Something awakened Callindra at full alert.  She wasn’t sure what it was, but Brightfang was half out of his sheath before she had finished sitting up.  Padding across the room on cat’s feet, she saw the pre-dawn glow on the horizon and shook her head.  It was probably just another dream brought on by too much drink the night before.

She walked to the basin next to the window and poured water into it from a pitcher, splashing some of it on her face and rinsing out her mouth.  A slight noise outside her door caught her attention and a gust of wind blew through her open window, whirling around the room for a moment before calming.  Gods she felt jumpy this morning.  She blamed the cursed skirts.  They were too long and kept threatening to tangle in her legs if she took her normal strides.

Yanking the door open, she startled Ardie who had just set a stack of packages down.  “I got yer things miss.”  He said, almost tripping as he tried to walk backwards, bow and not drop the steaming bowl of porridge and the mug of light ale he was holding in his other hand.

Callindra realized she had partially unsheathed her sword again and sighed in exasperation.  “Sorry Ardie, I’m a little out of sorts this morning.  Thank you.”

She took the breakfast he offered and gave him a silver coin.  He shook his head and held it out to her, “I still owe ya change miss, ya ain’t gotta give me nothin.”

“Nonsense.”  She said, waving a distracted hand at him.  “Now move those packages in here so I can pack them in my saddlebags.  And I told you my name is Callindra.”

He looked at her, his mouth set in a firm line, “I don’t need no charity.”

“I don’t need the money.”  She said, “Besides I like to reward a good assistant.  Unless you’re telling me you don’t think you’ve earned a little extra?  In that case I can certainly find more work for you.  I’m sure my horse needs combing and my saddle could use a polishing.”

He scuffed his feet, “I done it already.”

“Consider it payment then.”  She said, “Now go away unless you want to help me get dressed as though you were my maid?”  Artie bolted as though she’d asked him to scrub chamber pots.

–

Callindra was just returning from a brief practice in back courtyard of the inn when she heard Vilhylm’s voice ringing out through the Inn.

“Where is she?  Has she been taken?”

“Vil, it’s too damn early to be so loud.”  Cronos muttered, looking up from where he nursed a mug of ale and nibbled a plate of sausages in the common room.

“Took who?”  Callindra asked, stealing one of Cronos’s sausages.

“I guess the Countess wasn’t in her room this morning.  Her carriage is still here though, she’s probably out…”  He waved in the general direction of the town.

“You think that someone like her has just gone out, what, shopping?  In a town like Maple?”  Callindra laughed, “You must be suffering from the effects of last night’s drink.”

“Whatever.  She was more trouble than she was worth anyway.” Cronos grumbled.

“I’d better go and see what’s going on before he breaks something.”  Callindra said with a sigh.

When she arrived at the top of the stairs, she saw Tryst standing at the door to the room Countess Adbar had been sleeping in.

“Calm down Vilhylm, I’m sure this isn’t what you think.”  Tryst was saying, trying to calm him down, “Let’s just take a moment to look at things before jumping to conclusions.”

She looked at the room and noticed several things that didn’t seem right.  “Tryst, I think he may have something here.  Look, this door was broken in from the outside.  That window has been broken as well and from here it’s an easy drop to the roof of the stables.  Nothing is missing but that only makes it more suspicious don’t you think?”

“Exactly what I’ve been trying to say!”  Vil exclaimed, “See?  She understands what I’m trying to say.”

“I know a stable boy.  He will be able to tell me if anyone came or left last night.”  Callindra said.  “Why don’t you come down and have some breakfast and I’ll go talk to Ardie.”

Vilhylm allowed himself to be led down into the common room while Callindra went to the stables.  Ardie was laying unconscious on the floor, the side of his head swelling from a harsh blow.  She knew better than to move him, instead running full speed back into the common room.

“Tryst, he’s been hit on the head.”  She said, quiet enough that only he could hear, “Can you come take a look please?”

“Who?”  Tryst looked up from where he was giving good attention to a plate of eggs, bacon and fried potatoes.

“Could you just… come with me for a minute?”  She asked, meeting his eyes.  “Please?”

The priest rose with a nod and followed her to the stables.  He knelt next to Artie and ran his hand over the boy’s head.  After a moment he muttered a few things that were either prayers or curse words… maybe both.  Callindra bent over him, her brow furrowed in concern.

“How long ago did this happen?”  Tryst asked.

“It couldn’t have been more than an hour.”  Callindra said, “He brought me some supplies just before I did my morning Korumn.”

Tryst continued to mutter and a gleam of Power trickled from his fingers and settled over the boy’s head.

“Is he going to be all right?”  She whispered and almost made a very undignified squeak as the boy’s eyes flew open.

“Miss Callindra, I knew you’d come!”  He exclaimed, throwing his arms around her waist and burying his face in her midriff.

“Uh.”  She said, blushing crimson, “Well I didn’t really do anything.  Tryst is the one who saved you.”

“No need to be modest Callindra, you are the one who brought me.”  Tryst said, hiding a smile.

