(Continued from Ch 53, Summertime) The Chronicles of Rapina Chapter 54, Sir Bellany Bellany's final memories of Norwit sat sweetly in her mind as Norwit Keep disappeared in the distance behind her moving carriage. Three days earlier her father had thrown a party. Nearly all of the knights of Norwit and many from other parts of Avengene, as well as a smattering of gentlemen had attended. Notable about the crowd was that there was only one priest present, Reverend Wright. He had been Bellany's chaperone. Also notable was the sizable number of single men who had attended. The party had been Bellany's official presentation to society, and that meant that young men could now court her. The party had showcased her talents. She had baked the breads and many of the pies and cakes for the feast herself. She had performed musical numbers on the lute, She had demonstrated her prowess with the longbow and the guests had even been taken up to see the torsion spring that she had helped build for the new catapult. To the amusement of the knights, she had also crossed rapiers with a few of them. She had even beaten a few, much to their embarrassment, but several had also beaten her. All and all it had been a fun evening and she had picked up a few new tricks of swordplay. At the end of the evening, Darl Norwit admitted that Marquis Avengene would not allow him to keep his word about knighting the first of his children to best him at the sword. Nevertheless he was a man of his word and he had gone on to dub her Lady Sir Bellany Norwit, knight in his heart, and unofficial knight of Norwit. She really doubted she would marry a knight of Avengene, but it had been a good party nonetheless. The events of the last few weeks had also underscored what a stern yet loving and noble father Darl Norwit was. As another fragment of her girlhood ordeal with an evil priest slipped into her mind, she realized that the priest had been an ignoble nobleman and that Darl Norwit was the kind of man the evil reverend should have been. During those bouts with the sword against various knights, additional bits of memory from Daelrath had come to her. They were still only glimpses, as her memory after the pirates but before Norwit still felt dead or dampened. Reminders had to be specific and the memories gained were usually isolated fragments. Since she found out from her mother that she had never visited Daelrath, Bellany began to suspect that she was not herself even more strongly. Before school let out, she needed to know exactly who she was. If she decided she needed to make an escape, the best time would be while she was in Bristol. Toward that end, she was going to do anything that she could to jog her memory. As her mind faded back from her reverie, She hung her head out the carriage window and looked behind the carriage to her equine friend, Starstruck. The cavalrymen had tethered his lead rope to the carriage so that she could mount up in an emergency. He nickered to her and trotted forward. She had thought better of trying to ride him straight away. Her mother felt the ride was far too long for a woman. She had insisted that Charles make the trip in three days rather than his usual two. Bellany smiled. She had spent the entire summer in the saddle, but that had no bearing on her mother's view of reality. When they were about an hour away from the keep Charles rode up alongside the carriage. "How is the ride Bellany?" He asked. "The scenery is nice, but I feel like I am looking at it through a window," Bellany replied. "Funny thing about that. I'll bet you would rather be riding Starstruck wouldn't you?" Charles asked. "Of course. I spent the whole summer in the saddle. I don't want to get out of shape." Bellany grinned. "Men," Charles announced; "Bellany is bored inside the carriage and I for one am stifled by this snail's pace we have been setting. Mother recommended a three-day trip, but we have all made it in two. My sister is no wimp. She has said she can sit a saddle as well as any of us and better than most. What do you say we put her to the test?" There was some dissention among the men. "Mayhap there will be time for a few drinks at the Broasted Ox if we reach the academy by tomorrow evening. Shall we put her to the test? If she can't keep up the pace, we can always slow down," Charles said. "Lets give it a try," one of the men said. "All right, but if the lady starts flagin' we'll be slowin' up and I'll not be hearin' any complaints," Sergeant Lime said. The men cheered, and the carriage rolled to a halt. Bellany smiled as she shut the carriage door with a flourish and mounted her fine, black stallion. "I hope you men can keep up with me. I have you at a disadvantage." Bellany patted Starstruck's neck. She felt much safer riding Starstruck and rubbing shoulders with the escort of Norwit guardsmen and her brother. That way she could let any orcs or highwaymen believe she was cowering in the coach. Of course, they had not yet met any orcs or highwaymen and she really did not expect to. Baronet Norwit had, had all of his available scouts swarming around the East side of the Baronety of Norwit for days before she had left. Apparently, he had not wanted to loose her again. That also explained why he had sent Sergeant Lime and a dozen cavalrymen to escort his two children to school. Bellany wished she had a sword, but as yet she did not. Her father had come part way towards recognizing a woman could be a warrior, but he still held the opinion that her skills at arms should only be used as a last resort during sieges and such. She had not yet convinced him that any situation where she might be exposed to orcs or highwaymen was a situation in which she should be armed. Her brother was better at thinking outside of the cultural box. She noticed he was wearing both his rapier and his saber and carrying his triple crossbow as well as his lighter longbow. For her part, Bellany had sneaked a pouch full of good round rocks into her saddlebags and she was now wearing the pouch on her belt. The black macramé belt she wore as an accent around her waist was actually her beautiful new Starstruck hair sling. She rode up next to Charles and leaned to whisper in his ear. "Charles I've been avoiding certain memories for long enough. If I am ever to understand who I am, and what happened to me, I am going to have to do what I can to jog my memory. Do you think you could get Sergeant Lime to teach you some orcish on this journey? I was thinking I could ride behind you and that maybe the language would jar some memories loose. I know there are some things I would probably not wish to remember, but I've decided it would be better to face those memories than be a shattered person with missing bits." Charles nodded, "I've been wanting