Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 (Continued from Ch 71, Springville)

   The Chronicles of Rapina Chapter 72, Rath Road

   After the baron and his knights left, Celena helped Vicar Royce
extinguish the candles and torches in the war room and then they retired to
the library.

   "You have all of the basics down, Miss Medea.  After hearing your
answers to my questions during our dinner date, I would say the first part
of the test will not be a problem for you.  The history of the church of
Virtusar is the second part of the test.  You can find the answers to that
section in the second book I showed you after you first arrived.  The third
part of the test is the most difficult.  It will consist of prayers and
invocations usable by lay priestesses.  I have book-marked those in this
priestly manual.  If you are able to get through that material while I
sleep, then you have a fighting chance to pass your test tomorrow a couple
of hours before dawn.  We will also need to do your weapons tests after a
light breakfast to bolster your energy.  Is there anything else you need
before I go to bed?

   "Thank you Vicar Royce.  I think I have everything I need.  I may step
over to the temple of Mortaebius to pay my respects during a break.  The
Baron's departure time has me on a tight schedule, but I am still
determined to start off on the right foot with Vicar Fryske."

   "That is the spirit, Miss Medea!  Study hard and may the stamina of
Virtusar dwell within you this night!"

   "Thank you vicar, I will."

   "I'll leave my door ajar just in case you need me." The Vicar smiled.

   Celena grinned.  "I will see you near morning, Vicar Royce."

   The vicar bowed slightly and retired to his rooms.

   Celena first released a little more life force into her mind and read
twice through all of the prayers she needed to know.  Once she was finished
with that she began reading the history book as rapidly as she could
without missing too much detail.  Periodically she stopped and read through
the prayers quickly once again.

   Celena closed the back cover of the history book and smiled as she
finished it.  It was definitely time for a break.  She quietly made her way
to the sanctuary.  The flame of the tallow lamp still guttered near the
stone statue of Virtusar.  She smiled and imitated the god's pose.  The
artist was good.  With her chest thrown out, one arm stretched behind her
and one arm raising an imaginary blade overhead, she felt heroic.  She
stretched a bit and then went out the front door of the temple.

   The night was overcast and quite dark.  After making sure no one was
watching, Celena cast her Life Vision spell and walked towards the temple
of Mortaebius.  The chirping of crickets, the croaking of frogs and the
soft beat of her footfalls were the only sounds that she could hear.  She
paused before the door to the temple of Mortaebius and cast her Ghostly
Whispers spell.  Ghosts were common in the temples of Mortaebius, and it
did not hurt to be able to talk to a ghost if one could see it.

   Celena stepped into the temple and closed the door behind her.  She
wondered if there might be a way to talk to the ghost of Celena.  She put
her left hand to her forehead and spoke.

   "Celena, can you hear me?  Please step out of me into the land of the
living if you can." she requested tentatively.

   Suddenly she felt a chill and a ghost backed out of her so that they
were face to face.  Celena stopped and her mouth dropped open.

   "Celena, is that you?" she whispered.  The ghost seemed just a little
shorter and slighter than Brianna's version of Celena, and her face lacked
some of the exquisite shaping and fine detailing that the fleshy Celena
had. Yet there was definitely a strong resemblance.

   The ghost peered at her living sister.  "I don't look like that, but I
sure wish I did!  You've done what cosmetics only wish they could do!"

   "Thank you, I wanted to look good for the warriors of Daelrath.  After
all, I am training as a concubine of Virtusar."

   "I only caught a little of your interview with the baron when you got in
contact with me briefly.  How did the rest of your interview go?" the ghost
asked.

   "It went as well as could be expected.  The Baron is not particularly
wealthy, and he is particularly frugal.  That and he was not too keen on my
practicing the skills of a concubine of Virtusar with his men.  I will just
have to find a way to work around him."

   Brianna motioned Celena to follow her as she made her way through the
entry area of the temple of Mortaebius and opened the door to the
sanctuary. It was an unfamiliar temple, but the layout was not so different
from that of other temples of Mortaebius that she had been in.

   "I wanted to get in touch with you to see how much magic grandmother
Crystal could do, but before we get into a conversation, I wonder if you
had a sister that looked anything like you?  One day someone might catch me
talking to you, and I wonder if I might call you by your sister's name. 
That way I could just say I was talking to my dead sister."

   "That sounds like a smart idea.  We are, after all, sisters in arms.  I
had a sister named Carla.  Why don't I use her name and you can use mine?"

   "Thank you Carla.  I really appreciate your help."

   "I am glad to lend you my identity.  After the horrible fight that
killed the two men that I loved most and then me, I am no longer using it.
Virtusar knows it is the only arrow I have left in my quiver to fight the
priests of the Vindicator!  I just hope it helps.  I was so depressed that
the Avengenes destroyed my family.  In the Crescent Blades I found kindred
spirits.  Lord Avengene had made enemies of them by discarding them like
trash.  They turned my depression into righteous fury!  They filled me with
hope that, with Virtusar's help, I could make a difference in the coming
war against the Vindicator.  I wish I was a more powerful ghost, but I will
do everything that I can to help you for as long as you need me."

   "Thank you, Carla.  At the moment I have my hands full trying not to put
my foot in my mouth about the past.  I am a little curious about how you
were approached to help me."

   "It is fairly simple, really.  After I died I tried to walk back to the
farmhouse, but I could not go too far.  There was chaos all around me that
tried to sweep me away.  I waited for many days for someone to find me, but
no one did.  Slowly I began to realize that I must be dead, but I was so
overwrought because of the way I had died that I could not accept it.  I
refused to look at my decomposing body, yet I knew it was there.  My
remains seemed to serve as an anchor, a sort of shelter in the storm.

   "Last night I heard the thunder of hoof beats.  I moved as far away from
my bones as I dared to catch a glimpse of the horse I heard, and there you
were on your magnificent stallion!  I remember being drawn to you.  I saw
the chaos dissolve around you as you came toward me.  When you drew near, I
took a leap of faith and jumped in front of your horse, but you did not
stop.  Your stallion ran through me, and somehow I went through you into
the land of the dead.  Once I was in the realm of Mortaebius, I realized I
must be dead.

   "Within the land of the dead I sensed you were nearby, but my mind
suddenly filled with two presences, one of death, and one of indomitable
strength.  I believe it was Mortaebius and Virtusar together!  They made me
realize that you were running from the Avengenes.  If you were to make a
clean escape, you would need a new identity and I could help you by lending
you mine.  I let them know that I was happy to help.  They were pleased and
I got the feeling that my service to you would not go unrewarded.  I stayed
with you and found that when you touched your head with your left hand, I
was drawn to you and, Mortaebius willing, I could speak with you mind to
mind."

   "Yes, I noticed that too, Carla.  It was a bit eerie, but the help you
provided me was invaluable.  I need to know more about our family.  I would
like to avoid making things up if at all possible.  Could you tell me about
our grandmother Crystal?  What sort of magic did our grandmother do and
what did you do for her before the Avengenes took her?"

   "Most of the healing she did was through herbal medicine.  She had a
special affinity for plants and she knew what practically every one of them
could do.  There were two other things that made Grandma Crystal special.
She was a priestess of Amorra, although not formally.  Yet, she could bring
down the healing love of the goddess nevertheless.  She was also a wise
woman, skilled at various forms of divination."

   "I knew someone that was a wise woman.  From what I remember she was an
herbalist, but she also talked to spirits and she could do minor curses."

   "Divination and petty curses are the staples of many wise women.  My
grandmother's grandmother taught her such things, but Grandma Crystal took
issue with cursing other people.  She said such uses of magic darken the
soul!  Instead, Crystal used her knowledge to lay curses on people's
afflictions and infections.  She also used her knowledge of curses in
reverse to lay blessings upon people.  She was a very loving and creative
woman, but she was also very strong.  She was calm during the most horrible
emergencies, and she knew how to stand up for herself.  You would have
liked her!  She started teaching me about plants when I was first learning
to talk.  As I got a little older she let me work in her herb garden and
sent me out to gather wild herbs for her.  I was gathering herbs for her
when the Avengene priests took her away."

   "How old were you when they took her?" Celena asked.

   "I could not have been more than fourteen years old, but the Avengenes
did not really start hunting wise women until about five years ago."

   Celena nodded.

   "It was only a matter of time before the priests of the Vindicator
purged the worshippers of the other gods." Carla bristled.  "The Vindicator
is a selfish monster.  He wants to usurp the other gods, and enslave the
minds of his worshippers so that there will be no way of life but his way!"


   "You certainly nailed that, sister!  Have you been staying in the land
of the dead or here with me?"

   "To tell you the truth, I have been spending time both places.  I can
venture much further away from you in the land of the dead.  I never go too
far because I do not want to lose track of you.  Here in the realm of the
living I must stay very near you and I feel like I am spying on you."

   "It's all right.  If you want to spend time here, that is fine with me
as long as you are okay with sex and magic.  I know a few ghosts.  Do you
know what you are capable of?" Celena asked.

   "I have no idea, other than I am very good at walking through things,"
Carla admitted.

   Celena smiled.  "That is actually sometimes a very valuable ability.  I
escaped from a prison of sorts largely because a ghost helped me by spying
for me and telling me about the locks and bolts on various doors."

   "I can do that!  Well I don't know much about locks, but I can tell you
what I see."

   "Thank you; that can be very helpful.  I wish I knew more about ghosts.
I do know that every ghost seems to have an emotion that they find
energizes them.  My friend Elaine Crabett is a ghost.  She finds energy
easily because the fear of young women nourishes her.  She can cause chills
by touching people.  The chills very effectively scare young women.  That
is why Elaine always has plenty of energy."

   "How clever," Carla noted.  What else can she do?"

   "I think she can sometimes move objects.  At least rumor had it that she
could knock books off their shelves.  I have seen objects move in her
presence, but she was always with another ghost when it happened.  I cannot
say for sure if both ghosts moved the objects or not.  If you have any
talent with mind-influencing magic, I hear that that is the form of magic
that is least affected by the ghostly state."

   "I don't know a lot of magic.  Grandmother Crystal taught me how to
throw and read the bones.  I had mixed results.  She also taught me a few
blessings, but I am afraid I was never a powerful sorceress.  I could never
tell if the blessings I did actually helped.  Can you cast spells?  I was
near you in the land of the dead and I thought I heard you mumbling some
very strange sounding words before you called to me."

   "Oh, that was my Ghostly Whispers spell.  It allows me to hear your
utterances in order to speak with you.  The other one I need is Life
Vision. It is a spell that allows me to see life force including ghosts,"
Celena confided.

   Carla froze and tilted her head.  "You mean the entire reason that we
are able to have this conversation is that you are a magician?"

   "Yes, otherwise I would be almost blind and deaf to you, although not
completely." Celena lowered her voice to the barest breathy whisper, "My
left hand has a numb spot that is a gift from Mortaebius.  I can feel your
presence moving across my palm if I point it towards you.  I think you can
feel his power from it as well."

   "Yes, it is unmistakable."

   Celena led Carla to the front of the temple near the altar.  She bowed
to the statue of Mortaebius and then sat down in the front row of seats. 
She spent perhaps a half hour quietly quizzing the ghost about the Medea
family.  She memorized names, dates and other critical information that she
needed to know without a hint of hesitation.

   After a time, Celena thought she heard footfalls coming from a room or
corridor behind the sanctuary.  She pointed towards the source of the sound
and put her finger across her lips to warn Carla, and then she stood up and
knelt before the altar of Mortaebius.

   "Hail Mortaebius, Guardian of the dead.  I pray that father and Jud see
the tragedy of their fight for what it was.  I hope both will find peace
within your realm.  I will miss them."

   A door at the back of the sanctuary opened and Guardian Grailings came
through.

   "Good morning, Miss Medea.  I thought I heard someone in the temple.  I
am glad to see that you made it.  I hope you plan to get some sleep."

   "Actually, Baron Daelrath is scheduled to leave about an hour before
dawn today.  I just finished studying for the Champion of Virtusar test
that I am taking this morning."

   The guardian nodded.  "You have perhaps an hour and a half before you
will need to get up then.  You might want to take one last look at the
material before taking a nap.  I found that technique worked well for me in
the seminary."

   "Oh thank you, Guardian."

   "Who is that with you?  The guardian pointed at Carla."

   "You can see her?"

   "Not exactly, but I can sense her presence.  It is a gift that runs in
my family.  It was one of the reasons I decided to become a priest of
Mortaebius."

   "Oh, that makes sense, Guardian.  This is my sister, Carla.  After Lord
Avengene's men executed her I found I could talk with her when I felt her
presence.  I have sometimes thought I might just be imagining her.  I am so
glad I have come upon someone with the gift to confirm her existence.  She
has only been dead a few years."

   "It is nice to meet you, Carla," Guardian Grailings said as he squinted
at the spot where Carla now stood.

   "Tell him that I am happy to meet him.  I have been a little lonely
since I died, but tonight I feel like I have made quite a breakthrough.  It
seems everyone is talking with me."

   Celena looked at the guardian's squinting face, but she got the feeling
that if he comprehended any of what the ghost had said, his understanding
was not specific enough for a reply.

   "Carla is happy to make your acquaintance.  She feels less lonely with
two people actually talking to her."

   Guardian Grailings chuckled.  "This is amazing.  You can hear her?"

   "We were close, and I am the granddaughter of Crystal Medea."

   "Oh, yes of course wise women and spirits.  I should have known."

   "Needless to say, I would appreciate it if you kept this in the
strictest confidence.  One cannot be too careful with Avengene spies
about."

   "I understand.  I have heard that the Avengenes have become like rabid
dogs in regard to anything supernatural besides the spells of their own
priests.  They have done quite a number on several temples of Mortaebius.
They seem to believe that all of us priests are necromancers."

   "That's nonsense!  Spell-casting priests are rare enough, but actual
magicians are scarcer yet.  If every priest of Mortaebius were also an
accomplished necromancer, the priests of the Vindicator would be fools to
accost you.  I think they made that nonsense up as an excuse to make war on
the Church of Mortaebius, and now they have begun to believe their own
propaganda."

   Guardian Grailings smiled approvingly.  "I could not agree with you
more, Miss Medea!  I hope you will stop by the next time you are in
Springville.  I know the priests of the Vindicator have been very hard on
wise women, but on behalf of the priests of Mortaebius, I would like to
welcome you to Springville and Daelrath.  I will bring a letter of
introduction by for you to give the priest of Mortaebius up at Rath Keep.
His name is Guardian Chromus Argyle.  I am not sure why he volunteered for
service with the Bristol Garrison in Rath Keep, but it could be that he
wanted to shoot at something besides targets.  He is an excellent archer.
If you have an interest in archery, he may be able to teach you a thing or
two."

   "Thank you Guardian.  As a concubine of Virtusar, I must be able to
handle a few weapons.  Archery will be an excellent skill to hone since it
will keep me out of the reach of trolls.  I will definitely talk to
Guardian Argyle.  Your mention of archery has reminded me that I must take
a couple of weapons skills tests this morning.  I had better be off."

   "Of course, it was good of you to come pay your respects, and it was a
treat that you brought your sister.  You and she are always welcome here at
the temple of Mortaebius."

   "Thank you Guardian Grailings.  We will be sure to return to visit you
one day when the baron travels." Celena smiled, bowed and then strode out
of the temple of Mortaebius.

   Celena returned to the library within the temple of Virtusar and went
over her learning materials for about a half hour before making her way to
her room.  After undressing, she turned down the bed clothes and looked at
the empty bed.  It looked lonely.  She let the covers drop as she turned.
There was a large mirror in the room and it reminded her that she had
shifted her face and neck to that of Celena, and although she did not want
to change much about her body, her body hair was still black and certain
aspects of her body would be all too memorable to Sir Coshus and any other
man she had slept with as Brianna at Rath Keep.  That would not do.