“Artie, we need to know who did this.”  Callindra said, ignoring her burning cheeks and holding the boy out at arm’s length.  “Did they do something with the Countess Adbar?  She is missing.”

“Yes!  They rode in this morning after breakfast and asked about the Countess.  When I told them she was here they hit me on the head.”  He began to cry in hiccoughing sobs, “When I tried to stop them, they hit me again and my head got all swimmy and I felt sick and I just knew you’d come to save me.”

“I’ll… bring you to your mother.”  Callindra said, picking him up and walking back toward the common room.

When they told Vilhylm and Cronos about what they had learned Vil rose from his chair, knocking it over with the force of his standing.  “We must go at once!  We must find her!”

In spite of herself, Callindra couldn’t help but agree.  This was an urgent need; kidnapping someone from their rooms, even someone like the Countess, wasn’t something they could overlook.

–

Tracking the kidnappers had taxed Callindra’s skills to their absolute limit, but she managed to trace the hoof prints of their horses along the road heading north.  Once they were on the road, they rode hard and just as the dawn light was breaking they could see a small camp ahead.  Their quarry had apparently ridden a long way to get to the town of Maple and now their animals were spent less than an hour from the town.

“We should prepare ourselves.”  Vilhylm said grimly, dismounting from his horse.  “They won’t expect someone from town to have found them this quickly.”

“It looks like haven’t even posted guards.”  Cronos said, looking down at the camp.  “Either they’re mad or supremely overconfident.”

“Are we sure about this?”  Tryst asked, his brow furrowing with worry.  “I don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”

“Have you even looked at the camp?”  Callindra asked, “They have her wrapped in her blanket from the inn and trussed like a huntsman’s kill.  If they don’t intend her harm, why would they have taken her from her room at night?  I may not like her much, but it’s obvious she didn’t go willingly.”

“We must at least give warning before we attack.”  Tryst said.

“What?”  Said Vilhylm, “We will do no such thing!  If they know we are attacking they may well kill or injure my Lady!  That cannot be allowed.”

“We must hit them hard and fast.”  Cronos said, “I will target the furthest with magic while the rest of you hit them full on with everything you’ve got.”

“I can hit them with more than steel.”  Callindra said with a feral smile.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  Said Cronos with an apologetic glance, “You don’t have restraint or control and might hit things you don’t intend to.”

“I guess you’re right.”  She said, not happy about him being right but acknowledging that the winds resented being ordered around.  “Let’s get to work before they notice us.”

With that, they swept down the hill at a run, Cronos firing bolts of arcane power to strike two of the men nearest the trussed up woman.  Their enemies didn’t stand a chance, Callindra cleaving the head from one and severing the leg of another while Vilhylm took the two remaining men and smashed their heads together with brutal force.

Callindra almost felt remorse at slaughtering them in this way, but she quickly suppressed it.  These men had chosen to attack her friend.  They had chosen to take the Countess from her bed against her will.  Actions had consequences and they were now answering to whatever Gods they believed in for them.

After nearly a week’s travel across wilderness that was more remote and barren than Callindra had ever remembered seeing they finally came to something that resembled a road.  From what they’d seen by looking at the map that Cronos had, they were only about an hour from the small town of Maple if they managed to keep their current pace.

As their tired band rounded a corner in the road, they could see down a short rise.  A traveling carriage was disabled alongside the road, one wheel having come off in a pothole.  A pair of guards were straining to lift the wheel while a gowned and coiffed Lady stood to one side, a maid holding a lace parasol over her head.  Even at this distance her strident voice was audible, although the words were still indistinct.

“A Lady in trouble.”  Vilhylm said, “Perhaps we can offer assistance.”

Callindra sighed and rolled her eyes, but the others seemed eager to help and she didn’t see any reason not to.  Nobility were difficult and entitled but fulfilled a necessary role; certainly not one she wanted to fill.  They rode toward the struggling men and were caught completely unaware when a dozen misshapen creatures with jaws that dripped glowing green ichor leaped from the trees.

Half of the monsters sprang on the men, slashing with razor sharp claws and biting with wicked fangs.  The others landed close enough to Callindra and her friends that they could smell the decaying flesh on their breath.

“Arm yourselves!”   Callindra shouted, vaulting from the saddle and swinging Brightfang from his scabbard at the same time, severing the thing’s arm off just above the elbow.  She landed, bringing her blade to guard just as one of the monsters tried to remove her head from her shoulders.

Cronos unleashed a burst of flames from his fingertips, but he only managed to kill one of them.  The blast knocked him from his horse and onto the dust of the road where he struggled to his feet, cursing like a soldier.  While the others attempted to dismount and keep control of their horses, she drove their opponents back with a wall of flashing steel.

“Take heart against these demons from the Abyss!”  Tryst said, “Fight and destroy thine enemies!”  Callindra felt his magic form around her, bolstering her resolve and her physical strength.

Vilhylm let go of his horse’s bridle and slammed a fist into the midriff of one of the creatures like a hammer, throwing it back into the trees.  Ignoring the monsters that threatened his friends, he bounded forward with giant leaps, landing between the Lady and the other group of beasts.