to learn some anyway. I'll see what I can do about your bits." "Thank you Charles." Bellany grinnned. Then she faded back and rode silently for a while. "See any orcs out there, Sergeant?" Charles asked. "Nay, none milord." "If we saw one, how would I say, "Stop or I'll shoot?" "Ye'd say, 'Uf ul Ee wal thunt, or "Uf'l Ee'al thunt,' if ye wanted to say it faster," the sergeant replied. Bellany listened from behind the men letting the orcish words hammer away at the wall between her and her memories. The language did sound familiar, and one expression jogged the memories of others. Yet other than remembering helping a young orc shaman with the wounded, and some scattered scenes where she learned words or served the lusts of numerous orcs, Bellany was not having a great deal of luck remembering. "Luck?" Bellany thought, as she realized not having luck had jogged a memory The sergeant continued, "....and if ye have an orc prisoner ye can sometimes wager against a chieftan who has bested your fort for your own freedom. Just hold your sword on the prisoner and challenge the chief. You'd say 'Culach!' that's duel in orcish." keep under cover from archery if possible since the orcs would rather get your prisoner free the easy way." "Hluck!" Bellany blurted. Sergeant Lime turned suddenly in his saddle to regard Bellany. His face reddened. "Forgive me Lady Norwit, I should not be speaking this language in your presence." "Hluck!" Bellany exclaimed. "Hluck? I am not familiar with that word in orcish," Lime said. Bellany explained, "It is a name, an orc name. One of the better masters I had. I think he won me from... someone in a culach, but I cannot remember whom." Bellany lied about the last part. She remembered whom Hluck had won her from, and it had been a human officer of Avengene. How had she been in his possession, unless her abduction from Avengene had involved treachery? She remembered a ruined fort and a battle. The orcs had been victorious. There the human officer had wagered her against his freedom and had won, but there had been some sort of altercation about the ownership of a horse and Bellany had again been the object of a wager. This time the orc had won. The odd thing was that she seemed to remember wanting the orc to win as if the Avengene officer were even more dangerous to her than the orc. "Please, go ahead Sergeant Lime. I know you think it horrible to jog my memories about the orcs, but you cannot imagine how disconcerting it is to be missing huge chunks of your memory. I'd rather have bad memories than no memories. I feel so impaired not being able to remember anything before I was hit by that spell," Bellany said. It took a little cajoling but she got Sergeant Lime to continue with his lesson in orcish with her as a participant. -------------------------- Bellany's group crossed the border and staid at an inn in the Barony of Bristol that night. The next morning they got a very early start and then began their journey to the Southern part of Bristol. The inn was near a river and the road ran a course that paralleled it. Not long after they had left the inn, Bellany heard a distant roar. "What's that sound, Charles?" Bellany asked. "It's a surprise. You'll see." Charles smiled. A few minutes later Charles left Sergeant Lime and half a dozen guards with the coach on the road while he led Bellany and the remainder of the guards off the road a bit. He pointed out over the cliff on which they had stopped. Bellany's jaw dropped and her hand went to her head. Charles grinned. "That wasn't exactly the reaction I had expected, Bellany. What's the matter? Are the ghosts playing with you again?" "Um no, that's just a tickle I get across my left hand sometimes that I think is ghosts. Bellany looked out over the scene. "It's a magnificent waterfall, Charles, but that tooth of rock standing up in the middle makes it look kind of like one I've dreamed of. Unfortunately in the dream I went over the falls, got brained and nearly drowned." "Dream? Vindicator's buns Bellany, that wasn't a dream it was a nightmare," Charles said. Bellany wrinkled her nose and shuddered. The waterfall was not kind of like the one in her dream. It *was* the one in her dream. Her dream must have been a memory. Yet, the waterfall had not made her wrinkle her nose. She sensed lust from the bushes along the cliff perhaps fifty yards north of them. The source was moving closer, yet she could not hear anyone. Something about the lust was not right. There was a predatory twist to it. Bellany had a brief flash of memory. She was feeling the lust of a human male, but it reminded her of the lust of an orc named Allok. She could feel the ambient lust of a few additional men in the same area coming stealthily towards her group. "How much do you want to bet I could hit that central spar of rock sticking out of the falls with an arrow?" Bellany asked. "I don't know Bellany, it's farther away than it looks," Charles said dubiously as he handed his longbow and quiver to his sister. "Since you're in the mood to loose money, I'd wager a silver sparrow on it though," Charles said. Bellany quickly donned the quiver and the leather finger and arm guards. Then she urged Starstruck a half-length forward and aimed at the rock. Suddenly she made a half turn in the saddle and sent an arrow into the bushes perhaps thirty yards distant. "Uhh!" came a voice from the bushes. To their credit, the cavalrymen of Avengene immediately went for their crossbows. Bellany did not hesitate for even an instant. She had another arrow knocked and drawn by the time a second foe stood up to aim his crossbow. Her shot was low and deeply grazed the man in the abdomen partially ruining his shot. The bolt meant for Dortey's chest hit him in the thigh instead. Charles readied the triple-crossbow he had slung over his back and fired at the man Bellany had grazed. The shot pierced his heart. A second man peaked up from the bushes to find Charles' bolt buried between his eyes. Meanwhile three of the guards rode towards the position of the foe. Bellany heard an arrow whiz by her ear and turned. Another group of four men was running towards them from the south but they were farther away than the first group had been when Bellany had prematurely sprung their trap. "More highwaymen to the south," Bellany blurted as she took careful aim and dropped one of the men with a shot to the chest. Charles turned and transfixed a second right through his left eye. One of the Norwit cavalrymen sent a shot into the third highwayman's arm. The wounded highwayman and his comrade ran for cover. One of the cavalrymen who had taken a bolt through the shoulder tossed Charles his loaded crossbow. Charles drew a bead on the unscathed man and fired as the highwayman darted from the