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Subject: {ASSM} The Tails of Rabelaisia 3/8 Pippa, Ash, Blade, Chel (furry) TBD
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Date: Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:10:09 -0400
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The Tails of Rabelaisia 3/6 Pippa, Ash, Blade, Chel
---


The Mage Wars - Part One
Dale, Blade, Pippa, Ash, Whisper and Rhianna
---

Dale, Blade, Pippa and Ash sat in the overgrown patch of weeds that
was their 'den'.

The four young wolfhounds were engrossed in one of their favourite
topics of conversation. "What are you going to be when you grow up?"

Blade had listened with barely restrained impatience while the others
had spoken. He had heard it all before. Dale wanted to be a guard in
the King's elite troops. Pippa was already in training as a tracker.
Ash wanted to be a Bard, just like his parents.

Blade had new and exciting ideas about what *he* wanted to be.
Yesterday, he had gone to talk to Capo, his goat neighbour, and now he
was aflame with new ambition.

Finally, Ash finished his boring little monologue. Seeing his
opportunity, Blade jumped in. He took a deep breath, and began
importantly.

"That's boring. You know what *I* want to be? I want to be a Mage."

"Why?" asked Pippa, a little superciliously. The others stared at him
curiously.

Blade grinned. "Because Mages are *really* powerful. They don't have
to stick to any stupid rules, like...." and here, he looked at Ash in
particular, "..... like Bards.

"If you annoy a Mage, he can just turn around and *blast* you!
Whoomph! Mages can do whatever they like."

A quiet chuckle sounded from behind him. Even though it happened so
often, it never failed to surprise the cubs.

Whisper. Their mother. She had the most annoying habit of turning up
just when things were getting interesting!

"One thing you'll learn, young one. There is *no* profession and no
form of existence that allows you to ignore the rules."

Blade's jaw set stubbornly. "Well, at least Mages can *do* things. If
*I* was a Mage, I wouldn't let people get away with half the things
that they do with Bards!" he retorted, rebelliously.

Whisper sighed. A grave look crossed her face and she sat down beside
Blade.

"I have a new tale to tell you," she said quietly. "I haven't told it
for many years, and I hope it will be many more before I have to tell
it again.

"I swear you all to hold this story within yourselves. Some tales are
not told in public."

As they watched her uncertainly, she began.

* * *

My tale takes place many many years ago.

At the start of my story, things were pretty much the way they are
now.

There were traders and crafters. There were Casters. Trackers.
Power-wielders. There were normal people in villages, just like you
and your friends. There was even a Royal Family.

The only main difference was that people were not as happy then as
they are now. There had been a long line of rulers who were either
incompetent or corrupt. Laws were issued, not for the good of the
people, or for the good of Rabelaisia. Only for the immediate profit
of the ruling class."

Like you, my impetuous son, the local Mages began to ask the question:
'What can we do to improve matters?'

At first, it was only idle and speculative chatter. By their own code
of conduct, Mages were not allowed to rule. Magic was too powerful a
tool to use in Rabelaisian politics. The rule was rigidly enforced, as
it would be far too easy to establish a Mage's dictatorship.

Then one night, Rhianna called a secret meeting of the Mages.

She was young. More than that, she was female. Neither point was in
her favour as far as her chosen profession was concerned.
Nevertheless, in her short life, she had risen to the seventh level of
Magehood. It was an honour gained by very few. Undoubtedly she would
have become even greater, were it not for the events that followed.

* * *

"Seventh level, Mother?" asked Pippa, curiously. "What does that mean?
I've never heard of Mages having levels."

Whisper sighed softly.

"They no longer have the system in place," she answered her daughter.
"At the time of this tale, all Mages competed amongst themselves for
personal glory and rank. The wars changed all that."

"Wars?" asked Blade, his ears perking slightly. This tale might hold
some level of interest after all.

Whisper turned sharply to look at him. "Patience, son. I will tell the
tale in my own way."

Blade subsided, and she continued.

* * *

Rhianna spoke to the other Masters before her. "We all know that the
old king is dying now. He will not last much longer.

"The way things stand, Oswald is first in line for the throne. We all
know what that means for the people of Rabelaisia. Oswald is as mad as
his father, and he will rule in name only. His chamberlains will
decide to run the country. No changes, more misery.

"Now think of this, my fellow Mages. What if Cole inherited the throne
instead of his brother? After all, he *is* the elder of the two."

"Not the true heir, though," interjected one of the other Mages.

She nodded. "True. He is the Queen's son, not the King's. Consider
this though. He has not inherited the madness, and he is both strong
and intelligent. Plus, he has an even rarer trait in these sad times -
a strong sense of justice. He would make a fine king. Better than we
have had for decades."

"We must *not* interfere with the running of the country," objected
another sorcerer.

"We can make things better," stated Rhianna firmly.

Over the next few hours, the meeting broke down into thunderous chaos.

On one side of the argument were the Mages who refused to interfere.
They must keep out of such matters at all costs.

Opposing them were a smaller band of Mages. They believed that the
time had come to make some changes in Rabelaisia.

No decisions were made. None could be. Both sides held rigidly to
their views, and would not be budged. Never before had there been so
much open support for overt interference. It could not easily be
quelled.

Finally, after the shouting had risen and died down, a quiet sense of
despair settled. The meeting was called to a dismal, inconclusive end.
Each Mage went their own way.

Many had a heavy heart that night. Rhianna left with a slight smile,
however. She was satisfied with the way the night had gone. Now it was
just a matter of waiting for her supporters to seek her out and pledge
their allegiance to a new and better way.

As the days passed, her hopes were more than justified. Many of her
fellow magicians felt that something needed to be done. Although they
numbered less than a third of the Mage population, they were a
powerful third. Most of the highly talented and ambitious ones had
joined her.

That was the beginning of the rift between Mages.

* * *

"I don't see anything wrong with that," persisted Blade. The others
shot him an irritated glance. He was interrupting a good story!

"Blade - have you stopped to ask yourself why such rules as this
exist? Somebody set limits for the Mages because they had good reason
to do so.

"Such rules are hard to obey when they are directly or indirectly
causing misery to people.

"Yet, if we break a good rule whenever things get difficult, then the
rule might as well never exist.

"Rhianna and her people meant well, but you will soon see what
happened. All because they wanted to 'make a difference'.

"Now, on with the tale....."

* * *

Weeks passed. At last Rhianna felt that she had mustered sufficient
support for her plans.

The Mages came forward and pledged their alliance to Cole. They
requested that he be made the next King of Rabelaisia. More than that,
they stated publicly that they would not swear to follow the rule of
his half-brother.

Each of them was involved in the next couple of months. Work was done,
speeches were made, people were called upon to support the Mages in
their efforts.

They had the best of intentions, but it was a bad move to make. Oswald
was insane, but he had strong supporters who were not. When the Mages
made their move, those people who supported Oswald were quick to spot
the danger.

They came up with a simple yet elegant solution. One morning, Cole was
found dead, at the bottom of a steep flight of stairs.

A broken neck. A tragic accident. There was no proof that matters were
otherwise. Everyone knew what had *really* happened, though.

* * *

Whisper looked around at the suddenly shocked faces of her offspring.

"So far, we have a division of the Mages, and a murder. It is only the
beginning.

"Putting things right is never as simple as it seems."

She continued.

* * *

Rhianna and her fellow Mages held another meeting as soon as they
learned what had happened.

Many thought the fight was over now. They had nobody left to support.
They could do nothing else but surrender their great ideas and go back
to their old lives.

Rhianna, however, had different plans.

