground."

No more words were spoken amongst the group for a good number of minutes as they all considered what had just happened.

The mind of Rose was confronted with a troubling reality. When she prayed to Ya in a time great of need, amazing things could take place. She had moved away from being a powerless slave to being a mighty conduit of the Eternal Ya himself. She did not want to take this type of power for granted and she considered how important it would be for her in the future to be careful in her prayers.

It was Gaost who finally broke the silence. "When you are feeling up to it, we must move on Logan."

"I am strong enough to travel brother, I just needed a moment to gather my thoughts and offer a prayer of thanks to Ya."

With that, the shaken group gathered up their things and followed Jirah as she led them on through the forest.

***

Emily was getting very frustrated with her present situation. She was a young vivacious girl and did not like being locked up. All of her life so far, she had been the kind of kid that would not sit still, other than for meal times. She remembered that her mother would say things like, "Come sit and talk with me a minute before you run off again." She fought back the tears that were forming in her eyes at the thought of the women who now only existed in her memory; thanks to these wicked men. She had stopped trying to escape from her shackles because her wrists were beginning to bleed, but she could get no rest either. Every time she dozed off, the hideous slave trader that rode along beside the cart would poke her in the ribs just to be mean. If only she had not done so much growing over the last year, she would have been able to slip away quite easily. Becoming a woman was not really something she was looking forward too because she was trading in her athletic frame for a more shapely version of herself. Some of the comments from the boys at home had made her feel dirty and worthless and they were met with a swift kick to the shins or a punch on the arm. Growing up was a part of life, but she did not have to like it. Now that she was on her own, the fire in her spirit was all she had for comfort and she was determined to stay strong against whatever tried to douse that fire.

Off in the distance she saw that the rolling caravan was approaching the small town of Marah; a place she had only visited a few times in her life. No one there would help her, she thought in frustration.

As they rolled through the square, the residents of Marah turned their eyes away from the sight of the slave caravan. They cared very little for the people trapped inside the cage, or were choosing not to show any concern in fear they too would be taken away. All was quiet in the little town, save for one lone voice that cried out as the caravan turned a corner by a building that must have once been a quaint little church.

"Woe to you servants of Belial," the voice screamed out. "You have sold your soul to the one that destroys and you will meet your end when the Eternal Ya brings forth his servant to judge you!"

Emily looked over to so see a ragged man, dressed in a dull brown robe, standing in front of the half burnt building with his boney finger pointing towards the slavers. His head was covered with a large hood that covered most of his face, but the long grey beard hanging from his chin gave evidence to the fact that he was elderly.

"You'll shut your mouth old man if you know what's good for you," one of the slavers responded with a growl.

"I fear not the hand of Belial," the strange man answered back with a toothless grin and laughed. "I have given myself to the Eternal One. Ya will protect me from you hapless fools!"

The man's cackling laughter cut through the air and it sent a shiver down Emily's spine. She considered that this old man must either be crazy, or have a death wish, because the wicked men who held her captive were soon moving over to silence the man's taunts with their weapons drawn. There was a menacing shout and the ugly slaver that had been taunting Emily for days rushed in with his sword held high above his head. To everyone's amazement, the ugly brute bounced off what seemed like an invisible barrier surrounding the old man. All four of the traders tried their best to strike a blow and kill the heckling codger but none of them found their mark. The impervious man just stood there and laughed with his high pitched cackle and continued to mock them.

"It would seem that Ya is still greater than Belial, you cursed servants of the Fallen One."

Emily could not help the smile that came to her face at the sight, but she quickly covered her mouth to hide her reaction.

The traders were completely shaken by the miraculous barrier they faced, so they stumbled quickly back to the caravan and continued through the town. Emily could hear them muttering to each other something about continuing forward right through this cursed village rather than stopping and as they rolled along. She began to ponder about this Ya the old man spoke of. It was a name she had never heard while growing up, but what she had just seen was more than enough evidence for her to start forming a belief in this deity.

She took one last glance back to the elder, and she could see a beaconing in eyes. It was as if he was trying to comfort her with that penetrating gaze. She quickly turned away and closed her eyes, but there was a small light of truth welling up in her soul. Maybe there is an Eternal Ya, a divine being that could save her from the certain death she faced. Her dry, cracked lips started to form pleading whispers, asking Ya to reach out and save her. It was worth a try, she thought, because no one else was here to be her saviour.

***

Chapter 22

Only two days had passed since Rose and the companions faced the pack of Belial's wolves, and she was already starting to be weary of walking in this thick forest. In fact, Jirah seemed to be the only one of them that was at home in the Murken Woods. Even the adventurous spirit of Jer was beginning to wane and complaints of sore feet and bug bites became a common topic of discussion.

"If one more branch whips me in the face, I'm gonna take Jirah's axe and chop down every tree in this stupid forest!"

"If you would walk farther behind like I told you Jer, you would not have that problem," Jirah responded with her typical smirk.

The young thief was having a hard time fighting the boredom they all faced from the endless jaunt through the wilderness.

"I keep forgetting J. How much longer are we gonna have to skulk around in here? Are we gonna reach a town anytime soon?"

"We are getting close to Marah, my home town," Logan answered, "But we will not be going there as far as I know."

The small openings in the high canopy of dense trees revealed that the time must be around noon and Gaost was the next to admit that he was tired of walking. "You are not the only one that is weary from walking on this uneven ground Jer. Maybe now would be a good time to stop for lunch anyway."

"You will feel much better once we get some meat into that bottomless pit you call a stomach," Jirah teased. "Let us take a break then I guess."

Logan ordered the young squire to gather dry branches for a small fire, and in very little time, some freshly killed pheasants were roasting over it, casting a delightful smell into the air. Rose was sitting quietly on a moss covered log and thinking of nothing in particular when she felt a strange urging in her mind. Something or someone was compelling her to find a secluded place to pray, so she gathered up the water skins and told the others that she was going to look for fresh water.

"Looking at the lay of the land, there should be a small stream just over there a ways," Jirah told her. "If you take too long, I will come looking for you dear."

"I will be careful sister," Rose said smiling, and she made her way over to the area Jirah had pointed out. Sure enough, there was a small stream of fresh water just shouting distance from where the others were preparing lunch and Rose bent down to fill the water skins with the fresh cool liquid. When she was finished, she rose up, brushed the grass from her leather pants and took some time to look around her before starting a conversation with her new god. She was more than a little startled when a small red fox crept out from behind a large cedar tree to stare directly at her. She could tell very quickly though, that the beast meant her no harm, so she looked at in awe as it moved closer to her. Its bright red hair was nearly the same fiery color as her curly locks and part of her was tempted to reach out and stroke it fur, but she chose rather to stand still. She did not want to scare this beautiful creature off, so she spoke to it in a dulcet tone.

"You are a gorgeous little thing aren't you?" Rose noticed a bright light in the fox's eyes and for some reason she did not jump when a voice spoke into her mind. It was as if the fox was speaking to her.

"All that I have made is beautiful because I have willed it. That includes you too my daughter." It was the voice of Ya himself.

Rose knew in an instant that she was speaking to the Eternal One, and rather than feeling dread, she felt a deep and abiding love.

"I guess I should thank you for all you have done over the last few days," Rose spoke, bowing her head slightly. "Without your help, we may all be dead. What shall I call you?"

"You may call me Father, for you truly are my daughter." Ya spoke with such kindness into her mind that she could feel all her pains ebbing away.

"Father." Rose spoke the word as a prayer, but also as a declaration. She had never known her earthly father, but Ya was her one true father. She understood that fully now, and the thought overwhelmed her soul with gladness. In her heart where there once was a hole, there was a fullness of peace instead. The contentment she felt amazed her, so she took this rare opportunity to worship Ya in all his splendour.

"Thank you Father for all you have done in my life. I am grateful for all the help you have given, but more than that, I am glad that you have chosen me to be your daughter."

"I have always loved you this way, and I love all of my children just the same. I have called you here today for a specific reason however."

"What would you have me do Father?"

"I want you and your faithful companions to head south into the region surrounding Marah and rescue a young girl there. A small group of slave traders have taken her captive and I have heard her cries for help."

"How will we know where to find her Father?"

"I will show you and my servant Gaost the way. As always, I will be with you every step of the way."

Rose simply nodded in agreement and just as quickly as it came, the fox disappeared into the thick woods.

With a deep sigh, Rose took a moment to gather her thoughts before heading back to the others. It was moments like these that gave her strength to keep moving forward on this perilous quest and she wanted to take it all in. When she did arrive back at the campsite a few minutes later, she right away went over to the Cleric to tell him of what had transpired.

"You have a look about you Rose." Gaost said inquiringly. "Your time of prayer was more than typical I suspect?"

"How did you know?" Rose asked. She had not said anything to the group about taking the time to pray.

"There is a faint glow surrounding your face whenever you encounter Ya my dear," Gaost said, scratching his scruffy grey beard. "I take it we have been given some type of instruction?"

Rose felt a little strange being the messenger in this case, because it was usually the Cleric getting the directions from Ya.

"I don't know why He chose me brother, and I feel rather weird telling you something that you should have heard instead of me."

"Do not feel like my role is diminishing in any way because of what happened. I am glad that you have grown to the point where you can hear the Father's voice and learn his will. Tell me, what did he say?"

"He wants us to take a bit of a detour and go to Logan's old stomping grounds. I guess there is a small group of slavers in the area that have taken a particular girl."

"Did you get any other details?" Gaost asked

"That's all I know. I didn't even get a name."

Logan, who had heard the entire conversation, spoke, "I have a pretty good idea where these slavers might be. They take the same route back and forth from Goram when they pass Marah. It should not be too hard to find them."

"I hate those rotten slavers." Jirah spoke as she came over.

"Agreed," Logan said with firmness. "I for one do not have to be convinced to deal with their kind."

"We will change our course then and head towards Marah," Gaost said firmly. "Do you know the way from here Jirah?"

"I will have a good idea where we are once we get out of the woods," Jirah answered. "Logan will be able to help too, I'm sure."

"I would suggest we stop in at my parent's farm for at least a night," Logan said, "and I am sure that I can find someone who can tell us whether the slave caravan has passed through."

It only took a few short hours for the travelers to reach the edge of Murken wood and the sun was still in the sky above the western skyline, warming their hearts. Walking through the open plains and crossing the rolling hills was a welcome change for everyone after spending so many days under the cover of thick trees. Rose found her spirit lifting when they began to see the occasional farmstead and the cattle roaming the countryside. This place made her wonder what it would have been like for Logan to grow up in such a secluded farming region, so she moved closer to the big man to talk.

"This is a beautiful part of Terros Logan. Did you like living here? I would never have thought of you as a farm boy."

"I am sad to admit that I never really appreciated the value of this place until I moved away to the big city. When I was young, all I wanted to do was move away from here and see the great big world."

"Could it be that Ya was calling you to a higher purpose Logan?" Rose gently placed her hand in his.

The big man tightened his big arm muscles ever so slightly at the touch, but he soon relaxed and held Rose's little hand tenderly.

"Again you speak wisdom beyond your years," he said with a big bright grin. "It may very well be that I would still be a farm boy rather than a knight of the thorn if Ya had not put a yearning in my heart for more."

The two of them walked on this way through the high grass and wild flowers and anyone watching them from a distance would understand that this man and woman cared deeply for each other. In her heart, Rose simply wanted to draw closer to this man; gain in return some of his passion for Ya and learn more of his past. There was a secret little fear inside her heart still that made her wonder if such a dedicated knight would like her at all if he knew of her past.

Logan continued with his dialogue about farming and growing up near Marah, and Rose listened intently, only speaking when he asked her a question. To her surprise, when they had just crested one of the rolling hills in their path, the bright red fox she had seen in the forest only hours ago ran across the path in front of them. Rose's heart leaped at the sight and she took it as a sign. Maybe now was the time to tell Logan everything about herself. It was with this newfound confidence she finally spoke.

"I have something I need to tell you Logan." She spoke looking right into his deep blue eyes, tightening her grip on his hand. "I want you to know the truth about where I came from and what kind of life I lived before meeting Gaost." Rose started then to tell the full story of her life, right from her earliest memory. She looked away from his kind face, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable, but she also was trying her best to not cry.

Logan did not ask her any questions or interrupt her rather, he listened very carefully to every word she spoke. When Rose shared stories of the abuse and shame, he would make small sighs, as if he was feeling the pain himself, but mostly he just listened. Rose continued to share for what felt like hours when it was actually only one, but Ya seemed to be making time itself stand still for her. The red sun was just starting to set over the western landscape in front of them when Rose finally looked back to the face of Logan. Great tears were welling up in his eyes and compassion exuded from his kind face and he too turned to look directly at her. Not knowing what to do, Rose quickly bowed her head as if to hide from the great emotion that was igniting this precious moment. Ever so tenderly, another big hand touched her chin and pulled her gaze back up to his and they both stopped walking. There was a crack in the big man's voice as he spoke, but the words were nothing less than pure love itself.

"My dear Rose, you are the perfect picture of grace." He gingerly put his big strong arms around her shaking frame and held her close. Rose began to weep openly, but with each tear that fell on the knight's chest, she could feel a little more of her past disgrace seeping away. She was wrong to think that this gentle man would be anything other than forgiving and kind to one such as her. Reluctantly, the two separated from the tender embrace and they once again joined hands to walk with the others.

"Thank you for sharing your life with me dear sister," Logan said. "My only regret is that you never thought me ready to hear your story sooner. I admit that one of my biggest faults is a lack of compassion for those who have never know Ya most of their life like I have."

"I understand Logan," Rose said with a warm smile. "I care so much about what you think of me, so I was too scared until this moment."

They walked on together in quiet for just a moment longer before Rose asked him, "What exactly is grace Logan? How am I the perfect picture of grace?"

"I am just now beginning to understand what grace truly is Rose," he answered. "To put it simply, the love of Ya is greater than all of our sins and shame. In your life you have seen so much that is negative, but Ya can take all of that and turn it into something he can use. Does that make any sense?"

Rose thought about it, and then responded, "I think I see what you are saying. I was once a worthless being in the eyes of everyone around me. Ya saw me not for who I was, but for who I could become."

"Exactly my dear," Logan said, his handsome face now beaming. "When I see you, I will never see the woman you once were. I will only see the woman that Ya is changing you into. I see his fingerprints in your life, as it were."

Rose sighed deeply with contentment as she heard those last words. It meant the world to have this compassionate man at her side, and there was no enemy that could stand in her way, as long as he was close. The two walked on together in silence for the remainder of the evening, still holding hands and only occasionally daring a quick glance into each other's eyes.

***

Chapter 23

The farm village of Marah was the saddest sight Rose had seen in a long while. She could tell that it once must have been a quaint little farm village, but it looked so run down now.

"What happened to make this place so miserable Logan?" Rose asked, no longer holding the big man's hand but still walking close to him.

"Marah is right in the path of the main slaving route to Goram," Logan answered. "For years now the servants of Belial have been taking our children away to be sacrificed on his vile altar. Everyone has either moved away, or been taken."

"The only people here now are either too old to bother with, or crazy," Jirah interjected. "I'm sure that there is still a pub in town though and if we ask around, maybe we can find out when the last caravan went through."