cover of a bush to the cover of a boulder. "With a crossbow, you own," Charles said as the man tumbled to the ground with a bolt buried in his left side just under his arm. "The coach!" Bellany blurted as she and Starstruck bolted off towards the road. Charles tossed the second belt he was wearing along with the sheathed rapier it held to one of the nearby cavalrymen. "You two get after her. I've got to reload," Charles said. Dorety and Reid took off after Bellany. As she neared the road, Bellany could hear the clash of steel on steel. She headed down the road and urged Starstruck to greater speed. Four Avengene guardsmen were down. Three of them had arrows in their backs. Sergeant Lime had been dismounted and was fighting a pitched battle with two highwaymen. A third was creeping up behind him after having dispatched the fourth Avengene guardsman. The two other guardsmen of Avengene had their hands full with three more highwaymen. Two additional highwaymen were already opening the doors to the coach. Bellany grinned. She knew they would be disappointed when they found no one within. Bellany waited until the last second and then fired her arrow when she was only a few yards from Lime. The longbow was not a weapon designed for use on horseback, but she made do. The man behind the sergeant gurgled and fell with an arrow through his chest. One of the highwaymen fighting Lime turned to threaten Bellany with his sword. Starstruck trumpeted and reared. The man stepped back but the stallion caught him in the forehead with a swift kick. He took a few staggering steps and then fell to the ground. Sergeant Lime ran the second man through while Bellany's charge distracted him. The two cavalrymen of Avengene that Charles had sent after Bellany arrived in time to see her in action, but too late to help Lime as she had. "Sir Bellany, your sword," Dorety said as he tossed her Charles' rapier. Bellany grinned, caught the scabbard and drew the blade as the cavalrymen and Lime went to assist their two comrades fighting the three highwaymen. Suddenly the carriage surged forward. Bellany realized that one or both of the highwaymen who had previously opened the doors and found no one within must have decided to escape with the carriage and loot it later. She urged Starstruck to a gallop. She knew she could catch up easily but took a moment while behind the coach to hang her longbow on her saddlebag and stow her quiver. She was not sure what to do next. If she drew alongside the carriage, the driver would see her. Directly behind the carriage, she was practically invisible since there was luggage secured to the top. Bellany pulled forward to flank the carriage on the passenger side. She stood on her saddle and leapt onto the carriage roof. The footing proved quite precarious. When she lit on the roof she immediately fell and rolled. It was a lucky thing too. There was a man next to the driver and he turned and fired his crossbow at her. What should have been a chest shot went though the outer muscle of her left shoulder. The crossbowman wedged his spent bow between a couple of trunks, drew his sword and jumped onto the luggage on the roof. Bellany parried his blade and swept his feet out from under him with her legs but she remained pinned to the luggage on her back by the bolt. He fell towards her and attempted to grapple. The man let out a silent scream as Bellany unerringly slammed her knee into his groin and kicked him off her. A stroke of her rapier to his jugular ended his moment of pain. Before the driver realized that his compatriot had lost the fight, Bellany grabbed the bolt in her shoulder and tugged it but it would not come out of the trunk below her. Instead she broke the top off and sat up to pull the stub through the wound. The stubborn tip remained buried in the trunk. The driver had just figured out his compatriot had been dispatched and was turning to fire a bolt. Pain clouded her vision with tears as Bellany stretched her arm and delivered a spine-severing stroke to the back of the driver's neck. It took some time to find a place where she could painstakingly turn the carriage around. She did it and was soon back at the scene of the fight with Starstruck trotting along next to the carriage of his own accord. Two more of the guardsman of Avengene had fallen to crossbow bolts since she had left the scene of the battle, but her comrades appeared to have won the day. Bellany stopped the carriage and jumped down from the driver's seat. She grimaced as she hit the ground. Her shoulder was bleeding badly. Two of the guardsmen were disarming a portly yet muscular man near some bushes by the side of the road. Charles had his bow pointed at the man with a casual yet deadly air. "Leading from the rear? How courageous," Charles said, his voice dripping sarcasm. "A rogue don't last long in me profession. I let th' help take the risks. I have ta live ta plan th' next ambush," the highwayman said. Charles smiled coldly, "Your planning days just might be over, highwayman, but I'll tell you what I'll do. You know the penalty for your crime is death, but I'll give you a chance to escape. If the gods favor my archery, then you're execution will just come a bit early. If they favor your running and dodging you'll win your freedom. I'll give you the count of three, or seven if you stay on the road. You can't run into the bushes behind us though or there will be no count. What do you say?" Charles asked. "Huh? I'll be waitin' for the King's justice, I will," the highwayman said. Charles looked at Reid. Both men smiled. "Word is that a lot of successful highwaymen pay off the local law. A man who knew he would be executed would have jumped at even the slightest chance for escape. You on the other hand did not. Charles walked around behind the highwayman. I'll be shooting you in the back now, unless you'd like to reconsider." Suddenly the man took off running. Charles counted loudly, one, two, three, four... Bellany watched as the portly highwayman ran for all he was worth down the road. He began to drift towards the side of the road after the count of five. At seven he jumped. Charles' bolt caught him just under the left shoulder blade. He fell and did not move. Reid rode out to fetch the body. Bellany looked at Charles and put her hands on her hips. "I know Belle, it seemed barbaric because it was. The fact is, most criminals have accomplices on the other side of the law and a criminal you best who gets released by his cronies just comes back to haunt you. This man had at least eighteen followers and all of them were well armed. A highwayman doesn't do that well without a little help," Charles said. Bellany shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me if he got what was coming to him a little