"What lies in wait for us if we crawl back into our shells now?" she
asked, scornfully. The Mages looked at each other uncertainly. She had
a point. If they returned to their former places, they would face some
measure of discipline and disgrace. It may be nothing more than slight
demotion of their privileges, or refusal to allow them to compete for
future promotion. Still, they would have to live with the reprimands
and the disgrace. More than that, Mages were not used to looking like
fools. The idea was hardly appealing.

"We set out to achieve something for the benefit of Rabelaisia. We can
still do that," she continued smoothly.

"Our candidate is dead!" one of the Mages protested bitterly.

She glared at him. "Then we will find another way forward.

"Everyone knows that the Royal Family is an outmoded concept now. They
have been doing more harm than good for generations. Total corruption
reigns.

"We must cleanse the country of these parasites. Set up a better form
of government.

"We can do it!" She looked around at the Mages with pleading, fervent
eyes. "What use is all our power if we cannot do any good for the
people?"

The group shared knowing glances. They realized that Rhianna had more
to lose than any of them. Only sheer iron determination had allowed
her to rise as far and fast as she had in the Mage's hierarchy. She
would never be allowed to repeat such a feat.

Still, they were forced to admit to themselves that none of them
wanted to go back and face the consequences of their bad decision.

Nonetheless Duncan, one of the eldest Mages, laughed scornfully. With
a mocking look in his eyes, he spoke to Rhianna.

"Fine words, lady. Now, what do you suggest? How are we to set up a
new government? Wishing upon a star, maybe?"

Rhianna was stung by his tone. Truth to tell, she had no firm ideas.
However, she thought quickly.

"We can search for a suitable candidate. In the meantime, our group
can set up local governments. I'm sure we can handle the country
better than the current leaders do. Much better!"

Duncan listened to her, and gave her a long and appraising look.

"Very well," he said at last. "The Royal Family will be.... dealt
with.... and we will take temporary government of the country."

Rhianna was relieved. It seemed that she had won her point.

A few days later, however, she had cause to regret her hasty speeches.
The news began to filter through to the rebel Mages that the Royal
Family had been victims of a terrible 'accident.'

Every one of them had died in a fire. It had started spontaneously the
previous night at the royal palace. A few chamberlains and viziers
survived, but the royals were no more. Their power was gone forever.

Rhianna turned very pale when the news reached her. However, things
had gone too far for her to merely turn back. If she returned to the
rest of the Mages now, she could expect no mercy. In fact, she would
probably be held accountable for the multiple murder of the royal
family.

Oh yes. She had no doubt at all that it was murder. She also had a
fairly good idea that Duncan had been responsible for the entire
massacre.

However, her options were limited. She could retreat, she could turn
to another path and risk losing her leadership of this little band, or
she could go with the changes and pretend that it was what she had
planned all along.

She decided that the final option was best for the moment. As for
Duncan, she would deal with him in her own time. She was fairly
certain that she could take him on, but it would have to be at a time
and place of her choosing. He was too experienced and talented to take
for granted. For now, she would simply play along.

Rhianna faced her followers again. They were angry at first, but she
was surprised at how quickly they settled down and started to accept
what had been done. Not one of them suggested giving up and going back
to the majority of the Mages. They all seemed to realize that the only
way they could win was to finish what they had started.

Over the next month or so, Rhianna and her people divided the villages
and settlements between them. She and a couple of her close supporters
began to look for a capable ruler. More Mages joined her all the time,
as they learned of the new plans. Support was growing and success
seemed inevitable.

However, there was another shock in store for the rebels.

Throughout their campaign for better rule, the traditional Mages had
sat in their guild hall, staying out of the way. They had rigidly
enforced their policy of non-interference.

They had watched with increasing anger as the new order of Mages had
taken things further and further down the road to anarchy. Each time
they had met, there had been less of them, and more of the new Mages.

Finally, the time came when they realized that further delay would
leave them outnumbered by the new order. Wasting no more time, they
publicly declared Rhianna and her fellow 'governors' to be renegades.

Each law-abiding Mage was charged with the task of seeking out the
governors and putting an end to their interference. Either by making
them surrender, or, if that failed, by killing them.

Rhianna, upon hearing this, decided that she had to move quickly. The
damage could still be undone if she could just install an effective
ruler. Then she and her fellow governors could step down, secure in
the knowledge that they had succeeded. The old order could hardly
punish so many, especially when Rhianna and her people had success on
their side. In one stroke, she would be transformed from Rabelaisia's
biggest threat, to Rabelaisia's most revered heroine.

Her quest took her throughout all of Rabelaisia. It was a
near-impossible search, for those who are most willing to rule are
generally least suited to the job.

Still, she had her magic to help her in selecting the best potential
candidates. Finally, she had a group of possibilities, and it was time
to call upon her fellow Mages to make the final selection.

The new governors had other ideas however. In the months that had
passed, they had become used to their new status and powers. Now they
felt no great need to give all that up. Why bother with a new ruler?
*They* could rule!

Too late, Rhianna realized the truth of the matter. While she had been
fighting to restore order in Rabelaisia, many of the Mages had used
her to achieve power for themselves. She had merely helped them to
establish hundreds of petty dictatorships, under the guise of helping
the country. More than that, she had given each of the governors
enough time to become deeply entrenched in their newfound positions
and power.

Until now, Rhianna had maintained some level of hope. Now, something
cracked within her.

'They *dared* to betray her?! They treated her with derision, as if
she were a mere apprentice! They would take what they needed for
themselves, at the same time leaving her to take the blame for this
farce?!'

'No.'

"NO!" She cried out loud, her voice aflame with fury.

She trembled with impotent rage.

No..... not impotent. Gradually she reined in her wrath, and regained
that vital control of her emotions. No Mage could ever succeed by
giving in to their baser instincts.

She could still feel the fury, acidic in the pit of her stomach. Now
thought, it could work for her. Cold, measured, *icy* anger would
merely focus her powers, giving her the strength to go down the new
path that she now chose.

The other Mages wanted to rule? They wanted competition, conflict and
control? Then Rhianna would face and defeat them on their own terms!
From this moment forth, her only concern would be for herself.

She would govern *all* of Rabelaisia.

* * *

Whisper paused as Ash stood up. He looked at her gravely. When he
spoke, his voice was soft and filled with pain.

"I've heard this tale before, Mother. I don't want to hear it again.
May I go?"

Whisper raised her eyebrows, in rare surprise. Ash met her gaze
steadily, and after a moment, she nodded. Wasting no time, he departed
gratefully.

The other three looked at each other doubtfully, but curiosity won out
over trepidation, and they stayed to listen.

She sighed and carried on with the tale.

* * *

There isn't much left to tell.

The 'good' Mages led their assault against the governors.

Many of them were killed outright, by more skilled Mages than
themselves.

Many more fell prey to the corruption of power. Once they had
dispatched the governor, they simply took over the territory and
fought on from there.

The remainder soon realized that they were fighting for a hopeless
cause. No sooner had they taken one of the governors out of the
battle, than the vacant lands would be swallowed up by the surrounding
Mages.

One by one, the peace-seekers were forced to flee, or become part of
the new system that they hated so much.

As for Rhianna, her path was a twisted one.

Finding herself at war, with no territory of her own, she knew that
she had to use all of her skills and cunning.

There were few places for her to hide, now that the war was open.
Especially as her enemies were actively seeking her out. So, she chose
a great, sprawling forest and laid her plans.

Finally, when she was ready, she and her army emerged from the forest.
Territories fell before her and her quest for power resumed.

* * *

Dale wore a look of puzzlement on his face now.

"Mother?" he began slowly. "What armies? How did Rhianna defeat the
other governors, if she had nothing to start with?"

Whisper smiled. "Trust a future soldier to notice such matters.