   Celena lit every candle in the room in order to work some magic on her
body.  First she cast tone hair and changed all of her body hair to the new
strawberry blonde color.  Next she cast her Malleable Flesh spell to cover
her entire body other than her head and neck where her Malleable Visage
spell held sway.  After that, she concentrated a few minutes to reduce her
body hair to a few sparse hairs under her arms and a thin tuft that started
an inch or two above her nether lips.  She then brought all of her
remaining hair follicles up to date to insure that her body hair would now
grow out strawberry blonde in color.

   Next she wanted to make a couple of minor modifications to the shape of
certain notable aspects of her body.  She had little excess fat on her
body, but she skimmed her belly, abdomen and thighs by a tiny fraction of
an inch and moved what little she got down to her labia.  She shifted the
shape of her nether lips slightly, changed the skin tone just a bit and
applied the bit of extra plumpness that she had gleaned.  She then
contracted the diameter of her raised aureoles somewhat and changed their
tint to go with her labia and lips.  The reduction in size of her aureoles
caused them to become even puffier than they had been formerly since the
same amount of plumpness now occupied less area.  She worked with her
nipples to integrate the new puffier aureoles and when she had a
combination that she thought looked especially delicious she checked
herself one last time and then applied the extended duration component to
the spell.

   Once she was finished she gathered her shed hair from the floor using
telekinesis.  She stepped outside with it and burned it up by suspending it
over a candle.  She then returned to her room, extinguished all of the
candles and left to search for Vicar Royce's bedroom.  Once she found her
way to the kitchen and from there into Vicar Royce's chambers, it took her
only a couple of minutes to locate his bedroom.  Just in case the vicar had
keen combat instincts she stuck her head into the room and spoke softly,
"Vicar Royce, it is Celena.  I am coming in.  There is no cause for alarm."

   She repeated her message as she reached the bed and then carefully
slipped into bed and snuggled up against the vicar.  Apparently he had
counted on the combat instincts of others in his unit to serve him back
when he was a mercenary.  He was quite soundly asleep.  As she snuggled
against him she began to caress his lust with her power.  She smiled as his
manhood grew hard against her abdomen.  He stirred as if in a dream.  A few
minutes later he mumbled something and put his arms around her, but he
still seemed to be asleep.  Then suddenly Celena could feel his lust
quicken as he awakened.  His hands wandered over her body as if he was
confirming that it was really her.

   "How long have you been here?" the vicar whispered.

   "I got in about ten minutes ago when I finished studying.  My bed just
looked too lonely.  Yours is much better.  Don't worry, I expect you to
grade my answers honestly.  I would not want to be a fake Champion of
Virtusar when I am training to be a real concubine of Virtusar.  If you
think having me in your bed will tire you out unduly before the combat
tests, I can leave."

   Vicar Royce chuckled.  "I am a vicar of Virtusar.  If I can't bed you
and still have energy enough for a contest at arms, then you deserve every
advantage you get!  I'll tell you what though, since we will both be warmed
up, we can do the arms skills tests before breakfast."

   "That sounds like a good plan," Celena said without hesitation.  She
knew she would feel quite alert after an infusion of Royce's virile power.

   Vicar Royce sat up part way and pulled his nightshirt off over his head
while Celena pushed his underwear down over his ankles with her feet.

   The Vicar settled back into bed and embraced Celena.  His hands glided
up her torso to softly pinch her nipples.

   "It has been too long since I've felt such marvelously hard nipples
against my chest!" The vicar caressed Celena's thighs, and brushed against
her mound.  His hand came away wet with lubrication.

   The vicar smiled and his hips surged forward.  As he entered her, he
exhaled abruptly as Celena gave him a welcoming squeeze.

   "You are magnificent!  Only a concubine of Virtusar could boast such
inner strength!" -------



   "...Praise Virtusar for he has bolstered our vigor! Praise Virtusar for
he has bolstered our might! Praise Virtusar for the victory we shall win
from this fight!" Celena sang out.

   "That was excellent, Celena!  Your wit is as exceptional as your, ah,
other exceptional qualities." Vicar Royce smiled.  "You have completed the
oral portion of your exam and have passed with points to spare.  I must
admit I was a little worried about your being able to memorize so many
prayers and invocations, but apparently the Crescent Blades taught you
well. You must have known quite a few of them already.  I have no
complaints whatever concerning your knowledge of Virtusar.  Your skill with
the short sword and shield was a bit rough at first, but your excellent
reflexes saved you from an early failure.  By the end of the test I was
sure that you had the required competence.  Your work with the sling did
not quite make the grade, but I think we have just enough time for a
re-test.

   "Might I take the retest from horseback?" Celena asked.

   "Slinging from a moving horse is far more difficult than doing it from
solid ground.  Are you sure you want to compromise your chances?  You very
nearly passed the first time."

   "I don't have to be moving.  It's just that I have far more practice
slinging from the saddle."

   "Then saddle up!  Technically I should not give you a retest so soon,
but since a cavalry slinger is technically a different class than an
infantry slinger, we will fulfill the letter of the law.  Luckily the tests
for the novice grades of horse missile troops do not demand that you shoot
while in motion.  You might as well get your things back into your
saddlebags and prepare to leave while you are at it.  The Baron will be
here shortly.  I will get your certificate ready for signing in case you
pass.  If not, I will send it up with you for Vicar Fryske to sign when you
complete your requirements."

   Before taking her second sling test, Celena fed and watered Starstruck
and then returned to the temple to hurriedly pack her saddlebags.  Once she
was finished she made her way back to the stables and saddled Starstruck,
but before trotting out she cast Transient Shield on herself.  She also
recast Ghostly Whispers on herself and she cast Life Vision on both
herself, and Starstruck.  She finished by casting her Floating Dagger
telekinesis spell just in case she needed to cheat on the sling test before
she left for Rath Keep.

   Not surprisingly the yard of the temple of Virtusar was set up for arms
practice.  Since it was still dark, Vicar Royce had planted torches in the
ground just ahead of each target.  By the time she trotted up to the spot
she was to stand to take her shots at the sling targets, Vicar Royce had
already planted the torches and was waiting for her.  She reined in beside
him and he handed her a sling bullet.

   "Could I use stones?  I am more used to them."

   "I thought you might make that request.  They are less uniform in
weight, but they are certainly more easily procured.  If you want to use
the weapons of a poor conscript then stones it is.  Some of the boys around
town collected some for me from the stream beds hereabout that will fit
your sling.  The vicar handed her a sack.  If you pass you can keep those.
You know the drill, ten shots at each range.  I don't want you to rush too
quickly, but do not waste time either.  The baron will be along shortly."

   Celena took the sack of stones and handed the bullet back to Vicar
Royce. She put a stone in her sling, wound up and let fly.

   "Good shot, if you can keep this up you will pass without a problem."

   Celena launched stone after stone at the short-range target.  She missed
the target only once and a few of her stones even hit the bull's-eye.  On
the medium-range target she missed twice.  The long-range target was the
most difficult for her.  She kept track of her score in her head, making
sure that she was on track to pass the test, but she needn't have worried,
she really was much more accurate slinging from Starstruck's back than she
was from the ground.  The added height gave her a slight range advantage as
well.  After the second last stone she knew that she would pass even if her
last shot missed the target entirely.

   She urged Starstruck forward and turned him to the right.  She had him
trot in a big circle.  As she thundered up behind Vicar Royce she wound up
and let fly.  The shot might have gone slightly wide of the target, but
there was no way to know for sure.  Celena had saved her largest stone for
last and had held her hand around it during the first part of the ride.  It
had absorbed enough of her life force and was moving just slowly enough for
her to keep track of its flight.  She guided it with her telekinesis across
its entire trajectory and nailed the center of the bull's-eye.

   "Excellent shot!" a voice bellowed from a horse galloping up behind
them.

   "You took the words right out of my mouth, Sir Mongrail!" Vicar Royce
exclaimed.

   "I have come to fetch Miss Medea.  The baron's coach will be rolling
through town very shortly."

   Vicar Royce blew on the certificate he had just signed.

   Celena stopped her horse near the first target and jumped to the ground.
She valued her collection of sling stones and was anxious to pick as many
of them up as she could before she was obliged to leave.

   "Give me just a moment please, Sir Mongrail.  If this were some lesser
document I would not care, but the Champion certificate of a woman with
such a sharp wit should not be marred by a smeared signature."

   "Ho, she passed?" Sir Mongrail asked.

   "You had doubts?" the vicar answered.

   "Who wouldn't?  Sir Gehrheart is the only knight among us to have passed
that rascal test.  I could do the weapons tests in my sleep, but memorizing
all of those prayers makes my head spin, and all that history puts me right
to sleep.  I can see I am going to have to buck up.  I can't allow myself
to be outdone by a healer!  How did she do on the important parts, Vicar?"

   Sir Mongrail dismounted and led his horse towards the intermediate range
target as he spoke.  The vicar followed.  Celena finished picking up the
sling stones near the short-range target and headed in the same direction
as the men.

   Vicar Royce chuckled.  "By important, you mean the weapons tests?"

   "Of course, did you think I meant the prayers?" Sir Mongrail laughed as
he held up his torch, located a sling stone and grabbed it.

   Vicar Royce stopped blowing on the certificate for a moment to answer
Sir Mongrail's question, "She passed the distinguished novice's test with
the short sword and shield by a slim margin.  I think she would have done a
lot better if there had been time to give her a summarizing lesson before
the test.  She was a bit rough at first, but her quick wit and sharp
reflexes saved her.  By the end of the test she was doing great!  I was
expecting her to be exhausted, but I was the one who was flagging.  She has
the endurance of a mill hammer!"

   "How is her arm?"

   "She has more strength in her sword arm than I would have thought
possible for anyone her size, man or woman!

   "Well met, Miss Medea!  I can see I have underestimated you already. 
You are going to be a proper concubine of Virtusar, not a weak harlot
dressed up as something she is not!"

   Vicar Royce chuckled.  "I assure you, Miss Medea is the real deal, and
as you see, she likes to fight from horseback.  Since you are the baron's
cavalry arms master and her package includes weapons training, I am
charging you, in Virtusar's name, to ensure that his champion and concubine
is no slouch when it comes to action in the saddle!"

   "Then in Virtusar's name and as a knight of Daelrath, I give you my word
that Champion Medea will not lack for training!  I will make sure Sir
Gehrheart trains her as well, not that I could stop him!  As beautiful as
she is, there will be few men at the keep that turn down the chance to work
with her."

   With Sir Mongrail's help, Celena gathered the sling stones around the
medium range target, and then the trio headed towards the long-range
target.

   Sir Mongrail turned to Celena, "I can see that you and Sir Stallart are
going to get along just fine.  That man has a way with horses, but I can
see you do as well.  You just bought that stallion and he is already
following you around without a lead rope.  I've had this horse for years
and I still have to keep hold of his reins.  How do you do it?"

   Celena bent over to pick up a rock and Starstruck gave her rump a gentle
nip through her dress.

   "Ou!" She squealed.  "I think he is not so different than the two-legged
men I meet, but I am happy most of you don't bite."

   "At least he has good taste!" Sir Mongrail laughed.

   "It looks like I have arrived at an embarrassing moment!" Guardian
Grailings called as he approached from many yards off.

   "Nonsense, you've arrived just in time to see Champion Medea off," Vicar
Royce called back.

   "Magnificent, you passed!  Congratulations Champion Medea!"

   "Thank you Guardian Grailings!" Celena called back as the guardian
approached.

   "Is that the last of the sling stones?" Sir Mongrail asked.

   "Thank you, I think so," Celena said as she put the stones Sir Mongrail
handed her into the sack that Vicar Royce had given her.

   "Good, then let us be off.  We will have to ride hard to catch the
baron's coach before he leaves Springville Valley."

   Vicar Royce carefully put Celena's certificate into an envelope while
Celena dug her blank book from her saddlebags.  She opened it and the vicar
stuck the envelope between the pages.

   "I also have a letter of recommendation that goes to Vicar Fryske.  Will
you deliver that for me, Sir Mongrail?" the vicar asked.

   "With pleasure, Vicar," Sir Mongrail promised.

   Guardian Grailings handed a sealed letter to Celena.  "Here is that
letter of introduction that I promised you when you stopped over to pay
your respects.  Just present that to Guardian Argyle at the keep."

   Celena slipped the letter into her blank book and put it back in her
saddlebags.

   "I have one more thing for you, Champion Medea.  Here is a pouch of
rations for the trip.  The little package on top is a bit of fatty steak
scraps from last night for your raven."

   "Thank you Vicar Royce and thank you Guardian Grailings as well.  You
have made me feel so welcome here in Springville.  I really appreciate your
efforts on my behalf, and I will not forget either of you!" Celena hugged
Guardian Grailings and then Vicar Royce before mounting up on her fine,
black stallion.

   "Let's ride!" Sir Mongrail exclaimed as he held his torch high and
trotted off in the direction of the road.  Celena followed, and as she
turned in her saddle and waved to the two priests Starstruck reared up and
whinnied before dropping back to all fours in pursuit of the knight. 
-------

   It took nearly half an hour for Sir Mongrail and Celena to leave
Springville valley and make their way through the cavern and down the
stream bed within the canyon.  As yet there was still no sign of the
Daelrath coach.  Sir Mongrail leaned out of his saddle and doused his torch
in the stream when they were about to leave the streambed for the road.

   "The hues of dawn should be visible shortly." Sir Mongrail said as they
continued.  "In the meantime we do not want highwaymen to be able to see
our torch once we reach the open road.  We will just have to pick our way
down the road as best we can and hope our eyes adapt to the darkness.  I
wish it were less cloudy, but it is important to get an early start when
heading for the keep.  If we were to run into delays we could arrive at the
keep in the evening instead of the afternoon, and that is just asking for
troll trouble."

   Celena followed Sir Mongrail onto the road that she remembered from
having overshot the fork in the road that had led to Springville.  As they
came up over a familiar hillock she saw the Daelrath coach in the distance.

   "There they are!" Celena exclaimed.

   "Are you sure?  How many horses do you see?" Sir Mongrail asked.

   "There is a team of six horses pulling the coach, and there is one horse
tethered to the back of it.  I also see three men riding a ways behind the
coach, and another two, one on each side of it."

   "Can you see anything else?" Sir Mongrail asked.

   "That is about as far as I can see," Celena lied convincingly.  Her life
vision was proof against the darkness.  She could see four riders in front
of the coach and another scouting beyond them, but she realized that even a
person with exceptional night vision would have been lucky to see what she
had already described.

   "Ho, you have got seriously sharp eyes Champion Celena!  I can barely
make out the mounts of the rear guards.  I am to be the rear scout this
morning.  Why don't you head for the rear guards?  Make sure you hail them
and tell them you are Champion Medea, healer of Rath once you get into
shouting range.  We commonly abbreviate Daelrath as Rath.  That is just one
of the tricks we use to let each other know we are who we say we are."

   "Okay, thank you Sir Mongrail, and thank you for coming to pick me up. I
also appreciated your patience and help with the sling stones while we were
waiting for my certificate to dry."

   "It was my pleasure Champion!  It was the least I could do since you
gave me the slap in the rear I needed to start studying those damnable
prayers in earnest!"

   Celena smiled.  "If you ever need someone to quiz you on them, feel free
to look me up."

   "I might take you up on that offer.  It would make studying them
considerably less dull."

   Celena urged Starstruck forward and was soon close enough to the riders
behind the coach for them to hear her.

   "Hail riders, it is I, Champion Medea, healer of Rath!"

   "Well met, Champion Medea!  You may approach!" the voice of one of the
riders called out.