It did not take long for the group to find the local tavern because it was the only building that had any activity surrounding it.

"I will go in and see if anyone knows about the slave caravan," Jirah instructed.

"Good idea," Logan noted. "These locals will probably not talk to a white eyed Cleric or an armour clad knight."

"I'm gonna look around this town if that's ok," Jer said, curious as ever.

"Go ahead Jer, just stay out of trouble," Logan instructed. "Keep your hands out of other people's pockets too."

"Logan!" the little thief responded with a sly grin. "I wouldn't think of it."

"Somehow I don't really believe that boy," Gaost said as he watched the Jerhard slip away around a corner.

"He'll be fine I'm sure," Rose said. "He can take care of himself."

A good number of men were coming and going from the taverns in various states of drunkenness and for the most part they simply ignored the group of travelers, but one man in particular came out and took immediate notice of Rose.

"Now there is a sight for my hungry eyes," the filthy man said moving closer to Rose. "Have you come back to old Billy for some good lovin' Red?" The vile man came in behind Rose and gave her a sharp smack on her behind, making her jump in surprise.

In seconds, the iron gauntlet of Logan's right hand was tightly gripped around the drunkard's throat.

"You are mistaken friend," Logan said in a calm yet menacing voice. "I am going to let go of your neck and you are going to leave us alone. Understood?"

Once the big knight let go of the man's neck, he fell to the ground and stumbled away with wide eyes of fear.

"Sorry Rose," Logan said with a frown. "Perverts make me angry."

Rose smiled slightly and answered her new defender, "That's alright brother. It is nice to have someone around that looks out for me. Just don't kill everyone that looks funny at me, ok?"

They only had to wait a few minutes more and Jirah came out with her head shaking and told them, "None of these letches are sober enough to remember their names let alone give up information about the slave caravan."

"Is there anyone in town that can help us?" Rose asked. "Someone who is not so drunk?"

"I seem to remember there being a priest of Ya that lived here at one time," Logan answered. "Looking at the state of the temple, I am not so sure."

They all looked to where the knight was pointing to see a charred building on the main street.

Moments later, the small figure of Jer popped in behind Jirah and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke up. "There is a crazy old guy just down the alley over here that may know something."

"You have got to stop jumping out at me like that son," Jirah said, socking the boy firmly on his shoulder.

"Sorry J," he said with a grin. "Old habits die hard I guess."

"Show us were this old man is Jer," Goast said, smiling at the relationship that was building between the huntress and the orphan boy.

"Follow me," Jer said quickly and he was off down the street in a flash. They passed many abandoned houses on their way through the deserted streets and arrived at the entrance to a rickety little shack with an old man sitting on the front step. When the elderly man saw the group approaching, he smiled a big, toothless grin and looked directly at Rose when he spoke.

"My eyes have seen the glory of Ya's promised healer! Praise to the Eternal One."

Rose reached over to the dear old man with her right hand and gently touched his cheek as she offered up a blessing. "May our heavenly Father strengthen your body and soul my dear brother."

The aging priest blushed slightly and he bowed his robed head to receive the blessing, then he responded to the group in a calm voice, "Ya has sent you to me for my help, and I am humbled to be of service after so many years of waiting in the darkness."

"It has been too long since we last prayed together Elius," Gaost said, moving over to take the arm of the weary priest. "Please have a seat while we ask you some questions."

Rose took a seat right next to the man, still feeling the need to give him some of her strength so she put an arm around him in support.

"We are looking for the slave caravan that passes through this area brother," Logan said. "Have they passed through Marah recently?"

"Just yesterday," the priest responded. "I was in the middle of my noon prayer time when Ya spoke to me. I have not received direct instruction from the Eternal One for a long time, so I was happy to do his bidding. When I heard that he wanted me to confront that evil group of men as they passed through the town square though, I was frightened. What would stop them from killing a frail old man like me?"

Rose showed her concern by clasping the man's hand and rubbing it softly. He looked up into her pretty face and continued with his story. "Ya did not say anything more to me, so I determined in my mind that I would face these men no matter what the cost. Maybe this would be my last service to my god before I die. When I saw the slave cart rolling down the main street, my spirit was inflamed with anger against Belial and all the evil I have seen throughout my many years in this forsaken town. They must have thought me a crazy person, because I really let them have it."

A smile came to the face of Logan as he pictured this diminutive figure of a man standing in defiance against such overwhelming odds.

"What happened gramps?" Jer asked urgently, enraptured by the old man's tale. "Did they attack you?"

Jirah cuffed the young boy slightly on the head for the 'gramps' remark, but Jer could tell by her crooked grin that she was not too upset with him.

"Yes my son," Elius answered. "I stood strong and fast like the mighty Cleric Gaost would in the face of evil."

That remark made everyone smile. Even the stoic Gaost himself could not help but laugh.

"They came at me all right, but I stood my ground as they approached, weapons drawn," the priest said.

Now all eyes were fixed on Elius, and Jer was nearly jumping out of his skin in anticipation.

"Ya protected me from every blow and the attackers were thrown back on to their behinds by an unseen force. Oh how it made me laugh."

"That is so awesome!" Jer said, now jumping to his feet in excitement. "What did they do then? Did they keep on trying to kill you?"

"They were all is such a daze after feeling the mighty power of the creator, that they left town immediately."

"Do you remember the direction they were heading brother?" Jirah asked.

"I am sure they were on the way to the coast, so you should be able to find them on the road to Goram," the priest answered.

"Do you remember seeing a young girl with them father?" Rose asked, still gently rubbing the old man's back. "We hope to save her in answer to her prayers."

"Yes. I did catch the eye of a young woman who was shackled in the rolling slave pen," the man answered, looking directly into Rose's green eyes. "There was still a fire in her spirit and I could tell that she had not been with them long."

"Your words must have awakened a yearning in her heart and she cried out to Ya for help." Goast said nodding his head. "You have done well brother."

"I am just glad to be of service to my god after so many years of living in this evil town. I hope that you can save her."

"Nothing can stop us," Logan said in open defiance against the enemy. "We will go at once in the power of Ya to do his bidding."

Rose gave the aging man a tender kiss on the cheek before rising up with the others. "Thank you for your help dear brother," she said.

"It is I that should thank Ya's chosen healer for being my comfort this day," Elius spoke with tears pooling in his bright eyes. "I feel as if your touch made me ten years younger."

"We would ask that you continue to pray for us Elius," Goast said, clasping the man's shoulder in a show of support. "We go to retrieve the Staff of Ramah so that the Chosen One may heal to her full potential."

"Then go in the power of the Eternal One," Elius said with a firm voice. "The enemy surely must fall as you trust in him to be your strength."

It took some effort for the group to leave this sweet old man behind, but if they wanted to catch up with the slaver caravan, then they had to be on their way.

As they left, Rose took more than a few glances back to see the smiling face of Elius. She felt such a deep sense of fulfilment now because of her newfound ability to comfort those in need.

"That old guy was cool," Jer said, jumping up in the group to stride alongside Logan. "I sure hope that we can come back this way and see him again."

Logan led the way now because he knew the area well, and the pace picked up dramatically as he took long strides towards the unsuspecting slave caravan. There was little discussion among the group of travelers because they were all doing their best to keep up with the big knight. As the day turned into evening however, the whole group began to get weary because they had missed a whole night's sleep.

"It would seem we are not going to catch up with the caravan today," said Logan, just realizing that the others were starting to lag behind. "I suppose we should stop and rest for a few hours at least."

"A bite to eat and a short rest would do us well I think," Gaost said in agreement. "It should be safe enough just off the road I think."

"No fire though," Jirah said. "There are too many unsavoury travelers on this road for my liking."

They all moved off into the cover of a small glade of birch trees and after a quick meal, the exhausted troop fell into a deep sleep. The only exception was the stoic knight, who chose rather to stand watch over his sleeping friends. As the soft sounds of heavy breathing began in the glade, Logan sank to his knees to offer up a prayer of protection for the group and for the young girl they sought to save.

"Almighty Ya, I praise thee for thy protection thus far on this quest. Thou art faithful and true, and I would request that thou wouldst empower me to also stay faithful and true to thy cause. Be a strength and a shield to this young girl that we seek to save and grant us thy speed in the pursuit of these evil men. I trust in thy guidance and wisdom as I seek to be your agent of change in this fallen world. For the sake of your glory I pray."

Logan would have prayed much longer, as was his usual practice, but the creator had a different plan. Ya caused the big man to fall into a deep sleep, knowing that he needed to be well rested in order to have enough strength. The unseen, yet ever present shining ones hovered around the small group of faithful believers and each one slept in safety.

***

Chapter 24

The sun was just rising over the eastern pains when Emily awoke to a jarring lurch from the cart she was chained to. One of the large wooden wheels had fallen off completely and the startled young woman grasped the iron bars to keep from sliding along the floor.

Curses were spitting out of the slaver's mouths as they moved over to survey the damage.

"Beld, you stupid moron! I thought you inspected that wheel before we left."

"I did check it you idiot," Beld spat back. "If you would give me more money for repairs then I could do a better job."

Emily's grumpy captors continued to fight amongst themselves and she could not help but smile. She wished the worst for these evil men and did not feel one bit sorry for their misfortune. Bereft of all hope and with no expectation of salvation, she wondered if they would take their frustrations out on her. Only one day had passed since the town with the crazy old man and the thought of what had happened was fresh in her mind. She really doubted that anything would come from her prayer for deliverance, but there was still a nagging suspicion in her mind about what Ya could do for her. Some kind of powerful force had protected the old man and that was proof enough for her that Ya was real, but the pressing question was, does Ya care about me? Am I special enough for him to even notice that I exist?

Emily sighed deeply and hung her head, feeling very much alone in the world.

Her disheartening thoughts were interrupted when she heard a whistling sound followed by a sickening thunk. She looked up to see the stunned face of Beld, the man who had been poking her through the cage every day, with an arrow protruding out of his chest. Suddenly Emily felt very vulnerable sitting out in open. They were under attack! It did not take long for the other slavers to notice what was happening and they quickly moved into action, grabbing weapons to respond in defence. Arrows were still flying and each one met their mark with deadly accuracy. Quickly her concern switched away from the arrows to the slavers who were actually killing the other slaves.

"Kill all of them," the leader screamed out. "If we can't get the money from them then no one should."

The ugly man's words were cut short as he faced a giant, armoured man who came into the melee with swords slashing. It was a terrible sight that took Emily's breath away and she hid her face in her hands after seeing one slaver's head get lopped right off. In mere minutes, the sounds of battle died out and the shaking girl looked around to see that every one of the wicked men had been killed, but not before they had killed all of the other slaves. The big man moved closer to the cage door, his massive swords still dripping bright red blood and Emily cried out in terror.

"Leave me alone!" she said, doing her best to scramble away from the frightful warrior. "I promise that I will not tell anyone what you did, just let me go."

With a quick, sharp swing, the big man struck the lock that held the gate closed, and the terrified girl screamed again. To her surprise, the knight stepped back slowly, and Emily found herself looking into the green eyes of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

"You will be safe now sweetie," she said in a tender and loving voice. "Ya has sent us here to save you."

Emily lifted her arms, still shackled to the broken cart to show that she could not come out until they were taken off.

"Jer!" the pretty red headed woman called. "Can you get our new friend out of those chains please?"

"No problem Red." Emily looked up to see a young boy, about her age, jumping into the cell with a smile. "My name is Jer. What's yours?"

"Emily," she said simply.

"This is why everyone should learn to use a lock pick," Jer said to her as he pulled out some small metal tools from his sleeve. "You are a fighter though eh Em? You really got scraped up trying to get out. I woulda done the same thing too..."

Emily looked around her as the young boy rambled on. The knight was wiping his massive swords on the grass and he still scared her, but she also could see more of this strange group. One was an older woman clad in leather clothing and she was rummaging around the bodies, looking for arrows. She must be the one who had killed Beld and Emily made a mental note to thank her later. The strangest of all her saviours was a grey robed man with eerie, glowing eyes. She could see that he had a kind face, but his white eyed gaze caused her to turn quickly. Once again her vision was drawn to the kind woman who had first spoken to her.

"Jer, you are going to drive Emily to boredom with all that babbling. My name is Rose and we are all glad to meet you Emily."

All the emotion the young girl had been keeping inside came flooding out in wave of tears. Free of the chains, she jumped into the waiting arms of Rose and with wracking sobs, let all of her pain fall on the loving priestess. A faint glow could be seen emanating from the two as Rose once again became a conduit for the healing power of Ya.

"Let it all out sweetie," Rose said in a tender voice as Emily continued to cry for at least a full minute. The others looked on in wonder and joy to see how Rose was blossoming in her newfound power.

When she had cried her last tear, Emily looked up into the face of Rose and smiled.

"I really thought that I would be killed by those men," she said as Rose ran her fingers through her messy hair to pull out some of the knots. "They killed my mother you know."

"We are here in answer to your prayers Emily," Gaost said to her. "We are just glad that we got here in time to help you, even if we were too late to save the other slaves."

Seeing that Emily was still slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the Cleric, Jirah spoke up to make some introductions.

"Emily, my name is Jirah. This man here with the funny eyes is Gaost." she said with her crooked grin.

Gaost smiled slightly and responded, "It is nice to meet you Emily. I assure you that I am quite safe to be around; normal even."

"Sure, If you call living for thousands of years and talking to god on a regular basis normal," Jer said with a laugh.

"You have already met Jer our goofy comedian," Jirah said, cuffing the boy playfully on the head. "And lastly, this big giant is Logan, Knight of the Thorn and the Champion of Ya."

Emily looked now to the terrible warrior and saw past the swords to see that the big man had very kind eyes.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," she said, giving a short curtsy as her mother had taught her. "I have to admit, I thought that you were coming to kill me too."

"Let's sit down over here for a bit and you can tell us a little more of your story dear," Jirah said, gesturing to a fallen log on the roadside. "You can ask us any questions you might have as well."

They all moved over to sit down, Rose with her arm still wrapped tightly around the weary girl. Once they sat down, Emily told them of the horrible day when the slaving caravan came and about her mother's death.

Rose still sat very close to the young lady, the whole time tenderly pulling the knots out of her long, curly brown hair.

"When the caravan pulled through that little town back there, we ran into a crazy old man," Emily said. "He was screaming and yelling something about the Eternal Ya and calling the slaver's 'servants of Belial' or something like that. Anyway, I have never heard of this Ya person before, but I didn't think it could hurt to see if he was willing to help me escape."

"You did the right thing Emily," Rose said in agreement. "Ya heard your prayer and told me about you. That is how we knew where to find you."

Emily continued to ask questions of all the companions for a long while and many of her questions were answered, but one nagging question still troubled the new orphan.

"If this Ya loves me so much, then why did he let my mother die?" she asked with a quiver in her voice.

It was Jirah who first responded to that question. "I have asked myself that same question many times dear. I lost my husband years ago, and he was a devout follower of Ya."

The huntress became silent, and Emily could see on her face that the pain of loss was still very real for this strong woman.

"All of us here have experienced the same type of loss Emily," Gaost said in a soft voice. "I will give you my best answer, but I am afraid that there is nothing I can do to make the pain go away. That is Rose's department."