Cronos incanted a spell that made his muscles swell to strain against his armor and drew his hand and a half sword.  He swung with the same motion, finishing off the monster Callindra had wounded.  They spun and fought back to back, slashing their way through the attacking creatures with a series of coordinated strikes.  In spite of the danger she had to smile at how well they fought together.

The first few of the fallen creatures began to swell as though they were rotting from the inside at an incredible rate.  The flow of the fight took them away from the fallen and they began to explode one after another, each throwing showers of boiling ichor on anyone unfortunate enough to be close.  A few drops spattered on Callindra’s cheek and burned like cinders.

“Pox and rot!”  She shouted, “Ware the corpses!”

Even as she spoke, she saw the two guards go down screaming as several more of them exploded.  The lady’s maid was already laying in a pool of her own cooling blood but Vilhylm had managed to keep the Lady alive somehow.  The horses screamed in pain, one going down thrashing and the other dropping like a poleaxed cow.

As suddenly as it had begun, the attack was over.  All the creatures had been killed and then had exploded, some of them had even killed their own kind then their bodies burst.  Tryst looked them over swiftly, making sure none had serious injuries before seeing to the horses.

“I will need to heal this mare.”  He said, “Her foreleg is broken and this carriage is too large to be pulled by one.”

Callindra approached and helped him calm the animals, something that normally Vilhylm would have done.  Vil was occupied with the Lady, she was crying out at his few burns and minor cuts, exclaiming at his bravery and lavishing praise on him.

“You!  Boy!”  The Lady said, “Get my parasol, I will not risk burning my skin in the heat of the day!”

Callindra waited for the outburst she was sure Cronos would unleash for such treatment, grinning to herself as she loosened the harness of the frightened horse.  Tryst was chanting softly under his breath, a glimmer of light emanating from his hands and the shield on his back as he called upon holy powers to heal the wounds of the other animal.

“Boy, I said get my parasol!”  The Lady said again, “The Countess Adbar will not be left second to the ministrations of animals!”

Callindra glanced up and saw that the Countess was pointing at her, Cronos having left to gather their own horses.  She met the other woman’s gaze levelly, her sea green eyes meeting the Countess’s dark brown.

“I am Callindra Sol’Estin, a warrior who slew monsters that would otherwise have been gleefully dancing upon your corpse at considerable risk to myself.”  She said coldly, “I am no boy, nor will I cease tending the beasts that will otherwise be unable to pull your carriage.

“Oooh, you’re a girl.”  The Countess said, eyes artfully widening in surprise, “I never would have guessed what with that hair and those clothes.  Or that sword.  Or that armor.”

Callindra sighed inwardly at the foolish prejudice of the nobility.  She had seen as much before, although this particular noble was more direct and rude than most.  Instead of rising to the bait she turned her attention back to the horse.  Stroking him on the nose, she kept him calm as she unbuckled the last two straps of his harness so he could struggle to his feet.  Other than a few scrapes and some small burns he seemed fit enough.

Tryst finished his spell and the other horse shuddered, the sound of the bone setting itself and knitting back together grated in Callindra’s ears.  She winced, but the animal didn’t seem to feel the pain.  instead, she lurched to her feet and eagerly nudged Tryst’s chest until he rose to his feet and patted her neck reassuringly.

“You’re welcome girl.  Humans aren’t the only ones who deserve the attentions and healing I can offer.”  He said with a smile.

“If we are going to reach that town before the sun sets we need to get moving.”  Cronos said, approaching with their horses.

Now that the adrenaline of the fight had worn off, Callindra was beginning to feel all of the scrapes, cuts and burns she had suffered but not noticed before.  With a heavy sigh, she began to buckle the gelding back into his harness while Tryst did the same for the mare.

–

It was just after sundown when they limped into the small town of Briarwood, the horses as tired as they were.  The lights of the tavern were inviting and they were drawn as moths to a candle flame.  A boy came to take their horses and Callindra tossed him the reins.

“Careful, she bites if you don’t watch her.”  She warned.

Vilhylm was helping the Countess Adbar from her carriage, all bows and smiles.  Callindra rolled her eyes; she expected most men to be god rotting predictable, but had imagined her companions were of a different sort.  Ah well, she supposed the Lady was pretty enough, if you like soft curves.

They walked into the common room, the light and sound overwhelming at first.  A large man in a clean white apron stood behind the bar pulling tankards of dark brown ale and flirtatious barmaids made their way among the patrons, handing out frothy mugs and saucy winks in equal measure.

“Hey hon, what can I getcha?” A wench walked up, swaying her hips invitingly before she noticed that Callindra was a girl.  Her eyes stayed on Brightfang’s hilt for a few moments before going back to her face.

“Ale.  Dinner.  We need rooms and stabling for the night too.”  Callindra said smiling and rolling a gold nobel over the back of her hand and flicking it to land in the girl’s hand.  “That ought to at least get us started?”