   As Celena rode up between the two riders on the right, the second spoke
and she realized that it was Baron Daelrath.

   "It is good you could make it.  We expected you a bit sooner."

   "You have my apologies for delaying Sir Mongrail, Baron Daelrath.  I was
just finishing my sling test when he arrived.  Vicar Royce insisted that we
allow his fresh signature on my Champion's Certificate to dry before we
could go.  Sir Mongrail was kind enough to help me retrieve my sling stones
while the vicar blew on the fresh ink."

   Baron Daelrath chuckled.  "It sounds like the vicar cut your testing a
bit close to the bone, but, as the vicar would say, a nick in time is more
potent than the deepest cut thereafter.  I think Vicar Fryske and my men
will take you much more seriously now that you have credentials. 
Congratulations on your certification, Champion Medea!  You obviously have
an exceptional wit.  Sir Gehrheart is the only knight of Rath to have
beaten that test, and he is able to serve as a field chaplain because of
it. I think one of the men has passed it now as well.  Vicar Fryske has
been encouraging us to deepen our faith."

   "That makes sense.  Do you usually start this early, Baron Daelrath? 
How long does it take to get to Rath Keep from Springville?"

   "This is rough country.  If the roads are clear and we encounter no
major delays, the trip takes about nine and a half hours, but it is more
like ten or ten and a half if we stop for lunch."

   "I see then we should arrive around five in the evening?"

   "Yes, that is about right if we have no delays.  I have included about
four hours' worth of time to deal with road hazards.  Past that we will
arrive at dusk or after dark, and that is not a good idea in troll country.
A week ago when we came down to visit the Bristols and collect my daughter
from school we used three of our extra hours.  Some parts of the road had
not been traveled since before winter and we had to deal with cast off
limbs and trees that blocked our way."

   "I see.  I guess it is a lucky thing that I am coming back with you
rather than going."

   "Indeed, I expect fewer delays since we traveled the entire route only a
week ago and the weather has been good.  If all goes well we will gather at
the mead hall for a welcoming feast at about six this evening.  You are
invited.  It will give you a chance to meet Vicar Fryske and the other
knights and officers of my court."

   "Thank you Baron Daelrath.  I am looking forward to it already!  Is
there anything I can do for you on the trip?"

   "Just keep your eyes peeled for highwaymen and other miscreants for the
moment.  As soon as dawn arrives I am going to give you a brief
introduction to my daughter.  I know you have some weapons skills, but if
we come under attack I want you in that coach.  You are a magical healer,
and that makes you far too valuable to risk in a fight.  My daughter is
familiar with first aid.  You two will serve as our medics and the coach
will become our infirmary in the event of battle.  Is that understood?"

   "Yes Milord." Celena affirmed. -------

   Unlike the previous day when the terrain seemed to fly by under the
strong legs of her stallion, the beginning of the trip to Daelrath could
only be described as laborious.  Celena soon realized that the coach did
not need six horses for speed as much as torque, because the road was far
too rough for the coach to move very fast.  It was fortunate that the coach
used oversized wheels or it may not have been able to move at all.  The
power of all six horses was needed to negotiate the many dips, steps and
chuckholes along the way.  The land was rough, broken and strewn with
boulders and rock formations.  As they progressed Celena noted that the
terrain became increasingly hilly, and the number of hearty pine trees and
bushes increased, particularly in the valleys between hills where soil
collected.

   Once the sun rose over the tree line Baron Daelrath took up a horn
hanging over his shoulder on a strap and blew a few notes.  The coachman
reined in the horses and the coach rolled to a halt.

   "Gather around men!  Bruhnhilda, please open the left-hand door for a
second."

   The horseman gathered around the coach door as it opened.  Celena noted
that Sir Mongrail spoke briefly with the Baron just after he arrived.

   "For those of you who did not meet her in Springville, this is Champion
Celena Medea," the Baron said loudly as he pointed at Celena.  She comes
from a line of healers that goes back several generations.  I had the
pleasure of knowing one of her relatives when I was serving as a mercenary
in the Crescent Blades Company as a youth.  Much of Champion Medea's
schooling in the worship of Virtusar comes from a pair of wounded Crescent
Blades that she tended this last winter after their unit was all but
destroyed serving in Lord Avengene's offensive against the orcs.

   "Apparently one of them must have been a Champion himself, or close to
it, because he taught Miss Medea well.  Celena is a natural healer.  She is
studying to be a concubine of Virtusar and she can already call down the
virility of Virtusar to heal wounds much as Vicar Fryske can heal wounds
through Virtusar's might.  Until this morning she had no certification from
the church to vouch for her learning, but Vicar Royce remedied that by
administering the tests of the champion.  Obviously Champion Medea passed.
She is going to be a real concubine, a warrior priestess, not a harlot
dressed up to look like something she is not.  Nevertheless, she is
Virtusar's woman.  Do not expect her to behave otherwise.

   "Champion Celena, you have met Sir Mongrail, Sir Stallart and Sir
Coshus. Let me introduce you to some of my men-at-arms as I point them out
for you.  This is Sergeant Balard, Sergeant Morden, Sergeant Badden,
Sergeant Melden, Adleby, Donoval, Knar, Redding and Coachman Hays.  I took
the cream of my warriors on this trip so we could prevail against a larger
group of foes without having to provision a bigger group of our own
warriors.

   Baron Daelrath turned to Celena, "What two weapons did you choose for
your competency tests, Champion Medea?"

   "I decided to start with the basic weapons of a poor conscript, sling,
and short sword and shield."

   "That's a good start.  My first weapon was the short sword.  It served
me well for the first year of my career as a warrior.  What would you like
to learn next?" the baron asked.

   "I would like to do some work with the horse bow, and I am going to take
up some sort of chopping weapon for troll necks as you suggested, Milord."

   "Mounted archery is difficult, but I cannot blame you for your interest
in it.  Those few who can master it can be quite valuable as scouts and
skirmishers.  I think I suggested hand axe, because it is light, but if you
can manage something a little heavier, then taking a weapon with more
length will help keep you out of reach of troll claws.  That's the kind of
advantage you can really use in troll country!"

   "Thank you Baron Daelrath, I will be sure to try weapons with a bit more
reach, particularly if they can be used from horseback."

   Sir Stallart chuckled, "If you like horses then I am sure we are going
to get along just fine!  If it would be all right, Baron Daelrath, I would
not mind showing Champion Medea a few moves with the hand and a half sword.
She might not be able to handle the weight of a two-handed sword, but I'll
bet she could handle a hand and a half if she used both hands."

   "Be sure to keep one eye peeled for enemies, Sir Stallart, but by all
means show her a few things and let her give it a try.  There will be more
time for all of us to get to know Champion Medea later.  Bruhnhilda, should
we get into a battle I want you to let Champion Medea into the coach.  She
is a valuable healer.  During a battle you will both be serving as our
medics and the coach will be our infirmary."

   "As you wish, father," Bruhnhilda replied politely, but with her head
held high.

   Celena smiled briefly down at Bruhnhilda from her seat on Starstruck's
back.  The young lady smiled back up at her.  She regretted she could not
tell Bruhnhilda who she really was; nevertheless it would be good to get to
know the future baroness all over again.

   "Now that we are all acquainted, let's get that coach rolling!" Baron
Daelrath bellowed.

   Bruhnhilda reached out and closed the coach door and the various riders
hastened to return to their places as the coach got underway.

   Celena used the noise of the coach and the preoccupation of the other
riders to get back into their formation to pass behind the coach a little
more slowly than Sir Stallart had in order to whisper to Carla.

   "Carla, are you there? ...Carla?" Celena spoke as loudly as she dared.

   Suddenly Celena felt the ghost come through her.

   "I see you are back on the road.  I was exploring in the land of the
dead.  Is there something you need me to do?" Carla asked.

   "Yes, please look around and familiarize yourself with the knights and
men at arms of Daelrath I am with," Celena whispered.  "I will be traveling
with them to my new job up at Rath Keep.  I need you to keep an eye out for
enemies while I learn something about the hand and a half sword from Sir
Stallart.  You can speak to me when you need to, but I will have to answer
you subtly or the others will think I have lost my mind."

   "I understand, Celena.  I will look out for other living creatures and
enjoy the scenery.  This will be a treat!  It has been a long time since I
did any traveling, and more recently it was even worse.  I really hated
being stuck near my remains.  You go ahead with your learning.  I will keep
watch."

   "Thank you Carla."

   Celena made her way around the coach to Sir Stallart's side.

   "Are you ready to try your hand at the hand and a half?" Sir Stallart
asked.

   "Yes, I'd like that," Celena affirmed.

   Sir Stallart first demonstrated a few basic swings.

   "On most of these it is important to keep your weight in the saddle. 
You can lean out a bit, but if you try to stand on one stirrup you run the
risk of unbalancing your mount or causing him to turn.  Also any
experienced foe will know a precarious perch when he sees it, and he will
take the opportunity to unhorse you.  It is always best to include your
mount in the use of any cavalry weapon.  If the two of you act as a unit,
you will succeed.  If you try to act independently you will not like the
result, and neither will he."

   What started as a demonstration of a few balanced patterns of swinging
the blade from the saddle expanded into an intermittent training course
when Sir Stallart found that Celena had the required strength to deal with
the heavy blade if she used both hands.  The wonderful thing about Sir
Stallart's method of instruction was that he never failed to talk about the
distribution of weight and how the mount would react if his rider failed to
perform a given move correctly.

   Sir Stallart paused frequently to look around, but training Celena was a
welcome diversion from the monotony of the long ride.  For her part, Celena
asked questions, proposed variations and combinations and showed Sir
Stallart that she was a bright young woman who knew that her life might
someday depend on handling herself in a fight against trolls.

   By the time three hours had passed, the terrain had become a series of
small hills and ridges.  Celena became used to following the coach along
hilltops, over hills, through small valleys and across a creek that seemed
to be meandering through the area.  They were headed up a hill when she
heard a horn sounding a signal from ahead.

   "Sir Coshus, our forward scout, has found a major road obstruction," Sir
Stallart said, interpreting the signal.

   Now that it was light, Celena noticed that the visor and the nasal guard
on the Baron's helmet were made of blackened metal.  This feature could be
used to identify him in spite of the obscuring headwear.  Once the coach
went down into a small valley, Baron Daelrath spoke,

   "Champion Celena, tether your stallion to the rear of the coach opposite
Bruhnhilda's mare and hop up on the roof.  You can serve as lookout. 
Coachman Hays has a horn to signal us if you run into trouble.  The rest of
you fan out and see if you can locate any enemies in the area.  We are
going to need to stop to fix the road ahead.  I do not want any surprises
while we do!"

   Celena climbed up onto the roof of the coach.  The trunks and other
luggage were arranged around an empty spot in the center of the coach roof.
Once she stepped into the spot she felt almost as if she were ensconced
within the crenellations of a mobile castle tower.  She waited for about
twenty minutes before the knights and men-at-arms returned from their
scouting mission.  Since no one had seen anything Celena returned to her
horse and they continued onwards with the men of Daelrath.  They crossed
the creek once again and this time turned onto a gravel beach of sorts that
ran alongside the creek bed.  On the side of the coach opposite the creek
the shear wall of a canyon rose perhaps twenty to thirty feet above the
creek bed.  As she looked down the road Celena noted that the top portion
of the canyon wall had fallen away and the debris now obstructed the road.
It consisted of sand, dirt and large rocks.

   "We have four shovels with our tools beneath the coach, but we can
ignore a lot of the smaller debris if we have to," The baron observed. 
"Our biggest concern is going to be the rocks.  Champion Celena, stay up on
the coach roof and keep watch.  Grab a missile weapon if you like.  Sir
Coshus, scout the perimeter.  The rest of you men start moving debris. 
Let's get this road cleared!

   Celena tethered Starstruck back in his former position.  She took her
bow and arrows and climbed back up onto the coach roof.  She kept watch for
a few minutes, turning slowly until she was again looking at the men
struggling to clear the rocks and debris.

   "It is a pity we don't have some timbers.  We could rig up something to
drag behind the horses to scrape those rocks right into the creek," Celena
observed.

   Sir Stallart looked at the baron.  "We do carry a few spare planks and
spikes for repairs to the coach."

   "Ordinarily I would say it would be a waste of time, but we are dealing
with a long stretch here.  This cliff shed debris for quite a distance. 
See what you can throw together, Sir Stallart!"

   Celena studied the cliff top and then spoke up, "Baron Daelrath, I can
see the cliff clearly from up here.  It has shed debris for the entire time
it runs alongside the road, but the debris stops very shortly after the
road and the cliff part company.  I suppose it could be a coincidence, but
I wonder."

   "It could be the moisture from the creek, but I see your point.  Someone
could have taken a bar or a shovel up onto the cliff top and broke the
crest off the cliff deliberately.  I will bring Sir Coshus in and have him
take a look at the cliff top with his tracker's eye."

   Baron Daelrath blew a few notes on his horn and then returned to helping
the men move rocks out of the roadway.

   "I see someone," Carla whispered.  "There is a man in the distance on
your right."

   Celena turned farther to the right than she needed to, far enough that
she was facing away from the men.  "I think that might be Sir Coshus, but
he is quite a ways off.  You have good eyes in spite of the chaos."

   "Living things stand out to me.  Perhaps it is because I am dead," Carla
speculated.

   Celena nodded and then called out to the men, "There is a rider to the
east coming up over a hill.  It is probably Sir Coshus, but he's still too
far away to tell!"

   "Ha, you caught a glimpse of him!  He usually makes a game of sneaking
up on us and shouting from behind some nearby cover," Sir Mongrail
exclaimed.

   "You were not kidding when you told me that she had sharp eyes, Sir
Mongrail.  Well done, Champion Medea.  I am beginning to think I am getting
more for my money than I had thought.

   "Thank you Baron Daelrath, I plan to work hard, and one day I hope to
make you feel horribly guilty about what you're paying me."

   Baron Daelrath laughed.  "You do that, and hopefully by that time I will
be able to afford a raise for you!"

   Celena smiled and rolled her eyes.  In truth she was finding an excuse
to look up.  Carla was standing on Celena's shoulders.  Apparently she was
trying to keep track of Sir Coshus.

   Raise your left hand, please.  Carla requested.

   Celena acted like she was stretching and raised her left palm skyward.
Carla stepped up and pointed.

   "There he is." Carla pointed.  "He tethered his horse to a shrub and is
circling around heading towards that formation of rock.

   "The man is close and to the northwest, Milord.  I think he is planning
to hide behind that rock!"

   "Is that you Cosh?!" The Baron yelled.

   Sir Mongrail dropped a rock and sprinted through the stream to the rock
formation on the other side.

   "He's retreating!" Carla warned.

   "Look up the hill Sir Mongrail, I think he plans to make like he was
never there!"

   "Ha!  I caught a glimpse of his boot as he dove over the crest of the
hillock, Milord!"

   "It's Cosh Milord!  He had his horse secreted in the gully, but he
didn't have time enough for a getaway before I spotted him full on!"

   Sir Coshus rode up next to Sir Mongrail.

   "Well done Sir Mongrail and Champion Medea!  Trying to spot Sir Coshus
is good practice for us all, and is not every day that we win Sir Coshus'
game." Baron Daelrath beamed.  "Sir Coshus, take a hard look at that cliff
top.  Tell me if it was man or nature that took the crest of it down."

   "I'm on it, Milord!" Sir Coshus rode to the coach and tethered his mount
between Starstruck and Bruhnhilda's mare.  He then set out on foot to find
a way up to the top of the cliff.