early. I am positive he was guilty. You simply saved us a bit of hassling with the constable. Just tell me what we're going to tell mother and dad later so our stories match. There's still an outside chance we could make it to the Broasted Ox tonight." "There is indeed. The law in these parts says that we will have to split the loot off these men with the local officials. Baron Bristol is not too fond of Marquis Avengene, so his constables and sheriffs usually take all the good stuff and give us the crap." Charles frowned. Bellany giggled, "I take it you have a means of evening the score?" "But of course," Charles said. First we will get the loot, then I'll show you how it's done. The cavalrymen began to strip the weapons and valuables off the highwaymen under the watchful eye of Charles Norwit. Bellany noticed they checked the linings of garments and other hidden locations. Her shoulder hurt badly but she dared not use her magic on it until after it was dressed. Bellany smiled to herself but it came out as a grimace. If she was going to create a reputation with the men, she had better not start bawling because her shoulder hurt so badly. She climbed into the carriage, lifted the seat, and then grabbed the medical bag. Then she walked over to Sergeant Lime and handed it to him. "Would you be a dear and help me bandage this bolt wound please Sergeant Lime?" Bellany asked. Lime's jaw dropped, not just because he saw that a bolt had gone right through the outer portion of Bellany's shoulder, but because she had undone her dress partway. He could not help admiring the shape of her breast through the fabric of her slip. Lime snapped out of his trance. She was bleeding badly. What really astonished him was how calm she looked. "Of course milady," he said. "Ow, that hurt more than a splinter," Bellany said as she blinked the tears of pain away as Lime finished bandaging her. A short pulse of power from her meager reserves stopped the bleeding and mended the deep parts of the wound. She took the medical bag back from Lime. "Thank you Sergeant." "Thank _you_ Sir Lady. Ye saved my life back there and I'll not forget it. Three men was one more than I could comfortably handle." Lime smiled. Bellany smiled. "And two more than I could. Thank goodness, Starstruck kicked that second one. I had no idea he was trained as a war horse," Bellany said. "Starstruck was trained as a cavalry horse, milady. We never trained him to launch his own attacks, but that stallion is uncommonly loyal to you. I think he kicked that highwayman because he realized the man meant ta harm 'is lady." Bellany smiled, "He's the sweetest pony. I guess I will start looking after the mens' wounds. I learned a thing or two while staying in the leech's office. How many did we loose?" Bellany asked Lime with a grimace. "It's a sad day. Had yer father not doubled the guard because of yer abduction last year, we surely would have lost. Fact is I am not sure how we won anyway. Of the six men I had here at the coach, I lost four. Three fell to an ambush of crossbows right away. A fourth fell to the sword of a highwayman. Of the six men Charles had with 'im he lost two, both to bolts from the leader and his lieutenant here near the road near the end of the battle. Those two laggard highwaymen held themselves in reserve until it looked like the battle was going to go against them. That puts our losses at six out of twelve." Lime shook his head. "That's half our men." "As for wounded, ye 'ave that shoulder. Dorety has the thigh bolt wound, Fyker has the inner shoulder bolt wound and Simms has a bolt through the side of his belly and some sword gashes. The swords of the highwaymen left Ramps and Lytle pretty ripped up with gashes on their upper bodies, and I took a couple of scratches myself. Charles and Reid came out without so much as a nick. My question is, how many highwaymen did we face?" Lime turned. "You commanded those men at the cliffs, Lord Charles. What went on over there? Did any men attack ye there?" The sergeant asked. "We faced eight men, Sergeant Lime," Charles said. "How in he- er, heaven's name did ye come out with only two wounded before coming to the road?" Charles pointed at Bellany. "Sir Bellany." "What did ye do milady?" Lime asked. Bellany smiled. "I only knew about one man at first. I couldn't really see the man but he was leering at me so strongly I could feel his eyes on me. I bet Charles I could hit the central rock in the falls with an arrow as a way to get his longbow, but then I turned and shot the bushes where I thought the man's leer came from," Bellany said. "Belle sprung their trap prematurely, otherwise we'd have been in the same shape you were in, Sergeant. There were four men north of us. That includes the one she dropped with her first blind shot. Her shot started the other three attacking," Charles said. "I missed on my second shot, it was just a graze," Bellany said. "Aye but it spoiled the man's aim so he hit me upper thigh instead of something more tellin'," Dorety added. "Charles cleaned up after that. He killed the one I grazed, and when another made the mistake of sticking his head out of the bushes Charles put a bolt between his eyes. The poor fool probably figured Charles only had one shot, but he had three. I heard a bolt zing by from the opposite direction at about that time. I turned to see four more highwaymen coming from the other direction, but they were farther away than the first group and trying to run and shoot at the same time," Bellany said. "While she was warning us about the new group to the south, Belle dropped the first man in it with my longbow," Charles said. "I had already sent three cavalrymen to deal with the remaining highwayman in the northern group. The rest of us had to deal with the southern group. I used my third bolt on the second man in the southern group. Reid winged one of the southern highwaymen with a shot from his crossbow. Fyker took an arrow through the shoulder before he could shoot. He tossed me his crossbow and I fired the shot instead." "He put a bolt in the third man's eye with that one," Bellany said. Charles grimaced. "Yeah it was a bad shot. It was supposed to nail him between the eyes." Lime chuckled. "Only Lord Charles would think that was a bad shot." "The three men we sent to clean up the northern group finished and were coming back when Belle yelped something about the coach and took off on Starstruck like the breeze off a tornado. I sent Reid and Dorety after her and started reloading. The three men that had cleaned up the last man in the northern group quickly chased down the last man in the southern group, and then we all rode to join you. What happened before we got there, Sergeant?" Charles asked. "To start we just got ambushed; bolts were