Grinning, the wench bit it and tucked it into her generous cleavage, “Aye that’ll be a good start.  Find a table an we’ll getcha sorted out right enough.  Good bitter tapped tonight an fresh venison on th spit.”

“I declare, what a quaint place you have brought me to Vilhylm.”  Said the Countess, looking around the room with a derisive smile on her lush lips.  “Barmaid, you will prepare a bath and your finest room.  I will wait here with whatever passes for wine in this town.”

Vilhylm led her to a table and pulled out a chair for her.  Callindra sighed and sat down at the table, taking a long pull from the tankard the wench brought.  The strong bitter ale washed the road dust from her throat and she felt the annoyance she had at the Lady’s attitude fade.  It wasn’t her fault that she’d been born to privilege, and it didn’t make a lot of sense to expect her to change her ways immediately.

The common room resumed some of its noise, but was much subdued compared to how it had been.  When their food arrived, a young girl in a brown dress came and nervously informed the Countess that her bath was ready.  She rose, handing her cloak to the girl and following her from the room, her silk gown whispering like a bedroom promise.

“I’ll be waiting for you later.”  She purred to Vilhylm as she passed him.

Only Callindra was close enough to hear.  She ignored the comment, watching Vil over the rim of her tankard.  He shifted slightly on his chair, looking as though he was trying to decide if he should run after her or run out the door.

She caught the attention of the wench, “I would like a bath as well I think.  To wash the filth of the road and the rest away.  Do you offer laundry services?”

“That blood ain’t comin out.”  She said, giving Callindra’s stained and much mended clothing a critical look.  “But don’t look like you care.”

“It rained on me a few days ago, other than that we’ve had a bad week.”  She sniffed herself and winced.

The woman laughed,  “I’ll send my boy.  He’ll get yer things an have ‘em back for ya th morning.  Normal bath’s is just outside an round th back less ya want private?”

“No thank you, I’m not finicky enough to require a private bath.”  Callindra said with a chuckle.  “As long as it’s hot and the water is clean it’s good enough for me.”

She walked out of the common room and around the corner.  The smell of strong soap met her nostrils as she sat in the changing room, first  removing her armor and then the sweat crusted padding beneath it.  When she was unwinding her breast band, a boy’s voice carried over the half wall that separated the bath by sex.

“Hey.  Ma says ya got some clothes needs cleaning?  Jest toss ‘em over th wall an I’ll get ‘em done.”

“Thank you.”  She said, then frowned, “Can you find me something else to wear in the meantime?  A robe or whatever’s fine.  We lost most of our gear just over a week ago, honestly I could really use a few spare sets of clothes.”

“Ma can size ‘em an bring ya sommat.”  He said as she wrapped her clothes in a bundle and passed them over to him.  “Did ya want me ta clean th armor too?  I work in th stables so I knows leather care.”

Callindra hesitated, she liked to care for her own gear, but was sadly lacking in supplies and time.  “That would be great, thanks.  I would gladly pay you for running some errands too if you’d be so kind?  But first I need to get clean.”

“I’m th best runner in town.”  He boasted, as though this were a city that was big enough to have real errand runners.  “If i can’t get it we don’t got it.”

She thought about that for a minute and supposed that finding things in a small town might actually be more difficult than finding them in a big city in some respects.  While she was still soaking, allowing the hot water to ease out the aches from days in the saddle, her runner returned.

“I gotcher spares … miss?”

“I’m sorry, my name’s Callindra.”  She said lazily, “Can you bring them in here?  I’m the only one over here right now so don’t worry about getting into trouble.”

“What?”  He squeaked.

“I don’t want them to get wet if you toss them over the wall.”  Said Callindra, “It’s no big deal, but I’m sunk into water up to my neck if you’re shy.”

“I ain’t shy!”  The boy said defiantly, “I just don’t wanna get my head busted if another girl comes in.”

“I can protect you if that’s your worry.”  She said with a chuckle, and he ran in, set down some clothes on a bench and ran out again before she stopped laughing.  “What’s your name?”

“Ardie.”  He said, “What else ya need?”

Callindra climbed from the bath and toweled off, “I need a couple spare sets of breeches and shirts, a riding cloak, some travel rations, a tent if you can find one, and l really need a whetstone, polishing cloth, oil, and a kit for my armor too… if it’s not too much trouble.”

The clothes he’d left were skirts and a blouse, obviously for a girl much younger than herself.  With a sigh of resignation, she put them on.  It wouldn’t hurt to wear women’s clothes for a night.

“Ya, I can get it for ya.”  He said without hesitating, “Cost ya twenny five silver.”

She put the clothes on, picked up her sheathed sword with her baldric and pouches on it and walked around the screen.  Looking at the boy, she decided she liked him and handed him three gold marks without arguing.  He stared at them for a moment, then looked back at her with his mouth slightly agape.

“Go on then.  I’m paying for swift and efficient service.”  She said in a mock stern voice.  Before she could smile or show that she wasn’t serious he had run from the room.  Callindra sighed and ran her hand through her short brown hair.  Maybe she looked more intimidating than she had thought, although she doubted it while wearing skirts.