   Celena watched as Sir Stallart hammered together a stout wooden blade of
planks half as wide as the coach.  He left for a few minutes and returned
with some wind-bent pines that he nailed and bound to the planks with rope
so that two men could use the pines as levers to hold the blade
perpendicular to the ground.  He then applied some chains from the trunk of
the coach.  By the time he was nearly finished, Sir Coshus was back from
his inspection of the cliff.

   "What is the verdict, Sir Coshus?" The baron asked.

   "The jury is still out, Milord, but I can tell you what I saw.  There
were no tracks, but that does not mean no one was there.  There were some
tufts of grass and low bushes up there and I saw some broken blades and
branches.  I saw some pine needles.  They could have blown up there from
surrounding trees, or they might have come from boughs used to sweep away
any tracks and tool marks.  Even I can't say for certain, Milord, but I be
leanin' towards a few crafty men rather than nature as the cause of the
blocked road.  There is one clue that might make the deciding vote, one
that would be hard to cover."

   "What is that?" the Baron asked.

   "If it was men jamming bars or spades into the dirt up there, sooner or
later they would be bound to hit a rock, and that could leave a mark that
could not be erased, Milord."

   "Men, check the rocks you are carrying for marks.  I will take a look at
the ones already in the creek."

   "A few minutes later Baron Daelrath tossed one of the rocks he had
inspected onto the beach.  Sir Coshus, I think I found our mark!"

   Sir Coshus strode over and took a look at the rock.  "That'd be it,
Baron Daelrath!  I am pretty sure it was men using pry bars that blocked
the road.  If we see more marks like that I'll be absolutely sure!"

   The baron nodded gravely.  "Sir Coshus, Sir Mongrail, mount up and give
the area another sweep.  Sir Stallart looks about ready to unhitch the team
so we can put some horsepower to this job, but I don't want to do that if
there are enemies afoot."

   The two knights went out for about ten minutes and then returned.

   "Just like before, Milord, there be no sign of anyone unless they're
runnin' on the hooves of a doe," Sir Coshus reported.

   Suddenly Coshus looked up and drew his bow from the case on his back.

   "Hold up, Sir Coshus!  I think that's Cindus!" Celena called out.

   Celena held up her left arm and Cindus flapped down and made a quick
landing.  He croaked indignities at Sir Coshus, apparently for drawing his
bow.

   "Is that your bird?" Sir Coshus asked.

   "He is wild but he is a friend of mine that knows the value of a free
meal."

   "Gwark!  Gwark!" Cindus called.

   "I think he is none too happy about missing breakfast either!  Milord
may I get some food from my saddlebags?  Cindus sometimes tries to let me
know if there are people nearby.  I just wish I could understand him
better."

   The coach door opened and Bruhnhilda hopped out.  "Goodness, that raven
is huge!" Bruhnhilda marveled.  I think I saw one nearly that big at
Vargrend's, but I have never been this close to one!  I am sorry to burst
out like this, father, but I am aware that the area was just scouted, might
I stretch my legs and watch Celena's bird?"

   "Yes, Bruhnhilda, I suppose this is as good a time as any.  Sir Stallart
go ahead and unhitch the team.  We have lost too much time on this road
already!"

   Celena climbed down from the coach and got Cindus some steak scraps from
the bundle that Vicar Royce had included with her lunch.  As Bruhnhilda
approached Celena spoke softly.

   "If you move slowly he will let you get to within about six feet of him.
If you come any closer than that, he is likely to take flight in spite of
the free meal."

   "Okay, I will be careful not to frighten him.  How did you get him to
land on your arm?" Bruhnhilda whispered.

   "He seemed to like me from the start, but it took some time and a lot of
free food to get to where he trusted me enough to land on my arm."

   Cindus took a moment to rub his inky head against Celena's ghost palm.

   "That is amazing!" Bruhnhilda whispered.  "By, 'long line of healers,' I
take it father meant wise women."

   Celena smiled conspiratorially.  "Wise women are mythical creatures. 
Since Lord Avengene started hunting them, they no longer exist, nor do
their families."

   Bruhnhilda grimaced.  "Yes, I suppose that is the way it has to be. 
Lord Avengene has too many ears out for those he considers enemies of the
marquisate.  I don't think he hunts wise women much in territories other
than his own, but you cannot be too careful."

   Celena nodded.  "It is unfortunate that the lives of wise women in
Avengene have depended on keeping their nature a secret.  I hope to help
prevent the spread of Avengene's poisonous faith in whatever small way I
can.  That is one of the reasons I serve the god of war."

   "Does father know what powers you might have?"

   "He knows I can heal, but I told him that I would not share knowledge of
my family's legacy with him unless he becomes a part of my family and I of
his.  He grudgingly agreed to that, I think because he thinks the morals of
a concubine of Virtusar might infect you if you got too close."

   Bruhnhilda, rolled her eyes.

   Celena shrugged.  "I don't see the problem that he does.  You seem
bright enough to realize that the role of a baroness to be is different
from that of a lay priestess of the god of war."

   "Of course I do, Father has been overly cautious since we lost my
mother."

   "With Avengene on the loose, caution is often wise if not convenient."

   "I would not be surprised if it was one of Avengene's plots that killed
my mother.  That makes father's caution easier to bear.  He does not want
to lose the both of us."

   A few minutes later, Cindus finished his meal and flew off.  Celena and
Bruhnhilda quietly waved goodbye to one another.  As Bruhnhilda climbed
into the coach, Celena took a few moments to gather a few rocks from the
creek bed that were roughly the same size and shape as the one she had used
to cheat with on the last shot of her sling test.  If she needed to sling
from horseback, she would need to use the cheating method.  It was a pity
that arrows often moved so fast that they were difficult to see.  As she
picked up stones she thought about a spell that could guide an arrow to its
target.

   As Bruhnhilda went back into the coach, Baron Daelrath suggested that
she break out the lunch provisions for the men, since only a few men were
needed to steer and steady the makeshift blade.  Celena assisted Bruhnhilda
in distributing the food and then fetched the lunch that Vicar Royce had
packed for her from her saddlebags.  Once she had it she climbed back onto
the roof of the coach so that Carla could keep watch while she ate.

   Sir Stallart was able to pull an enormous quantity of debris from the
road with every pass.  While the men were busy, Celena left to relieve
herself.  Once she was alone she took the time to recast Life Vision,
Transient Shield and Ghostly Whispers.  Not long after she returned, Sir
Stallart and his crew finished clearing the road.  Rather than disassemble
the blade, Sir Stallart lashed it to the roof of the coach just behind the
coachman's seat in case they needed it again.  It provided a good platform
atop the luggage for a lookout to stand on, but it turned out that Baron
Daelrath did not want Celena to use it while the coach was moving.

   When the horses were hitched to the coach once again the baron spoke,
"We just lost two and a half hours, men!  We need to get just a little more
daring with our pace.  Don't take unnecessary risks, Coachman, but go as
fast as you can safely go on any given stretch of road we encounter.  Now
let's roll!"

   As the trip resumed, the coach moved just a little faster on the average
than it had prior to the delay, but Coachman Hays had his hands full trying
to maintain the quickened pace.  As they progressed, the trees and the
hills became gradually larger until they were riding through a forest of
tall pines.  It seemed that they were going uphill far more often than not.
With mountains looming far ahead of them, Celena did not have to wonder
why. They encountered a number of tree limbs and other minor obstructions
in the road, but by the look of the roadside, Sir Coshus was clearing all
minor obstructions away long before the coach reached them.

   As the trip progressed, Celena learned and practiced some more with Sir
Stallart and his hand and a half sword.  She also spoke with him about
gardening and farming around Rath Keep.

   "Do you breed light horses?" Celena asked Sir Stallart.

   "Yes I have a few desert-bred horses that I have been breeding with our
local stock.  I am very pleased with the results.  The desert bred horses
have great endurance, spirit and intelligence, but they tend to be small
and lean.  Your Andalusian has an infusion of desert blood running through
his veins.  That is part of what makes him special."

   "Oh, I wondered about that.  He does seem to be more intelligent and
alert than many lesser mounts.  If you would like to use him in your
breeding program, let me know.  The more time I spend with him, the more I
get the feeling that I got quite a deal on him."

   Sir Stallart chuckled.  "Yes, he is a fine horse.  I think he was one of
the foundation sires for Baronet Norwit's breeding program.  I have a
desert-bred mare in mind for him.  If the offspring inherit his size and
her endurance, they will be fine horses indeed."

   About five hours after they left the last obstruction behind, Celena
heard a familiar horn call sounding off to the north.  "Is that the major
obstruction call again?" Celena asked.

   "Whoa, you catch on quickly, Champion Medea.  We cannot afford too many
of these major delays.  I hope this one does not keep us for hours."

   After sending his men out to scout and waiting for them to return and
confirm that there were no enemies in the area ready to pounce, Baron
Daelrath ordered the coach to go on.  This time the obstruction was a tree
thicker than a man's arm was long that had fallen right across the road.

   "What have we got here, Sir Coshus?" the Baron asked.

   "This one was not nature, Milord, and they made no attempt at hiding it.
Perhaps they are aware that there is no other road through these woods."

   "I don't like the smell of this one, Sir Coshus.  Who would want to
delay us?  What can they hope to gain?"

   "If they delay us long enough they might have some hope that we would
encounter trolls, Milord," Sir Coshus offered.

   "This is too much work for someone to do to score a maybe, Sir Coshus,"
Baron Daelrath argued.

   "It would make sense if it were orcs," Celena observed.  "If my
childhood memories serve me correctly, they like to raid at night when
humans are half blind from darkness."

   The baron shook his head.  "This is troll country.  We see incursions of
orcs once in a while from Lord Avengene's lands to the east, but they are
not common, and it is not like them to hatch a plot that unfolds over this
much territory.  It just doesn't make sense unless the earlier obstruction
of the road had nothing to do with this later one.  I guess it does not
matter anyway.  We are only an hour and a half's ride from Rath Keep.  If
it gets too late and the coach cannot go on, we will simply hide the coach
and leave it behind.  Since we have already scouted this area, we might as
well attack that log.  Are we going to have to cut it in two places?

   "That'd be it, Milord - no other way," Sir Coshus admitted.  "It be a
huge tree and this be the middle of it.  There be considerable skill
involved in the way it fell.  Considering the thickness of this forest, it
could have got caught on a dozen different trees before falling all the way
down."

   "How many saws do you have?" Celena asked.

   "We have two of the large ones," the Baron answered.  "That's a plus our
enemies may not have thought of.  We can cut the tree on both sides of the
road at once."

   "How long will it take to cut?" Celena asked.

   "An hour if we hurry.  Sir Stallart, pick the four strongest men here,
regardless of rank.  I want two teams of two on those saws and I want the
men to put their backs into it hard and tire themselves out.  When they are
spent, the other team will spell them while they rest.  A few alternations
and we should be through that tree.  The tree is not laying flat on the
road because the terrain rises on the west side of the road and there are
branches on the east end of the tree.  I want you to take two more men and
have them cut logs from smaller trees and put them under the trunk as it
crosses the road for use as rollers.  The rollers will need to be at least
twice as long as the tree trunk is wide.  That way we can push the cut out
piece forward before rolling it off the road parallel to the east side of
the tree trunk."

   "Following the line of reasoning that this is an elaborate plot to delay
you, Milord, I have been doing the math.  You have maybe five hours worth
of delay time if you skip lunch.  The road might have taken up to four
hours were it not for Sir Stallart's ingenuity, and this tree might have
taken two hours were it not for having two saws.  That puts us at maybe six
hours.  That would definitely be nighttime, but only if everything went
exactly as planned.  If this really is an elaborate plan, then my guess is
that there might be another obstruction closer to the keep just in case we
figured a way to wriggle out of one of the earlier obstructions, at least
that would be my way of thinking."

   Baron Daelrath nodded.  "Sir Coshus, and Sir Mongrail.  I have a
dangerous mission for you.  I want you to speed scout that road.  Go as far
as you can and still get back here before this tree is cut.  If you find
foes or another major obstruction then get back here on the double.  Make
sure you both have axes with you in case you find something minor.  The
rest of you pair up.  I want you scouting the perimeter.  Flankers you stay
near the coach, rear guards stay within fifty yards and point guards you
stay within a hundred and fifty yards, understood?

   About twenty minutes later, Celena was handing a canteen from the coach
to a man at arms named Knar who had just taken a turn at sawing.

   "Thank ya ma'am.  By the end o' this here log me arms are goin' ta be
like noodles."

   Celena cocked her head and strode over to the baron and spoke to him in
a very soft voice.

   "What Knar just said is making me think.  That tree will temporarily
disable the sword arms of four men.  We are hurrying because we think
someone is trying to delay us.  We have also sent two more men scouting far
ahead of the coach and others to continuously scout the area.  What if
their tactic is not to delay, but to scare us into the actions we have
taken?"

   The Baron smiled.  "It is good to see you have an active mind, Champion
Medea.  The problem is there are too many ways a game like this can play
out, but I will tell you one thing.  If their aim is to rob us, then they
are always going to make a play for the coach.  The valuables are there,
after all.  If you are worried, why don't you go back and join Sir Stallart
and Donoval at the coach.  Maybe if you climb up on the roof you'll be able
to spot a foe.  Just be sure you don't take a shot at one of our scouts. 
If you encounter archers, use the trunks and luggage on the coach for
cover."

   "Thank you Baron.  I will be careful about my targets.  I feel like I am
missing something, but I can't put my finger on it."

   Celena walked over to Starstruck and mounted up.  The coach was only
about twenty yards away from the downed tree, but Celena wanted her
stallion near her at all times in case she needed to make a hasty getaway.
As she tethered her stallion to the back of the coach she thought about
what sort of hiding place would be necessary to evade her life vision.  A
person would have to be buried deeply in the cast off pine needles that
made up the forest floor or the soil beneath them, or they would have to be
behind or inside a big tree, hill or rock formation, or perhaps high in the
treetops with the tree trunk between them and her.  Celena climbed up onto
the roof of the coach with her bag of sling bullets, her sling, her quiver
and her bow.  She thought about who might be most vulnerable.  Obviously
scouts on the perimeter would be easiest to pick off.

   Celena reasoned that there was definitely a chance that the Baron's
group would be doing battle before the day ended.  She decided she had
better be armed, even when she was not mounted.  She removed the bandolier
of throwing knives from her saddlebag and put it on.  She took the time to
figure out how the straps that she normally used to hold her bow case and
quiver onto her saddle could be used to strap the case and quiver onto her
back.  Thankfully James Jordell never bought low quality merchandise. 
Whoever had created the items had built the flexibility she needed into the
strapping arrangement.

   She also found a small tree that had died in the shade of its neighbors
or perhaps due to bugs.  She got coachman Hays to help her with tools from
beneath the coach and his own knowledge of woodworking to make a large
wooden ring with a deep groove cut into the outside edge.  She tied the
sack of rocks to her belt by is drawstrings, and inserted the ring to
prevent the sack from drawing closed due to its own weight.  Thus she
created an open-mouthed belt pouch for her sling stone collection.  If she
loosened the strings and pushed the ring into the bag she could close it as
long as she did not mind that the stones were no longer immediately
accessible.  Once she had all of her weapons on and situated to travel with
her she felt a bit safer, although she missed having armor.

   Celena was on her way to see how the sawing was going when she heard the
sound of horses in the distance.

   "Hail, Sirs Mongrail-Cosh, knights of Rath reporting!

   "You may approach and report!"

   The two knights rode down the center of the road towards the tree trunk.
The baron mounted up and met them just north of the tree trunk between the
two saw crews.  Celena went over to the eastern saw crew so that she could
check on their progress and listen in on the report.

   "What did you find?" the baron asked.