All eyes were on the Cleric as he spoke, each person hoping to hear something that would explain the problem of how a loving god could allow such suffering in the world.

"When Ya created mankind, he gave us the right to chose for ourselves how we should live," he said simply. "He wants us to choose to love him. Many people have chosen rather to serve themselves and they reject the god that made them. People's bad choices have made this such a miserable world to live in." It was a very simple answer, but somehow it made sense to Emily. If Ya were to force his creation to love him, then it would not be love at all.

"The enemy of Ya is a great fallen being named Belial," Gaost continued. "The Fallen One has been doing everything he can to spread death and destruction in this world because he hates the one who created it. Each one of us here has been called by Ya himself to fight against the darkness that has spread to every corner of this world. We all have a unique role to play, and now you must choose for yourself how you will live."

Emily now stood to her feet in response and her fighting nature made the choice very easy for her.

"I choose to fight!" she said with firmness. "I want to be someone who is trying to make this world a better place to live."

"That's the spirit Emily," Logan said, also rising to his feet. "You are a young woman after my own heart."

Emily grinned brightly at the compliment and blushed slightly at the show of support from the big handsome man.

"Can I stay with you guys now?" Emily asked hopefully. "I have no place to live anymore and I do not want to be alone."

"I'm afraid that you will not be able to go with us on our quest my dear," Gaost said, shaking his hooded head. "We are going to a place that is even more dangerous than here."

"We can't just leave her on her own out in the wilderness Gaost," Rose said firmly. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"I am positive that my folks would be more than happy to have a pretty young girl come and live with them on the farm," Logan suggested. "You could be my new little sister then Emily."

Emily thought about it for a moment. She had never lived on a farm before, but her options were very limited right now. She had no other family that could give her a place to live.

Logan noticed that she was not very sure about all that farm life would entail, so he explained, "You will like farm life I think. My parents are very kind and have taken in other young people when they needed help."

Emily looked up at Rose, who was still running her slender fingers through the young woman's hair and asked her, "Couldn't I stay with you Rose? You already feel like a big sister to me."

"I would love to have you stay with me sweetie," Rose said with a big grin. "We could come back for you once we finish our quest. Would that be ok?" Rose had lived so much of her life alone; she found her heart getting very heavy at the thought of leaving Emily alone in this miserable world.

"I understand I guess," Emily said with a sigh. "I have been in enough danger over the last few days to last the rest of my life. It will be nice to stay out of trouble for a little while."

"It's decided then," Jirah stated. "Take us to the family farm Logan. I have always wanted to meet your folks and now I get my chance."

"O good," Jer said mischievously. "Now we can find out all of the stupid things that the knight did when he was a kid."

All of them had a good laugh at that statement, even Goast.

"What am I getting myself into?" Logan said, shaking his big head.

It would take them the rest of the day to travel from where they found Emily to Logan's family farm and for the first time in many days, the young orphan girl found herself smiling brightly at the hope of a good future.

***

Chapter 25

Mosan sat alone in the darkness of the barn, rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. He had yet to tell his dear wife Zinora that he was having the headaches again because he did not want to worry her. The pain would go away soon enough and he had always been one to carry his own burdens.

His only son had left the farm many years ago to become one of the famed Knights of the Thorn, leaving him to run the farm by himself, but he had never been scared of hard work. Keeping busy was his way of dealing with the problems of life and he did not want to be one of these complaining types that never had anything good to say.

Zinora was a faithful follower of Ya and was an inspiration to him, in fact, she was the reason that his son Logan had turned out to be a great man of god. He smiled, in spite of the throbbing in his right temple at the thought of his boy and the man he had become.

A sad creak of the barn door warned him that someone was entering the front stables and he quickly got up, wiping the tear of pain from his right eye and stretching his tight neck muscles.

"Mosan, are you in here?" It was the sweet voice of his loving wife.

"I was just looking for something that I dropped in the hay over here dear," he lied. "I just found it."

Zinora, not fooled for one second by the proud man's subterfuge answered back with a frown on her pretty face, "You are having the headaches again aren't you?"

Mosan just shrugged as she came over quickly to wrap her slender arms around his neck. She kissed her old husband tenderly on the forehead many times, then moved around behind him to knead the massive knot of muscle that had tightened like a stone over his right shoulder.

"I did not want to bother you dear," he answered truthfully, his head throbbing slightly less as the blood flowed up his neck.

"Since when have you ever been a bother to me, you silly old fool. You don't have to bear this burden alone."

The loving couple spent a few more minutes in silence as they worked to relieve some of the pressure that had built up in the old farmers head. Mosan was sure that Zinora was offering up prayers for him because that was her way. She prayed about everything and it showed on her sweet face. For a woman in her mid-fifties, she looked much younger than most thirty year olds and he was convinced that it was because she always dumped her burdens on Ya. Why he had never done likewise, he was not sure. It was not in his nature to depend on others for help, but as he got older, his resolve was weakening in that regard.

"I came to find you dear, because there are people approaching the farm that I'm sure you will want to meet," Zinora turned to face her husband and gave him one last kiss on his brow.

Mosan could tell by her beaming smile that it must be his son coming to visit him. With his head feeling much better, the proud old man returned a kiss to his faithful wife, but his was centered squarely on her full lips.

"I love you dear," was all he said, and the two of them joined hands on the way out to greet their precious son and whoever had come with him on the journey from the capital city.

***

Logan was leading the way as the small group of travellers approached the farm that lay fairly close to the edge of Murken wood. Rose was walking close behind him, still holding the hand of Emily, who would look up into her green eyes every once in a while as if to remind herself that she was not alone.

Rose could tell from far away that this farm would be a place quite different than the town of Marah that lay some distance behind them. The strong wooden fences were in good repair and the animals kept behind them had obviously been groomed recently. A large garden ran alongside the roadway and the neat rows of vegetables were free of weeds, well tended by the careful hands of an attentive farmer. The small farm cottage and all the various buildings surrounding it were in fine shape, showing very little signs of wear.

"This is such a pretty little farm Logan," Emily said to the big man walking in front of her. It was the first words she had spoken to the massive knight since he had saved her from the slave caravan.

The big man smiled and responded with a nod, glad that the young girl was warming up to him finally.

Jirah moved up close beside the other two females and also joined hands with Rose. "This is how my farm used to look when Justus was still alive. He took great care in all his work and I can tell that Logan's father must be very much the same."

"I think your farm was just fine sister, you are more of a hunter than a farmer anyway, right?"

Rose could sense there was still some part of Jirah that was pained from losing Justus, and she sincerely hoped one day Jirah would feel free to share those hurts with her. For now, she just gave her sister a broad smile and squeezed her hand tightly.

"Will Logan's parents want me around even?" Emily asked with a worried face. "I don't know a thing about farming or taking care of animals. I think I may just be in the way."

"You don't have to learn it all at once my dear," Jirah told her, "and the best part of farming is that there is no rush to get things done."

"Very true," Logan responded. "My father is a very patient man. He had to be to raise me."

The girls all laughed at that remark, trying to picture the giant of a man when he was still just a little boy, running around and getting into all kinds of trouble.

As they crossed the threshold of the large wooden gate that arched high into the air, Rose saw a couple walking hand in hand from the barn. A sudden jolt of fear shot down her spine and she realized that she was about to meet the two most important people in Logan's life. She felt a tremendous urge to look her very best so she turned quickly, faced Emily and asked, "How do I look?"

Emily let go of her hand and brought one up to her chin in a very serious gesture, as if to evaluate the situation with a very critical eye.

Rose waited expectantly for her answer with a worried face.

"You could be wearing a burlap sack and you still would be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen Rose."

"You are so sweet dear," Rose kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you. You are no ugly duckling either Emily."

Emily blushed slightly at the compliment then once again clasped Rose's hand as they moved forward to meet Logan's folks.

Even at a distance, Rose was captivated by the tenderness that seemed to surround this older couple. Logan's father was a very fit older man who was balding slightly. He had the same bright blue eyes as his son did and the same kind of steely resolve was obvious from his upright posture. The clothes he wore were simple and not very colourful so Rose could clearly see where the stoic knight got his practical character. It was the man's wife that grabbed most of Rose's attention however. Her long, straight silver hair glistened in the sun like a beacon, only slightly outshone by her lustrous smile. She wore a practical blue dress over her shapely frame with a white apron tied around her waist that was whiter than the snow. She stood nearly half a head taller than her husband and Rose immediately felt like a little orphan girl in her presence.

"Welcome home my son," she said to Logan as she clasped her slender arms around her son's waist in a long, firm embrace.

Logan's companions all stood back and watched the tender moment unfolding before them as he released his dear mother and quickly turned to hug his father in the same manner.

Rose could not help but be deeply touched by the affection shown between the three of them and rather than feeling jealous of Logan's fortune, she was filled with joy for the great warrior. Seeing such a great love on display gave her hope in the new future she was trying to create in this harsh and unloving world.

"Please, let me introduce you to my companions." Logan said to his parents as he turned waved the group to come closer.

"You already know the holy Ceric of Ya, the eternal man Gaost."

The holy man drew back his hood and bowed slightly to the couple. "It is good to see you two once again. I will never forget all you have done for me."

The couple both bowed in return, showing a great deal of respect for the mighty hand of Ya.

"This is the huntress Jirah. She has been an indispensable guide and a fearsome archer on our journey so far."

Jirah smiled with her typical crooked grin at the compliment and greeted them warmly.

"The young man is my faithful squire, Jer," the knight patted the boy firmly on the shoulder.

"Ouch!" Jer winced at the touch. "Careful with those big metal gloves Boss."

Logan's parents laughed out loud at the exchange and moved over to greet the young man with firm handshakes.

"He has never really known his own strength dear," Zinora said with a bright smile.

"This pretty young girl is Emily Katherine," Logan said, gesturing to her, careful not to inflict the same pain as he had just done on Jer.

"My, aren't you a pretty little thing," Zinora said to her, causing Emily to blush furiously. The girl's embarrassment was only heightened by the couple each giving her a warm embrace, so she said nothing.

"Last but not least, I present to you the holy healer of Ya. The Eternal One has chosen her above all others to be his agent of love and healing in this dying world." Logan bowed low in front of Rose and his words were said with such a deep and abiding respect that it took her breath away.

Mosan and Zinora stood still without saying a word for a slight moment then they too bowed low in front of Rose.

"Ya be magnified on this glorious day," Zinora said with a small tear streaming down her cheek. "It is our great pleasure to meet you sister."

Rose could not think of a single thing to say that would not make her sound stupid, so she chose rather to return the bow and flash her biggest smile at the kind couple.

"These are my parents," Logan said putting both big arms around them, "Mosan and Zinora."

Handshakes and hugs were exchanged between everyone for a minute or two before the matron of the farm finally broke up the greetings to invite them all inside.

"Lucky for you all, I have a pig roasting over the fire right now. Let's all go into the house and we can catch up on things over dinner."

"Sounds good to me," Jer piped up. "I am starving like crazy."

"Hey, make sure you save some for me Jer," Emily said, socking the young man on the shoulder. "I'm still growing too ya know."

"Ouch," Jer responded with a fake whine. "That really hurt Em."

Zinora let out a high and lilting laugh that lifted everyone's spirits.

"It's going to be fun having some young people in my house, even for a bit. And don't you worry Jer, there is more than enough food for everyone, even Logan."

Now everyone laughed out loud as Logan put on his best hurt face in response to his mothers teasing. Sounds of laughter continued on as they all followed Logan's mother into the farm house to spend an evening in happiness and safety.

***

Chapter 26

Rose would remember the short time spent at Logan's farm as one of the best times in her life. To be around such loving and supportive people such as Mosan and Zinora was still very new to her and she did not want this feeling to end. After the meal, she had offered to help with the clean up, but the matron of the house insisted she spend some time relaxing because of the long and dangerous journey that lay before of her. Besides, Emily had jumped right in to the kitchen and was already bonding with her new surrogate mother as they worked together, talking all the while about what type of person Emily's mother was. Zinora seemed to fully understand that one of the best ways to honour a lost loved one was to remember all the good things that they brought to one's life and Rose smiled at the sight of the two laughing together as they worked.

Jirah had chosen to take the first turn at having a warm bath, and Logan was sitting at the table with Gaost discussing the route they would take for the next leg of the quest, so Rose got up to go outside. This was such a cute little farm, she thought as she casually wandered around all of the buildings and bent to smell the pretty flowers that adorned the many flower beds. Eventually, her wanderings brought her to the large barn that she had seen Logan's parents emerge from when the group had first arrived at the homestead. The smells inside the building were so new to Rose, but they were infinitely better than the one's she was familiar with. Such a freshness filled the air that it could not help but to warm her spirit and fill her with hope.

The young woman's moment of reflection was stopped short however when she heard a low, groaning sound emerging from on of the stalls in the rear of the barn. She stepped softly over to the far corner to see who was there and discovered Logan's father, writhing in obvious pain. The poor man was seated in a dark corner with his head in his hands, moaning quietly to himself as he rocked back and forth. Rose did not want to startle Mosan, but she could not ignore the pain that he was suffering from, so she spoke to him in a tender whisper.

"Mosan? Is there something I can do to help? Should I go get your wife?"

Through clenched teeth the suffering man answered back, "No, she is still busy I'm sure. The pain should pass soon enough."

Moved with compassion, Rose could not just stand there and watch the gentle old man suffer like this, so she knelt down in front of him and started to pray. O how she wished that she already had this mysterious Staff of Ramah that was supposed to give her the power to heal these types of ailments. Mosan could not hear the words that Rose spoke to the Eternal One, but he was more than a little surprised at the power surging through the Chosen One's hands as she placed them gently on the sides of his head. To his surprise, he could feel the pressure in his skull diminishing at a rapid pace. Something miraculous was happening, but he also had a strange feeling that something was not going quite as Rose planned it. He opened his eyes and looked into the face of this lovely young girl and immediately recognized the look of suffering in her face. She was taking the headache into herself somehow. With a start, he quickly got up and took her hands from his head.

"What are you doing Rose?"

Rose placed her hands on her own head and her eyes were watering from the pain she felt. What was happening?

"Wait here Rose," Mosan said, with a slight panic in his voice. "I will go and get Gaost."

The pain that coursed through Rose's skull was overwhelming and she bent over, still on her knees, and threw up violently. She had never felt anything like this before, and she was no stranger to physical pain. Time seemed to be slowed down to a crawl as she waited in the dark, her head still pounding as she cried out in agony.

"What is happening Rose?" It was the voice of Goast, full of concern and worry.

Gentle hands began massaging her shoulders and back but Rose was still too disoriented to know what was really going on. She closed her eyes and cried out to her heavenly Father to help her through this attack. Her prayers were joined by those of Zinora and Gaost, and in time, the pain began to diminish. When Rose finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the worried face of Jirah, who had quite obviously been crying.

"You had me so worried you silly girl," the huntress said as she came over to embrace Rose warmly, wearing only a towel.

"Looks like I ruined you bath, sorry sister."

"You did nothing of the sort dear; now tell us what happened here."