She wandered through the common room, the minstrel was playing a more lively tune now that the Countess had gone upstairs and more than one man tried to pull her into some kind of a dance before they noticed the sword slung over her back.  Instead of heading straight to bed, she walked back to the table where her friends were lingering over their tankards and sat, signalling the wench for her own ale.

“Excuse me – “  Tryst stopped, his cheeks reddening slightly, “Callindra, I hardly recognized you.”

“Ha, you owe me!”  Cronos said, pointing a finger at Vilhylm, “You said she’d never wear ‘em!”

Vilhylm passed over a stack of gold coins and Cronos gave one to the serving wench who was bringing Callindra’s ale.  She took it and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“One for sizing the clothes for her.”  He laughed, seeming to be tipsy and focused his attention back on Callindra  “I thought that was gold gone sister!”

“Don’t mind him.”  Vilhylm said, noting the dark look on her face.  “But you really shouldn’t sit like that in skirts.”

“I’m no damn lady.”  She snapped, taking a pull from her tankard and ignoring the winds that tugged at her clothes and made the torches dance.  “I’ll sit however I want.”

The common room went completely silent as all eyes were drawn to the top of the stairs.  The Countess Adbar stood there, clad only in a thin silk robe that did little to hide what lay beneath.  One slender finger beckoned and Vilhylm rose as if summoned by magic, even leaving his pack and cloak behind.

Watching him go, Callindra felt nervous.  She was surprised to find that she actually distrusted the Countess, although she couldn’t say why.  It wasn’t as though she begrudged her friend a tumble, she certainly had no designs in that direction, but it was hard not to dismiss the feeling as simple jealousy.

“Another round on me.”  Cronos said, and fixed her with a sloppy grin.  “Since you were kind enough to win me some gold and I am feeling a bit generous.”

Rather than give into her feelings of fear and mistrust Callindra gave over to the comfort of good ale, good company and a warm taproom.  It had been a long time since they had been able to enjoy themselves and they had all earned it.

“I don’t believe it.”  Vilhylm muttered for the tenth time as he stared through a spyglass at the city far below them.  The rest of them were too speechless to utter a single word.

The city of Dagger’s Falls was burning.  All of the farms outside the walls were nothing but charred stubble and beyond the Third Circle wall there wasn’t a single house standing.  Fighting raged between the wall of the Second Circle and the First Circle walls.  The entire First Circle was covered in a huge translucent dome crafted of pure arcane energy that glittered in the early morning sunlight like it was wrought of precious stones.  None of that compared to what was above.

An immense winged shape, black as midnight glided above the dome of the First Circle.  As they watched, it breathed a jet of liquid obsidian streaked with flickering emerald fire that splattered thickly against the dome, evaporating into a sickly fog that burned as it touched down in the Second Circle.  The were too far away, but Callindra imagined she could hear the screams of the dying.

They moved back from the edge of the hill, crawling on hands and knees so as to avoid notice.  None of them wanted to attract the attention of that monster, no matter how unlikely it might be.

“There’s no way we can cross here.”  Tryst said grimly, “We shouldn’t even be this close, an army that size probably has outriders for miles.”

“I didn’t see any outriders.  I didn’t see any supply wagons or the usual trappings an army has.”  Vilhylm said, stowing his spyglass.  “Something’s definitely not right there.”

“Let’s get out of here first and chew gristle about what’s not right about the city being destroyed by an army following a god rotting dragon later!”  Callindra hissed, finally finding her voice.

Cronos nodded his agreement, his face as pale as hers.  “I don’t like this.  Not this place, not that fight.”  He looked at Tryst apologetically, “Not this mission either.”

“But we don’t have a choice.”  Tryst protested, “We must cross, we must complete our mission!”

“Nobody is saying we won’t go.”  Callindra said quickly, “Just that it’s suddenly more difficult than it was in the beginning.  Especially now that we can’t cross the river here.”

They made their way back to where their horses were tethered in a small meadow.  Callindra looked mistrustfully at the foul tempered dun mare she’d been given.  She didn’t blame the creature for being cranky, that small keep had been full of mistrustful angry people and little fodder.  To her surprise, the animal bumped her playfully with its head and whickered a welcome.

“Good to see you too.”  She said scratching it behind the ears before mounting up.

They cantered upstream, following the steep riverbank and looking about for any way that they might be able to cross.  It was a fruitless effort though.  The river had cut through soft stone to form deep ravines, the only places that were not cliffs were where the stone was harder but waterfalls had formed there and those were certainly not passable either.

After riding for the rest of day, they made camp in a copse of trees, taking what shelter they could from the horrors they’d witnessed that day.

–

The night was blessedly uneventful and the next morning while Vilhylm busied himself preparing breakfast, the rest of them sat around the fire.

“How in the hells are we gonna get across the river?”  Callindra said, “We can’t possibly travel all the way up the next bridge, it’d take at least a month.”