   "We found another log, Milord, not as big as this one, but maybe three
quarters as thick as a man's arm is long.  We rode on for a ways but saw
nothing.  After scouting for foes we cut the larger branches from the tree
and stuck them under the trunk to serve as rollers, then we severed the
tree completely from its stump.  The forest is a little less thick there,
plus the tree now has few limbs.  If we unhitch the horses from the coach
they should be able to pull the entire tree in the direction it fell and
get it off the road.  That should save us a bundle of time compared to
cutting it in two places."

   "Good thinking."

   "East crew is finished, Milord!"

   "Hold on, we're just about there on the west too, Milord."

   Baron Daelrath blew a call on his horn, "I am bringing the scouts in
from the perimeter.  We are going to need everyone to roll this stump
forward and off the road."

   Once all seven Daelrath men at arms arrived, they attempted to roll the
log north in the direction of the road.  If they could move it as far
forward as it was thick, then they could use the roller logs beneath it to
help them push it eastward off the road.  Unfortunately, it would not
budge. When she saw they were struggling, Celena chipped in and pushed as
hard as she could, but her strength did not change the outcome.  Coachman
Hays pulled the coach up closer to the log and came down from his seat to
bolster their numbers to twelve men and a woman, including the three
knights and the baron.

   "If we do get this log rolling, we may not be able to stop it before it
rolls right off the rollers," Celena observed.

   "You have a good point there, Champion.  There is a log the men were
cutting rollers from over there.  Why don't you put it across the road so
it goes across the ends of the rollers.  If you do it right you can brace
it against a tree on either side of the road and make it into a railing of
sorts to keep our huge log from going farther north than we want it to."

   Celena nodded.  "I am going to need a hand with this log."

   Several of the men left the main log and gave her a hand while the baron
and his knights broke out some rope so that they could add the strength of
their riding horses to the mix.

   "Okay now, get ready to push men," the baron said as he urged his horse
forward.  The three knights followed suit.  "Now heave!" the baron ordered.


   The log started to roll forward then rocked backwards again, pulling all
three horses with it.  "...and heave!" the baron bellowed.

   All of the men and Celena gritted their teeth and pushed.  The log
rolled forward and they continued to roll it until it hit the rail and
settled backwards just a bit.

   "That looks good, men, now let's get these ropes moved and try it again,
this time we have to move this thing east."

   Pulling the log off the road was even more difficult.  Celena brought
Starstruck and Bruhnhilda's mare to help, and the group was able to pull
the log out of the way.

   "That's got it!" Good work men!  Now let's get to that next log before
the sun sinks any lower!

   Sir Coshus' plan to pull the next log off the road was successful, but
only when all six coach horses, the five riding horses and all of the men
put their backs into it.  After their exertions, the coachman hitched the
horses back up to the coach and the baron spoke:

   "Warriors of Rath, We don't have much daylight left, and we all know
those two logs across the road were deliberate.  I am sure we all suspect
there is some kind of plot brewing.  I see Champion Medea has armed up. 
That's a good call.  We had all better keep our eyes sharp.  Given the hour
and the threat, I want you in the coach, Champion Medea.

   Celena frowned.

   Baron Daelrath chuckled.  "Only a real warrior frowns when told to go to
safety!  You can still help in a fight, Champion.  The Daelrath coach is
built for battle.  Bruhnhilda can show you how the windows work.  You won't
have room enough to use your sling in the coach, but that horse bow will be
perfect, and if anyone gets in, those throwing knives will come in handy.
The rapier might be a little long, but I'm pretty sure there is a short
sword you can borrow under the seat.  I would let you ride, but you are far
too valuable as a healer.

   "Sir Coshus, no one needs to tell you how important your job as point
scout is, and point guards, Sir Coshus is as fine a scout as I could ask
for, but he is still human.  You need to keep your eyes peeled for anything
that might be an immediate threat to the road or the coach.  We would
normally have an hour's worth of travel time before we make it to the keep,
but we probably have less than a half-hour's worth of light.  That is why
we are going to double our speed!  We keep the roads near the keep in much
better shape than what we have been used to thus far, so we can do this! 
Now let's ride!"

   During the last part of the baron's speech, Celena slipped behind the
coach, to tether Starstruck.  While she was there, she recast Life Vision,
Ghostly Whispers and Floating Dagger on herself.  She rushed to the door of
the coach as the Baron's speech ended.  The door was already open.  She
scarcely had time to hop in before the coach lurched forward.  Bruhnhilda
closed the door and locked it behind her.

   "Welcome to the Rath coach, Champion."

   Celena noted that the coach had two bench-type upholstered seats, one
facing forward and one facing backwards.  Celena could see the coachman's
legs in front of part of the forward facing window.  Apparently his seat
was actually part of the coach roof.  The rear window looked out over a
trunk that sat on a shelf built onto the rear of the coach.

   "Thank you Lady Daelrath.  I would love to see how the windows work if
you would like to show me."

   "Of course, here is a short sword for you to use." Bruhnhilda handed her
a sheath containing a serviceable short sword.

   "Thank you Milady," Celena said as she hastened to add the sword to her
belt near her rapier.

   "As you can see every window in the coach is made of very thick glass
held in place by iron frames.  Without the glass, the coach windows would
appear to be barred.  The bars are flat and narrower than they are deep. 
Between each set of bars is a pane of glass.  The central pane on each side
window can be opened, like so, to serve as an arrow slit.  Bruhnhilda
disengaged a thumb-screw-like lock and hinged an iron edged pane of glass
into the coach so that it pointed straight down.  The front and back
windows each have three arrow slits that can be opened.  If we wreck and
the doors cannot be used, the front and back windows each consist of two
frames.  Either frame can be unlocked by turning all of these recessed
locks to the right.  The frame then hinges outwards."

   "That seems straight-forward," Celena observed.  "I see you have a short
bow, a quiver of arrows, a quiver of bolts and three loaded crossbows out.
I also see that many of the locks for the front left window frame are
open."

   "Yes, Coachman Hays has a crossbow with him, and I am prepared to trade
him freshly loaded crossbows for spent ones.  Have you ever loaded a
crossbow?" Bruhnhilda asked.

   "Not recently, I think I could use a lesson loading your particular make
of crossbow."

   Bruhnhilda unloaded and then fired a crossbow for use in her
demonstration.  She removed a crow's foot cocking mechanism from under the
front seat and showed Celena how to use it.

   "Thank you, Milady, I think I remember now."

   "Why don't you do it a few times until you can do it without
hesitation?"

   "That's a good idea.  The way the coach is bouncing, I could use some
practice.  Celena went through the motions of loading a crossbow three
times.  Each time she did it more quickly.

   "That's very good.  I can tell you have strong arms."

   "Thank you, Milady Daelrath."

   Celena felt a faint chill as a ghostly foot moved from her shoulder to
her head.

   "Please sit down on a seat as soon as you can, Celena," Carla requested.
"If you hunch down too low my eyes are hidden inside the luggage.  If you
give me enough height my head sticks out above the luggage and I can keep
an eye out for trouble."

   "I think I have it now, perhaps we should just sit and peer out the
windows.  Your sire expects an attack.  Maybe we can be the ones to spot
it."

   "That sounds like a good idea.  The darker it gets, the more troublesome
the glass becomes.  Let's open the front windows.  You can close yours at
the first sign of battle.  I may need mine open to hand crossbows to
Coachman Hays," Bruhnhilda suggested.

   Celena nodded and unlocked the right front window as Bruhnhilda unlocked
the left front window.  They sat in silence for mere seconds while the
coach was navigating a curve to the left between two forested hills.

   Suddenly Celena heard a muffled ghostly shout from Carla, "I see people
in the trees ahead!  They are sliding down ropes from very high branches to
somewhat lower ones!  They have bows on their backs!"

   "Beware up in the trees ahead!" Celena hollered before she had even had
time to check them.

   "Eennn Barr dabah!  Buruk Tiss-iss dunt nee!" a powerful voice bellowed
from above.

   "Orcish archers in the trees!" Celena exclaimed after she heard the
language.  "They are bringing down trees to block the road!"

   Celena saw an orc rise out of the pine needles about forty yards ahead
and apply a pry bar near the base of a tree about ten inches in diameter. A
second later she heard a cracking sound and the tree fell across the road.
She guessed the tree must have been cut most of the way through with a saw
ahead of time.  A similar sound from behind brought a slightly thicker tree
down about twenty yards behind them.  Neither tree was particularly large,
but the fact that the coach was between two hills meant that the trees fell
level with a horse's chest.  Thicker trees might have caught the coach more
securely, but such trees would have been harder to remove once the coach
was taken.

   "Iersh!  Iersh!  yal skt-skt.  Botale yar Kahlnim!  l'bot yar
Kahlmartas!" the orc chief bellowed from up in the trees.

   The orc commander insulted his men and told them to earn a name for
themselves, and then the pine needles at the base of a rock formation to
the left of the forward roadblock exploded outward as a large panel was
pushed up from below.  Orc warriors boiled out of a concealed tunnel, three
abreast, armed and ready for battle.  Some of them stationed themselves
along the tree ahead to keep it in place while others advanced on the
coach. From above, Celena could hear the sound of arrows piercing the
evening air.

   The horses practically slid to a halt as the coachman vigorously reined
them in.  Celena and Bruhnhilda both nearly brained themselves before
raising their hands against the window frame as the coach stopped and then
began to back up.  As soon as she had recovered her wits, Celena pulled her
window shut, locked it and opened the arrow slit.

   In the same moment, Celena heard the coachman sounding a call on his
horn followed by the sound of arrows hitting the luggage on the roof of the
coach.

   "I'm hit!  Damn leg is pinned to the seat!" Coachman Hays bellowed.

   "Tsuk de joolkopf!  Snik squch!" the orc chief bellowed from up in the
trees.

   "Fall back and take cover behind the coach or the roadside trees!" The
baron shouted.  "Draw those bo-uhhh!

   "The baron's been hit!  Carla squealed.

   Celena twisted to locate the baron.  "Your father is hit!" She had
turned just in time to see him topple from his horse with a thick arrow
through his helmet.

   "Concentrate fire on the bellowin' orc!" Sir Mongrail ordered as he
galloped up behind the orc that had recently popped out to fell the tree
behind the coach.  Before the orc could react, the knight removed his head
with swift stroke of his sword and then drew his crossbow.  He fired the
crossbow, and then took up his shield to ward the baron from any additional
arrows.  "That orc archer's armor is thick!  Your leg shot did more good
than the bolt I bounced off his breastplate, Sir Stallart, but it isn't
going to stop the brute!"

   "It ought to be thick!  He's the one who has been giving the orders. 
He's probably the chief!" Sir Stallart observed as he nocked another arrow.

   Celena opened the door on the right side of the coach, jumped out and
ran for the baron.  Knar had already picked him up.  The coach was moving
backwards, and since the baron had been on his way to take cover behind it,
Knar took only a few steps before he reached Celena.  An arrow slammed into
the backside of the open coach door behind Celena as she helped Knar slide
the baron onto the floor of the coach.  Bruhnhilda shut the door after
Celena was in and Knar had retreated behind the coach for cover.

   Celena turned the baron on his side.  "Have you got a," Celena began to
say, but Bruhnhilda handed her a tool that looked something like a pair of
pliers but with cutting blades.

   Celena took the tool and nodded.  The arrow had gone through the baron's
helmet in the front, through his skull and out through his helmet in the
back.  There was no doubt the orc that shot the arrow was big, and he had
managed to get hold of a good bow built for his considerable strength.

   "Undo the chin strap on his helmet," Celena commanded as she cut the
arrowhead off.  "Okay now place your foot on the forehead of his helmet. 
Pull the arrow out smoothly and then remove his helmet.  I will begin my
healing invocation now."

   "Oh great god of war, I spread my soft thighs to the heat of thy
masculine embrace!  Mighty Virtusar, I pray thee, inundate me with a
torrent of thy rampant potency!  Fill me with thy indomitable power!"

   Celena paced the invocation with Bruhnhilda's progress on the baron's
helmet.  She then whispered her Bestow Life Force II spell.  By the time
she had finished casting, Bruhnhilda had managed to get the arrow out, and
the baron's helmet off.  The rug on the floor of the coach was stained with
two widening pools of blood that flowed freely from the Baron's entry and
exit wounds.  Celena touched her fingertips to the wounds on the front and
back of the baron's head and poured life force into the wound as she
proclaimed, "I who have been filled with the seed of manly might now fill
you with the Virility of Virtusar!" She repeated the whispered spell as if
it were a prayer and immediately poured a second dose of life force into
the baron's wound.  Meanwhile Bruhnhilda removed a lesser arrow from the
Baron's shoulder and applied herbs, before packing gauze into the hole in
the baron's mail to staunch the bleeding.

   "Will he live?"

   "I don't know Bruhnhilda.  An arrow through the brain is usually fatal,
but I've never heard of a case where a man sustained such a wound and
magical healing was applied less than two minutes later.  I am pretty sure
the bleeding is stopped, but whatever tissue was in the path of that arrow
was destroyed."

   Bruhnhilda nodded, blinking back tears.

   "One thing is for certain; your father will not live if the orcs win
this battle." Celena snatched her horse bow from her back and nocked an
arrow.  "Another thing I can tell you is that this was deliberate.  The orc
chief said tsuk de joolkopf!  Literally that translates to, 'Kill the
treasure-head.' I am pretty sure that means kill the man with the price on
his head.  Then he said, 'Snik squch!' or 'Trap the woman.'"

   "Aargh!" Coachman Hays groaned as he leaned over so far he was peering
into the front window from between his own legs.  "Take the reins, and this
crossbow, Bruhnie.  I'm a dead man.  I am nailed to me seat with arrows,
and if I could manage to get up, well that orc infantry is just about here
and I am in no condition to run.  I could use another crossbow before I
go."

   Bruhnhilda blinked back tears as she pulled the reins through the
window, set them aside and then traded crossbows with the coachman.

   Celena could see Hays' blood running off the coach roof.

   "Hah, got 'im!" The coachman sputtered as one of the orc archers fell
from the tree.

   Celena grimaced as another salvo of arrows struck the coachman and the
luggage on the roof.

   Bruhnhilda sniffed as the coachman fell forward and dropped the
crossbow. She hardened her gaze and snatched her short bow from the seat.
"Someone wants my father dead and me captured.  If we can't fight our way
out of this, everyone is going to be dead but me, and I am going to wish I
were dead!"

   "With Virtusar's help we shall prevail!" Celena exclaimed with
conviction.

   Outside the coach behind a roadside tree, Sir Stallart was yelling
orders at the men, "If you are no good with a bow, then send me your horse!
The damned archers will pick you off on horseback, but they'll be too
likely to hit their own men if you're tangling with them on foot.  Get
behind the coach to start, and protect it once the orc footmen arrive!"

   "The rest of you keep shooting!" Sir Mongrail barked.  "We are not going
to turn this thing around until those archers are history!  Thank all the
gods there is still just enough light to see!"

   Most of the Daelrath men at arms dismounted and ran up behind the coach
on foot just as two-dozen orc infantrymen arrived at the left side of the
coach.

   Celena felt the coach shiver as one of the orcs hammered the left-hand
door with a battle-axe.

   "I'm hit!" The Daelrath man at arms named Badden yelped from behind a
tree where he was plying his bow.

   "Can't someone drop that damned big orc in the tree?" Sir Mongrail
bellowed from near Sir Stallart where he was tethering the Daelrath horses
to a bush behind a few thick trees.  "How many archers have they got?"

   Celena briefly opened the arrow slit in the right hand door, put her
mouth to it and yelled out the numbers that Carla gave her: "Six of eight
orc archers remain in the trees, two dozen orc infantry at the coach, six
in reserve at the north blockade, Sir Mongrail!"

   "Piece of cake, men, we're only outnumbered three to one!" Sir Mongrail
hollered.