flying everywhere. They dropped three of my men instantly and then ran to engage us. They must have started later than yer groups because Sir Bellany came thundering up only a few minutes into the battle. I had two highwaymen on me and another I didn't know about was coming up behind me after finishing off one of my men. Sir Belle rode right up and pegged the sneaker with an arrow through the heart from maybe ten feet away. One of the two highwaymen on me tried to engage her, but Starstruck reared up and kicked the man in the head. The stallion caused such a ruckus with his kicking and trumpeting that the other man I was fighting spared him a look. That was when I ran him through." Lime grinned. Dorety and Reid rode up shortly after Lady Belle solved my problem. Dorety tossed her your rapier. We all went to help my other two men with the three highwaymen they were fighting. Two other highwaymen took off with the coach and Lady Bellany rode after them," Lime said. "What happened on the coach, Bellany?" Charles asked. "I knew the team pulling the coach was pretty fast, but I had no doubt Starstruck could catch them so I gave chase from directly behind where they couldn't see me very well because of the luggage on the roof. I stowed your bow on Starstruck and then jumped onto the roof like in the storybooks. Unfortunately, the footing was a lot more precarious than in the storybooks so I fell down on the luggage about one second after landing. It turned out to be a lucky thing because the man who wasn't driving shot me with his crossbow. I think if I hadn't been rolling he would have finished me right there. As it was he nailed me to a trunk." Charles gasped, "How did you get loose?" "I didn't. There wasn't time. Since the footing on the moving coach was so bad anyway, I swept the highwayman's feet out from under him when he came at me with his sword. I parried his blade away as he fell on me and then I kneed him where it would hurt most." Bellany grinned. Charles grimaced. "While he was indisposed I pushed him off me and cut his throat with your rapier. I couldn't pull the bolt in my shoulder out of the trunk below me so I broke the top of it off and sat up to pull the stub through my shoulder," Bellany said. "It was a lucky thing too, because the driver had just figured out what was up and I only barely managed to chop the back of his neck in half before he could bring his crossbow around." "Vindicator's nuts Bellany, you have turned into one baaad bitch. I love it!" Charles grinned and shook his head. "Mom's going to kill me for teaching you weapons." He laughed. "We ought to count up the kills. You got two on the cliffs, two on the road and two on the carriage, Belle. I got four on the cliffs and one in the bushes by the road," Charles said. "There were eighteen highwaymen in all," Lime said. "All are dead. The leader and his lieutenant held themselves in reserve until the battle started going sour on them right at the end. Sir Bellany dropped six. Lord Charles dropped five including the leader's lieutenant, and later he dropped the leader but that was an execution so it doesn't count as part of the battle. I dropped two but one of those Simms helped on and the other Sir Bellany helped on with her distracting stallion. Lytle working with the two men in Charles' group that we lost killed two on the cliffs, and then he came to the road and worked with Ramps. Together they dropped another one but Ramps struck the decisive blow. Lastly, Dorety and Reid together dropped one. I think Reid actually made the kill." "You know the wicked irony is if I had just done what Belle did, dad would be singing my praises for years, but she'll probably catch hell for it." Charles cackled with glee. Lime shook his head. "I could go on about a woman's place, but the fact is I'd be dead if Bellany had stuck to a woman's place. Chances are we'd all be dead." Lime grimaced as if he didn't want to see he was wrong about a woman's place but the plain facts in front of his face could not be avoided. After a long period of hesitation he added, "Were you a man in Avengen's military, Bellany, your deeds would have earned you a purple cross and a Bronze Star for sure. Maybe it would even have earned you a Silver Star since you saved two nobles, including yourself." "You'll be getting the wooden paddle or the brazen belt instead, Bellany. Haha what an irony!" Charles laughed. Bellany looked nonplussed. "Oh wonderful. Valor is only appropriate for men. Well I would do it all again, whether daddy beats me for it or not. Daddy just better appreciate this. I know mother won't be able to. She lives in her own world, but I expect more of daddy. He can usually comprehend reality when it slaps him across the face." "Or at least when it throws him through a wall!" Charles broke up laughing. Sergeant Lime chuckled in spite of himself. Bellany giggled. "I know mother's going to have an attack for sure, but if you hadn't taught me skills at arms, Charles, where would I be now?" "You'd be getting raped by the fat man, or worms in the ground, one or the other. Vindicator's tit, Bellany, you saved our asses. If you were just some dumb girl and not my sister, Lime and Lytle would be dead for sure. Dorety would be sporting a mortal arrow wound. The ambush at the cliffs would have succeeded and my men would have been decimated just like Sergeant Lime's. Just about every one of us would be dead and I'd be dead or up for ransom. Anyway, it's over, and we're never going to get a night off if we don't really buck up. We are going to loose some serious time here," Charles said. Now that we are done looting, let me show you how we get a healthy split of the treasure out of the constabulary. From the pile of the highwaymen's coins, gems and jewels, Charles disbursed a few coppers to be placed back on each highwayman. Next, all of the horses that belonged to the highwaymen were located. Lime checked them all, and the few that bore Avengene brands had packs put on them full of luggage from the roof of the coach. "If anyone asks, those two horses were ours all along," Charles said. Now lastly we need to recognize the heroes of the battle. Bellany broke the cliff ambush and that was the key to the whole battle," Charles said. "For the combined command I think she's our main hero. What do you think, Sergeant?" "No doubt about it Milord," the sergeant said. "Since I can't double commend Bellany for breaking the ambush, I would have to say I was the key warrior in the cliff battle once it got started. What about the battle at the road, sergeant? "That's easy, it was Sir Bellany. She showed up just in time, saved my life and turned the tide of the battle all in one stroke," Lime said. "Agreed, and are there any other acts of conspicuous gallantry