“Our mission is far too important to wait that long.”  Tryst said, “We absolutely must communicate with the Druids in the High Forest before the situation becomes more desperate than it already is.”

“Perhaps I could be of some small assistance?”  The voice was coming from Cronos’s mouth but it wasn’t his.  This was the dry, emotionless voice Callindra had heard before when the boy had been killed by Dergeras in Tyreen’s tree.

“No!”  Cronos struggled, trying to get up from where he sat.  “Master, I don’t want-”

“What you want is immaterial apprentice.”  The voice interrupted, cutting him off.  “This mission is nearly as critical to the world as the young priest believes it to be.”

“Really?”  Tryst’s face shone with religious fervor, “I mean, I knew it was important but-”

“I said nearly as critical.”  The voice said, “You have a vastly inflated opinion of yourself youngling.  Something that seems to run in your family.”

“But how can you help us?”  Callindra asked, “What are you going to do, fly us over to the other side?  I thought Cronos said you were dead.”

“Ha!  You have a mouth on you girl.”  He laughed, “I like that in a whelp.  Shows your grit, and Gods know you’re going to need every single shred of strength you can muster to survive what’s coming.  I’ll let you all eat your breakfast, then we’ll take care of your little river problem.”

Cronos looked at them with a haunted expression on his face and Callindra folded her arms.

“Talk.”  She said, her voice flat, “Before I was willing to just let it go and watch you to see if you went crazy on us again, but now I want answers and by the Absent Gods I’m going to get them.

He took a deep breath and blew it out.  Callindra reached into her belt pouch and took out her pipe, stuffing the bowl with tac and lighting it with a splinter from the fire.  She puffed it alight and leaned back against her saddle with the air of someone who had all the time in the world.  When Vilhylm brought over toasted bread and cheese Cronos finally started talking.

“My Master was working on some kind of experiment.  I don’t know what it was and he won’t tell me… but it was important.  It had something to do with a power of old and some war long since passed, but he had done things like it many times before so I just assumed it was more of the same.

“Something went wrong.  I don’t know what it was, but I believe something … felt him probing.  It saw him from the other side of… time?  Whatever it was saw him and with a flicker of power more vast than worlds destroyed him.  Being the God rotting bastard that he is, he had LINKED our minds and bodies.

“So when he died, a part of him and part of his power attached to me.  At times he is able to use it, or to force me to use it or…”  He ran his fingers through his hair, bowing his head for a moment.  “I don’t know how it works.  Even though he has apparently used it to save my life I’d almost rather he’d let me die.  Nobody should be forced to live with another person in their head.”

The food in Callindra’s mouth lost its flavor.  She cleaned the dottle out of her pipe and carefully stowed it in its watertight case.  “I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to trust a dead man living in your head.”

Cronos laughed, “I DON’T trust him!”  He said, “Would YOU trust someone who did this to you?”

“I must cross the river.”  Tryst said grimly, “I will take whatever chances I must but I will not ask the rest of you to do the same.”

“Oh don’t be so cursed melodramatic of course we’re coming with.”  Callindra said, punching him on the arm.  The look of relief on his face as the others chimed in made her forget her fear about what was to come, and even deadened the pain she felt about failing Glarian.  She would get through this.  They would get through this.  The only other option was to give up and that just wasn’t something any of them would accept.

–

“So you want us all to just… ride toward the cliff at speed?”  Vilhylm asked, staring incredulously at Cronos.

“You expect our horses to jump?”  Said Tryst, “These nags?”

“My girl can do it.”  Callindra said with a feral grin.  She patted her horse’s neck and the animal whickered eagerly.  “See?  Let’s do this!”

“The only way the magic works is if you believe it works.”  The voice that wasn’t Crono’s voice said.

Callindra couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing.  “Oh come on now, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!  Magic is a God rotting curse, if it was that easy to get rid of it I’d be free.  How about you stop playing the fool so we can get this over with?”

“Oh you’re no bedamned fun.”  He said, giving her a disgruntled look.  “The beasts will be happier if you blindfold them.  You all can close your eyes too if it makes you feel better.”

They all bound cloths over the eyes of their mounts who snorted and tossed their heads in annoyance but otherwise took the treatment with good grace.  Walking their mounts to the edge of the cliff, they paused to look down at the water churning far below.  The horses snorted and stamped nervously.

“Time to go.”  Callindra muttered, swinging into the saddle.  Looking back along the road that followed the river she caught a glimpse of something moving.  “Hey, someone’s out there.”  She whispered to her companions.

“What?”  Vilhylm had been looking dubiously at Cronos but now he swung his gaze to follow hers.  “Trouble, we need to move!”

Cronos grimaced and his master’s voice cursed, “Sorry, no time for the kid gloves.”

A group of humanoid creatures, running fast and using their arms as much as their legs broke from the bushes near the road.  Before they had covered half the distance, an impact like falling into water from on high slammed into Callindra and her friends, tossing them through the air like thrown stones.  The horses screamed in fear, thrashing about.