"You have managed to find the only good thing to come from the Mage
Wars."

* * *

Rhianna was left alone in the forest. Her only assets were her
intelligence, her magic and the resources of the forest itself.

So, she crafted a new type of army for herself. She took wolves -
ordinary animals - and enhanced their intelligence, while making them
unswervingly loyal to her.

In a world made up only of humans, such creatures were a terrifying
army. She won her first battle almost without a fight.

As she conquered more lands and went on to further battles, she
continued to use the enhanced animals. So did other Mages, copying her
ideas and creating slaves of their own.

The creatures were honed and improved over time. First of all, they
became upright, so that they could carry weapons. Then they were
taught to use tools. Not only wolves by now, but all manner of
creatures, each having racial skills to add to the power of the
controlling Mage. Finally, they were used as subordinate Mages
themselves, to serve their masters better.

Here lies Rhianna's downfall, for in creating these creatures like
ourselves, she started the process that would end both the war and
herself.

However, such solutions lay many years into the future.

Rabelaisia entered her darkest days. Decades of conflict and death
went by. The dead were uncountable and uncounted. No voice that
pleaded for peace was heard. Nothing ruled but the Mages - godlike in
their power and merciless in their ambition.

* * *

The silence in the den was profound. Whisper looked in turn at her
three children, her eyes coming to rest on Blade at last.

"Rhianna and her Mages had respect. They didn't have to put up with
rules.

"They didn't let people 'get away' with things, like the Bards do at
present.

"Is that what you want to return to, my son?" 
====

Pippa's Trail
Pippa, Erle, Jex, Whisper and Nikkolai
---

Whisper and Nikki sat together under a tree. With Bardic patience,
Nikki waited for the problem to surface. There was obviously something
nagging at his mate and he could make a shrewd guess as to what and
whom it concerned.

Finally, Whisper sighed and spoke.

"She is, without doubt, the most difficult pupil that I've ever had to
deal with. In some ways, I wish she had never set out to be a
tracker."

Nikki nodded, hiding a smile. He had been right. It was Pippa who was
the source of Whisper's problems. Again. Letting his smile surface a
little, he answered her mildly.

"Got her mother's short attention span and independence, has she?"

"Along with her father's overconfidence and impetuous nature," she
retorted.

The two of them shared rueful grins, recognizing the truth behind the
barbs. Sometimes it seemed that Pippa had inherited all of her
parents' most troublesome characteristics.

Nikki continued. "I haven't heard any arguments between the two of you
recently." His head cocked, making the statement into a question.

Whisper sighed again and stared into the distance.

"Pippa doesn't argue any more. If she would voice her frustration, it
would be easier to deal with her. You know that."

Nikki nodded and thought of his rebellious daughter.

Pippa was, like the rest of her family, naturally gifted in
power-wielding. She was also intelligent and quick to learn. Combined
with a low boredom threshold, she had not made herself an easy pupil
for Whisper to teach.

Then a few months ago, the arguments had begun. Pippa had asked to be
released from her training, to become a full-status tracker. She had
argued that she could handle the power. After all, Whisper had already
taught her the main tracking exercises. She was more than competent at
all of them.

Whisper had been forced to agree that Pippa understood the techniques
of a tracker well enough by now. Gently, she had pointed out to her
daughter that there was far more to being a tracker than exercises and
power-wielding.

Pippa had not understood, or had purposefully refused to understand
what Whisper was trying to teach her. The argument had been closed
that day, only to reopen frequently over the next week or so. Finally,
she had ceased the constant challenge to her mother's ruling, but
things were far from resolved.

Again, Whisper spoke.

"She does everything I ask of her -- but, I'm worried. She handles it
with an air of unmistakable boredom, and a silent resentment that I
can feel without even trying.

"I have always felt reluctant to use Bardic teaching on our children.
The more we often we `teach' them, the more immune to the lessons they
become."

She took a deep breath and looked Nikki in the eye.

"However, I think the time has come where there is no alternative with
Pippa. It's time to go through with it."

Nikki nodded.

* * *

Pippa stared at her mother in puzzled disbelief. "What?" she asked,
slowly.

Whisper smiled.

"Isn't this what you wanted? A chance to go out on your own?"

"Yes, but....." Pippa rallied. "You said I wasn't ready for it."

"I still don't think you are." Whisper took her daughter's paw and
smiled slightly, to reduce the sting of the words. "I hope you prove
me wrong."

Pippa gazed at her, suddenly filled with suspicion.

"This isn't one of your `Bard's lessons' is it mother? You're not
going to interfere and make sure that I fail?"

Whisper raised her eyebrows. "I've assigned you a task to follow. I
have given you the responsibility and the authority as a full-fledged
Tracker, to see it through. Whether you succeed or fail is completely
down to you now. Pippa, I wouldn't give you this chance if I was not
prepared to let you tackle it by yourself."

Pippa nodded and accepted the unspoken rebuke. Whisper may have been
guilty of seriously underestimating her, but she wouldn't offer a
chance unless the rules were comparatively fair.

"Very well then," she said, savouring her new-found feeling of
importance and adulthood. "When do I start?"

Whisper shrugged. "You know what the job is. How and when you tackle
it is up to you, Tracker."

She rose and departed, leaving Pippa to consider her job. Her first
*real* job as a tracker.

Not even a minor task at that! At least her mother wasn't simply
humouring her by giving her inconsequential duties to fulfill.

A few weeks ago, a dragon had been spotted in the nearby hills. A
traveler had reported it as he had passed through the village. Then a
few day ago, a second sighting had been reported.

It was time to act and Pippa swelled with gratification to think that
*she* had been entrusted with the task.

There was very little risk of danger, she mused. At least, not if the
witnesses had given an accurate picture. By all accounts, the dragon
was too young to have developed its natural or magical weaponry. It
was too small to be anything but an infant. At this age, it would be
no more dangerous than any other medium-sized predator.

Pippa smiled to herself. She never would have got the job if the
dragon had been full-grown. That would have been an emergency mission
for every power-wielder in the area. An adult dragon was a very real
and serious problem for those forced to live in its territory.

That was why Pippa had been given the task of dealing with this
dragon. The job should be relatively straightforward. A good dose of
Bane-dust, carefully scattered around the area, should be enough to
send the dragon on its way. Hopefully, it would find a better, more
solitary place to settle next time.

Maybe she could make her mother proud of her at last. Perhaps she
could be accepted as a *real* tracker once this job was out of the
way.

* * *

Two days passed before Pippa finally set out. She had been determined
not to fail through rushing in unprepared. The knowledge that her
parents expected her to fail made her even more determined to prove
them wrong.

A day's journey for a normal traveler was nothing to Pippa. She had
her parents' combined speed and tirelessness, and she arrived at the
foot of the hills before the sun reached its midday heights.

She slowed down at this point. It was time to focus. Cutting her pace
down a little, she began to reach out mentally, searching for hints
and clues that would eventually lead to her target - the young dragon.

She started to sense minor disturbances in the balance of her
surroundings. Nothing that could be attributed to something as major
as the passing of a dragon though. She quartered the foothills as she
had been taught. Slowly, but steadily, she covered more and more of
the area.

The hours began to pass by. Still no trace. Despite all of her
training, she began to feel the stirrings of impatience. Irritated
with herself, she pushed them to the back of her mind and tried to
refocus on her problem with a clear head.

Just as she was considering stopping for something to eat, she sensed
an unmistakable disruption on one of the far slopes.

Fear. Panic on a large scale. The frenzied rush of other animals
trying to run and hide from a large predator. This bore further
investigation.

Immediately getting a mental fix on the location, Pippa set off at a
more enthusiastic pace.