   Since the left hand door of the coach was on the same side of the road
as the hidden orc tunnel, most of the orc infantrymen were fighting the
Daelrath men-at-arms that were now clustered around the left hand door of
the coach.  Many of the orcs could not shoulder their way past their
comrades to get to a foe.  A half dozen of those broke off from the rear
ranks and made their way around the front of the coach.

   The Daelrath archers, including Sir Stallart with his horse bow, and
Badden and Balard with their longbows were behind trees on the right side
of the road where the curvature of the road and the trees along it could
not obstruct their shots from reaching the orc archers in the trees above
the road ahead.  The coach had backed up far enough that its right side had
gained some cover from the orc archers due to tree limbs and the curvature
of the road.  Celena doubted that the orcs would risk trying to shoot
anyone on that side of the coach anyway, for fear of hitting their own
warriors.

   "Some are coming around the coach, Milady." Celena said as she aimed her
bow and nailed an orc just below the eye as he came around the right side
of the team of horses in an attempt to get to the right hand door of the
coach.

   "Dunt!  Kung nbar thokn!"

   Celena laughed, "That orc just said, 'Keep your heads down; don't get
shot by your own stupidity!'"

   "N'hataa n'kung cularar; eennn neen bot'l!" Celena spat with her best
imitation of the Orcish voice.

   "Damn it!  Redding is orc meat!  Sergeant Morden hollered.

   Bruhnhilda switched to the arrow slit in the right hand door of the
coach and fired over the heads of the Daelrath men at arms, nailing the
head of the orc that was still hunched over pulling his sword out of
Redding's chest.  Most of the orcs were wielding a combination of
broadsword, axe or club and shield.  Those that did not keep their shields
up, or who used them to block low blows from Daelrath man-at-arms were easy
prey for Bruhnhilda's point-blank archery from the elevated window of the
coach.

   "What are you telling them?  Bruhnhilda asked.

   "I told them not to listen to that smart warrior because we want to
win."

   Celena hastened to reopen the arrow slit in the left hand door and
launched one throwing knife and then another through the aperture.  Two
orcs crumpled to the ground each with a telekinesis-guided throwing knife
in his eye.

   "Kungung!  Toc tunt!  - Very stupid, shields up!" The smart orc bellowed
as he lost two more warriors under his command.

   Celena smiled at him for just a second before he put his shield in front
of the arrow slit.  She was pretty sure that he must be some sort of
officer, perhaps a lieutenant.  He was very muscular, but she realized that
he must be young because he lacked the heavy layer of blubber that was
common to successful older orc warriors.  He also had an unusually dusky
complexion.  His skin was a dark mocha brown even on the tip of his nose
and his hair was a shade darker than his skin.

   "Toc tunt, xunt, xunt!" The orc lieutenant ordered his two remaining
warriors to form a shield wall between him and the Daelrath archers.  He
almost needn't have bothered.  The orc archers were keeping them pinned
down behind trees.  Badden had withdrawn completely and was probably
patching some wounds before he bled out.  Meanwhile, the orc that Celena
had decided was a lieutenant sheathed his sword and bent to pick up a
battle-axe dropped by one of his dead soldiers.  His shield moved down from
the arrow slit briefly as he retrieved the weapon while still protecting
his own body.

   Celena had already determined that if the orcs were not facing her,
getting through their chain mail with a throwing knife was not going to be
practical.  That was why she now had her bow back in her hands.  As the
shield slid downwards she drew back and nailed one of the standing orcs in
the back of the neck.  At the same time she saw an arrow from the trees
plunge through Sir Stallart's heavy shoulder armor.

   Ack!  I'm hit!  Sir Stallart bellowed.

   "I clipped the bastard chief, but that armor he is wearing must be a
mile thick!" Balard called out.

   "Adleby is finished!  Sergeant Morden hollered from the midst of the
melee on the left side of the coach."

   Celena glanced over at Bruhnhilda's back.  The young lady was busy
trying to peg orcs whenever the men-at-arms gave her a good opening.  The
orc lieutenant's shield was back over the arrow slit on Celena's side of
the coach and he was making the coach shudder each time he swung the
battle-axe against the door.  Celena turned to the front window and its
open arrow slit and pulled a throwing knife,

   "Oh great god of war, our arms are weary!  Wounds weigh our bodies down!
The shadow of defeat looms over us! A sign we pray of thee to show us thy
valor!  A sign we pray of thee to light our way to glory!

   May the mighty hand of Virtusar hurl my blade!"

   Celena bent her knees slightly and threw her knife through the arrow
slit.  When it should have slowed and arched towards the ground, instead it
flew straight and true as Celena's telekinesis held it up and drove it
forward at an increasing rate of speed.

   "GAAA!" The orc chief bellowed as the knife sank hilt deep into his eye.
A few seconds later he tumbled off his tree limb and fell to the ground.

   "Son of a bitch!  What the hell was that?!" Sir Mongrail hollered.

   The men fighting in front of the left hand door had heard the prayer,
saw the chieftain fall, and in that moment they were certain that the god
of war was with them!

   "That was the hand of Virtusar, compliments of our champion!" Sergeant
Morden bellowed.

   "Praise Virtusar!" the men hollered as their spirits lifted.  Wounded
men now cowering behind those able-bodied comrades that still fought stood
and brandished their weapons, eager to get another lick at the enemy. 
Those men-at-arms who had been barely holding their own against the orcs
with fatigue biting at their sword arms like jackals, felt a new surge of
strength and hope, their prowess redoubled as they swung their swords with
renewed vigor.

   Celena marveled at what a simple boost of morale could accomplish.  The
men were fighting harder than ever, even though they looked to have been
flagging a moment earlier.

   "Schtach chont!  - strong magic," said one of the orcs as he looked at
his dead chief.

   Celena cocked her head as she felt the ambient lust in the area
modulate. The orcs were superstitious, and the fall of their leader to a
supernaturally augmented throw after a spirited prayer was temporarily
robbing many of them of their virility, whereas the men-at-arms of Daelrath
felt a renewed surge of manliness as their belief in the god of war was
strengthened.

   "Kung chont - stupid magic," The lieutenant hollered as his battle-axe
shattered the door around the lock.

   "Ak - in," the orc lieutenant ordered, holding his shield up to protect
him from missile fire as his last remaining solder brandished his sword and
jumped through the coach door that his lieutenant held open.

   Bruhnhilda turned and fired her bow into the orc's thigh.  It was the
only area not protected by his shield.

   "Dunt iskarn!  - Down slave," he growled as he surged forward.  He
attempted to run Celena through while pinning Bruhnhilda against the door
with his shield, but Bruhnhilda reached behind her, unlocked the door,
opened it and jumped out into the space that had been created by the
renewed fighting vigor of the Daelrath men at arms.

   Celena had barely had enough time to draw her short sword and was using
both hands to parry the orc's thrust when suddenly he was thrown completely
off balance by Bruhnhilda's move.  He fell forward, his blade slid along
hers and up over her head as she bent her knees deeply and pushed up with
both arms.  When she saw the orc's back going by she straightened her legs,
turned her sword, bent her knees and thrust the sword with every ounce of
her two-armed strength into the orc's back.  The orc squealed like a stuck
pig as the blade penetrated his mail and sunk deep into his back.  He
tumbled out of the coach with Celena's borrowed short sword deeply imbedded
in his heart.

   Suddenly a shield bash from the orc lieutenant tossed Celena against the
back seat of the coach as if she were a rag doll.  The blow stunned her
briefly while the orc lieutenant pinned her against the back seat with his
shield, drew his sword back and drove it forward.  She threw herself to the
right, but the shield pressing against her chest allowed for only a small
amount of movement.  The sword that would have gone through her eye should
have sliced the side of her head, but her transient shield spell went off
and moved it just enough that it opened only a minor gash on her right ear.
The window behind her head shattered in spite of its thickness.  The orc
pulled his sword back again and was about to run it through her eye when
both of them heard trumpets.  Then it dawned on Celena as her wits flooded
back to her, she was not hearing trumpets but bugles - Avengene bugles. 
Immediately after the bugles, she heard hounds, _lots_ of hounds, perhaps
twenty of them coming from a distance, perhaps over a hill or two but not
far away.

   Suddenly both the orc and Celena froze.  "Avengene," they said in
unison.

   "Dykahl Avengene cusaha Dykahl Daelrath.  Yal Kahl su'un Daelrath."
Celena pointed at the baron.  "Gugaa-aa dabahah l'botlen dar kahls grrsh
dar Avengene," Celena explained that Avengene was having a clandestine
territorial dispute with Daelrath, and the orc's tribe had nearly cut
Daelrath down.  She continued by telling the orc lieutenant that the bugles
revealed that the Avengenes had come to make a surprise payment to the orc
tribe for their work.  They both knew that payment would be death for the
orcs, and Celena realized that, assuming Lord Avengene hired the orcs
through an intermediary, the Avengenes would be destroying the evidence
against their lord while simultaneously painting themselves as Bruhnhilda's
heroic rescuers.  If the Avengenes assumed Baron Daelrath was dead, then if
they took Bruhnhilda and she owed them her life, they could force her to
marry an Avengene boy.

   Lord Avengene was a long-standing enemy of the orcs.  To aid him brought
unimaginable shame upon any orc tribe.  If Celena had not already known
that, she could have read it from the orc lieutenant's face in spite of the
helmet that partly obscured it.

   "Avengene bot'l Bruhnhilda, Avengene bot'l dabahah," Celena pointed to
Bruhnhilda as she explained that if Avengene won Bruhnhilda, Avengene won
the clandestine territorial war with Daelrath.  "Yal bot'l visah dar
Avengene?  Celena asked if the orc meant to capture land for Avengene.

   The orc lieutenant growled and shook his head once.  He pushed Celena
against the wall as he pushed off his shield, spun and ran out the right
hand door of the coach.

   "Los-os!  Los-os!  Avengene!" the orc hollered at his people to flee as
he sprinted up the road to the fallen tree that blocked the road to the
north.  As he arrived at the downed tree he repeated the order to flee. 
The orcs guarding the tree realized from the bugles and hounds that their
lieutenant was absolutely right, and the corpse of their chief was in no
condition to give alternative orders.  They turned and fled.

   The orc lieutenant raised his axe, and severed what remained of the
tree's connection with its stump in a single blow.  He threw down the axe,
lifted the butt end of the trunk, gritted his teeth and pushed.

   Sir Coshus had been scouting the way ahead when the horn signal from
Coachman Hays had told him that the coach was under attack.  Sir Mongrail,
the rear scout, had been much closer to the coach and had caught up in
seconds, but it had taken Sir Coshus considerably longer to return since he
had been much farther away.  Now that he had returned, he heard Avengene
bugles and saw an orc officer order his guards away from a roadblock.  The
orc then began to remove the tree that blocked the way himself!  Sir Coshus
urged his horse forward, tossed a loop of rope over one of the stout tree
branches and added the strength of his horse to the considerable strength
of the orc lieutenant.  They moved the tree into the forest in seconds. 
Sir Coshus gave the orc a nod, jumped the tree and galloped up to the
coach. It looked a bit worse for the wear.

   Knar swung his two-handed sword at empty air as the orc he had been
fighting ran as if the hounds of hell were chasing him.

   "What in Virtusar's name is going on with the orcs?" Knar asked.

   "That'd be a good question if ever there was one!" Sir Coshus agreed as
he galloped up and reined in his horse.  "Where is Baron Daelrath?"

   "He took an arrow through the head.  I don't see how anyone could have
survived that!" Sir Mongrail glowered.

   "I applied magical healing.  The baron is breathing but not conscious. I
cannot say whether he will make it or not, but there is hope.  Isn't it
amazing how the Avengenes happened to come charging over the next hill just
after Baron Daelrath took an arrow through the head?" Celena asked the
group of men-at-arms.

   "What in Virtusar's name is a force of Avengenes doing this deep in
Daelrath?  I don't like the smell of that!" Sir Mongrail growled.

   "We need to leave quickly before the Avengenes capture Bruhnhilda and
force her to marry an Avengene man in gratitude for her rescue at their
hands!  Celena cried urgently.  "The orcs were mercenaries.  Once I
explained the situation to their lieutenant, they fled.  The orcs want no
part in winning land for Lord Avengene!  If the baron dies as the Avengenes
expect, taking Bruhnhilda is the same as taking Daelrath!" Celena motioned
Bruhnhilda into the coach while she jumped out the door on the other side
to retrieve two of her throwing knives and an arrow.  She spoke loudly to
the group as she did so, "Anyone who is too wounded to ride fast, please
tether your horse to the back of the coach and get in.  The Baron said it
was the infirmary!"

   "We will mourn our fallen later!" Sir Mongrail bellowed.  "Right now we
must take action!  Weapons and valuables from our dead and the orc
carcasses go into the trunk, quickly men!  We may lose the armor but
there's no time to strip it!"

   Celena sprinted northward to retrieve a second arrow and then she went
around the horse team and joined the Daelrath men at arms on the left side
of the coach.  As she arrived, Bruhnhilda climbed into the coach with the
crossbow Hays had dropped.  The men had removed Hays' body from the coach
and had laid it next to the others.  Celena shook her head and pulled a
stout arrow out of Hays' chest.  It would give Vicar Fryske a better idea
of what had inflicted the baron's wound than the shaft that Bruhnhilda had
cut.  Although the other orcs had certainly wounded Coachman Hays,
obviously the orc chief had killed him.

   "That's it men, now mount up!  Sir Mongrail ordered.  "We will send our
cavalry back to fetch the bodies later.  If we are quick and lucky the
Avengenes will leave the bodies be."

   "The Avengenes had to stay far enough away from this place that the orcs
would not hear their dogs, men or horses, but from the sound of those
bugles they will be here shortly, men.  Let's get rolling!" Sir Mongrail
ordered.

   "Please ride near the coach for a while, Sir Coshus, I have a plan I
would like to bounce off Sir Stallart.  If he likes it then it will be up
for your approval and Sir Mongrail's."

   "Fair enough, it be a shame I was too far off to help with the battle!
We are getting pretty close to the keep, but there be plenty o' doubts in
my mind that the Avengenes will let getting there be easy.  I be suspectin'
that'll be what your plan is about.  If I'm right, we're thinkin' along the
same lines."

   The most grievously wounded, Sir Stallart, Badden and Bledsoe, joined
Bruhnhilda and Celena in the coach.  Sir Stallart started the horses
walking, but he could not go too fast as he cut the arrow shaft and removed
his shoulder armor with Bruhnhilda's assistance.  Celena extracted the
arrow and let Bruhnhilda clean the wound while she handed out bandages to
some of the other wounded men.

   "I'd drive outside in the coachman's seat if I thought I'd last more
than a quarter hour out there," Sir Stallart admitted.

   "I am glad you are driving from in here.  As I said, I have an idea,"
Celena said as she looked outside through the ruined door that was swinging
on its hinges.  Can we save the orc lieutenant, Sir Stallart?  The Baron
may want to speak with him for evidence, and if my plan is to work, we will
need his night vision.

   Stallart hesitated, "If you can get him in here before I pour on the
speed, then I will take it that you have the blessing of Virtusar, and mine
with it, Champion Medea."

   The orc lieutenant had just finished snatching the bow, quiver and
equipment belt from the corpse of his chief and was putting them on when
Celena hung out from the broken door and motioned him towards the coach.