we can award for?" Lime chuckled. "Sir Bellany stopped the enemy from making off with our supply train." "Indeed," Charles said. You have commendations for number of kills too, Belle, so my recommendation is that you take a hero's share of the loot three times over. Then take a weapon as your prize for most hand- to-hand kills. "Okay, I'll do that," Bellany said. Open your purse, Belle. Charles dumped some gold, jewels and gems into it. "Wow," Bellany said. Now you get first pick of the weapons since hand-to- hand kills involve more risk," Charles said. There were six rapiers. Bellany tested them all then looked at the main gauches. She took one of the rapiers and its black scabbard. "I think this is the best one, but could you check them too Charles and Sergeant Lime?" Bellany asked. Lime looked at Charles. "All right, all right you win," Charles said to Lime. She didn't take the gaudy one; she took the good one. I owe the men a round of drinks at the Ox." Bellany rolled her eyes. "After all you taught me did you think I'd take the gaudy one?" Charles smiled. "Actually I was going to buy the men a round of drinks anyway so I figured why not make the wager? I had the most archery kills. This is definitely the finest crossbow of the lot. It belonged to the highwayman lieutenant. I'll take it. ...Oh but wait a minute I can't shoot this bow. Except for emergencies, I only shoot bows made by a certain bowyer in Rosehaven who is very consistent in his craft. My bows must be as identical as possible because I am a tournament archer. It seems like you saved my ass today Bellany, and I happen to know you need a crossbow. It's my gift to you. Here's the quiver for it too." "Thank you Charles," Bellany said smiling. "Second most hand-to-hand kills went to you, Sergeant," Charles said. "Aye, it did. Lime picked up the main gauche that matched Rapina's rapier. I value my life a great deal. This is just a small token of my appreciation, Lime said handing Bellany the main gauche and its sheath. "Wow, thank you Sergeant. You guys are equipping me in style. I am so sorry so many of the men died," Bellany said. The sergeant nodded. "No one could have done more than you did to minimize deaths, Sir Lady. Ambushes always leave a man cold with anger. Those highwaymen must have preyed on anyone attempting to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall. They will be preying on people no more." "You made the second most archery kills, Belle. See anything left that you like?" Charles asked. "Bellany picked up a bandoleer of throwing knives. Whom did this come from?" "That's from the leader," Charles said. It's a good set. Take it. "Thank you," I'll have to get the bandoleer modified to fit me, but that should not be so hard. Now as for the rest of you men, if you have a sword but you see a better one that belonged to a highwayman, take it and put your sword in to fill the void. It is a good bet the constable will give us the worst of everything, so now is the time for upgrades. "Lets pack up the dead from both sides on the horses. We can drop the dead highwaymen off at the next constabulary on the way to school." In spite of their wounds, the remaining men of Avengene were intent on trying to make it to the Broasted Ox near the academy before nightfall. The battle had taken only a few minutes, but packing the dead had taken longer. A couple hours later the group from Avengene arrived at a riverside settlement. Bellany looked down at the river and the wharves from the cliffs. There was something about the fishing boats... Suddenly she remembered sailing a small boat with Drake, Kent and Edgar aboard. It was another fragment of her pirate fantasy. After seeing the falls and realizing its connection to the boat and the three boys, Bellany seriously doubted it was a fantasy. She now remembered entirely too much about the pirates to discount it as she had. "Damn it, there's no undertaker in this town," Lime grumbled after having delivered the dead highwaymen to the constable's office. "What are we going to do with our dead while we finish taking you to school?" "There is, but I am not sure he will give us the time of day," Bellany pointed to the sign on a temple. "Mortaebius? That'd be a sacrilege. We can't trust our dead to one of those ghouls. I doubt a priest of Mortaebius would even talk to a man wearing the livery of Avengene. We are supposed to shun those fiends," Sergeant Lime said. "You already asked the constable. Can you think of anyone else who would box and hold six dead men until you return from taking Charles and I to school?" Bellany asked. "The priest of Mortaebius probably even knows how to slow their rotting." "Yeah, likely by turnin' them into zombies," Lime said. "Hey that's an idea, maybe they could just walk home." Charles ducked. "Charles you are so bad, you're bad to the bone!" Bellany squealed. Charles groaned and then looked at the stony expression on Lime's face. "Sorry sergeant, they were fine warriors and good friends. I am just a sucker for a bad joke. Bellany seems to have caught my affliction. Anyway, what do you want to do? There is no church of the vindicator in this town and no civilian undertaker. We could try the ghoul church, but they might throw us out on our ass." Lime looked uncomfortable. "There is nothing for it. It makes no sense to haul them all the way to Vargrend without caskets. If they are left out in the heat they will start to stink, and we would make a spectacle of ourselves in front of the children of the peers of the realm." "Then it's settled. We will try to get the priest of Mortaebius to hold them for a couple days while you take us to school. You look too much like an Avengene Sergeant Lime. I'll go in alone and see if I can strike up a deal," Charles said. "Hey, let me come too, I'm curious what's in their temples. Besides, if the priest is a man, sometimes all it takes is a pretty face to open doors." Charles smiled. "You have a point there, Belle. We will be right back with a yea or nay. ----- The décor and symbols within the temple of Mortaebius titillated Bellany as much as the odd itchy feelings scrolling across the palm of her left hand. "Ew, my left hand is feeling funny again." Bellany grimaced. "There has to be plenty of ghosts here, Bellany. The west wing looks like a funeral parlor with a few extra symbols thrown in," Charles observed. "I think that is the main sanctuary straight ahead. Maybe there will be a priest there," Bellany said. She entered the sanctuary and trotted down the isle. There was a large statue of Mortaebius standing above the altar with his right palm held up in some kind of waving gesture. "It doesn't look like anyone is here. Maybe we're supposed to do a prayer or something to get the priest to come. Bellany