Timing the landing, Callindra managed to tuck and roll, absorbing most of the shock of the landing but still bruising herself on rocks and sticks.  The others didn’t fare so well, Tryst getting the worst when he tumbled into a thorn bush.  Cronos crumpled as though he was a puppet with broken strings.

The best part was the creatures on the other side of the ravine screaming their rage to the sky.  Their anger made it all worthwhile.  Callindra laughed and made a rude gesture toward them and fell onto her back.

“We made it!”  She said, her voice rough from the terror that had gripped her until she realized she was going to survive.

Callindra fell back on her childhood skills, snaring rabbits with simple traps.  She was thankful for her practice skinning and preparing small game with nothing but Brightfang during her year in the wilderness.  Her companions were grateful and seemed slightly surprised, although she was glad of Cronos’s ability to cook.  Her efforts had always ended up tough and charred, but he had a knack for making even just a rabbit on a spit tender and juicy.

“So, does anyone know what Dergeras meant when he said the Fang in the Teeth of the Sky?”  Cronos asked, sprinkling some herb he had plucked onto the meat he was cooking.

“Yes.”  Said Vilhylm, surprising Callindra who had been about to say the same.  “It is an impregnable fortress in the mountains called the Teeth of the Sky.”

“Oh, well that sounds like bad news for us then.”  Cronos said.

“It was destroyed from the inside in the end.  Treachery and deceit, greed and the lust for power were what destroyed the Fang.”  Vilhylm said sadly.  “It has become a home for fell things, the lost souls of the ones who succumbed to that base nature are said to still stalk its hallways and courtyards.”

“Or what’s left of them.”  Callindra added somberly.  At the other’s startled looks, she shrugged.  “I read ‘The Rise and Fall of Invincibility’ once when I was laid up with a nasty injury.  It was a good warning about what can happen when you don’t surround yourself with reliable people and let the desire for power rule your actions.”

“I had no idea you were so well educated.” Tryst said, “I’ve not read that tome myself, however I know it was in the personal collection of my Biscop.  What else have you read?”

“Glarian brought me many books to read.”  She said in a subdued tone, “I never knew how valuable the lessons they contained would be, when he brought them I only thought of them as a way to pass the time during my convalescence.”

“He was a wise man.”  Tryst said, “He gave you the tools you would need to survive in the world, without you even knowing what he was doing.”

“And now I’ve abandoned him.”  She said dully, “Left him to suffer while I escape with my worthless life.”

“We are all born helpless.”  Said Vilhylm, “Doesn’t your training tell you to list your age as the amount of time you’ve been training?”

“I am not yet two years old.”  Callindra said automatically, and then paused.  “I suppose you have a point.”

“Some of us age faster than others.”  Vilhylm said, “You’re beyond training, the world is a harsh place.  You will either grow strong or you will perish.”

“Well that’s heartening.”  Cronos muttered, taking the meat from the fire.  “You aren’t going to die today at least, so how about we lighten the mood and eat.”

Callindra felt some of her anger dissipate as the banter of her friends soothed the hurt and loss away.  They were still with her.  She could become the person she needed to be in order to save her master.  “Just hold on old man.  Stay strong for me until I have the power to save you.”

–

The bear rose before them on its hind legs, roaring in animal rage.  An unpleasant memory flickered in the back of Callindra’s memory, but she forced it aside, now was not the time for reminiscence.  The beast must have young nearby to be acting like this, normally bears were docile and avoided contact with humans.

Brightfang sang in the air as she ducked under a paw that would have taken her head from her shoulders and the shock of the blade striking the animal’s leg with the combined strength of her swing and the bear’s.  Something wasn’t right here.

Tryst slammed his hammer into his shield, getting the bear’s attention and Vilhylm appeared from behind it, or at least Callindra thought it was Vilhylm.  His tall shape was covered in what seemed to be dripping mud.  With exaggerated motions, he slung gobs of the mucky mass to splatter on the bear’s feet.

The animal stumbled, the mud causing it to falter and give Cronos an opening which he used to sink the edge of his bastard sword deep into its side.  At the same time, Tryst struck from the other direction, his hammer fracturing bone.  The bear roared in anger, but seemed not to notice the grievous wounds.  Instead, it attacked the nearest target; in this case Callindra who had been sneaking up to deliver the killing stroke.

The bear’s claws raked her across the abdomen, tearing her armor and ripping into her flesh.  Agony seared through the wounds, but she kept her focus and struck with a blow that used every muscle in her body in one desperate stroke.  The sword strike Avalanche Down the Mountain removed the head from the shoulders.  Callindra saw a strange emerald fire die behind its eyes before they closed.

“That was strange.”  She said, wiping the blood from her sword and trying to ignore the pain of the slashes across her stomach.  They had torn through her armor and the skin beneath but thankfully only seemed to be minor thanks to the boiled leather of her breastplate.

“What was strange?”  Cronos asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

“It was probably nothing.”  Said Callindra, “But its eyes seemed to be a weird glowing green color.”