Rose thought quietly for a moment as she got to her feet, brushing off the straw from here clothes. She looked around to notice that all of her companions were surrounding her and she was more than a little embarrassed at all the attention given to her.

"I am so sorry that I scared all of you," Rose said as Jirah pulled her matted, tear soaked locks away from her face. "I came into the barn and discovered Logan's dad. He was suffering from some kind of headache and I just wanted to help."

"I thought that you were done with those, Dad." Logan said, looking to his father with concern in his eyes.

"He gets the headaches at this time every year Logan," Zinora responded. "They last for a month or two then disappear till the next year."

"I think I may know what happened, Rose," Mosan spoke now, looking directly at Rose. "Do you remember what you prayed when you put your hands on my head?"

"I could see that you were suffering greatly, and I knew that I did not have the power to heal you," Rose said, "so I just tried to pull the pain out of your head with my thoughts. Does that make sense?"

"That is exactly what I felt," the old man said nodding in agreement. "I could feel the pain being pulled out of my head while you were praying."

"It would seem that I have let you down once again Rose," Gaost now interjected. "I neglected to tell you of the powers you have been given and how they work. To tell you the truth, much of this is still a mystery to me."

Everyone now looked to the Cleric to hear his explanation for this strange occurrence.

"Ya has placed his healing power within the Staff of Ramah, which we are going to retrieve," he explained. "But the power to draw the sickness out of a suffering person has been given to you Rose."

"Are you saying that I took Mosan's headache way from him and into myself?" Rose asked with concern.

"It would seem," Gaost said with a nod. "I am sorry that I never explained the process to you sooner, but I never expected you to try to heal someone this soon, and without the staff."

"I have no regrets about trying to help someone in pain," Rose said shaking her head, "I am just glad to have helped stop your suffering Mosan."

"That's all good and well dear," Jirah answered, still full of obvious concern for her sister, "but what would have happened if he was dying?"

"Jirah has it right," Goast answered. "You could very well die if you try this again on someone who has a fatal ailment. I think it would be best if you do not try healing anyone again until you hold the staff Rose."

Rose sighed, looking into the worried faces all around her. "I'm going to be fine everyone. Stop looking at me like I am going to drop dead any minute." All this attention was starting to make her feel closed in.

It was Jer that finally broke the tension with his youthful wit. "Come on people. Move along now. Give the poor girl some space." The young thief began to shoo everyone out of the barn like he would drive barn animals.

Jirah cuffed him on the head and smiled her crooked grin, just now realizing that she was still just in a towel, having jumped out of the bath to see what was wrong.

"And you," Jer said to the half clad huntress, "get some clothes on already. You will catch your death a cold!"

"All right, all right boy," Jirah said. "Don't think that I have forgotten about you needing a bath in all this excitement. You are starting to smell worse than this barn."

With that, Jer shot out the barn door in a flash causing everyone laugh in spite of the tension they all felt.

As they started to make their way to the warm farm house, Zinora approached Rose and put her slender arm around the young girl in support. "Thank you for helping my husband dear," she said with a smile. "I know that you meant well, and I will be sure to give you some herbs that will alleviate the pain of the headaches, if you have any more that is."

"Thank you," Rose responded simply. Just being in this woman's presence gave her comfort and strength. How she wished that this dear lady was her real mother.

"I think it is your turn for a bath too," Zinora said, now clasping her hand. "I will warm up the water and then you can soak away whatever tension may be left in your pretty head."

It felt so good to be loved by this group of people, but Rose could not help but worry slightly about the days to come. If she had truly taken Mosan's headaches onto her own body, there would be some tough times ahead for her.

***

Chapter 27

The port city of Goram was bustling with activity as was always the case, even well into the dark hours of the night. No one took notice of the old fish boat captain as he limped his way back to the docks from a long evening of drinking in the harbour pub. The stagger in his walk had nothing to do with the many pitchers of ale that he had consumed. It would take much more than that to make this old sea dog forget himself. His crooked stride was the result of his left leg, which had been nearly chewed off by a shark when he was just a young man. It was just one of many close calls in the life of "Ol' Pete" as everyone called him. Tonight Pete was drinking to try and forget the burning red eyes of the man he had taken out to sea in the morning hours. He never gave a name, and the man had not spoken much either, but those eyes were something very hard to forget.

"W.w.w.what was with those eyes Jonah? I wonder..." Pete muttered to his dog walking beside him. Jonah had been Pete's faithful companion for a great many years and had a limp to match his owner. He was not a very big dog, so none of the store owners minded when Pete brought him into the building, but he was big enough, and mean enough, to protect his owner if need be. It had taken every effort on the fisherman's part to keep the protective dog at bay while they carted the red-eyed man across the inlet to a strange little island that Pete had seen before, but never really paid any mind too. Something inside both dog and man was telling them that this black robed stranger was not one to be trifled with. The parting words that had been given to him were the real reason for the bout of drinking.

"You will tell no-one of me and this island or you will face the wrath of Belial himself," the man had said in a voice that sounded like more of a hiss.

Who in the world is Belial and what have I ever done to him? Pete was not one to take heed of threats usually, but the evil intensions of this man were way too obvious to miss.

"I j.j.just got a f.feelin' that he woulda gutted us like a couple of Jackfish if we hadn't takin' him where he wanted to go, eh Jonah?"

The dog never said a thing, as usual, and that was the way Pete liked it. Jonah was a good listener and he never made fun of him for stuttering either. The two limping figures hobbled off slowly toward the little harbour shack that they called home. If he was not drunk enough to fall asleep, then there was always the bottle of hard stuff that he kept in the pantry for emergencies. Sleep would not come easy this night, but it would come, eventually.

***

The sun was rising over the eastern foothills, but the small group of travelers were already nearly a league from the farm of Mosan and Zinora. The chosen one of Ya did not feel very special this morning however. It was difficult to leave a place that was full of so much love and acceptance. It did not take very long at all for Rose to enjoy being taken care of, and her thoughts continually drifted to the lovely face of Zinora. Her bright eyes and pretty smile were something that Rose would keep with her as a sustaining influence for many days to come. As if sensing her displeasure, Logan slowed down his pace till he was walking beside her.

"Are you feeling any pain? I want to know if you get a headache."

"No headache yet," Rose answered. "From what your dad said, I will get most of these attacks at night time, right after I first fall asleep."

"Just make sure you tell me when it happens, I do not want you to suffer alone."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows slightly before answering the big man. "I understand a little better why your father didn't tell you about his headaches Logan."

Logan shot her a questioning look and Rose could tell from the way he pursed his lips that those words had upset him. She reached over with both hands to clasp one of his before answering back. "It warms my heart to know that you care for me Logan, and I am sure that your father feels the same. One thing you may not understand however is these attacks are made worse by sound and light. That is why your Dad would go into the darkest part of the barn."

Those words did not seem to make Logan feel any better, but rather the mighty warrior now had tears forming in his big blue eyes. With a slight crack in his voice he responded, "I feel responsible Rose."

They both stopped walking now and Rose quickly and fiercely embraced her knight protector around his mail-clad waist. She spoke to him now in a tone that was firm, yet tender at the same time, "Logan, I am going to be fine. I am sure that Ya would not have allowed this to happen if it would become a hindrance to our mission."

Logan shook his head and answered back, "I am not worried about our mission sister..." his voice cracked he had to stop talking for a moment to gather his composure before continuing on. "I am worried about you Rose, just you. I don't want you to be in any pain because..."

Rose released herself from his torso so she could look in his eyes. All the others in the group had stopped walking now too and were looking with concern on Logan.

The big man, having all eyes on him now quickly tensed up and responded matter-of-factly, "I just don't want you to be in pain is all. It's not fair."

"Is everything ok you guys?" Jirah asked them, not really sure of what was going on.

"Everything is fine sister," Rose answered quickly.

Jirah, Gaost and even Jer could tell that there was a lot more going on here between the knight and the priestess, but they also all had the good sense to leave it alone.

Jirah gave Rose a quick little look that meant 'talk to me later sister', and then spoke up. "Let's keep moving people. We will never get to the coast at this rate."

The small band of travelers that was really now more of a family, continued down the dirt road.

"Thank you for caring so much Logan. I appreciate it."

He whispered back a simple "thank you" and flashed a smile.

Rose knew that Logan must have had many more words to say, but he obviously did not want to tell them in front of the whole group. She was sure however that something else was weighing heavy on his mind. With a final pat on his arm, Rose gave Logan a big, bright smile to re-assure him of her support and picked up her pace to walk alongside of Jirah who was leading the group.

The rest of the day was very ordinary to say the least. There was very little to see and do on the way to the coastal city of Goram and while it was trying for someone like Rose, it was driving Jer nuts. The little thief was beginning to break the silence quite often with his nervous banter.

"This road goes on forever..." and "I never could have imagined that there could be so many trees in this world..."

Jirah was the one who finally figured out that the boy just needed something to do, so she called him up beside her. "Jer," she shouted. "Get your skinny little hide up here for a second."

The young man was pacing back and forth beside her in seconds, just like an eager puppy. "What's up J?" he asked.

We are going to need a good place to camp for the night. I want you to scout on ahead and find a good place for us to stay. Look for nice flat ground with a water source somewhere close to the road." Before she could finish that last sentence, he was off and running, answering back as he ran, "I won't let you down J! I will find the best camp yet."

Rose and Jirah were both laughing to see the little guy run off with such eagerness.

"I do not doubt for a minute that he will find the very best camp site available between here and Goram."

Rose nodded and responded with a grin, "He is an eager beaver. That much is for sure."

Then out of the blue, Jirah made a bold statement to Rose. "Logan loves you Rose." She looked behind her quickly to make double sure that Logan was still a good number of paces behind them.

They both waited in silence for a moment before Rose nodded in response. "I know Jirah. He was trying to tell me but I think you guys scared him off."

Jirah smiled and laughed in response, "So we have finally found something that scares our mighty knight and all it took was a pretty red-head."

"You're terrible," Rose said, laughing in spite of the nervous tension that she still felt in her soul. "I care so deeply for the big lump, but he the complete opposite of any man that has showed me affection. He lacks any confidence at all when it comes to sharing feelings."

"That's the way you want them my dear," Jirah mocked. "That way you can train them properly."

Again the two ladies laughed out loud and it made them both feel much better. In her heart, Rose knew that there would come a time when Logan would be able to freely express the love he felt for her, but now may not be the best time to do it. So much had to happen in the days to come and these distractions may act as a hindrance. As the conversation died off between the ladies, Rose found herself lost in thoughts of what would happen once they got to their destination. As the worry built up in her soul, she found herself praying quietly in her heart to her new Father. Ya was more than able to carry all of her concerns and she was content to leave them in his hands.

***

Chapter 28

It was still very dark and Gaost was sitting by the fire on the first watch, so Rose knew she had not been sleeping for very long when she woke up. Tension, just a little more than a pinch, was building in the right side of her neck and spreading outward. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the beginnings of a headache. The quiet Cleric simply nodded as she placed a pot of water next to the fire. She hoped that the herbs given to her by Zinora would stop this attack before it even happened, or at least diminish the pain, but to be honest, she doubted that they would help very much. She found a spot to sit far enough away from the fire so that the light would not bother her but still close enough so she could ask Gaost for help if she needed it.

"I'm sorry if this is interrupting your time of prayer brother," Rose said smiling slightly.

"I never find you to be a bother Rose; in fact I have something I need to tell you."

"Just give me some time to make this medicine and I will come closer," Rose whispered. "We don't want to wake the others." The mixture of dry leaves that Logan's mother had given her had a strange, pungent odour that made her eyes water slightly, but that would not discourage her from drinking it. She would do anything to avoid that kind of pain again. With a fresh cup of herb tea in hand, Rose moved in closer to Gaost to see what he had to say. She looked into his strange white eyes, and maybe it was the glow of the fire, but for some reason, what used to make her nervous, now gave her comfort. What had Logan called it? It was the 'fingerprints of Ya' in his life.

"If you sit down in front of me, I can do my best to ease the tension," Gaost spoke, pointing to the ground in front of him.

Rose gently sat herself down in front of the Cleric, being careful not to spill the very hot drink. It would be a minute or two before she could drink it, so she sat the mug down on a flat rock nearby and used her left hand to point out the spot on her shoulder where the tension was building.

With hands much stronger than they looked, Gaost began to massage the knots with an unexpected skilfulness.

"I should have told you this much sooner Rose, but I am very proud of you. What you did for Logan's father was truly an amazing thing and I don't want you to think that you did something wrong. You followed your heart."

"Thank you brother, I have to admit that I was most worried about letting you down."

"You are not a let-down my dear. I also have to admit that when I first met you, I really wondered if such an abrasive woman could ever become a follower of Ya."

Rose could not help but smile and laugh slightly as she answered back, "I was so mean to you at first bother, but you were even more patient. In fact, now that I think about it, that patience may be what won me over to your side." Rose winced as she took her first big sip of the tea that was now cool enough to drink. It tasted terrible, but seemed to be doing a good job of reducing the pain in her head.

"Am I helping at all Rose?" Gaost asked, still kneading her right shoulder.

"Yes brother." She turned around and took his hand into her own. "I feel much better now, and this terrible drink seems to be working."

Gaost chuckled quietly at that remark and nodded in response.

"Thank you for being patient with me Gaost, I am glad that we are in this together."

Within a quarter hour of finishing her vile tasting tea, Rose found that the pain had diminished enough for her to get back to sleep, so that is what she did. Unfortunately for her, this would not be a very restful slumber. For the first time in weeks, she was haunted by visions of Belial's evil minions, the Taints. Once again she found herself running in fear down a dark and winding cave with a seeming endless flow of the fallen spirits clawing at her from behind. On and on she ran, never gaining ground. Every time she would stumble, the taints would get that much closer to their goal. If they ever reached her, they would tear her into little pieces with their long, black claws. Already those claws had torn the edges of her long white dress, the frayed edges flapping loose like ribbons behind her. She could hear them calling out her name in eerie whispers along with ominous threats of her certain doom. As it had happened many times before in this dream, she caught a glimpse of a white light piercing through the darkness in front of her. She had never reached that light before, but she knew still that it was where she wanted to go. No, it was where she needed to get, desperately. Rounding a sharp corner, for the first time Rose caught sight of what was casting such a bright light in this dark cave. Lying on a bed of stone in front of her was a beautiful wooden staff. She stood there a moment and stared, inspecting closely all the intricate detail carved into the smooth wood. Trailing patterns of rose vines along with realistic flowers ran up and down the length of the cherry color rod. Its beauty took what little breath she had away as she reached out to grasp it...

"Rose! Wake up!" came the voice of Jirah. "You are having a nightmare."

Rose took a moment to shake the sleep out of her head before sitting up carefully.

"The dreams come from Ya," Rose said as Jirah moved in close to wipe the sweat off her brow.

"What are you talking about dear?" Jirah was curious. "From all that you have shared with me, those nightmares have been haunting you ever since you were a little girl."

"I did say that," Rose responded as if just now her eyes had been opened to a vast secret. "I saw the staff Jirah. I know that I can get to it now. I have seen it."

Jirah's face relaxed a little tension and one eyebrow raised slightly as she asked more questions. "You saw the staff of Ramah? How could you know that it is the right staff? Were you able to grab it?"