trotted up onto the speaker's dais behind the altar to look at the statue close up. "Hail Mortaebius, Champion of the un-live, Hold up your hand and give me five!" Bellany clapped the statue's right hand with her left hand. Charles saw his sister clap the hand of the statue and then jerk around as if struck by lightning. He barely got to her in time to keep her from braining herself by falling on the stone dais. "Blaaa!" Bellany jibbered as she reached up and grabbed her brother's throat. "Aaaaa!" Charles yelped in terror as he jumped backwards. Bellany jumped down off the dias as if to pursue her brother but doubled over laughing before she had managed three steps. "Bellany! You are as bad as I am! You knew I was on edge and would fall for anything!" Bellany paused between gales of laughter. "It was the perfect time to spring a joke," she said. Charles groaned. "I should have known, but you were so convincing, the way you jerked and reeled." Bellany giggled. "Suddenly inspiration hit me like a bolt." Charles shook his head and groaned again. Bellany smiled, she knew she had successfully concealed the truth behind a jest. Something had happened and she had been stunned senseless for a couple of seconds. Yet, she did not want to admit to her brother that she had some strange connection with the god of the dead. It fit with a few of her memory fragments, but she would have to think about it later. Bellany pointed towards the back of the sanctuary and waved. "Hello er Mortician?" A priest dressed in black robes walked in. "Guardian, actually, although most of my brother priests are called Mortician. I am Guardian Sandis. What can I do for you?" "Oh you must be from a protective order then. That makes sense since we are so close to Avengene where the priests of the vindicator have decided they don't like the priests of Mortaebius." "Yes, it is an unfortunate situation. The church is very worried about it. We priests of Mortaebius have coexisted on good terms with priests of other faiths for centuries, but every once in a while another faith will decide death is creepy and we should be wiped out. We are doing our best to work through political channels. Yet, we fear that Mortaebius will grow angry and raise the shroud to defend his church." "The shroud?" Charles asked. "The shroud symbolizes the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. If the shroud is lifted, the spirits of the dead will attack the living enemies of Mortaebius. This is troubling since it is often their fear of ghosts and the walking dead that sets other faiths against us," Guardian Sandis said." "Yes, seems like the priests of the vindicator are convinced most of you priests of Mortaebius are necromancers," Charles said. "Yes, that is a misconception they seem to be purposefully spreading. Most priests of Mortaebius are simply morticians. They could not cast a spell of any kind to save their own lives. Those few priests who can cast spells seldom have any reason to cast necromantic spells. Spells of consecration and protection are the rule. Necromancy is not condoned in the church save when used against undead monsters. I think the confusion comes because necromancers often worship Mortaebius in secret. They realize they cannot practice their art with even a half measure of safety if they do not curry the favor of the god of the dead. Yet these men are magicians and they do not inform the church of Mortaebius or anyone else about their activities since no one would approve. The church of the vindicator wrongly assumes that if they wipe out the church of Mortaebius, they will wipe out necromancers. In truth, they would wipe out those few priests of Mortaebius who can cast spells and have the know-how to put undead monsters to rest in order to protect the common people," Guardian Sandis said. "I'm not particularly religious myself, but my mom is a real vindicator zealot," Charles said. "Belle here used to be even worse than mom, but the orcs cured her." "The orcs?" Guardian Sandis asked. "I got captured and enslaved by the orcs. My lady's pride, my chaste reputation, and my idealism came crashing down around my ears. That and I found I was barren so the vindicator wife bit is not going to work for me. I got Charles to teach me a few weapons. It's much more practical than writing poetry and hoping some man will notice me," Bellany said. Guardian Sandis smiled. "There is something to be said for practicality, milady, but you are quite a beauty. Men will not be able to help but notice you." Bellany blushed. Charles nodded, "Belle's going to knock them dead at the Bristol Academy dances this year, if not with her beauty, then with her sword arm." Charles chuckled. "Actually, it is thanks to her woman's senses and martial prowess that we are here and not about to be planted in the dirt. We ran into some trouble on the road and Belle had to bail us poor men out." "She did?" Sandis asked. "Yes, some highwaymen tried to ambush us near the waterfall." Charles grimaced. "How unfortunate," Guardian Sandis said. "If Bellany had not sensed one of them leering at her from the bushes and sprung their ambush prematurely, we would all have perished. As it was she led in hand to hand kills and was second in archery kills. She is a real hero and Mom's going to kill her for it," Charles laughed. "I've slipped out of a woman's place. Good riddance," Bellany said. "She beat my father in a bout with rapiers before we left, and since he said he would knight the first of his children to best him with a sword, he was put in a rather awkward position." Charles grinned. "Then is it Sir Bellany?" Guardian Sandis asked. "I wish," Bellany said. "Marquis Avengene wouldn't let dad knight a woman, but he made her an unofficial knight just the same," Charles said. "Then he kept his word as best he could in spite of the unusual circumstances. That is admirable," Guardian Sandis said. "Dad's a good man at heart, and his word is good as long as it's something within his power. I was surprised he made me an unofficial knight. In spite of how mad he was at me for learning the rapier from Charles, when I bested him he grounded me for a week. Then he decided to continue my training so that I would not get myself in trouble by being an inferior swordsman." Bellany said. "Do your friends call you Sir Bellany or Lady Bellany, then?" Guardian Sandis asked. "It depends. They used to always call me Lady, but I've noticed that since the incident with the highwaymen they call me Sir or Sir Lady much more often." Bellany grinned. "Only because you saved all of our butts." Charles chuckled. "Martial valor is knightly. I suppose that makes sense. Then I am pleased to meet you Lady Sir Bellany. Guardian Sandis shook her right hand and took her left hand and kissed