   "I'm going to see if we can make a deal with the orc, please don't shoot
him!  Celena yelled as they approached his location.  Yal l'bot culahlee!
Izer vunt!" Celena called to the orc as the coach approached him and told
him he deserved a temporary alliance and to come quickly.  "Eennn buruk
Eenbot.  Eennn neen yar stotaarr." She told him they wanted to make a deal
and that they needed his vision.  When he hesitated she gave his lust a
sustained tug as she spoke, "Yal nal'bot su'unt vaw Avengene snik.  Bot
Daelrath toc Yal!" She told him that he did not deserve to die in an
Avengene trap, and that he should wager his life that Daelrath would shield
him.  She hoped he would help her rather than taking his chances with the
horde of Avengenes.

   As the coach went by, Celena felt a surge in the orc's manliness.  He
snatched Celena's throwing knife from his dead chief's eye, thrust it into
a pouch and ran for the coach.  A few seconds later the coach shuddered as
he grabbed hold of the left hand doorframe and hoisted himself aboard.  He
sat down next to Knar and handed Celena her knife.

   Celena nodded her thanks and handed the arrow she had pulled from
Coachman Hays' chest to the orc.  "Yal Kahl cular-ar," she said, letting
the orc know that his tribesmen were fine warriors.

   "Nay, I can't believe the shoulders on that orc!  Sir Stallart
exclaimed. "I am pouring on the speed now so hang on and speak loudly!"

   Sir Coshus rode up next to the open door and peered in from his horse.

   "The chief was skilled, but I am betting this orc is the best warrior
they had.  I have offered him a temporary alliance.  Is that okay?" Celena
asked.

   "It works for me.  I don't much like orcs, but it strikes me as odd that
the Avengenes would show up like magic just after the orc chief shot an
arrow through Lord Daelrath's head.  Anyhow this orc ordered his men to
flee and personally hauled the tree out of the way the instant he knew
Avengene was involved.  Earlier he was too busy giving orders to actually
kill anyone himself, although he came mighty close to killing you.  If his
vision saves the baron and Lady Daelrath in their hour of need, the fact
that his whole tribe is being double-crossed and slaughtered by the
Avengenes will have to be punishment enough for his crimes against the
barony.  What's your plan?"

   "It's simple really.  The Avengenes are after Bruhnhilda alive and her
father dead.  They probably believe that Baron Daelrath is dead, but they
will want to see the body.  It would be a simple matter for them to
clandestinely finish the assassination that the orc chief started if they
found the baron was still breathing.  They will also probably believe that
Bruhnhilda is in this coach because Avengene women don't ride.  I propose
that we use the coach as a decoy.  You drive it as long as you can before
the Avengenes shut you down.  The Avengenes have been very thorough thus
far, that is why I have no doubt we will run into a roadblock as soon as we
are out of the area the orcs were in.

   "We need to get Bruhnhilda and the Baron out of here.  If we take Sir
Coshus who knows the area and the orc who can see in the dark, we should be
able to sneak through the forest to the keep without so much as a torch to
call attention to ourselves.  realize the Avengenes brought a horde of
hounds, but they will otherwise be blind and we can move faster than an orc
on foot.  If you run interference with the coach they will not specifically
be looking for us until they catch you.  The only reason I didn't suggest
this earlier is that there was probably an Avengene scout watching that
battle.  It is hard to hide a horse, so I am hoping he has not kept up with
us.

   "I think you have the Avengene strategy pegged, Champion Medea," Sir
Stallart nearly yelled to keep his voice above the sounds of the speeding
coach.  "If the other knights agree I think we should go with your plan,
but the one problem I see is that you will need more than one knight and an
orc lieutenant along with you to protect the Daelraths, even if all you run
into is a small detachment of Avengene hounds and cavalry looking for orcs.
If I were not wounded I would be the most logical choice.  I ride well and
my horse bow doesn't take forever to reload like Sir Mongrail's crossbow."

   "I cannot argue with your logic, Sir Stallart.  Let's see if Virtusar
agrees."

   "Oh great god of war, I spread my soft thighs to the heat of thy
masculine embrace!  Mighty Virtusar, I pray thee inundate me with a torrent
of thy rampant potency!  Fill me with thy indomitable power!"

   Celena silently thanked the Medusa Club, various cows she had drained on
the roadside during her flight from the convent, and Vicar Royce for the
energy they had provided and whispered her Bestow Life Force II spell
before clamping her hands on either side of Sir Stallart's neck and
shoulder.

   "I who have been filled with the seed of manly might now fill you with
the virility of Virtusar!"

   "Hhhhoooo!" Sir Stallart gasped.  "I feel like a young stallion that's
just been let into a coral full of fillies in season!"

   Enok's eyes seemed to grow as the wound shrank.  "'Tal chont, Chontral
Medea!" Enok said with a reverence that he had not previously used while
talking to her.

   "Huh?" Sir Stallart asked.

   "Great magic," Celena translated.  "In Orcish a person that wields any
form of magic is referred to as a chontral.  The orcs value and respect
spell-casters of all kinds.  They are the opposite of Lord Avengene who
tolerates only priests of the Vindicator."

   "I'm with the orcs on this one," Sir Stallart agreed.  "Real magic is
real useful.  Speaking of the Avengenes, their scouts probably know some of
our horses, so we had best leave Bruhnhilda's mare and Baron Daelrath's
stallion to make the coach look more palatable to them.  I am glad I rode
my bay stallion.  He looks enough like the other horses that they are not
going to know the difference.  Bruhnhilda can ride Balard's mare.  The orc
better ride Badden's big gelding, and we can tie the baron over the back of
the mare Bledsoe was riding."

   "Damn, my shoulder already feels ten times better!  Give me a minute and
I'll be able to shoot my bow.  Let me stop this coach and we can pitch this
plan to the other knights." Sir Stallart rapidly slowed the coach to a
stop.

   Sir Stallart got the requisite mounts sorted out and put a cushion from
the coach under Bledsoe's mare's saddle as the others talked.

   "Hey why did you stop?" Sir Mongrail asked.

   "I'll bet Champion Medea has a plan to pitch us," Sir Coshus deduced.

   "Yes I do," Celena confirmed.  "The Avengenes are going to expect the
baron and Bruhnhilda are in the coach.  How about we fake them out and use
the coach as a decoy?"

   Sir Coshus smiled.  "I like the way you think, Champion Medea!  They are
bound to throw up another roadblock before we can get the coach to the
keep. They might see our torches though.  The sun be already dipping below
the horizon and it be too dark in that forest to do without!"

   Celena pointed at the orc.  "I have forged a temporary alliance with the
orc lieutenant if you and Sir Mongrail are willing to wipe the slate clean.
He will be able to see when we are stone blind.  In return we can give him
shelter at Rath Keep until the Avengenes leave."

   "I don't much like orcs..." Sir Coshus paused for dramatic effect and
then grinned, "but I have the feeling I'll be liking this one!  Especially
when I'm stone blind in the dark!  Doing the trip without torches will give
us an edge that we will probably need unless the Avengenes have only a few
scouts, and I can think of no better plan to save Lady Bruhnie and the
baron.  What's your vote, Sir Mongrail?"

   "Working with a treasonous orc is a disgrace to the barony, but it's
hard to disgrace something you no longer have.  We will not get any
information about this plot out of a dead orc either.  Desperate times call
for desperate measures, and that is the only reason I am going to back the
deal with the orc.  We can handle the coach while you try to defeat the
Avengene plot," Sir Mongrail affirmed.

   Celena turned to Bruhnhilda.  "Lady Daelrath, since this barony may
actually be yours to lose at this point, what do you say to a deal with the
orc?"

   "I'd sooner marry that orc than a snake like Lord Avengene!" Bruhnhilda
spat.  "I will endorse any deal that might help save our lands from those
Avengene usurpers!"

   Sir Mongrail looked at Sir Stallart's shoulder.  "I see Champion Medea
healed your shoulder.  It is astute to have Stallart with Bruhnhilda and
the baron.  If the Avengenes had scouts out there that saw Stallart get
hit, they will expect him to be in the coach.

   Sir Coshus turned to the orc from where he was helping Sir Stallart tie
the baron over the saddle of Bledsoe's mare.  The orc was already mounted
on Badden's large gelding.  "What'd be your name, Mister Orc?"

   Sir Stallart got some straps from the coach trunk and applied them over
the baron's back and between his legs to hold him onto the mare even if
riding got rough or the saddle or the baron began to slip.

   "Mal nim?" Celena asked.

   "Unt nim Enok," the orc replied.

   "Enok - literally translated his name means 'I bash,'" Celena said.  She
then turned to Enok and briefly explained that in return for helping them
get to the keep, the Daelraths would shelter him in the keep until the
Avengenes left.  She pointed out each person as she mentioned him or her by
name as endorsing the deal.  "Enok culahlee, Lady Bruhnhilda Daelrath, Sir
Mongrail, Sir Stallart, Sir Coshus."

   "Welcome to the temporary service of Daelrath, Enok," Sir Coshus said.
"I don't doubt that you have the arms for bashing either - sheesh!  Anyhow
let's get the hell out of here before the Avengene scouts see us leaving
the road!  The rest of you ride hard and make them believe!" We don't want
to hand the victory to Avengene!

   "Avengene n'bot'l deez visah!  - Avengene must not win these lands!"
Enok exclaimed with conviction.

   The coach thundered off.  Sir Coshus cut a few pine boughs from the
forest side of the trees on the other side of the road.  "Head into the
forest that way.  I'm going to erase our tracks here by the road.  Their
hounds might catch our scent, but as long as they think they are chasing an
orc or two we have a fighting chance."

   As Celena went into the forest with the others, she realized that Sir
Coshus was not lying about how dark it was getting.  Obviously the sun had
already dipped below the horizon and its glow was fading fast.

   "The trees are pretty big here.  We have space to ride, but it's so
damned dark we had better use a rope." Sir Stallart looped a rope around a
ring on Enok's saddle.  "Enok is up front with his eyes, then Sir Coshus
then Celena.  Bruhnhilda you lead your father's horse, and I will take up
the rear behind him."

   Celena translated what was relevant to Enok and then spoke to the
others. "That sounds fine with me.  My night vision is pretty good,
although I'm sure Enok's is much better," Celena lied convincingly.

   "I am going to need you to translate for Enok, so stay close," Sir Cosh
whispered.

   "Me liddle Common speak," Enok said.

   "Good, that'll help.  If you don't understand something I say, Enok, ask
Celena.  Otherwise the less sound we make the better."

   "Me get it," Enok agreed.

   Sir Coshus and Enok led them east through the forest.

   "I know you cannot speak to me, Celena, but I am here keeping watch,"
Carla assured Celena when the others were quite.  I am standing on your
head and I can see a small group of men with a pair of dogs patrolling just
over the hill."

   "I think I heard a dog ahead," Celena whispered.  "Do you think the
Avengenes already have scouts out here in anticipation of fleeing orcs?"

   "Stop.  Me look." Enok whispered as he climbed down from his mount and
snuck ahead to take a look over the crest of the hill.  He came back a few
minutes later.

   "Chontral Medea right.  Over hill, box torch here, box torch there,"
Enok said quietly as he pointed in many spots emphasizing that the
Avengenes were out in force.  You come stop.  Enok find path."

   Enok led the group to a spot just shy of the crest of the hill where
there were bushes and then went forward again.  After a few minutes he came
back and jumped on his horse.

   He led the group up over the crest and down.  Celena could see small
groups of mounted men with lanterns affixed on either side of collars on
their mounts.  Avengene hounds attached to the small cavalry units also
combed the hillside.  For the moment, none of them were close to her
party's current position, but soon one of the patrols would turn and come
back in the course of their patrolling.  Enok rode as quickly as he could
without losing the string of horses behind him.  The forest floor was a
carpet of pine needles that helped keep noise from the hooves of the horses
to a minimum.

   Celena breathed a sigh of relief after they were past the net of scouts.

   "Enok, you just erased any misgivings I had about our deal," Sir Coshus
whispered.  "All of those groups of Avengenes would have been on us in a
flash if they had seen torches.  Those lanterns they are using are
distinctive.  There is a slight red tint to the glass they are using.

   Enok looked a bit confused until Celena translated.

   "Avengene must no win!" Enok whispered emphatically.

   They rode briskly onward for about ten minutes before Celena heard a
couple hounds sound off as they probably caught Enok's scent.

   "That'd be some hounds that caught Enok's scent or ours.  Those be damn
good dogs," Sir Coshus whispered.

   "Avengene expect orc - me.  You hide in bushes.  Me make trap.  You
shoot Avengenes."

   "I can't argue with an ambush," Sir Coshus whispered.

   "I'll get the horses hidden," Celena said.  We should be able to see
once the Avengenes arrive with their lanterns," Celena whispered.

   Celena tethered the horses within the thicket of small trees and bushes
that Enok had led them to.  It was quite easy for her since she could see.

   "Please watch your father, Bruhnhilda.  I know you shoot pretty well,
but you are also their objective.  If we get in trouble, they might pass
you by in here if you remain quiet."

   "Okay," Bruhnhilda whispered.

   Celena took out her bow and nocked an arrow as she returned to the
others to take cover behind a tree just a few feet to Sir Stallart's left.
She made sure to peek out from the left side of the tree so that no one
could see her if she needed to cast a spell.  While she was waiting for the
Avengenes to crest the hill, she whispered her Life Vision spell and her
Ghostly Whispers spell and recast them on herself.  The last thing she
needed was to lose the ability to see or to hear Carla.

   The orc lieutenant was in a small valley in between the large, low hill
that Celena and the knights were on, and another large low hill that the
Avengenes would be cresting shortly.  He had leaned his shield and the orc
chief's bow and quiver behind a tree with a double trunk.  He headed two
yards in the direction of the Avengenes and then turned around.  He kept
looking over his shoulder until their hounds drew the five mounted
Avengenes over the rise and they spotted him by the light of the lanterns
affixed to their mounts.  The flames had small mirrors behind them that
threw the lion's share of their light forward.  Enok let them get a look at
his back for just a second before diving behind the tree.

   "Fzzz-fzz-thock!" several Avengene arrows sang through the air after
Enok, but they were too late.  The orc was already behind the cover of his
double tree.

   "Avengene gluk!" He growled in Orcish.  The hounds ran straight for Enok
while the five Avengene cavalrymen spread out and began to fire upon him
from their horses with crossbows or short bows.

   Enok grabbed the orc chief's bow and took a shot using the two tree
trunks as a sort of makeshift arrow slit.

   One of the Avengene soldiers took an arrow through the chest and toppled
head over heels off the back of his horse.

   "Bot'l l'bot!" Enok snarled, saying the man got what he deserved.  Enok
kept up a steady stream of Orcish, not so loud that he would attract the
attention of distant groups of Avengene soldiers, but loud enough to
distract the Avengenes from the hidden humans.

   Sir Stallart was about ten yards to Celena's right and Sir Coshus was
somewhere in the forest nearby.  Celena watched as one of the Avengenes
trotted from the cover of one tree to another tree in an attempt to get to
a place where Enok could not shoot him from between the tree trunks he was
using for cover.  The man succeeded, but once he was out of the view of his
comrades, he suddenly dropped out of the saddle with Sir Coshus' arrow
through his head.

   "That'd be a bit of wrath for the baron, you Avengene swine, Sir Coshus
said under his breath.

   Celena regretted that Sir Coshus had not been with the coach when the
orcs attacked.  The scout was obviously the best archer of the three
knights.

   As the two Avengene hounds ran around Enok's tree, he ducked behind one
trunk, dropped the bow and drew his sword and a flail with a handle that
had a hilt guard and a pointed butt.  The first dog never quite made it
around the tree because his head exploded in a shower of gore as Enok's
flail ball splattered it against the tree trunk.  Enok toyed with the other
dog and kept it barking by slapping it with the flat of his blade.  This
emboldened the remaining Avengenes.  With the orc seemingly pinned by the
dog, they believed they could easily finish him off.  They rode straight
towards Enok's tree, two came around one side and one came around the
other.