The distance disappeared under her easy stride. Bare minutes passed
before she was at the scene of the disturbance. By now, she knew that
the predator had moved on. For one thing, the fear had subsided. For
another, her closer proximity had allowed her to mentally pick out the
creature's mind from all the others in the area.

Of course, there *was* the obvious trail of blood leading away from
the scene as well. Whatever else the beast was, it wasn't subtle.

Purposefully, Pippa followed the trail, maintaining her distance from
the target and waiting for it to settle. As it began to relax with its
kill, she began to cautiously close in.

She gaped in shock when the dragon finally came into view.

A stone house stood on a rare patch of flatness below her. It was
obviously well cared for. As Pippa's mind flicked briefly around, she
sensed a presence within.

Outside the house was an expansive cage. To her astonishment and
shock, Pippa saw her dragon enclosed within it, still tearing at its
recent kill.

It was a sandy brown colour, with a long body and small wings. The
wings would grow of course, as it reached maturity. The whole dragon
would grow! Didn't the owner of this house realize that he was trying
to make a pet of a very dangerous animal? While it was young, it might
be easy to care for, but there would be no holding it when it matured.
*That* was when the trouble would really begin!

Shaking her head in frustrated disbelief, Pippa marched to the front
door and knocked sharply on it. She watched the dragon while she
waited for an answer. It seemed very relaxed within its cage. Almost
contented, in fact. Of course, that would change as it grew older and
more capable of looking after itself. It would demand its freedom, and
then the people in the surrounding villages would begin to suffer for
this one person's reckless whim.

The door opened. Pippa found herself face to face with a bear. Young,
male, and wearing an expression of polite curiosity.

"Yes?" he asked in a low, pleasant voice.

Pippa took a deep breath.

"Are you aware that keeping a dragon in captivity is both dangerous
and irresponsible? It may seem like a good idea at the moment, but
dragons grow up in the end, you know. Once he's an adult, he'll want
to claim his territory, and that could easily run to a hundred miles
in every direction.

"It's not only stupid to keep a dragon locked up like that - it's
cruel too! What happens when he gets too big for his cage? Didn't you
think of that? Not only that - a wooden cage won't hold him for very
long when he gets the hang of using his fire. He'll be out of there
in......"

She trailed off for a moment, caught in confusion. The bear was
grinning at her! His polite smile had been gradually expanding to
cover his face and now he was positively smirking! Her temper fraying
a little, she snapped at him.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? We'll have to release him and
drive him away from here before he causes any trouble. It would have
been a *lot* easier if you had never decided to make a pet of him in
the first place. Why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded,
put completely off-balance by his obvious amusement.

The bear chuckled. "I was just thinking that they release trackers
from their apprenticeships very early these days."

Pippa retorted icily. "My age has nothing to do...... *What*? How did
you know I was a tracker?"

He smiled at her confusion. "My oh my. Don't they train you people
properly either?"

He carried on, overriding the beginnings of her interruption.

"I believe you have a few of your facts wrong. Let me enlighten you.

"First of all, Jex is a female dragon, not a male. Hence the colour.
The females tend to be dull shades, while the males have brighter
colouring.

"Second, she's never going to grow much bigger than she is at the
moment. I chose her especially because she was a crested dwarf breed.
I had assumed that they still trained trackers in animal lores.
Evidently standards have been slipping of late.

He continued relentlessly.

"Third. Crested dwarfs never develop flame breath. Dragons are all
different, you know. Some fly, some don't. Some breath fire, some
don't. Some get huge and territorial. Jex won't.

"Finally, Jex is no prisoner of mine. Check the cage door. It has no
lock on it. She can get out whenever she wants to."

Pippa took a hesitant step or two towards the cage, only to see the
truth of his words. She spoke again, with very little of her initial
confidence.

"Isn't that awfully dangerous? Even if all you say is true, she's
still a dragon. She shouldn't just be allowed to wander free. What if
she causes trouble for unarmed travelers?"

The bear threw back his head and laughed. " A valid point, young
tracker. One that I might very well concede, were it not for the fact
that I am a Mage and Jex is my familiar.

"She lives with me because we are mind-bonded. I share her senses as
part of my awareness. In return, she shares in my understanding and
ethics. That means that she knows what constitutes an allowable kill,
and what doesn't.

"She understands everything that you've said to me, because I
understand it. That is what she gains out of our relationship. What I
gain is friendship, loyalty, an extension of my own senses and a
greater understanding of the animal viewpoint. *Now* do you understand
what I mean when I say that she is not a captive? That this is an
arrangement of mutual convenience for us?

"Really, child. I have to wonder at your Master allowing you out,
young and inexperienced as you are. Not even being able to recognize a
Mage when you see one....." He stared at her with mock seriousness and
shook his head again.

For a long moment, Pippa just stood there, unsure whether to give in
to humiliation or anger. In the end though, neither emotion won.
Sighing, she broke into a rueful grin.

"I seem to have made rather a mess of things," she admitted wryly.
"Don't blame the Master for the student's faults. I demanded my right
to go out and prove myself. I got my chance, and all I've proved is
that I don't know as much as I thought I did.

"I'm sorry to have caused you any bother. Please accept my apologies
and I'll be on my way now."

The bear raised his eyebrows and glanced at the cage. "Certainly. I
accept your apologies. However, I'm not so sure about Jex. She doesn't
like being regarded as nothing but a nuisance, to be driven away.
She's got her pride, after all. Maybe you'd better apologize to her as
well."

Pippa looked at him uncertainly.

"How do I apologize to a dragon?" she asked, turning her attention to
the caged creature. She was rather unnerved to find Jex staring back
at her with an expectant look in her eyes.

"Oh, they don't go much for words," came the jovial reply. "A
practical gesture would be more appropriate. For example, her cage
needs a good cleaning...."

Pippa looked sharply at the two of them, then burst out laughing.

"This is a conspiracy! You two are enjoying this! Still, I'll go along
with it. To an extent. I'll help you to clean up Jex's cage. As an
apology to both of you."

The Mage grinned and gave her an appraising look. "One day, young
lady, you'll make a fine tracker."

She smiled. "My name is Pippa."

"Mine is Erle." He chuckled. "I'll go and get something suitable for
you to wear. This may take a while."

* * *

The following day, Pippa finally got home. Whisper was waiting for
her.

"All right Mother. You've proved your point." Her acknowledgment was
wryly made. "Now maybe you'd better teach me some dragon lore, power
recognition and all the other things I missed out on."

Whisper chuckled and nuzzled her daughter affectionately.

"You did very well, daughter. I wish it could have gone better for
you. Without a broader knowledge, however, your chances of success
were slim. Your way of handling people could use a little work as
well."

Pippa sagged a little and Whisper relented.

"Actually, you *did* manage to surprise me. You acknowledged your
mistakes and bore failure with a good grace. Erle was right. One day,
you'll be an excellent tracker. Maybe more.

"Next time though..." she grinned, ".... will you allow *me* to be the
judge of whether you're ready or not?"

Pippa smiled and gave a very resigned, "Yes mom."
====

Ash Grows Up (includes Ruth and Runner)
Ash, Nikkolai, Blade, Pippa, Dale, Whisper, Ruth, Runner and Rhianna
---

Nikki is meditating when Ash comes wandering home.

"Problems son?

"Come. Sit with me. Let's see what we can do about them."

Ash nods glumly and sits across from his father.

"Mom's telling the others about the Mage Wars. I couldn't stay."

"Hmm..." Nikki reaches his paw towards his son's forehead and then
stops just short of contact.

"May I?" It is a request for a touch-link.

Finally, unable to speak, Ash nods slightly.

Contact is made and Nikki explores the day's events.