"I was about to reach out and grab it, but then you woke me up." Rose said as she stood up to greet the other companions who were coming over to see what all the commotion was about. "I do not know why, but the moment I saw that beautiful staff, I knew what it was and I knew that these dreams have been from Ya all along."

Gaost was the next to speak and he simply asked Rose to describe what the staff looked like.

"It was made of a reddish wood, like cherry color. The wood was smooth, and there were very intricate carvings of thorny vines that ran all along its length."

"That accurately describes the staff of Ramah," Gaost said, scratching at his scruffy beard. "But you were not able to grab hold of it?"

"No, I was about to when Jirah shook me to wake me," Rose answered with a slight edge of disappointment in her voice.

"Well I'm sorry that you never got to touch the staff in your dream sister, but you sounded so scared," Jirah said, feeling just a little bit hurt.

Rose moved over to hug her dear friend and kiss her soundly on the cheek. "You did the right thing dear sister, and I saw enough to convince me of the most important part of this dream."

"And what would that be dear?"

"Ya is the one who has been sending me these dreams all of my life. I thought they were nightmares from Belial, but they are a gift from the Father."

It was Jer who now spoke up with a question. "I thought that Ya was the good guy. Why would he send someone as nice as Rose such a scary dream?"

"I actually have the same question myself Rose," Logan spoke up, sounding even more curious than Jer.

Rose took a deep breath before responding. "I know that this mission will be a success. Can't you see that? If these dreams were coming from the Fallen One, then I am sure the taints would have got to me and ripped me to pieces."

No one responded to the question but rather, they stood in silence, as if soaking all the information in.

"I know it sounds weird, but it makes sense to me. Knowing that these dreams come from the Eternal Ya means that he has been with me my whole life. All those times that I felt so alone in the world, He was right there with me."

Now the rest of the group were beginning to understand what this meant to the young woman. With tears now forming in her bright green eyes, Rose dropped down to her knees and began to pray. Before she had even got through the first sentence, her friends had all moved in around her and placed their loving hands on her back. The prayer time lasted for nearly an hour with each companion taking some time to thank Ya for this special moment and for protection in the days ahead because they were all sure of more dangers in the near future.

***

Chapter 29

Many beings inhabited the Isle of Shadow, but only one of them was a man. The glowing red eyes of the man Bane were squinting, looking over the surface of the western sea to maybe catch a glimpse of his mortal enemy. Only one day ago, the Hand of Belial had chartered a fishing boat across to the fog-enclosed isle to prepare for the coming of Gaost. His master would want him there to keep this so-called healer from getting to the staff that lay far inside the catacombs behind him, but the countless Taints would make sure of that. No, Bane was so completely overtaken by the need to kill the Cleric of Ya that the desire had become his only food. The blood of the Eternal Man would become the ultimate sacrifice to his master and the thought of it made him smile as he rolled a razor sharp dagger through his fingers. It was the kind of smile that would make little children cry, nearly toothless and completely evil.

"Come to me Gaost," Bane hissed under his breath. "The time has come at last when you will become nothing more than a vapour, blown by the wind."

***

The sun was just beginning its morning assent when the disciples of Ya finished praying over the young priestess. All their spirits were lifted and encouraged, but none more than the spirit of Rose. As she pulled herself up from her knees to stretch, the first ray of sunshine shot through the trees to land on her fiery red curls. The bright flame of her lustrous hair was only outshone by the glorious smile on her face, lit by a deep abiding knowledge that Ya was with her. The Eternal One had always been with her, even in the darkest hours of her life. Whatever would come this day, she could meet it head on, for she was not alone.

"Let's have something quick to eat," Gaost said. "We should arrive at the coast around mid-day, and depending on the availability of a boat, we may even get to our final destination tonight."

"I am going to change into my white dress," Rose said to Jirah who was setting out a quick breakfast. "In my dreams, that is what I am wearing, so it just seems like the right thing to do. What do you think sister?"

"Give me a second and I will hold up a blanket for you to change behind." Jirah said, nodding in agreement.

Jirah was such a special friend to Rose. She was like a sister and a mother all rolled up in one person. In fact, the rugged huntress had done so much to encourage Rose; she wondered if there ever would be some way to repay her kindness. With a thick blanket in place between her and the men of the party, Rose took off her leather traveling clothes, all the while thinking of the dirty rags she wore when she was on the streets of Sharron. She had never had known at the time, but when Gaost first gave her this garment, it began a transformation in her heart.

"I love it when you wear this dress Rose," Jirah said as she lowered the blanket. "You are without a doubt the prettiest woman I have ever known."

"Ah, if only you had met me when I was young. I had such a foul disposition that it made me a very ugly person to be with."

"Well, none of that matters now sister," Jirah encouraged. "You shine like a beacon of sunlight."

Rose smiled to hear the praise of her sister and shook the dust and grass out of her wavy, thick hair.

It was at that very moment, Logan raised his head from his travel preparations to see the priestess of Ya emerge from behind the blanket, Jirah had been holding up. As if to accentuate the moment, another bright shaft of sunlight found its way through the trees to shine a golden beam on the young woman and Logan was quite quickly overcome with awe and wonder.

The big man just stood there and stared with his mouth open until Jer came over and elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention.

"Say something Boss." the smiling squire teased. "It's not like you've never seen a pretty girl before."

"She is much more than a pretty girl Jer," Logan said, shaking off his stunned look. "She shines so bright with the light of Ya that I feel like a sinner in her presence."

"Well get all that weirdness out of your system now, Logan," Jirah said with a laugh. "You need to have your wits about you today."

"I will be just fine, thank you very much," Logan said, laughing at himself.

The small party of travelers moved on their way at a steady brisk pace and all of them were in high spirits as they moved alone behind Gaost who was actually humming a tune to himself.

Rose and Jirah were walking together at the rear and talking quietly to themselves, leaving Jer to do his usual weaving in and out of the nearby forest, exploring as he moved along.

After a few hours of this rather pleasant travel and with the sun shining high overhead; the western sea came into view. It was a familiar sight for Rose, having grown up in a port city herself; the familiar smell of the coast filled her nose with memories of her childhood.

"When I was little and still living at the orphanage, I would sneak out at least once a week to go swimming in the sea," she said to Jirah who was still at her side.

"I'm sure that never won you any favour with the sisters did it?"

"Not at all, in fact I always got a few lashes with the rod once I got back."

"You came back on your own?" the huntress asked with a puzzled look. "I assumed that they came out to find you."

"O no," Rose said with a slight chuckle. "They could never find me, so eventually they just stopped trying to look."

"Why did you go back if you knew that you would get a beating?" Jer now asked, joining in on the conversation.

"I really had nowhere else to go at the time Jer," she answered with a shrug. "It was the only home I ever knew."

"I guess I am pretty much the same as you Red," Jer responded. "Willy beat me all the time and I still kept coming back. Getting hit was just normal for me I guess."

"Well neither of you are going to get beat anymore, that's for sure," Jirah said with conviction. "Not with me around."

Both Rose and Jer smiled affectionately at the huntress who had already become quite a mother figure to both of the orphans.

"Thanks J," Jer said, giving Jirah a quick yet meaningful hug. You're the best."

Jirah blushed slightly at the rare show of affection from the young boy but said nothing.

Feeling a little awkward as well, Jer rushed on ahead of the ladies to join up with Logan.

"You would make such a good mother Jirah," Rose said to her earnestly but asked nothing more on the subject because she had a suspicion the topic of children might be a sensitive one for the stoic widow.

No reaction to the comment came for a few long minutes while Jirah quite obviously was thinking of how to respond. Finally, she did give an answer, and it was not what Rose would have expected. Tears pooled in Jirah's eyes as she finally spoke to the young healer in a soft, quavering voice.

"My first child was a girl, Vanessa, named after Justus' mother. She died in my arms only minutes after being born."

Rose was shocked at the sudden confession from her dearest friend in the world and she immediately reached out to grasp Jirah's hand firmly.

The huntress kept on walking, looking forward the whole time, not daring to look Rose in the eyes or she was sure that she would never get through the rest of her sad tale.

"About a year later, I gave birth to a boy," the tears where now falling freely down her sad face but she continued to push though the story with determination. "We named him Eric, after my grandfather, but he was stillborn. I never even got to hear him cry."

Now Rose too was crying great tears of pain and she could feel such a lump in her throat that it was getting hard to breathe. What words could she possibly say that would take away this type of pain?

"I'm so sorry Jirah," Rose spoke in a gentle and reassuring voice. She wanted to tell her friend much more, but words seemed to be so out of place in a moment like this. Instead, she simply put one of her slender arms lovingly around the woman she knew was a mourning mother, and began to pray under her breath.

Jirah sobbed openly, her chest heaving with each painful breath so she finally stopped from her steady gait to fall on her knees.

Not wanting any of the others to intrude on this very private moment, Rose waved quickly with her free arm to Gaost so he would keep on walking and leave the two sisters alone for the time being.

With one hand placed on Jirah's head, and the other arm still wrapped around her, Rose began to pray aloud, and the words she said came from a place deep within her heart. Her heart was grieving and mourning along with her friend, who was more vulnerable than she had ever seen.

"Father Ya, I cry out to you in this desperate moment for your healing power. Nothing I can do will take this pain away from my dear sister Jirah, but I have to believe that you want to help us. Please, once again empower me to take some of this pain upon myself, so my friend does not have to carry it all alone anymore."

Those simple words were all it took for the healing power of Ya to start coursing from Rose and into Jirah. The air around the two crying women began to glow with a soft white light and in that moment, Rose understood the more deeply where her true power came from. Her ability to work this wonder was only as effective as the degree of compassion she felt for whomever she was trying to help. Since she felt such a deep and abiding love for this dear friend, the power coursing through her was overwhelming. She could feel the pain of Jirah being siphoned into her own soul, but it did not stay there. Instead of holding on to the grief, Rose simply let it flow through her body and it found its way to the compassionate god that was causing this miracle to happen. The thirty seconds it took for all this to happen seemed more like twenty minutes to the ladies, who in time rose to their feet and wiped the tears away from each other's eyes.

"Oh why did I wait so long to tell you my story dear Rose," Jirah said with a bright smile beaming on her face. "I have carried that pain around for so long, and it is so much less now. All that is left is a beautiful memory of a little boy and a little girl that I loved more than life itself."

"I felt so bad at first for making you cry," Rose said with a slight frown on her lips. "I would never dream of doing something that would hurt you Jirah."

"That's all right Rose," Jirah said, clasping her sister's hand once again. "I think that the Eternal One knew this was the time for me to let it go. There is too much danger on the road ahead to have had all of that weighing on my mind."

Off in the distance, the Cleric of Ya could see that it was now safe to approach Rose and Jirah without interfering, so walked back to meet them.

"I trust that all is well with you two now?"

"Better than well brother," Jirah answered, once again flashing her crooked grin. "All thanks to Ya and his very gifted priestess."

"This is good to know Jirah. Now all in our group are free to serve the Eternal One with peace in our hearts."

The three of them caught up with Logan and Jer who were sitting on the side of the road, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up. Having seen this type event unfold before, neither of them questioned the ladies about what happened.

"We should be in Goram within the hour." Logan stated simply. "Do you have a plan for when we get there brother?"

"Yes I do. There is a family living just south of the city that is faithful to our cause. We will head there for the time being and avoid any trouble being in Goram may cause."

"Are you still worried there may be assassins waiting for us along the way?" Jirah asked with concern.

"There very well may be sister," Gaost said with a nod. "I think that Jer and I can sneak in to the city once it is dark and look into getting us a boat."

"Sounds like a good plan boss," Jer said, once again bringing a humorous air to the situation.

Gaost gently rustled the boy's hair and laughed out loud.

The peaceful group of travelers moved on their way, feeling calmer than they should at the moment, considering the danger they soon would face. But the eyes of Ya were watching them every step of the way.

***

Chapter 30

Seafas was whistling a mournful shanty and watching the sun slowly lower itself into the western sea as he drew in the last of his empty fishing nets. He had brought in next to nothing this evening, but as his Pa used to say, "A bad day of fishin' is still better than a good day of farmin'." There wasn't a day went by when he did not miss seeing his dear father in the boat with him. Only months ago, his father had died at the ripe old age of 91, sitting in this very fishing boat as he had done nearly every day of his long, productive life. Simon had been fishing his whole life over these waters just as his father before him had done, so it was only fitting that he should be buried at sea. So it was with a strange mix of emotions, that Seafas had let the body of his father slip over the edge of the boat and sink into the sea that had given him and his family what he thought to be the best way of life for many years. The only other person that would have loved to be there for this quiet funeral was Seafas' mother, but she had died years before. Both Seafas and his father had never quite been the same men after losing the support of such a godly woman in their lives. Seafas still did pray once in a while to the Eternal One, but nothing like his mother used to do. Seafas even had a vague remembrance of her hosting the strange Cleric of Ya in their home when he was very little. The thought of that man's white glowing eyes still sent a chill down his spine.

As the weary fisherman pulled into the small dock in front of his ancestral home, he was more than a little surprised to see a group of travelers waiting near his front door. He was even more shocked to see that one of them was the very same Cleric that he was just thinking about. He tied up his boat and moved in closer to greet the odd party. Along with the Cleric there was an iron-clad knight and a young boy who must be his squire. There was a fairly attractive huntress who must be close to his age, all clad in brown leather and armed to the teeth. His eyes however, settled on the young woman who was decked out in a white dress. The brilliant gown was trimmed in gold and her hair was a fiery red hue that glistened in the last bit of sunshine that was just now sinking into the sea. It made him wonder why a princess would be coming to visit this humble little home at the end of the day. His question was soon to be answered as the Cleric stepped closer with his hand outstretched to make formal introductions.

"Good evening friend," the Cleric spoke in a kind voice. "I hope we have not caught you at a bad time."

"All is well blessed Cleric," Seafas answered, remembering the formal greeting that his mother would use. "What can I do fer ye?"

"I am Gaost, the Cleric of Ya as you seem to remember. You were very young when I was here last."

"Aye," was the fisherman's simple response.

"How fares your family?"

"My dear mother passed years ago," Seafas answered, hanging his head in remembrance, "and my Father, bless his soul, died while fishing just half a year ago."

"I am saddened to hear of your loss friend," Goast said with a genuine concern in his voice. "Your folks were devout followers of Ya and good people both."

"'Tis true," the humble man answered simply again.

"Before I tell you of our reason for being here, you no doubt would like to know who I have with me," the holy man said as he gestured with his hand to his companions. "First, meet the last living Knight of the thorn, Logan."

Logan nodded and shook that man's hand, but not before removing his metal gauntlet first.

"The young boy with his is his squire, Jerhard of Jeru." Jer also shook Seafas' hand eagerly, having never met a fisherman before.

"This is the huntress, Jirah. She is a faithful provider and protector both."

Jirah nodded in greeting as they shook hands.

"Lastly, I am pleased to introduce you to Rose; High Priestess of Ya, and the promised healer."

There was a nervous moment as the humble bachelor figured out how he should greet woman of such great importance. He saw however, from looking in her eyes, that she was not very accustomed to being treated so highly.

