(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