Nikki sighs softly. "I see. I could wish that you had come to us
shortly after hearing the story the first time.

"However, what's done, is done.

"Knowing what you know, do you still want to be a Bard?

"As you've learned, it's not all happiness and good feelings."

He pulls his paw away and waits patiently.

Minutes pass.

Ash finally nods. "Dad, I can't picture myself as anything else."

Eyes filled with tears, Ash asks his father the question he's always
been afraid to ask.

"Dad? How?...

"All we ever see is your compassion and care."

Nikki sighs and, for a brief instant, his son sees his Dad's eyes dim
in remembered pain. Then, they are glittering again and filled with
his customary laughter and compassion.

"Ash, I was taught ways to mute the pain. To channel it and use it to
teach others so they never need to suffer. Or, if they do, suffer less
than they otherwise would.

"Anyone, not just a Bard, must learn to deal with the darker emotions.

"It can't be learned by running away." His voice is a gentle rebuke.
"Eventually, you have to stop running.

"If one builds walls around pain, the walls may break at an
inconvenient time later.

"In the long run, the only solution is to deal with it as soon as
possible. Let it run its course and become part of you.

"If it's any consolation, the ability to feel as deeply as you, I, and
your mother do is called 'The Bard's Curse'.

"Right now, I'm sure you are feeling all of that 'curse'.

"It is normal to doubt yourself. Normal at your age to want to avoid
any pain. Sometimes, walking away can be the best decision you make.
Knowing what you *can't* do is as important as knowing what you can.

"As for right now...

"I can help you learn the control you need. I can, if you wish, help
you deal with what you feel right now so that you can accept it.

"All you need do is reach and form a touch-link with me."

Startled out of his misery, Ash stares at his father.

Nikki smiles and nods at him. Yes, he is serious.

A touch-link is one of the few times when the person starting the
action retains more control than the other person. His father is
trusting him with his emotions. No matter how tight the control, Ash
will pick up some of Nikki's emotional overtones. Learn far more than
what is intended.

This is the first time Nikki has offered to let *him* make the link.

Tentatively, Ash reaches for his father's forehead. Once the motion is
started, his wrist is gently enfolded in Nikki's capable fingers.
Together, they complete the motion.

Time vanishes as they make contact and Ash begins to learn how to
handle his emotional pain.

"Son. It wasn't nearly as difficult as you feared was it?" Nikki
smiles.

Ash takes a deep breath and tentatively smiles back. "No, it wasn't."

Nikki continues to smile.

"Now, truly, you are an apprentice Bard.

"Come, your mother is about finished with her part of the tale.

"Let's join them and you can learn the other half.

He chuckles softly. "Like one other time, she is talking herself into
a corner. This time however, since the tale is history, she can't
squirm her way out by inventing an ending.

"Let us return and finish it for them."

They rise together and head back to the edge of the 'den' and wait as
Whisper winds up her story.

Finally, she ends her tale and waits.

At last, a very subdued Blade asks the question that Whisper didn't
answer.

"Mother... What happened to Rhianna?"

"That, my son, is a story even she doesn't know." Nikki and Ash step
softly into their 'den'.

Whisper hides a smile. She knew the two of them have been quietly
standing just out of sight as she finished weaving her tale.
Apparently, she has not been the only one teaching today. She can feel
a difference in Ash.

Nikki's touch on their son is unmistakable. Ash is carrying himself
with more assurance than when he left.

"The end of the tale also contains a lesson for you. Impetuous one."
He reaches out and fondly ruffles his son's head.

"Ah... Dad..." Blade leans away in exasperation. "Not another
lesson..."

"Do you want to return to the days of Rhianna and her friends?

"Remember. If you can blast someone else, they can blast you in
return.

"Forgot about that didn't you?

"I won't stop you if you want to be a Mage.

"If that is what you desire."

He looks at each of them in turn. "Each of you has the freedom to be
whatever you want to be.

"Treasure that. For at the time your mother has spoken of, it was not
that way."

A Mage's cloak of a type they've never seen appears in Nikki's hands.
He turns to Ash and speaks softly as he hands it to him.

"Ash. Here is part of your heritage as a Bard. Not many get to handle
it."

Pippa, Dale, and Blade gasp and stare at their brother. As children of
Bards, they are quick to catch Nikki's calling Ash a Bard.

Nikki looks past his son and shares a smile with his mate. She smiles
and nods in return. She was right. There will be time to congratulate
Ash later. This is truly his moment of glory.

Plus, she recognizes Nikki's subtle reminder of the one other time she
was unable to finish a story.

"It belonged to Ruth. The Mage who helped create the Bardic Way.

"It's time you knew how Bards began.

"Feel. See how we began. Then, tell your sister, brothers, and mother
the story of Runner and Ruth.

With those words, Nikkolai hands the cloak to his son.

There is a pause as Ash is lost in the past.

Finally, his voice trembling, he speaks.

* * *

Runner and Ruth - A New Path
Ruth, Runner and Rhianna
as told by: Ash
---

 The trapped animal stares at the woman without fear. His eyes display
a wary intelligence as he watches her movements.

Just before she finishes, she pauses to catch her breath.

"I hope this works." Her words are the barest whisper of sound.

The two of them look at each other for a few seconds. Then, she sighs
and simply points at him.

"It is done." Her voice is commanding.

The coyote seems to stiffen. Then, he shimmers and blurs. Finally,
standing in the cage, is a morph.

He staggers and falls against the bars. Slowly, oh so slowly, he
regains his balance and steadies his breathing.

He looks at himself and shudders slightly.

Then, he looks at the woman again.

Ruth lets out her breath as she sees the intelligence return to those
glittering eyes. Eyes filled with all the craftiness of a survivor.
Plus, now there is more. She can feel his awareness and she exults.
Her final spell worked. overlaying everything is a humanlike awareness
and reasoning ability.

No mage has dared do what she has. Morph a coyote and give him the
ability to control power.

* * *

"WHY?" His trembling voice is nearly a howl of frustration and hatred.

"Gently, Runner." Her voice is soft.

"There is need for such as you. I dare because I must."

She sighs and continues. "You've seen the devastation. If someone does
not risk, we may lose all. Me, you, all dead.

"I have need of your craftiness, your trickery. Your innate cunning.

"I am Ruth. A Mage. I cannot do any more without help. There are
others here. Changelings. All have some abilities. None share your
qualities though. Until now, none have dared change one such as you.
We have a fear of what you could do."

One deep sigh and she continues. "Yet, because of how I am, I feel it
is time for such as yourself. Where directness has failed, cunning may
succeed.

"I dare what no other dares because I want us all to survive.

"Will you help? Or must I return you to your original form only to
eventually die along with our world?"

Silence.

Long pregnant silence as she lets him think things over. Ruth is the
only one of her kind left. A thinking Mage. One who does not desire
power to control. Her over-riding purpose is to save Rabelaisia from
total destruction. All others in the loose alliance of Mages have gone
their own way. They are concerned with the governing of their world
only. They laughed when she told them the destruction of their world
would be the final result if they continued as they were.

So, finally, reluctantly, she returned to her mountain retreat. As she
did so, she gathered those morphs who were still free and who also
feel as she does.

In council, they agreed with her decision. Return to her own preferred
method of dealing with the world.

Subtleness.

None have the skills she does. So to her alone fell the task.

Morph a master of survival. The animal all call 'The Supreme Jester'.
The 'Trickster' himself. A coyote.

So now she stands patiently before her work and waits.

It is hours before he finally rouses from his thoughts.

"I cannot thank you for this yet.

"Had I been able to choose, I would have agreed with you.

"You chose well. *We* are survivors and I wish my people to survive.