Rose was blushing as she moved in to ease the obvious tension that the man was feeling. She bent in close to whisper in his ear as they shook hands, "You can call me just Rose please."

The young priestess' soft voice immediately calmed his slightly nervous demeanour, and he answered back to the whole group, "I be Seafas, the son of Simon and a humble fisherman."

"We are glad to meet you good man," The knight Logan spoke. "A humble man is great in the eyes of Ya, so we greet you as equals."

"I will get right to the point of our visit Seafas," Gaost spoke. "We need to charter a boat."

"I have but a simple fishing boat," he answered, shaking his head. "It will not be good enough to get ye very far. Where do ye wish to go eh?"

"We go to the Isle of Shadow," Gaost said, as if it was a common event.

A long descending whistle came from the fisherman's lips before he responded, "I thought that be a story of legend. I have been fishing these waters all of my life and have never seen it, neither had my father as far as I know."

"I assure you that there is such an island friend," Gaost answered back. "Is there someone in Goram who you think could take us there?"

Seafas thought for a moment before answering. "If there is anyone it would be Ol' Pete. Most think that he is a crazy old man, but my father always respected him greatly. He knows these waters better than anyone I know."

"Thank you my son. That information may be all we need then."

"I'm sure ye know this already, but I'm going to tell y' anyway," Seafas warned. "Goram has gotten a lot rougher than it ever was when I was young. It's not a good place to be if you are a pretty young woman, if ye get my meaning."

"Yes, that why I was hoping to have some of us stay here for a bit while Jer and I sneak into the city," Gaost responded.

"I am not used to hosting young ladies in my home," Seafas said, "but I will do what I can to provide fer your needs."

"I think I'm going to like this guy, Gaost," Jirah said with a crooked grin. "It's been a long time since I've been called a 'young lady'."

"Very well then," the Cleric said, cutting the humorous moment short. "Jer and I will depart right away to seek out this Pete fellow. Do you know where he lives?"

"No idea," Seafas responded, shaking off his slight embarrassment from drawing the attention of Jirah. "Ask around at the docks and I'm sure ye will find him in good time."

With that, Gaost rounded up Jer, who was already exploring the coastline adjacent to the house. He warned the rest of the group to be ready for departure because they would be coming back with a boat as soon as possible.

"I do not want to spend very much time here after being in the city," Gaost said with a serious face. "I am sure that Belial will have spies watching for our arrival. I hope to avoid them, but once they see us, there is no telling what will happen."

"Ya be with you brother," Logan answered. "We will be ready to go."

After a short time of prayer, Gaost and Jer made their way to the port city that lay just north of the cozy little house of Seafas. As for Rose, there was a nervous energy building inside her that would not go away. The time was coming very close to where she would meet with her destiny, and she could not help but wonder is she would even be alive at this time tomorrow.

***

Chapter 31

Gaost and Jer had been wandering the docks of Goram for nearly an hour but they still could not find this old fisherman named Pete.

"Maybe we should check in some of the pubs," Jer said to the Cleric. "Everyone out on the streets seems way too scared of you to talk. What's with that G?"

"Strange stories about my powers have spread around the lands for all of my life. Some say that I can suck out their souls. Some think that I take their children away for dark rituals. I am avoided everywhere I go Jer."

"I guess that's good in a way huh? Then you can do all the stuff you need to without bein' bothered."

"You speak the truth son,"

"Well I think you are pretty cool. I'm gonna sneak into this pub here and listen for a sign of this Pete guy, ok?"

"Good idea Jer," Gaost responded, smiling at the compliment from the little thief. "I will wait outside so as not to scare all the patrons."

Like a flash, Jer slipped inside the pub leaving Gaost to wait outside. In mere minutes, Jer came back out to inform the Cleric what he found out.

"Ol' Pete is in there getting good and drunk G,"

"Any suggestions as to how we can get him out here to have a talk Jer? I want to avoid going in myself if at all possible."

"He's got a mangy dog with him. I'm pretty sure that I can lure the dog out here. He should come out after him I think."

"How do you plan on luring a dog to follow you son?" Gaost asked quizzically.

Jer pulled out a fairly large chunk of meat that he must have been saving for a snack. "I always keep something in my pocket for when I get hungry."

Before Gaost could agree to the plan, Jer slipped away once again into the pub.

Gaost just shook his head, but he had to admire the young man's vigour. Less than a minute later, Goast could hear a slight commotion coming from inside the building and shortly after that, out came Jer with the dog following close behind.

"J.j.jonah! W.w.w.what's up with you t.tonight?" came the voice of an old man from inside the pub. Not far behind Jer and the dog, came an elderly fisherman who had a very pronounced limp.

"Sorry sir," Jer said as kindly as possible. "I didn't mean t' trick ya, but we wanted to talk to you alone for a bit."

The smell of booze emanating from the old sailor was enough to make Gaost's eyes water, but the man seemed actually very coherent for having drunk so much liquor.

"Speak up then lad," Pete spoke with a snarl. "W.w.what do you want?"

"I wish to hire your boat good sir," Gaost said in a kind voice. "I will pay any price that you wish."

"W.where do you wanna g.go?" the old man asked.

"I would prefer to speak of that when we are in a less public area," Gaost responded, "perhaps at the docks?"

"Follow me then," Pete said simply, gesturing them to follow.

Gaost walked slowly alongside the old boatman at a steady pace but no words were said between the two. Jer and Jonah the dog however were having a blast, almost running circles around the two men. It looked to Gaost as if the young thief had never owned a pet before and it was probably true. Again the weary cleric smiled in spite of the pressure that was weighing on him. He had lived for such a long time now, and most of that time was in a world that had forgotten its creator. In fact, aside from the last few weeks with Logan, Rose, and Jirah, he had lived a very lonely life. As if to accentuate his feelings of isolation, the people of Goram were moving out of his general direction, and if by chance they ever looked into his white eyes, they would immediately avert their gaze. As he and Pete rounded a street corner, the docks came in to view and Gaost's feelings of melancholy were replaced with anticipation. The time had finally come for the chosen one to arise and having Rose this close to the staff could not help but bolster his determination. Rose would get the staff and he would protect her with every ounce of his power. The tide would turn from Belial to Ya, and he may just live to see it.

***

In the home of Seafas, Jirah and Rose were enjoying each a warm mug of cider that the kind man had prepared.

"You two relax in here fer a bit," Seafas said, sending the ladies a warm smile, "I am going to bring some drink out fer Logan too eh." As the door closed behind him, Rose winked at Jirah and took the opportunity to tease her a bit.

"Seafas seems like a very kind man," she said, winking very deliberately to her sister.

"Yes he does Rose," Jirah responded, furrowing her brow in suspicion. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"I think he likes you my dear," Rose said firmly. "You have many of the qualities that single men find attractive."

"I really doubt that Rose," Jirah said, blushing slightly. "Besides, I have too much on my plate at the moment to think about romance."

"Don't sell yourself short Jirah," Rose said with almost a scolding tone. "I just meant that you should not be surprised if single guys find you attractive, that's all."

Jirah laughed nervously and smiled her crooked grin before answering Rose, "I have enough to worry about with keeping you alive, thank you very much."

No more was said on the subject as Seafas entered the house once again. He was a fairly quiet man, so very little of import was said between the three of them. He had a few questions for both the ladies but all of it was small talk.

The casual conversation was cut short by the sudden appearance of Logan bursting through the door with a worried look on his face.

"Jirah, I need you outside. Bring your bow."

Everyone got up quickly, went outside and Seafas grabbed a large club that was hanging near the doorway as he went.

Logan was gesturing to them with a single finger up to his mouth warning them to keep quiet as they followed.

"I have discovered that we may have some hostile visitors arriving very soon," Logan said in a low voice.

"Is it another triad?" Jirah asked. "How many of the three have you spotted?"

"I spotted two over that little hill," Logan said pointing to a knoll that was just out of Jirah's bow range.

"Rose, you should get in the house maybe. Seafas, you go with her and keep watch please."

"If this is another triad, then there is still one other assassin out there somewhere," Jirah warned the fisherman. Don't let your guard down."

"Understood," Seafas said. "I got it covered."

Rose moved quickly into the small fishing house with her new friend close behind.

"How should we do this sister?" Logan asked the huntress who already had an arrow notched in her long bow.

"I would think that you should not go crashing over there, first of all," Jirah said to the armour clad knight. "They will know that they are no match for you in hand to hand combat and will just run away."

"We do not want them dogging us for the rest of the journey so that is not an option," Logan agreed. "We need to finish this now."

"Maybe just stay here for now and let them see you," Jirah suggested. "If you act like a clueless brute, they should keep trying to sneak in close."

"Not too hard for me Jirah," Logan said. "I am rather thick sometimes."

Jirah rolled her eyes at the big man's attempt at humour before responding, "I will hide just to the sea side of that small boat house and wait for them to come into bow range."

Logan was more than a little impressed at Jirah's ability to move along the shadows and stay out of sight. She was quickly hidden from the assassins view and the big knight began to pace in front of the house, hoping to draw their attention. He even sang an old battle hymn in a deep voice, doing his best to pretend that he was oblivious to the approaching threat. Jirah, still hidden from the attackers view, gestured for Logan to walk around the house. Quickly catching on to the sly woman's plan, Logan continued with his singing and made his way around the house. This process continued for a few minutes. Jirah kept a sharp eye open and each time Logan rounded the house, the silent killers would move in a little closer.

Jirah's first shot was a remarkable one. With a sharp twang, the arrow struck the closest man right in the neck and he went down with a grotesque gurgle sound coming from his gaping mouth. Seeing that his comrade had fallen, the remaining attacker moved swiftly towards the house. Jirah already had another arrow at the ready to down the man but he was moving too low to the ground to get a good kill shot. The stealthy killer was obviously making an attempt to get the jump on Logan, but the big man already had his twin blades at the ready when he rounded the house one final time. With a great heave, the skilful knight threw one of his swords and it struck the stunned man square in the chest. In a cry of painful dismay, the assassin fell backward at the front door of the house and Jirah relaxed her tense bow, seeing that Logan had finished the job rather quickly.

"I will go in and check on Rose," the knight said, moving to pull his weapon from the would-be murderer's dead body. "Keep an eye out for the third assassin."

"I'm already on it brother," Jirah said walking towards the house. "That was an amazing throw by the way."

Logan just shrugged at the compliment as if it was nothing special and was about to respond in kind with a compliment to Jirah on her shooting skill when the third killer make his location known. A black robed figure leapt from the entrance to the boat house that Jirah had been using as a hiding spot and threw a dagger so swiftly that the huntress had no time to even notch an arrow.

Logan wasted little time in responding and deftly threw his remaining sword, striking the moving man in the stomach. Jirah was crying out in pain as the knight moved in to finish the kill by shoving his sword farther into the killer, severing his spine. As the big man moved swiftly over to his fallen comrade, he saw a dagger protruding from her shoulder.

"Don't move sister," he said urgently. "The dagger most likely has poison on it."

Jirah knew very well that her pounding heart was pumping some form of deadly toxin into her body, so she did everything she could to calm herself. It was then that Seafas and Rose emerged from the house to help Logan deal with their wounded companion.

"O no, O no," the fisherman cried out in dismay. "I am so sorry. I wanted to help, but I froze in terror when the attack came." The poor man was overcome with guilt, but Logan was quick to assure him.

"You are not a fighter by trade good man," Logan said firmly. "You did the right thing by staying in the house with Rose."

"I feel like such a coward," Seafas admitted with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I should have came out and helped.

The shock and dismay that the humble man felt was soon dwarfed by the reaction that came from Rose when she saw her dear sister lying on the ground with a dagger sticking out of her shoulder.

"Jirah, NO!" she screamed and quickly ran to fall on her knees before the wounded huntress.

"Rose," Logan said firmly. "We have to get her into the house quickly. Back off for a minute please."

"It will be fine dear," Jirah said, doing her best to calm her distraught sister. "Let Seafas and Logan help me into the house and then we can deal with this wound."

Rose did not want to move away from Jirah so Logan had to move in and pry her shaking hands from Jirah's face.

Entering the home, they placed Jirah's weakening body carefully on the table and Rose was at her side immediately, gently caressing her head.

"Hang on Jirah," Rose spoke tenderly through the sobs. "I need you so much."

While Jirah was looking into the loving eyes of Rose, Logan deftly pulled the dagger from her shoulder and quickly pressed a soft towel on the wound. Jirah cried out in pain and soon after passed out.

Rose's mood was now hysterical, but Seafas was quick to reassure her.

"She has just passed out Rose," he said calmly. "She is not yet dead."

"What can we do Logan?"

"First, we will stay calm Rose. Jirah has always been with us to be one of your protectors. She would gladly die for you, but I do not think we have to worry about that happening right away."

"I don't want her to die for me," Rose said simply, doing her best to calm her troubled spirit.

"None of us do sister. She is a tough old bird however, so let's hold out hope, ok?"

"I can do that," Rose said with a sigh, then kissed Jirah tenderly on the forehead.

"Whatever you do Rose, DO NOT try to heal her right now. Understand?" Logan said this in a very firm voice. "If you take this poison into yourself then all hope is lost."

***

Chapter 32

As the creaking fishing boat approached the shoreline in front of Seafas' little home, Gaost got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Please just wait here on the shore for a bit please," he said to Pete, who just nodded in response.

"I got a bad feelin' Boss," Jer said to the worried Cleric. "Somethin' is up."

"You sense it too then? Let's move in carefully and quietly son."

The worried companions crept quietly, each around either side of the house, but found that no one was there.

"Everyone must be inside Boss," Jer said glancing around the front yard. "It does look like there was a fight here though. Look at how the ground is all scuffed up over here."

Gaost said nothing in response, but rather rushed in through the door to see what had happened.

It was the young man Jer who first reacted to what was seen inside. He rushed in like a flash and started to shake once he got close enough to see Jirah's pale and lifeless face.

"Is she dead?" Jer asked, in more of a shout. "Who did this?" The poor boy was more than a little distraught, and Rose moved over to console him as best she could.

"She is ok for now Jer," Rose spoke in a soft tone, doing her best not to show how scared she was in this moment too. "The dagger that pierced her shoulder was coated with a slow acting poison however."

"I have done what I can with my limited knowledge of medicine to slow the poison," Seafas answered. "I would say that she has two or three hours at most before her heart stops completely."

"We have to DO something!" Jer exclaimed.

"Listen up everyone," Gaost exclaimed. "We are getting distracted from our main purpose. It is time for Rose to claim the staff."

After a short moment of silence, Logan responded in agreement, "Sorry Gaost. You are right. Let's regain some focus here and get on with our mission."

"Rose, Logan and I will leave right away for the Isle of Shadow," the serious Cleric instructed. "Jer, you stay here with Seafas and help care for Jirah."

Jer nodded in agreement, saying nothing, his attention mostly still being given to his fallen comrade.

"And pray," Gaost almost yelled. "Pray all of you. If we can get Rose back here in time with the staff, then Jirah will be just fine."

Everyone turned to look directly at the Priestess of Ya, something that would usually make her nervous, but for some reason she found her soul filling with resolution. In this desperate moment, she was able to shed all of her fear and worry like a butterfly breaks away its cocoon. Before the followers of Ya now stood a reborn Rose, ready to embrace her destiny with her whole being.