“I thought I was only imagining it.”  He replied, bending over the dead animal, “I swear I saw the same thing.”

The corpse of the bear erupted into brilliant green flames.  Before they could react, the headless body began blindly striking out, sending Cronos and Callindra flying across the clearing.  She flipped in the air, grimacing in pain as the effort of righting herself to land on her feet caused white fire to spread across her wounded stomach muscles.

“Begone from here fell thing!”  Tryst shouted, his polished shield flashing with a white light of Divine origin.

In response, the bear turned swiftly, seeming to target him with unerring ease in spite of being headless.  The priest stood his ground, a grim look on his face.  Callindra started from her shocked state as she realized the young man was truly willing to die for them.  For her.

“Haiiiii!” A battle shout from ages before erupted from her throat and she flung herself forward, dropping to a knee at the last moment in a devastating stroke that split the undead animal’s Achilles tendons (Howl of the Winter Wolf).  It teetered uncertainly and at this moment, Tryst struck it a savage blow on its neck with his hammer.

“Oh hellteeth!” Callindra swore, trying to spring out of the way as her torn abdominal muscles gave out on her.  The finally unmoving corpse of the bear fell heavily on her, filling her nostrils with the stench of death and a strong smell of brimstone.

Once her friends had stopped laughing, they levered the beast’s carcass off her.  Callindra climbed painfully to her feet and wiped Brightfang on the bear’s fur before carefully sheathing him.

“There’s a small road over there.”  She said, pointing.  “Maybe there’s a village or something.”

“Are you hurt?” Tryst asked, concern on his too pretty face.

“Some cuts from the claws.”  Callindra said and grimaced, “Maybe some fractured ribs from when it struck me, or perhaps from when the bedamned thing fell on me.  Regardless I wouldn’t mind finding a town where we could at least purchase bedrolls if not tents and horses.”

A rustling sound caused them all to turn as one, A second bear flew out of the trees at them, moving at an astonishing rate but strangely silent.  Callindra could see emerald fire shining from its eyes.

Moving Brightfang in a whirling double arc to test her tender ribs, Callindra moved to intercept the creature, grimly intent on disabling it as quickly as possible.  Before she had taken a half dozen steps, Cronos barked three words of Arcane Power and a sheet of brilliant red fire burst from his outstretched fingertips, washing over the bear and burning it to a crisp.

As it tried to rise again, Vilhylm and Tryst smashed into it from either side, breaking bones and driving it to the ground.  Callindra looked at Cronos, who was rubbing his ribs and grimacing in pain.

“I didn’t want to deal with it.”  He said shortly, “Pretty sure the other one broke a couple of my ribs too.”

“I hope there aren’t any more of them.”  She said, looking around and not sheathing her sword just yet.

“Let’s get moving.”  Vilhylm said, no longer appearing to be covered in swamp muck.  “If there are other things that are … infected in the same way as this one we should try and find a place where we can take shelter.”

They began moving down the dirt track, looking around at every forest sound.  As they rounded a bend, the walls of a small keep came into view. The gate was closed and guards were on duty along the walls.  Callindra wondered if this was normal for a remote outpost such as this.  Normally her understanding was a city that engaged in regular commerce had the gates open all day.

“This feels wrong.”  Vilhylm said, glancing at the closed gates.  “Unless at war these gates should be open.  Where are the livestock?  Where are the workers tending the fields?”

Callindra followed his gaze and realized that the clearings they were walking through were paddocks and gardens, not just land logged for lumber or cleared for line of sight.  Weeds grew ankle high among the crops and there were no animals in the fenced paddocks.

They approached the gate and could see that the stone wall and stout wooden gate showed signs of recent damage.  A few scorch marks marred the seasoned wood above the steel banding that sheathed the bottom few feet of the door.  The soldiers on the walls trained nasty looking crossbows on them and called out for them to halt.

Tryst approached, his spotless white surcoat and gleaming shield shining like a beacon.  “We are weary travelers, wounded from fighting beasts upon the road and seeking shelter.”

“Come to the side door.” Came the curt reply from above.  Tryst complied, moving to a steel sheathed door bolted into the stone wall.  A slit opened with an oiled scrape of steel on steel.  “Look into the slit, I need to see your eyes stranger.”

“What is the reason for this treatment?”  Callindra demanded, “We are tired and injured!”

Tryst waved her to silence, “Remember the bears.”  He said and she thought of the emerald flame that burned in the infected beasts eyes.

“It can affect humans too?”  She whispered, the implications turning her blood to ice.

Tryst removed his helm and leaned forward to look through the slit in the door.  After a moment, the man on the other side gruffly told him to step aside and allow the next one to step forward.  Only when they had all been checked for burning green eyes were the heavy crossbows raised and door opened.

“No offense intended.” The guard said, “Those… things wreaked havoc before we figured out how to identify them.  We lost many.”

“I am a healer.”  Tryst said, “If you have wounded I can help.”

The guard looked at him, the suspicion in his eyes slowly being replaced by hope.  “I’ll take you to the mayor and then if he agrees you can see to our injured.”