"I will help. Not for you. Not for anyone else be they animal or
human.

"For me and my people.

"Since we all are in this together, it amounts to the same thing.

"For now.

"Free me. I give you my word I will not do anything to harm you.

Ruth nods in his direction. "Thank you, Runner."

With a gesture, the cage is gone and he stands free.

"Shall we go and meet the others? You are welcome to join us for
dinner.

He nods.

Her voice is gentle. "Lean on me. You aren't the first I've changed.
You will find your balance soon enough."

Ruth walks to him and waits as he places a paw on her shoulder to
steady himself.

As it makes contact, she feels a tingle in her mind and body. Shocked,
she freezes.

He looks at her questioningly. It is obvious he felt something but
does not know its significance.

Wonderingly she turns and reaches to caress his face.

"You?" It is a whisper. Not for many years has she felt that subtle
contact. "You felt it, I know.

"There is a link between us. If we allow it, we could become mates of
the mind."

She blushes at his direct gaze. "Maybe more if you are willing. I had
not expected to feel that again. Mages are capable of changing
themselves. The new form is fully functional."

Her eyes grow distant with remembered pain. "I had resigned myself to
being alone for the rest of my life.

"Come, this is still new to you. Let us go and we can talk of this
later."

Ruth turns back and starts towards the door.

She moves carefully and his first steps are tentative. As he finds his
balance, his paw becomes lighter on her shoulder. More to steady
himself than for support.

'He is quick to adapt.' Ruth thinks to herself. 'There may be hope
after all. None have adapted as quickly as he has.'

* * *

Senses alert to his surroundings, Runner contemplates his future.

'Future', he thinks. To have a future, one must have a past and
present. Ruth's efforts have given him both. His thoughts churn in
protest.

The part of him that is still animal wants to run away. Run silently
and quickly away from this terrifying experience.

The survivor in him bids him to stay. Learn what he can to further his
survival. Help his kind survive. As the thought forms, another one
occurs to him and he speaks it as it forms.

"Will there be others of my kind changed? Or will I be returned to my
old form when there is no further need for me?"

They walk in silence for a while.

Finally, Ruth stops. She reaches up and places a hand on his paw.
Gently, she hangs onto his paw and steps away. As she does so, she
turns and looks into his eyes.

Unable to maintain eye contact, she lowers her head and speaks in a
bare whisper.

"Runner, most humans would destroy you without thought. Even I fear
what you could do.

"I will do what it takes to save *our* world. If you decide that there
should be more like you, then I will help you change them.

"If we manage to succeed, you will know how to return to your old
form. Or switch back and forth at will and retain your abilities.

"I have run out of ideas. I place myself and my powers at your
complete disposal.

"Use me as you will.

"From now on, you are in charge of your destiny. I owe you that for
what I've done to you.

"I give you the gift of my life." As she speaks those words, she
places his paw on her forehead and allows a link to form.

Her mind opens to his and he is allowed entry and access to her every
thought and memory.

Finally, minutes later, Runner removes his paw and breaks contact.

"I see... No. I do not want your power or to learn your ways. What you
know is not working.

"To survive, a new path must be discovered. You have realized that
much already.

"I need to think about this. Something you have considered strikes a
chord within me.

"Come, let us see to your other guests.

Ruth stares at him in bafflement. This is what she had hoped for but
something is not as she expected.

She senses a distancing within him as he thinks.

Oh, she was honest about giving him control. There is no chance of
lying through a touch-link.

Still, the rapidity of his thoughts and refusal to have her teach him
is confusing.

"Very well then. Let us go to the main hall."

Both of them are lost in their own thoughts as he places his paw back
on her shoulder and they continue down the corridor.

* * *

The conversation is muted as they reach the hall. Even so, it dwindles
away and there is silence as those gathered realize Ruth has returned
with the latest one to join them.

"This is Runner.

"No, *he* is Runner. Let there be no doubt that all of you are people
in your own right."

She shrugs slightly and continues in a softer tone.

"Into his hands and mind, I've delivered up all our fates.

"If I've chosen wrongly, all I can hope for is your forgiveness.

"I...." Here she breaks into tears. Barely audible, she finishes.

"We could become mates. If he allows it." She turns and buries her
face in his fur and cries softly.

Awed and shaken at this unexpected turn, the others gather around the
two of them. Even the few young ones present are silent.

Ruth has been their only hope for survival for so many years that none
conceived she would admit she has failed to find a solution.

Tentatively at first, they gather and reach out to touch the two of
them.

Runner, startled at first, tenses. Then he realizes there is only an
outpouring of care and love from these people.

Mostly for her but also for him. He staggers under the onslaught as
their emotions batter at him.

As the others return to what they were doing, he realizes the burden
Ruth has been laboring under for all these years.

Grudgingly, he at last admits to himself he has taken up her burden.
The walls he built as an animal have been shattered. *All* are his
people now.

Grimly, he realizes this means he will find a solution that allows
them all to survive. Or die in the attempt. There is no turning back
if he is to live with himself.

* * *

Ash comes out of his semi-trance long enough to ask his father a
question.

"Father? How come there are so few Coyotes as Bards?"

Nikki smiles slightly. "The sons and daughters of Runner and Ruth are
*all* Bards son.

"They chose to walk a different path once they saved our world. A few
walk openly in the world as Bards but most returned to their heritage
as survivors.

"Once in a great while, one is 'gifted' with a meeting with one of
them."

He smiles and only Whisper realizes he his smile is more at some
hidden secret than at the actual encounter.

"Someday, I may tell you of *my* encounter with one.

"Continue."

* * *

Time, as it always does, passes.

Runner has spent months questioning the others.

The problem is far worse than even Ruth realizes. As he wanders the
retreat and surrounding area, he has felt how Ruth is hurt at his
refusal to allow her to teach him to use his powers.

The only training he has allowed are touch-links. He has felt that
somehow, it is critical that he master this one thing above all. In
this only has he let her teach him everything she knows.

As the months passed, he linked with everyone. His mind is filled with
pain and suffering. Stories of brave deeds and sacrifices by others so
that these few could survive.

Stories of god-like humans who have drained the life-energy out of
others so *they* can perform some feat of power.

Other morphs compelled to run for days to deliver some message. Then
cast aside because the person could not be bothered to expend energy
for a simple healing.

Hatred. Pain. Force. Compulsions to mate. Males driven to repeatedly
mate until they died from exhaustion. Their bodies callously used to
feed their offspring.

Females artificially kept fertile for maximum output of offspring.
Then, once they can no longer produce, they too are discarded.

Used, used, USED! His mind cringes at the thoughts within.

Ruth is right. Unless something is done soon, Rabelaisia is doomed.
Not in their lifetimes but soon. A long lingering death lies ahead if
a solution to the mages isn't found.

Runner's steps are weary as he finally reaches the ledge he likes to
sit on and watch the sunset.

"Welcome, Runner."

The voice is soft and well known to him. It is Ruth.

He smiles tiredly and reaches to embrace her.

His touch is that of a lover. Gentle. Caressing.

Ruth sags against him. Then she whispers.

"I can't help asking. Anything yet?"

He shakes his head no. She sighs. "Nor I." Together they settle side
by side and share silence.

"Runner... It is worse out there. I just found out Rhianna is
gathering her forces again.

"I estimate we have only months before she is ready.

"We're her target this time." She sighs again.

"I think she suspects something.

"I don't know if her scouts have sensed it but there is a subtle
difference in the aura around this area now.

"I could feel it as I returned.

"It's a... Well, passive waiting filled with anticipation is how I can
best describe it."

She sags against him. "Waiting. I've spent most of my life doing
nothing but wait. Afraid to act because I've seen what happens when
Mages decide to act."