"Today the free reign of Belial comes to an end," Rose declared. "Let's go get that staff boys."

Logan and Gaost both smiled at that remark, then with a fierce determination, the three of them left the little fishing shack to get in the waiting boat.

***

The air was thick with a nervous energy to match the growing fog that was quickly enclosing around Willy's creaking boat.

"So, are ye' gonna t.t.tell me where we are goin', or do I have to g.g.guess?" the old seaman asked in a gruff voice.

"The Isle of Shadow," Gaost said simply.

Willy let out a long whistle and shook his head slowly.

"You do know where that is, correct?" Logan asked.

"O, I know w.w.where it is all right," the old man answered with a somewhat puzzled look on his face.

"I get the feeling that you have something more to tell us Willy," Rose said in a kind voice. "You will take us there won't you?"

"I got no problem takin' you there lassie," he answered Rose. "It's j,just that I took someone else there just a couple days ago, A really strange red-eyed man that gave me the creeps."

Gaost's shoulders slumped and he sighed in dismay before answering, "That was my mortal enemy, Bane."

"Well brother, we didn't really expect Belial to just let us walk in and take the staff without a fight did we?" Logan said.

"This is true," the Cleric answered, "But I will have enough trouble just trying to keep the taints at bay. Having to fight the dark disciple will make it that much harder."

Willy had a rather worried look on his face when he spoke again to Gaost. "I ain't goin' to be a part of any fighting."

Rose could tell by the old man's body language that he was frightened not only from the prospect of danger, but his encounter with Bane had left him slightly scarred too. She reached out and gently touched his boney old shoulder and spoke to him softly, "Willy, we mean you no harm at all. I am sure that Gaost will keep us all safe."

"There is no need for you to leave the boat friend," Logan spoke to ease the man as well. "We will pay you quite well if you would wait for our return though."

"I only promise to get you there knight," Willy answered firmly. "After that, you are on your own."

Rose still had her hand on the frightened man's shoulder, and could feel the tension coursing through his weary frame. Muttering a quick and quiet prayer for the man, the holy healing work of Ya took over her actions. Rose was careful again not to take any of this pain into her own mind, but rather gave it all up to her loving Father. Willy gave a slight shudder, as if shaking off a sudden chill, and in moments, he smiled back at the loving priestess.

"Thank you deary," he said in a much calmer voice. Turning his attention back to sailing, he said simply, "We should be there in an hour or so."

No response was given or needed, as the followers of Ya became lost in their own thoughts.

***

Jerhard could not stand being in the house anymore. He had always been a free spirit, not wanting to be tied down and there was no place that he could even really call home, so after announcing to Seafas that he needed some fresh air, he left out the back door. Truth be told, the young thief had to get farther away from the sick huntress who had found a rather special place in his heart. He had no memories of his own mother at all so the new memories that he was forming with Jirah were very special to him, even if he didn't say as such. Seeing her lying on that bed, motionless made him want to cry, so now he was outside pacing nervously and trying to make sense of his troubled feelings by talking to himself.

"This Belial guy is really starting to get on my nerves," he said to himself. "I mean, how evil do you have to be to hurt someone as nice as Jirah, or Rose, or even Logan for that matter?"

A new thought came to his troubled mind, what if he was to pray? All of his new companions seemed to think that it was a normal thing to do, so why not. After all he had seen happen, he could not help but believe that Ya was real; he just did not know what that meant for him yet. So, still pacing feverishly, he began a conversation with the creator.

"Ya, how's it going? This is Jer speaking." He hoped that he was talking properly, but he really had no idea how to converse with a god.

"I was just wondering if you could do me a favour. I kinda really like this Jirah gal, but I'm getting scared that she's gonna die. That would be real bad for me 'cause I was hoping that she would sorta be my mother when things settle down a bit."

Speaking these intense thoughts out loud brought a new sensation to the boy and he felt a lump forming in his throat.

"Anyways, that favour I need is for you to heal her please. It seems that you have enough power to do it, so I will leave the details up to you." Small tears were forming in his eyes now as he finished his first prayer.

"Just let me know if you need me to do something to help. I'm up for anything really; if you could just do this one thing I would be pretty happy."

Jerhard had no expectations whatsoever for a response to his request so he was more than a little startled when the soft, yet powerful voice of the creator spoke into is mind.

"Jerhard my son," came the voice of Ya. "There is something you can do for me right now, but you must act quickly."

Jer stopped his pacing and nearly fell flat on his face. Before he could respond to the new voice in his head the instructions came quickly.

"There is a large group of mercenaries on their way to the house right now," Ya spoke. "Go and tell Seafas immediately. The two of you must take Jirah and get into his fishing boat."

"You got it," Jerhard said resolutely. "Where are we gonna go?"

"Just get out onto to sea as fast as you can my son," Ya said firmly. "These evil men have been hired to kill you all. I will give you directions once you get out of harm's way."

Jer did not have to be told twice when it came to helping Jirah, so he burst into the house with the urgent news.

"We gotta get outta here Seafas," he said in more of a yell. "A big bunch of soldiers are on their way right now."

"How in the world would you know this son?" Seafas asked.

"I will explain it all to you once we get Jirah into the boat," he spoke with such urgency that Seafas could not help but believe in the boy's sincerity. "We gotta go now!"

Jer opened the seaside door for Seafas as he gently carried Jirah in his arms out to the waiting fish boat.

Not very far off in the distance, a clamour of voices could be heard approaching them and by the time they were pushing out to the open sea, they could see a large group of angry looking men heading towards the house at a fast pace.

"Ye weren't kidding, son," Seafas said with a worried face. "How in the world did y' know they were coming?"

"Don't think I'm crazy Sea, but Ya told me," Jer said shrugging his shoulders.

"Well then, this is turning out to be a very interesting day isn't it?"

"No kidding," Jer said moving closer to Jirah who was lying on some blankets that they had placed in the bottom of the boat. "I don't even know where we gotta go yet, but Ya told me to go, so I went."

"Looks like I will need a new place to live after all this is done," Seafas said in a mournful voice, looking back to see the mob of mercenaries, destroying his little shack.

"Good thing we got away in time. Sorry about your house. I sure hope that things are goin' better for Gaost and the gang."

Jerhard spoke no more, but watched along with Seafas as the seaside home burnt to the ground.

***

Chapter 33

The fog surrounding Willy's little fishing boat was so thick that Rose was having a hard time seeing her companions, let alone the surrounding waters. Then, as if passing though some sort of invisible wall, they emerged to see what could only be the Isle of Shadows. Cliffs at least twenty feet high made landing the boat somewhere seem impossible. Exposed tree roots and dead snags hung from the top edge of the ominous wall and Rose was quick to notice that these half dead trees were the only sign of life. As far as she could tell, this small group would be the only living creatures on this dreaded rock. After a quarter hour of rowing, Willy brought the boat around a sharp corner and a steep crevasse came into view.

"This be the only way up far's I can tell," the old boatman spoke, breaking the long, tense silence.

"Here will be just fine," Gaost responded, "thank you for bringing us here good sir."

"I brought ye' fer pay, that is all," Willy said gruffly. "When will ye' be need'n a return trip?"

"Of that we are unsure," the Cleric replied. "Would you mind waiting for an hour or so?"

"I will go and come back," he said, shaking his head. "Don't like this place at all. It feels evil."

"Understood," Gaost affirmed.

Logan took the lead, climbing half with his hands up the steep trail. Rose took some time to tie up her long flowing dress around her waist before the climb, and continued up after him. Logan looked back often to see if Rose was having trouble and would offer his hand for a pull up when she needed it. Once again Rose was impressed at how strong and kind this dear man was. She felt very safe with him, even in the midst of this dark and lonely place. Once Logan finally reached the top, he turned to help Rose, and it was then that he noticed her exposed legs.

"Take my hand," he said, reaching down and turning his gaze to the side. "I will pull you up this last bit."

Rose smiled at how shy this mighty warrior was at the sight of her bare legs, but she resisted the urge to tease him about it. What happened next was a surprise to the both of them. Rose leapt as Logan pulled and in moments, they found themselves in an embrace. They lingered in this position for only a moment, but those short seconds, looking deep into each other's eyes, a serious bond was made. An unwritten but binding vow was made in the hearts of both these children of Ya. A connection was created that would last till the end of their days. Then, as quick as the moment had begun, it was over. Logan released Rose from his supportive embrace, and Rose untied her dress just as Goast came up the bank to stand on the top.

"Is it just me, or did anyone else notice that Willy stopped stuttering?" Logan asked, trying to avoid discussion about what has just occurred between him and Rose.

"I noticed it too," Gaost said. "I would think that Rose had something to do with that again."

"I prayed for the dear man of course," Rose said with a smile. "Ya in his great mercy chose to help the man talk I guess.

Now that the trio was settled on the flat ground, they looked around to see before them a thick wall of trees. Rose was startled and a shudder shot up her spine. These tangled trees were straight from her life-long nightmare. She took a deep breath, and straightened her shoulders in resolve. These trees were not from a nightmare, but from her ever-loving father. Rather than coming from some dark place or horror, the dreams she had experienced for most of her young life were meant to show her the way and will of Ya.

"Lead on Gaost," Logan said motioning to the wall of trees with his big hand. "I got no idea where to go."

"Truthfully Logan, I have no idea either. I was hoping that Rose may have some idea."

"Follow me then boys," Rose said with a smile. "These trees and I go way back." Rose gave herself over to her intuition and led them forward into the thick forest.

Only moments after starting on their way, an ominous voice spoke with an evil hiss from the small clearing behind them.

"I thought that killing you would be more of a challenge Gaost," said the mocking voice of Bane. "You have no idea where you are going do you?"

Rose gasped at the realization that Bane had been right there listening to them, waiting for a dramatic time to reveal his presence.

"I have no problem with depending on someone else, Bane," Gaost said. "In fact, I see your dependence on self to be your biggest weakness."

Without warning, Bane released a bolt of searing red energy from his fingertips, square into the chest of the surprised Cleric.

In a moment, Logan had drawn his sword, and Rose moved in to help Gaost get to his feet, but the mighty Cleric was up in a flash.

"You two go on now," Gaost ordered. "There is nothing you can do here, and besides, this is my battle."

Before any answer could be given, white hot bolts of holy energy shot from the hands of the Cleric into the chest his nemesis.

Logan lingered only for a moment, resisting the urge to rush in, swords swinging.

"Protect Rose Logan," Gaost yelled. "Follow her close and make sure she can get to that staff."

Rose and Logan sprang forward, leaving as resounding cracks of energy rang out in the small clearing behind them. The ground in front of them was sloping downward just enough to keep Rose walking at a brisk pace. The farther they went, the more she became sure of the direction she was leading them. It felt as if the hand of Ya himself was pulling her to her destiny. Normally this feeling would disturb Rose. She did not like the feeling that someone else was in control, but in this case, the dreams of many restless nights were being unfolded with finality. Rather than fighting the restless promptings to push forward, she gave herself over fully, getting lost in the thoughts of finally reaching the end of this fitful dream.

A sudden and vigorous rustling of the branches around them brought Rose to a stop.

"This place must be over-run with Taints," Logan said with a worried look. "How are we supposed to fight what we cannot see?"

Rose did not hesitate to pray for help, placing one of her hands on Logan's cheek, and the other on one of his strong sword arms. "Almighty Father, give us eyes to see clearly and may we both depend on your might to defeat whatever foes may attempt to keep us from your will."

Logan opened his eyes and found that his words were truer than he expected. They were completely surrounded by the evil, dark creatures. With a loud cry, the holy knight of Ya drew both of his swords, filling the forest with a great white light.

"Ya has granted you the power to fight against the taints brother," Rose exclaimed.

"No foul creature of Belial will be left standing before me sister," Logan agreed, sweeping the flashing blades in front of him to clear the path forward.

The pace forward was much slower now, and the unholy creatures kept coming forward at a relentless pace. Rose kept in close to Logan's back, not wanting to get in the way of his swinging blades. On and on, the Taints came for what seemed to Rose like an eternity, until the mighty strokes of Logan finally cleared an opening in the direction that Rose wanted to go. Without thinking, she lifted her dress, and burst through the opening, running as fast as her sore feet would take her. Behind her, she could hear the clamour of the fight between Logan and the endless Taints; the swish of the swords and the ear piercing cries as each broad stroke cut another Taint in two. She got ahead by nearly ten paces before any of the fallen ones noticed that she had eluded them. No longer distracted by the menacing knight, the Taints turned their attention back to chasing the woman in white, as their master had ordered them. On Rose ran between the trees, branches lashing at her face as she dodged back and forth into the dark. The taints gained a little ground on her with every stumble, their numbers seeming to increase even with the white hot blades of Logan slashing at them from behind. The panting warrior was doing what he could to get closer to Rose and ahead of her pursuers, but fatigue was starting to set in. He had never faced this many enemies on his own before.

Rose began to feel a desperate panic pounding in her heart. She was beginning to think that every single Taint on the face of Terros was chasing her down this dark valley. She could feel their clawed fingers grasping for her flowing dress and tangled hair.

Logan, with a mighty scream and a terrible slice in the air was finally able to move back to back with Rose, keeping the taints off of her for the time being.

"We are nearly there," Rose exclaimed.

Logan did not answer as more fallen ones swept in on them in a flood. The poor man's arms felt as if they were going to fall off, yet he kept on swinging, all the while praying to his heavenly Father for strength.

The dark opening of a narrow cave came into view in front of them and Rose rushed into the darkness with her hands out in front, feeling her way forward.

"I will do what I can to hold them off here Rose," Logan yelled back from the opening. "You go on ahead and I will come as soon as I can."

Rose did not speak, but rather moved on as fast as she could into the darkness, all the while hoping that there were no taints waiting in front of her. She could hear Logan's battle cry sounding out behind her and she said another quick prayer under her breath for her brave friend. This groping in the darkness seemed to go on for a long while as the sounds of the fierce fighting died out behind her and just when she thought that it could not get any darker, a very faint light began glow in the passage ahead. Rose's heart took a leap of anticipation at the prospect of arriving at her dream's goal, but it was quickly diminished by the appearance of growling taints closing in on her from behind. Now that she could see better, she ran as fast as she could. Panic began to swell in her spirit as the wicked beings got close enough to tear at the flowing edges of her torn dress. She was more than a little worried for Logan, thinking that he may have fallen under the constant flow of fallen ones in order for them to get this close to her. She did not stop moving though, praying a constant, desperate mantra of protection. She had no idea what she would do when she got to the staff, but having given herself over completely to the will of Ya, she pressed forward. Rounding one final corner, she was blinded by a brilliant light coming from the open ceiling of what must be the resting place of the fabled staff. Before her eyes could adjust to the sudden burst of light, the panting knight burst into the room behind her with many taints in his wake.

"Grab the staff while you can Rose," Logan cried out in desperation. "I cannot hold them off much longer."

Long bloodied claw marks were oozing on the big man's face and arms from the taints' groping hands, and it took great effort of Rose to tear her gaze from this man that she loved so dearly, but she did eventually turn to look upon the long, smooth form of the staff of Ramah. Taking a deep breath, she reached out boldly to grasp the staff, finally reaching that which had eluded her.