it. He raised an eyebrow and examined her left hand after kissing it. Bellany blushed as the priest looked inquiringly at her left palm. "I was nearly killed by some sort of spell and that palm still feels odd. I also lost my memory and everything. Thankfully, the adventurers that found me put out inquiries and my father, Baronet Norwit, came and recognized me. Otherwise, I would not know who I am." "Praise Mortaebius it was not your time," Guardian Sandis said. "You could tell that was Bellany's ghost hand?" Charles said. "Ghost hand?" Guardian Sandis asked. "Yeah sometimes it itches her and it feels like ghosts are moving across it," Charles said. "It is the one wound I got from whatever spell it was that nearly killed me that has not completely healed," Bellany said. "I see a bit of residual magic there, but it does not appear to be dangerous," Guardian Sandis said. "Oh good. Thank you Guardian Sandis. Our reverend of the vindicator in Norwit is like all those morticians who can't cast spells. He could not have examined me for magic to save his own life," Bellany said. "It was my pleasure, Sir Lady. Now tell me what brings you to a temple of a god that the vindicator's church despises?" Guardian Sandis asked. "We need to do some business with you, Guardian," Charles said. "What might I do for you?" Guardian Sandis asked. "As you know, Sir Bellany saved us from the highwaymen, but our losses were still considerable. We have six dead men we need to find a temporary resting-place for while we press on towards the Bristol Academy. When the guardsmen are returning to Norwit with an empty carriage, they would like to pick up the bodies and take them back to Norwit for burial. We are afraid we would make a spectacle of ourselves if we parade the bodies all the way to the academy, not to mention they might start to decompose." "The temple maintains an ice house where the bodies of your men could be stored until the return of your guardsmen. How long do you expect the bodies will need to be stored? Do you require caskets, and if so what type were you thinking of?" Guardian Sandis asked. "These are but humble soldiers. Six pine boxes would be fine for the trip. The guardsman should make it back here by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow at the latest," Charles said. "The cost would be three silver eagles, plus a burial deposit of one gold domain. If you failed to return within a week, we would use the deposit to bury the bodies, but I am sure that will not happen. Nevertheless, we must take precautions," Guardian Sandis said. "Of course, Guardian," Charles said. "The roads are obviously not always certain. Charles dug in his purse and pulled out the required coins plus an extra silver eagle. Here is the deposit and payment, Guardian. The extra silver eagle is a donation for your temple. I just need a receipt the men can show to claim the bodies and then we can get on with our business. ------- Two hours later Bellany, Charles, Sergeant Lime and the six remaining cavalrymen of Norwit were hustling down the road to the south. "How are we doing, Charles?" Bellany asked. "We lost about three hours, Bellany. It could have been worse," Charles said. "Yes, thank goodness Guardian Sandis was willing to help us," Bellany said. "I think you saved us there too, Bellany. I could tell by the way he looked at you that he thought you were really hot." Charles chuckled. Bellany blushed. "If we eat lunch in the saddle and keep up this pace, we should be able to make the Broasted Ox at nightfall or a bit after. We just need to go a few more miles next to this river, and then we can take a road east and head for the emerald river. Once we are near that we'll go south past the academy to the town of Vargrend." It was after dark when they passed the academy. Aside from a few lights in the windows, Bellany could not see it, for it was a cloudy night. Not far from the Academy, a group of four riders bearing lanterns rode up to them. "Halt trespassers and state your business," a grating voice said. "Vindicator's teeth Lieutenant Herrington, we're hardly trespassers," Charles answered. "Lord Charles Norwit?" Herrington asked. "Of course. Who else would be running this late? I wish you'd been there asking about trespassers up North; we got in a heap of trouble with some highwaymen. We have got some wounded and we're sore tired from the trip. "Well met Lord Charles. It is good to see a man of the faith made it through. It looks like ye've got one more than your usual six. How much trouble did ye have?" "Heaps, Lieutenant. Father sent twelve with us because he didn't want Bellany abducted like she was last year. We lost six good men to the highwaymen and would have lost more if I hadn't taught Bellany to use a rapier and bow this summer. She saved our butts. "Your sister?" Herrington asked. "She has wicked combat instincts," Charles said. "She broke an ambush and outdid us all in hand to hand kills and came in second to me for archery kills. She also rode down our escaping carriage and killed the two highwaymen driving it. She got wounded but it's not too bad. It was more than a graze though." "Why that's astonishing," Herrington said. "I guess she did not want a repeat of the orcs." Charles grinned. "Yeah, she's certainly got motivation on her side." "Where will you be staying, Lord Norwit?" Herrington asked. "The Ox of course. The men need a little down time after risking their lives and loosing their friends. Besides, you'll be imposing the drinking ban on students the day after tomorrow when classes begin. I have to get a few ales while the getting is good." Charles grinned. Herrington smiled. "What about the lady?" Herrington asked. "I'll get her a room at The Vargrend Arms Hotel, but I like the food better at the Ox so we will all be going there first," Charles said. "All right we will escort you Lord Charles. Men, we're escortin' Lord Charles to the Ox. Lets get movin' It's late enough already." The lieutenant turned back to Charles, who was now riding beside him. "Be careful you don't keep the Lady there too long. The late night crowd gets a bit rough at the Ox," The Lieutenant said. "Of course, but I'm not too worried. Any man who would pick a fight with seven seasoned soldiers of Avengene and a Lady with a wicked sword arm is a drunken fool for sure," Charles smiled. The lieutenant chuckled. "I see you still have that wild crossbow. How is it working for you?" "It's a great weapon. It proved itself and then some against the highwaymen. I am saving for another. They don't come cheap, but with six shots I would really own," Charles said. ----------- This ends, Sir Bellany, Chapter 53 of The Chronicles of Rapina. The story continues in Chapter 54, The Broasted Ox. Copyright 2002 by Rapina