Runner strokes her gently. "I don't know how you've stood it all these
years. To wait like you have. Cautiously doing little things for fear
big ones..."

His voice trails off...

He tenses.

"What is it?" She pulls away to stare at him.

He is transfigured. Without trying, she can feel his aura strengthen.

"Ruth my love..." His voice is a bare whisper.

"You *did* find a way. You've had the solution all along!"

He grabs her and kisses her. The heat of his lips and his obvious
excitement arouse her at the same time she is shocked by his words.

He pulls away again. "It will take some more time but we *can* win.
Rhianna and the rest are finished. It's inevitable now.

"Trust me." She can sense his mind drifting off as he thinks about
what he has just realized.

She waits for him to come completely back from his thoughts. She has
learned to not disturb him when he is like this. His mind fascinates
her. She has come to respect his mind with the same intensity she
loves his body.

Finally he nods to himself and refocuses on her.

"Passiveness. Reacting.

"Refusal to act first in spite of all provocations.

"Subtle nudges rather than brute force.

"Letting things flow around you rather than trying to dam them and
control them.

"A Coyote's way of survival.

"No other creature on Rabelaisia has mastered that as well as we have.
We let things flow past us rather than try to control what happens.

"You mages are right to fear us. That passiveness allows us to survive
as no others have.

"Let's us withstand the worst you humans have done."

He smiles and hugs her close. "The way *you* have survived all along."

She gasps as the implications hit her.

"Yes... And our people are already those who share the mindset
required. We abhor violence and overt acts.

"I can put the power controls in place in them. As I did for you."

She sobers. "They will all be our children. My love.

"We'll have to train them carefully. Done wrong, or poorly, they could
do far more damage than even Rhianna could conceive of doing."

He feels the heat rise from her body.

"Runner?

"Us? Our children?"

He nods. "Yes. They will survive.

"And share a heritage like no others before them."

She smiles at him.

It is a long yet short night. Two Coyotes howl their joyous greeting
to the morning sun as it brings a new day to the valley below

* * *

There is another pause as Ash gathers himself for the final part of
the tale.

"Come *on* Ash." The impatient voice is Blade's. "The last battle.
Finish it!"

"Dad?" Ash's voice is weak from the effort involved in focusing
himself for such a long time.

"DAD!" They all look around in shock. Nikki and Whisper are gone.

Gone so silently that only the bent grass indicates they were ever
there.

Ash sags to the ground. He looks at the others. Then, he sighs.

"Wait, Blade. Let me catch my breath and re-center myself."

Blade starts to reach to touch the cloak where it rests on Ash's lap.

"No!" Ash's voice is a whipcrack. Startled, Blade jerks back.

Ash's voice is soft. "It's too intense for you. Trust me. If Dad
hadn't taught me how to handle emotional pain today, *I* wouldn't be
able to even hold this."

He glances down at the cloak and shudders.

All three stare at him. Ash has had Bard training already. Even Pippa
listens when he admits he can't handle something. Of them all, he has
learned his limits earliest in life.

Dale looks a question at his brother. 'Do you need help?'

Ash shakes his head wearily but firmly. 'No.'

Pippa starts to reach to hold Ash but then thinks about it and stops.
Ash's agony is obvious. He's at his limits now. She knows enough about
power and control to realize that if he is this close to breaking, she
would be overwhelmed.

She's impetuous, yes. Foolish enough to try to take on a Bard's
burden? She already knows the answer to that question. It's part of
what made her decide to become a Tracker.

Impatiently, but quietly, they wait for Ash to regain his composure.

Finally, he takes a deep breath and continues.

* * *

"There isn't really much more to tell.

"Runner and Ruth jointly figured out the basic rules for Bards. They
weren't called Bards then.

"They called themselves 'Peace-bringers'.

"It was only generations later that they took on the duties they now
have.

"This cloak..." He is trembling with reaction.

"Ruth was wearing it as she stood back and watched the final
confrontation between Runner and Rhianna.

"The emotions it is imprinted with are.... Intense." He sags again.

His eyes are haunted as he looks at them finally. "I know why Dad
never let mother handle this cloak. He needs to prepare her.

"As he prepared me." They gape as he nods at them to let them know
he's serious.

His eyes unfocus and he begins to finish the story

* * *

"It is time, Ruth." Runner's voice is weary.

They look out over the remains of her mountain retreat. The valley is
scorched and devastated.

Fully half of the Peace-bringers survived against Rhianna's army.

But they won. Barely 150 against uncounted thousands.

Weary, they are standing on Runner's ledge. 73 people left.

Rhianna stands on the peak above them. They can feel her anger at her
army's defeat.

Ruth and Runner embrace before he goes to meet Rhianna's challenge.
All of them know Ruth would be helpless in any confrontation. Her
Mage's skill would betray her. She is no match for Rhianna in a direct
confrontation.

Unspoken is the knowledge she carries their daughters. Should he fall,
she must stay alive to raise them to continue their battles.

Runner turns and slowly strides toward where Rhianna awaits him.

* * *

"You!" Rhianna's word is a curse. "Ruth *dared* to raise one of you to
confront me."

"Yes, she dared." His voice is calm and infused with his power. "You
left her no choice.

"I beg of you. Turn away from your course. Our world is doomed should
you continue as you are."

"Never!" She shrieks it into the wind whipping around them

"I will *never* submit to rule by animals.

Her arms raise and she begins to focus all her powers at him.

He becomes the calm center of a raging storm of unleashed power.

"Fight me!" She demands. "Why won't you fight me?"

"It is not my way." His voice is calm.

"Yield, Rhianna. You still may turn from your path and help rebuild
Rabelaisia.

"Remember your dream that started all this.

"For the good of our world, yield to me and I will help you find the
way again."

Her chest is heaving and she pants from her exertions.

She straightens and regains her dignity.

"No. I chose my path.

"I will not stay to see it perverted by passive people and animals who
are too afraid to act.

"Very well then.

"If I cannot win, I will at least take you and the others with me.

She turns her palms inward and begins chanting.

As she finishes, she smiles grimly at him. "So let it be." Her voice
is calm.

Runner smiles sadly at her as she says it.

The mountain top is engulfed in a sudden release of power.

On the ledge below, only Ruth remains standing. She felt Rhianna's
preparations and had time to shield herself. The spell was so ancient,
so deadly, she had not thought to warn the others it might be used.
She never thought Rhianna would dare to use it.

The others, unprepared, are tossed about.

She watches and waits for the dust to settle.

Where once stood a peak, there is now a level area.

A solitary figure stands there with his cloak whipping in the wind.

Ruth slowly realizes Runner is there and lets out her breath.

She works her way through the rubble to stand beside him.

As she reaches him, he absently reaches for her hand.

"The Mage Wars are over." His voice is tinged with sadness.

"Let us hope they never happen again."

Ash bows his head to signal the end.

* * *

"A tale well and truly told young Bard."

The words seem to come from thin air.

Three young heads jerk around in surprise. The voice is unfamiliar to
them.

A smiling figure materializes at the edge of the clearing.

"Bard and son of Bards, you are true to your heritage.

"Allow me to present you with a small gift of my appreciation.

A Bard's cloak appears on the ground in front of Ash.

"Wear it with honor young hound. It is identical to the one Runner
wore on that day so many years ago."

The figure vanishes.

"A Coyote!" Blade is first to react.

Ash reaches tentatively for the cloak before him.

When it doesn't vanish as well, he pulls it to him and reverently
cradles it.

"Thank You. Wise one." Only the breeze hears his quiet words.

* * *

As they sit and quietly discuss the story of Runner and Ruth, Nikki
and Whisper return.