***

Chapter 34

Seafas had a heavy heart as he steered his little fishing boat farther and farther into the thick fog. It was bad enough to have lost his childhood home because of these unexpected visitors, but now he was sure that Jer had them lost out in the western sea. What was he thinking, letting this kid dictate the direction of their escape? He was about to announce his intentions of turning back when Jer called out from the front of the ship.

"Hey Seaf! I think we made it," the young thief exclaimed. "Have you ever seen this place before?

To his surprise, Seafas was just beginning to see the outline of the mysterious Isle of Shadow that he thought to be only a legend.

"How did ye know the way here boy?" Seafas asked. "I admit that I had doubts as to where we were going to."

"I told you," Jer answered with a grin. "I prayed to Ya, and he told me the way. I've been talkin' to him all this time. It's kinda freaky actually."

Seafas just shook his head, amazed.

"Well, we are here now," the fisherman said. "Let's find a spot to land the boat so we can see what the others are up to."

"We gotta get to them fast," Jer said, taking a worried glance at the still form of Jirah, lying near death in the middle of the boat. "Hang in there J."

The huntress was breathing very shallow and Seafas was convinced that each breath may be her last.

The islands' high cliffs were showing no signs of a good landing spot, but as they rounded a corner, another potential problem came into view. Flashes of red and white light were beaming out from the top of a nearby crevasse.

"It looks like the Cleric may have his hands full at the moment Jer," Seafas said. "I would suggest approaching with caution."

"Bring'er up over here Seaf," Jer said, pointing to a small landing just below the flashing lights. "You gotta stay here with Jirah anyway. I will sneak up and see what's going on."

Seafas simply nodded in agreement as the nimble Jer leapt from the boat and bounded up the steep bank, showing no signs of fatigue.

As he reached the top of the ridge, Jer jumped behind a tree to avoid detection and his jaw dropped open in shock at what he saw. The man he knew as Gaost was locked in a mortal battle with a very evil looking man who had similar powers to the mighty cleric. The white energy bolts of Ya coming from Gaost were being met with blinding red flashes from the hands of his opponent. Jer stood there frozen in terror, his legs unable to move from sheer fright, yet he could not take his eyes off of the action. The two men were showing no signs of wear in spite of the intense energy they were throwing back and forth. The fight seemed to be going nowhere when the gentle voice of Ya once again spoke into the mind of Jer.

"Jer my son, I need you to be brave once again."

Jer did not move or answer. Gripped with fear, he jumped as the voice came back again, but much louder this time.

"Jer!" the almighty creator spoke. "Take out your knife."

Being startled into action, the young man took out the same dagger he had used to save the life of Rose back in Jeru.

"I am calling you into service my son," Ya spoke with an intense calm. "I have granted you all the power you need to defeat the man Bane."

Jer held up his blade, and in that moment, a strange but very powerful energy began coursing through his body. It started in his chest, growing in intensity as it coursed along his right arm finally burst from the end of his outstretched dagger. Jer did not have to be told what to do next. Staying under the cover of the thick trees, he crept around, more stealthy than usual, until he stood only a few feet behind the black robed disciple of Belial. Without hesitation, and in spite of the blinding flashes of energy that surrounded him, Jer jumped out from the trees and into the clearing. Only Gaost could see the look of surprise that came to Bane's evil face as the burning white light of Jer's dagger was thrust into his back. With a loud cry, the young disciple of Ya pushed the blade in right to the hilt. The white glowing tip of the holy blade protruded from Banes chest and he cried out a great scream of pain.

"Master! Save me!" the cry came from Bane's lips.

Gaost, who was equally surprised by the appearance of Jer, stumbled over to Bane and spoke, "It would seem that your master has left you to die Bane."

Jer pushed forward with a great heave, letting the dying form of Bane fall forward onto the ground in front of him with a very unremarkable thump.

"Well, that is that son," Gaost said, as if nothing of great report had just happened. Jer was still standing over the lifeless body of Belial's fallen disciple with the dagger tight in his hand, its light beginning to fade. The stunned boy shook his shoulders, as if being roused from a deep sleep and he gave Gaost a questioning look.

"You did well son," Gaost said, mussing the boy's hair. "You would make a great Cleric I think."

"Did you just say cleric?" Jer asked, still shook up from what he had just done.

"More of that later son," Gaost said, smiling with pride at the young man. "We need to sit down and do some serious praying for Logan and Rose right now."

Without hesitation, they both slumped to the ground and began to commune with the god they knew would come to the aid of the priestess and knight, just as he had done for them.

***

Hidden away from the world for ages, the staff of Ramah lay covered in dust on a simple stone table. Time stood still only for a moment as the chosen one reached out her slender hand to grasp it, and once she did, many things happened all at once. With a terrifying shriek, the small army of taints that had nearly buried Logan moments ago scattered in fear. Logan slumped down from utter exhaustion with his back to the cave wall, his two great swords clattering to the ground. Rose nearly panicked as she grasped the relic, for once found by its owner, sharp vines reached out and wound around her hand. Piercing thorns dug into her soft flesh, drawing bright red blood that dripped from her elbow, but rather than being scared, Rose yielded herself to its power.

"My beloved daughter," came the loving voice of Ya, echoing through the sky lit opening. "I am well pleased with you."

Great tears of joy streamed down the cheeks of the woman who was once an object of sin and shame. There was so much she wanted to say to her loving heavenly father, but the words would not come. No words would be good enough. The initial pain of the thorns was gone and was soon replaced with an overwhelming power. For the first time in her life, Rose knew utter contentment. This was where she belonged.

"I have called you forth to spread my healing power in this broken land," the voice of Ya spoke in loving tones that overwhelmed Rose. "Do you accept this calling?"

"Yes father," Rose said, her voice shaking. "I accept with all my heart."

The bright sun of a new day lifted in the sky to hover above the opening in the cave, filling the room with light and warmth. Power was coursing through the young woman as she lifted the staff high above her head, as if to announce her calling to the whole world.

"Behold, the chosen healer," Ya spoke in a booming voice. "From this day forth I shall call you Roshua. It is your true name and only I may speak it."

Roshua, as her father had named her, could feel that her life was starting anew. Rather than being the end of a long journey, this was the beginning of a whole new way of living for her.

"Go forth my child and know that I will always be with you," Ya spoke one final time, and a peaceful calm fell on the whole room.

Rose was roused into action by her newfound power and a sudden awareness of her situation.

"Logan!" she cried out, moving over to the fallen knight. "Are you ok?"

"My beautiful Rose," the weary man said, still trying to catch his breath. "Now that I have witnessed you coming into your calling, I feel blessed in spite of my weary body."

"Are you able to walk?" We have to get going if we want to save Jirah."

"I am afraid that I would slow you down. You go on ahead, I will be fine."

Rose did not hesitate to leave, knowing that Logan would be safe, and the thought of losing her dear drove down the cave faster than when she had entered it. She just hoped that it was not too late for Jirah.

***

Chapter 35

Only minutes after offering earnest prayers up for Rose and Logan, Gaost and Jer were brought to their feet at the sound of the booming voice of Ya echoing through the thick forest. They did not hear all that the creator had said to Rose, but they had heard enough to know that she was now in possession of the staff. Gaost startled Jer by grasping him tightly in a warm hug and jumping up and down with delight. Jer moved back from the unexpected embrace to see the usually stoic face of the Cleric beaming with a broad smile.

"She has done it Jer," Gaost said in almost a laugh. "We have won it!"

"Seems that way boss," Jer said, still feeling rather sheepish about the sudden display of affection. "We better go and see if Jirah is still ok huh?"

"Yes, yes, of course son. See if you and Seafas can get her up here into this clearing."

Jer had so many questions for the eternal man after the events of this day, but that would have to wait. Now he was overcome by his concern for Jirah.

"Hurry up Rose," he spoke quietly to himself as he slid down the bank to the fishing boat below. "Jirah needs you."

***

Rose felt as if her heart was going to pound out of her chest. Never in her life had she run so fast and with such urgency. There was regret for having to leave Logan behind in the cave after all he had done to get her to the staff, but saving Jirah had become her most desperate desire. She burst out into the clearing where they had first landed to find that a lot more of her friends than he expected. Gaost was there but so was Jer. Seafas was kneeling on the ground and cradling the still, pale form of Jirah in his strong arms. The closer she got to her companions however, the more a great lump began to form in her throat. Jer was weeping in the arms of Gaost, and even Seafas had tears in his warm eyes. The gentle fisherman was gently brushing Jirah's matted hair with his rough hands.

"Rose, I'm so sorry," Seafas said with a choke. "The poison took her at least five minutes ago."

"No. It can't be!" Rose cried out, dropping to her knees beside her dear friend. "This is not supposed to happen this way."

"She gave her life to save you Rose," Gaost said, trying to reassure the weeping priestess. "We did all that we could, but sometimes it's just not enough."

Rose refused to believe that this was happening. What use was having this newfound power if she could not save the people that mattered to her the most? Determination welled up inside her and she decided to take control of the situation. She was not going to let life turn her into a victim anymore.

"Everyone back off and give me some space," she commanded to her friends.

"What are you doing Rose?" Gaost asked. "Even the first healer could not raise the dead."

Rose just ignored the Cleric and spoke out a command to Jer. "Follow my tracks back into the cave Jer and help Logan to get back out here. He is hurt but will need you. Go!"

Jer jumped into action, bounding into the forest.

Now the new priestess of Ya, who had heard the very creator himself speak her true name, turned he attention to the dear friend in front of her.

"You are all wrong," she said with a fierce assurance. "Jirah is NOT dead. She is sleeping."

Knowing instinctively what to do, she stretched the staff of Ramah lengthwise across the unmoving form of the huntress. Closing her eyes tight, she focused all of her love on Jirah's pale body, searching inside for the deadly poison. The same blue glowing light began to surge in pulses around Rose as it had on her previous healing events but this time it was much more intense, being amplified by the staff's power. Shutting out all of her surroundings, including the plea's coming from her companions, she spoke a simple word of command to her lifeless sister.

"Arise."

The staff burst into action with a flare of blue light, so bright that those around her had to avert their gaze. Rose, called Roshua by the almighty creator Ya, pulled the poison out of Jirah and channelled it into the staff. At the same time, she could feel her very life force being pulled from her soul and into her dear friend.

With a great gasp, Jirah breathed in sharply and her eyes opened, filling with life. Her arms moved quickly to embrace the slumping form of Rose as she passed out completely from exhaustion.

"What just happened?" Jirah asked of those around her. "Rose, are you ok?"

Rose was showing no signs of life at all.

"We tried to stop her Jirah," Seafas said, moving in close to the huntress. "I think she just gave her life to save yours."

"No, no, Rose!" Jirah said with a desperate plea. "What have you done?"

"Gaost!" Seafas spoke said turning to the Cleric. "Why didn't you stop her?"

Jirah sat up, holding the lifeless form of Rose in her arms as she too looked to Gaost for guidance.

The eternal man spoke nothing. He was lost in prayer, muttering in low tones to the god he had conversed with for millennia.

From the shadow of the trees came the forms of Logan and Jer, the young thief doing what he could to stabilize the weary knight. Once they reached the rest of the group, Gaost opened his glowing white eyes and raised his hands to gain everyone's attention.

"Listen up everyone," he said in a very serious tone.

"We have gained a great victory today by both defeating the disciple of Belial, and retrieving the stolen Staff of Ramah."

Logan was about to ask why Rose was laying lifeless in the arms of Jirah, but Gaost lifted his hand to silence him.

"Rose followed her heart and has used her newfound power to raise Jirah from the dead," Gaost said, a frown forming on his lips. "In doing so, she has traded her life for that of her dear sister."

Jirah wept great sobs, too full of pain to even speak.

The Cleric continued before anyone could respond. "I have asked our heavenly father to help me return the favour to Rose on behalf of Jirah."

The blank looks on everyone's face told Goast that no one knew what he was talking about.

"I will give my life so that Rose may live," Goast said simply. "I would request that you please say goodbye to Rose for me, and tell her how proud I am."

"I didn't think that you could die G," Jer responded.

"I have lived for a very long time son, maybe too long. To tell you the truth, I feel like it is time to hand the office of Cleric to someone else. My time here is done."

"Who could take possibly take your place Gaost?" Logan asked.

"Ya has already chosen my successor," Goast said with a rare smile. "The time of their revealing will be up to Ya himself."

The emotions of all the companions were so thick in the air that even the mighty blades of Logan could not cut through it.

"This is goodbye friends," Gaost said with finality. "Ya has given every one of you all the power you need to turn this world into a better place. Trust him and do all you can to protect Rose. You can do all things through him who gives you strength."

With those final words, the grey robed figure of the eternal man began to rise. His head slumped forward, as if giving up is spirit, and in that same moment, Rose opened up her luminous green eyes. Everyone held their breath in amazement as they watched the first Cleric of the Eternal Creator rise up into the clouds and finally disappear from view.

***
Epilogue

The days that followed the ascension of Gaost into the clouds were bitter sweet for Rose and her close group of friends.

Logan, having been the first to gain some semblance of resolve suggested that they all make their way back to the capital city. They all needed some time to recuperate and would need to pray for direction so everyone agreed with him.

Even Seafas had agreed to come, having no place to call home anyway.

Rose and Jirah walked together for most of the journey, holding hands much of the time. What had passed between the two of them over the last few weeks would never be forgotten.

Each evening, wherever they camped for the night, Logan and Rose would spend some time together in quiet conversation. Their friendship was quickly moving to a place of deep, abiding love.

Seafas kept himself busy most of the time with cooking and camping duties. He obviously was still not quite sure of what to do and of what role he should play in this group of friends.

Jer was taking the loss of Gaost alot harder than anyone else it seemed. The young thief kept mostly to himself, running off to scout the path ahead of them as often as he could. Logan did take the time at least once a day to still instruct his squire in the ways of a knight, but he could tell that the boy's heart was not in it. Quite often, Jer would sit off by himself and he would usually be flipping his dagger back and forth with his nimble fingers.

The eternal Creator, Ya himself, looked down on this precious group of followers with love and pride. All things were set in place to turn the tide of destruction, Belial started thousands of years ago, and he could not help but smile.

High in the spire of ruin, the Fallen One cried out a scream of desperate rage, already formulating his plans for killing the Chosen Healer.

###

Author's note

I shall give credit where credit is due.

Many thanks go to my wife Gloria who has been a great support in the writing of this book.

I must thank Kimmie as well for her support and encouragement along the way.

Yes, the name "Murken" wood is a direct steal from Tolkien. Consider it a tribute.

I have made the same sort of compliment to my favorite author, Terry Goodkind. The use of the term "Triad" in reference to the group of assassins is taken from his use of "quad". Please read his books and be moved as I was.

As to the redheaded girl named Rose in a white dress? I did have this idea long before the movie "Titanic" came out, but I cannot deny that the Rose from the movie must be much like my Rose. I will let the reader decide on that one.

I welcome comments or questions on facebook or twitter @alanon68

Watch for book #2 in the Staff of Ramah series, appearing in the fall of 2016. "The Chosen Healer".