   Enok dropped his flail, grabbed his shield and went around the tree on
the side where there was only a single rider incoming.  Instead of running
away he sprinted forward a few steps and bashed the horse in the shoulder.
The animal squealed with surprise and fell.

   As the other riders hastened to get around the tree, their backs were
exposed to Sir Stallart and Celena.  Stallart nailed one through the heart,
but Celena's shot went wide.  She regretted that the arrows from her bow
went so fast she could not see them to direct them with her telekinesis. 
Enok's foe managed to parry the orc's sword in spite of having a leg pinned
under his fallen horse.

   Suddenly Celena realized that the remaining Avengene already had a short
bow drawn and was about to nail Enok.  Meanwhile the orc fought the man
pinned by the tackled horse and the remaining hound.  Celena immediately
pulled the tip of the Avengene bowman's arrow away from the nock of his bow
with her telekinetic power.  Instead of flying straight, the arrow spun end
for end and wound up hitting Enok across the back rather than piercing it.
Enok sent the harrying hound flying with a bash of his shield and then
jumped behind the pinned man to decapitate him with a blow he was unable to
block.

   When the remaining Avengene rider pulled a bugle to signal, Celena was
sure they were doomed, but Sir Coshus had already had time to nock another
arrow and shot the man through the neck.  Sir Stallart followed two seconds
later with an arrow that nailed the man in the back.  He began choking and
then fell dead from his horse.  The tackled horse stood up and Enok caught
its reins and stamped on some smoldering pine needles heated by an Avengene
lantern that was in surprisingly good shape due to its sturdy construction
and the soft bed of pine needles the horse had landed on.

   Once she was sure Enok was safe, Celena whispered her Gentle Beast spell
and cast it on the remaining Avengene hound.  When she whistled for him the
dog came bounding up to her wagging his tail and continued to follow her as
she helped her compatriots round up the Avengene horses.

   "You've got a way with animals," Sir Stallart noted.

   "Not always, but I think I have managed to charm this dog."

   Once they had collected their arrows and had joined Bruhnhilda, Sir
Coshus spoke, "Thanks to a bit of luck and some impressive fighting skill
all around, Enok has taken us through that ring of Avengene scouts and we
have eliminated our tail.  Now that we have captured the Avengene horses,
we will make better time using their lanterns than we could make just
following Enok.  If we were Avengenes, we would take this opportunity to
renege on our deal with Enok since he has now served his purpose.  However,
we are of Daelrath, and our word is good!  Enok, you helped Baron and Lady
Daelrath and the rest of us out when no one else could, and we will not
forget that.  If we can make it to the keep, we will be giving you shelter
there until the Avengenes leave the area."

   Celena translated in case Enok had not caught the details of Sir Coshus'
speech.

   "Daelrath deal good - Avengene lie!" Enok spat.

   Sir Stallart and Sir Coshus busied themselves moving Avengene horse
collars and lanterns to their mounts and securing the extra horses in order
to lead them.  Celena declined a horse collar.  She did not see the point
of the extra weight, especially since she knew she could see.  Instead,
while the others were busy she whispered her Life Vision spell and cast it
on Starstruck.  After a few minutes, everyone mounted up.

   "Enok, I have released you from pulling us all with the rope since we
have light now," Sir Coshus said.  "If you are willing I would like you to
stay on Badden's big gelding and serve as our forward scout.  Your job will
be to check out the area ahead of us before we get there with our obvious
lights.  If you see a landmark, foes or something else we need to know
about, come back and report.  Make sure you don't lose track of us.  We
will be making some turns.

   Celena translated.

   "Me get it.  Me scout.  Avengene no victory!" Enok whispered before
surging ahead of the others.

   While they were parlaying, Celena took some rope from the saddlebags of
one of the Avengenes and attached it to the collar of the remaining hound.
She did not want him running off after Enok, but she felt that he would add
legitimacy to their rapid mode of travel by howling and attempting to run
after Enok.

   The plan worked, Enok reported back to Sir Coshus periodically.  They
saw a few groups of Avengenes in the distance, but they deliberately
avoided getting close enough to let the Avengenes see the details of their
group.  Thankfully, the Avengene groups they saw did not follow them since
they too seemed to be of Avengene.  After a while, Sir Coshus redirected
the group and they headed north

   About fifteen minutes later Carla spoke up, "I hear men and dogs behind
us, but I can barely hear them," Carla reported.

   "I know it is hard to tell with our own borrowed hound barking, but we
have hounds on our tail, Sir Coshus," Celena informed the others.

   "Sir Coshus paused a moment.  You have damn sharp ears, Champion!  I
hear 'em now.  If I don't miss my guess, the coach has been captured by
now. They must have figured we went off-road and backtracked until they
found where we headed into the forest.  They have no doubt assembled their
fastest riders and hounds to come after us.  I was hoping to skirt the
fields all around the keep and come in from the north since there may be
some Avengenes patrolling the fields, but there won't be too many.  If they
were obvious, the men in Rath Keep would send out our own cavalry to
intercept them.  We are just going to have to take our chances with the
open ground now.  I am pretty sure we are somewhere along the eastern edge
of the fields.  We need to turn west.  Enok!  Sir Coshus said loudly enough
to catch the orc's attention in his position forward of the group.  The
group turned west.  Enok rejoined them after about five minutes, and Celena
explained the new heading to the orc.  He went ahead to the west and a few
minutes later, he came back.

   "Me see open land," Enok reported, "Nnn me see Avengene cavalry group on
border."

   "Hah!  I haven't lost my touch!" Sir Coshus exclaimed.  "Are the men
carrying lights, Enok?

   "No Avengene box-light, moon only," Enok reported.

   "That'd be a bad sign.  It could be the Avengenes have placed a few last
ditch interception teams just out of sight of the keep.  Let's douse these
lanterns and get to the edge of the hay fields."

   Once they had the lights out and they had assembled their horses along
the southern edge of the open fields just within the trees, Sir Coshus
pointed out the keep.

   "You can see the lights of Rath Keep to the northwest.  It sits on a
giant triangular outcropping of stone that points to the south like a
rounded broad head arrowhead with a bridge on the north for a shaft.  We
need to get to the edge of the ditch around the base of the rock
outcropping, and then we need to head around the keep to the north and go
over the bridge.  Once we get near enough the keep, the archers on the wall
can shield us from the Avengenes.  They have stout longbows and the
elevation of the walls increases their effective range.  I'll be takin' the
lead and leading the baron's horse.  Enok and Sir Stallart, take the rear.
Bruhnhilda and Champion Medea, you ride on either side of the baron.  I
will sound my horn when we are close enough to alert the archers that we
are coming in hot.  Let's take advantage of this moonlight and get to the
keep before the Avengenes get wind of us!"

   Celena looked across the baron at Bruhnhilda as they got into formation
and then urged Starstruck to a gallop.  They headed out towards the keep
for several minutes before she looked back over her shoulder and saw a
dozen Avengene cavalry break from cover to the south.

   "Avengene pursuers to the south!" she hollered over the thundering of
the horses' hooves.  The Avengenes were on very fast mounts and they were
obviously gaining steadily.  Once they got near enough a few of the
Avengenes fired arrows from short bows, but the range was long and the
galloping of their horses did not do anything to improve their accuracy. 
An arrow zipped past Celena's right ear, but most of the arrows fell short.
Those few that had enough range lacked sufficient accuracy.

   A few minutes later Sir Coshus took up his horn and blew a call.  His
call was followed immediately by an echoing call from Sir Stallart's horn.
The Avengenes had closed some of the distance between them and the riders
of Daelrath by now and attempted to silence the horn calls with missile
fire.  Celena glanced back and saw an arrow pierce Sir Stallart's coif
beside his neck.  A second arrow pierced his calf.  One of the Avengene
horses that Sir Stallart was leading squealed in pain as an arrow struck
it's rump.  Another arrow lodged in Sir Coshus' hip while an additional
shaft lodged in his shoulder just to the right of his neck.

   Less than a minute later the more skilled of the archers among the
Avengenes managed to fire again.  Celena grimaced as an arrow pierced the
baron's foot.  Another shot grazed his horse's hock, but did little damage.


   Celena raised her head as single flaming arrow arched up from the wall
of Rath Keep and flew to strike one of the leading Avengene riders in the
thigh.

   "Hah!  That'd be Chromus Argyle!" Sir Coshus hollered.

   Another Avengene arrow whizzed over Celena's head but failed to hit, and
then she saw nine flaming shafts arch up from the wall at about the same
time as Sir Coshus began to turn northwards.  Celena looked over her
shoulder and saw that most of the shafts fell in front of the Avengene
cavalry but three of them wounded a horse or man causing the officer in
charge to blow the call to retreat on his bugle.  The Avengene cavalry
veered off and began to turn away, but they could not turn quickly enough
to get out of range of the archers on the wall of the keep.  Two men fell,
two more were badly injured and arrows grazed a few others before they
thundered away.  Celena looked up and smiled.  Only one more flaming arrow
left the ramparts of the keep, but the shot was superb.  It flew high and
then pierced the heart of the bugler.  He fell over the side of his mount
to tumble lifelessly across the ground.

   Sir Coshus did not hesitate or slow down as he led the party northeast
around the keep at a gallop.  Even from her racing horse, Celena could see
Rath Keep had changed a great deal since the last time she had seen it as
Brianna.  She was aware that the keep sat on a great spar of rock, but
sometime after she had last seen it, the men of Daelrath had dug a ditch
all the way around it, thus making it stand out, as it never had before. 
It was considerably larger than she had previously thought because earth
had formerly covered the entire north end.  It had appeared to be nothing
more than a grassy hill with a very large, flat top.  The tiny town within
the walls of the keep had no doubt grown into some of the space afforded by
fully unearthing the rock formation.

   Celena saw the old walls and the tower house on the southern tip of the
rock formation, but she noticed more and more change as her eyes swept
northwards.  Just north of the old walls around the tower house there were
no walls, but with all of the earth removed around the rock formation there
might as well have been walls thirty to fifty feet tall if one included the
depth of the ditch.  Since the surrounding terrain rose as one headed to
the north, the architect of Keep Rath had increased the depth of the ditch
on that side while adding progressively higher walls the farther north one
went.

   Several rows of long, pointed stakes angled out of the ground at the
edge of the ditch around the keep and pointed towards the fields and any
incoming foes.  Although she was sure the stakes would not stop a charging
group of trolls, she had no doubt that they would slow it down.  She was
amazed that the Daelraths were still having so much trouble with trolls,
but she imagined that having a larger area to protect did not help. 
Nevertheless, she guessed there must be more trolls attacking the fort than
there were formerly.

   As they headed around the east side of the keep it was clear that a new
tower was under construction on the northeast corner of the natural rock
formation that supported the keep.  It was massive and already taller than
the curtain wall that surrounded two of its sides.  As they reached the
northeast corner of the ditch, Celena began to see more and more of the
keep's north side.  She also saw a group of cavalry from the keep heading
for the northeast corner from the west as her own group headed towards the
corner from the south.

   As they approached the corner, Sir Coshus turned in his saddle and spoke
to the group he was leading, "Until we figure out our strategy on this
situation no one says a word to anyone about it unless you happen to be
invited to a tactical meeting.  Is that understood?" Sir Coshus said.

   "Yes Sir," Celena confirmed.

   Celena translated Sir Coshus' statement into Orcish to prevent any
confusion.

   "Me get it," Enok affirmed.

   "Hail!  Sir Cosh of Rath, here!  Don't shoot the orc, he's with us!"

   "Hail, Sir Coshus, Lieutenant York of the Daelrath-Bristol garrison
here. Welcome home!"

   The two groups of riders closed on one another and met at the northeast
corner of the ditch.

   "Fall in around the baron!  We have to get him to the infirmary!" Sir
Coshus ordered.  "A few of you fan out and scout the area within bow range
of the keep!  Gather the bodies of our pursuers and any stray horses, but
keep an eye out for foes and an eye on the walls.  If you see anyone using
a lantern to signal anyone from our walls, call it out on your horn.  If
you see anyone signaling from the edge of the forest or the fields, do the
same!"

   After the groups coalesced, they sent out a few scouts, but most of the
riders turned back in the direction of the keep and slowed to a brisk trot.

   "What the hell happened to you, Sir Coshus?  Where's the coach?  "What's
that orc doing riding with you?" the lieutenant leading the Daelrath
cavalry asked.

   "It's a sticky situation and I am sure we are going to have a tactical
meeting about it shortly.  Tag along, Lieutenant York, and send orders to
assemble every rider we have in the gate yard," Sir Coshus ordered.

   At that point, the group turned onto the bridge.  Men within the keep
operated mechanisms to lower the formerly raised section of the bridge
closest to the keep down from its previously drawn up position.

   "Don't shoot the orc!  He is with us!" Sir Coshus called up to the wall
as they crossed the bridge.

   Sir Coshus and Lieutenant York led them across the drawbridge and under
the portcullis of a brand new stone barbican.  Once they had gone through
the barbican and under a second portcullis near the other side, several men
met them in the courtyard beyond it.

   "Don't shoot the orc!  He is with us!" Sir Coshus repeated as they
entered the courtyard.  We need to get the baron to the infirmary, Knights,
Lieutenant York and medical personnel, follow us there, you too, Enok!"

   The group headed east and after a short while passed through a gate that
led to a courtyard near the northeastern corner of the fortified town.  The
tower that Celena had seen from outside the keep seemed larger within the
walls.  The curtain walls had hid the tower's first two floors.  The
curtain walls flanking the tower were taller in this area just as they were
around the barbican.  Celena reasoned that the curtain walls were not yet
finished in most areas, but would eventually reach the same height
everywhere as they now reached near the first few floors of the unfinished
northeast tower and near the barbican.  The project was quite ambitious
since the walls flanking the tower looked to be about twenty feet tall.

   Even though the tower was not finished, it already displayed a large
symbol of Virtusar above the door.  Apparently, the tower served as the
entrance to both the temple of Virtusar and the infirmary.  Since there
were adjoining buildings on either side of the tower that ran along the
north or the east curtain walls, Celena assumed that one of the side
buildings would house the infirmary while the other would house the temple
sanctuary.  Two additional knights emerged from the tower with a litter as
Celena's party approached it.  Celena dismounted, removed her saddlebags,
slung them over her shoulder and followed the others.  She did not know who
would be handling the horses, but she did not want them pawing through her
spellbook.

   Lieutenant York and the two Knights that had just joined them carried
the baron up four steps onto a stone patio and then through a heavy door
into the large room at the base of the tower.  From there they opened a
door into a waiting area with a receptionist's office.  They went right
through the waiting room into the corridor on the other side and opened the
third door on the left to enter a chamber that had four examination tables
and eight infirmary cots in it as well as various cabinets and instruments.
The unwounded knights carried the baron to one of the examination tables.
Sir Coshus and Sir Stallart hobbled to examination tables on their own and
sat down.  Bruhnhilda went to a cabinet and brought out an arrow cutter
like the one she had used in the coach.

   As the knights placed the baron on the table, an earnest looking young
man in his mid twenties came rushing in from the corridor wearing what
looked like a military uniform covered by a butcher's apron that was clean
but had numerous faint blood-stains marking its surface.  He was a little
on the lean side like Charles Norwit, but he was a little shorter than
Charles was and had sandy blonde hair.

   "Vicar Fryske, you need to see the Baron right away!  Sir Coshus
exclaimed.  "This has not been his day!  An orc chief shot him through the
head with a stout arrow, and a couple minutes ago, he took an Avengene
shaft through the foot.  That and he got the hell shook out of him from
being slung over the back of a galloping horse." -------

   This ends, Rath Road, chapter 72 of The Chronicles of Rapina. The story
continues in chapter 73 Shut In.