"Are you done...?" Nikki's question trails off.

Ruth's cloak vanishes. "I see." His comment is quietly made.

He smiles at Ash. "I suspect your apprenticeship will be a short one.
Bard."

"Blade?" Whisper makes his name a question of her own.

He looks down. Then he sighs.

"No mother. I don't want to return to those days."

She smiles at them. "Very well then. Nikki and I will leave you to
yourselves."

She and Nikki smile and head for home. It has been a day of many
lessons for all of them.
====


Blade's Travels - Chapters 1-3
Blade, Chel, Grigori and Nikkolai
CHAPTER ONE
---

Blade was bored and frustrated.

How come nothing ever turned out to be what he expected?

As the horses plodded on beside the caravan, he reflected miserably on
the disappointments of the past few years.

His initial decision to begin training as a Mage. At the age of
eleven, it had seemed like such a fine and exciting profession. He had
entered into his apprenticeship with such vigour and enthusiasm.

Then, a few years later, the curse of 'the Bard's son' struck.

Halfway through his training, he had become aware that he wanted more
from life than this. He was working hard. As hard as he had been
working at the beginning of his training. Now, though, there were
fewer rewards.

He would train for months, simply to get the hang of one spell. A
spell that he would rarely use, if ever! His Master had been teaching
him other skills as well. That much was true. Even these fell into one
of two categories though. They were either skills that he found
dismissively easy to learn, or they were skills that he could never
envision using.

It had been with a sense of dull gloom that he had sat through lessons
on planetology. He had endured his history lessons with an obvious bad
grace that had reduced his Master to helpless despair. Lessons in
demonology had renewed his interest briefly, until he remembered that,
as a Bard's son, he would not be expected to put it to any practical
purpose.

At the three year mark, he had finally gathered the courage to tell
his parents the truth.

They had taken it surprisingly well. No, Bardicly well.

"It's your decision, Blade," his mother had said.

His dad and he had talked long and hard about it. At the end of the
conversation, Blade had been quite decided, and a lot more happy about
his future. He had ended his apprenticeship the next day.

A short while later, he had decided upon a completely new direction.

Magic wasn't for him. He knew that now. Whatever the other members of
his family did with their lives, there would be at least one of them
who would get by quite well without all this power hocus-pocus!

He had signed up with Artor as an apprentice bodyguard. Artor was his
friend's father. Capo was forever relating his dad's adventures, and
it sounded like a fine life, full of adventure and promise. He had
seen the doubt written on his family's face when he had told them the
news. It had just made him stubbornly determined to travel his own
path in life, no matter *what* they thought of it.

Now, two years later, he knew that he had made a bad mistake.

Being a bodyguard was not the exciting job that Capo's tales had led
him to believe. In fact, it was even duller than training as a Mage.

Artor and Blade had been with this caravan for over six months now.
Riding along at the side of it, day in, day out. Watching the
landscape plod past at a steady pace.

Apparently, the caravan had been attacked once. Over two years ago.

Four months back, Blade and Artor had moved a fallen tree off the
track, so that the caravan could pass by. *That* had been the height
of his career excitement so far.

There was at least another year of this 'apprenticeship' to go. It
stretched out in front of him like a life sentence. He was nothing
more than a caged beast.

As they began to approach the walls of the town, Blade came to a
conclusion. He couldn't finish this.

However hard it may seem, he would have to face his family again. Tell
them he had made a mistake. Another one.

He would have to endure the expressions of disappointment on their
faces. Even if they hid their real feelings, Blade would *know* how
they felt. The same way he did. They would think that he was a
failure, and they'd be right!

He rode on gloomily, waiting for the caravan to come to its natural
halt. Then, before he could lose what little courage he had, he told
Artor of his decision.

All too soon, Blade was sitting in a corner of the local Inn, free and
alone.

Artor had paid him. That was something, he supposed. He had enough
gold to buy him a few nights accommodation here. After that, he would
have to find another merchant caravan that was heading in the right
direction. When he finally got home, he would deal with his family.

He sipped at his drink and looked idly around. The tavern was filling
up fast, as the evening was drawing on. Idle pockets of conversation
were taking place among the groups. This seemed to be a fairly
respectable place to stay at least. The customers seemed well-to-do,
on the whole.

Except for.....

Blade blinked and stared.

As soon as his eyes fastened upon her, he wondered how he *ever* could
have missed her before. In this safe *normal* background, she stood
out like an uncontrolled forest fire against a night sky! Blade had
never seen anyone like her before!

Oh, she wasn't beautiful. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
Neither was she the first snow-wolf that Blade had ever seen.

Her white fur was patchy in place. Scars lined her body. One of her
ears was ragged, and it drooped slightly. Her clothes were
weather-worn and they had obviously seen better days. As she broke
into a smile, Blade saw that one of her canines was broken and
blunted.

The way she carried herself, though.....

There was a rugged air of self-confidence about her. She positively
swaggered as she moved. Her laugh was deep and earthy. There was a
wicked gleam to her eyes as she gazed around the room.

A slim sword hung from her belt, but in all honesty, she seemed to
have no use for it. A brief exchange of words, combined with a flexing
of those powerful muscles was enough to rid her of any unwelcome
attention.

Minutes passed as Blade followed her movements with fascination. He
knew nothing about her, and yet he knew everything that he needed to
know.

Her life was filled with adventure. Challenge. Excitement. There was
no way that things could be otherwise!

She had what he had been searching for all his life. It didn't matter
who she was or what she did. He only knew that she represented an
opportunity. One that he would regret for the rest of his life if he
didn't grab onto it.

Still, doubt and fear kept him in his seat. What if she treated him as
just another hopeful male? What if she dismissed him, or got angry at
his intrusion? Worse still, what if she laughed at him?

Twice, he half-rose from his seat, only to sit back down again in
confusion. Finally, he gathered every last ounce of his courage and
stood up purposefully. Surely the gains would be worth the risks?

He had taken only three paces towards her when she suddenly rose from
her seat. He blinked disbelievingly as she strode out of the bar and
up the stairs.

Blade snarled in frustration, prompting startled looks from the people
at the surrounding tables.

She had gone to her room? Now, of all times? Another few seconds and
he would have had his chance!

Knowing his luck, she would probably leave here early tomorrow, and
he'd never see her again. For a moment, Blade was so desperate that he
considered finding out which room she was in and knocking at her door.
Then he remembered those flexing muscles and realized exactly *how*
foolish that idea was.

There was nothing for it but to hope that he ran into her again. Next
time, he would be quicker to take his opportunities.

Still seething with disappointment, Blade changed direction and bought
himself another drink. Then, instead of returning to his seat, he
decided to browse the notice-board. With any luck, there would be a
job for him somewhere on there. Preferably heading in the right
direction to get him home to his folks.

The notice-board held a bare half-dozen scraps of paper. He looked
over each one despondently. Only one of them seemed to hold any
promise. Another merchant's guard, traveling to the North. It would
take him halfway to his home-village. The pay wasn't much, but all he
really wanted was food and a place to sleep for his journey. This was
a good enough start, if he could secure the job.

A brief conversation with the bartender told him what he needed to
know. He was pointed in the direction of an old, fat-looking human in
the corner. He was slouched in his chair, staring into the distance.
However, he looked up sharply as Blade approached.

"Hmm? What do you want boy?"

Blade tried to look confident.

"The job," he said, jerking his head back towards the board. "Is it
still open?"

The man sniffed impatiently. "If I'd filled the position, I'd hardly
still be advertising it, would I? What skills have you got, hmm?"

Blade shrugged. "I've traveled with caravans before. I'm good with a
sword. I'll see the job through."

For a moment, he considered mentioning his background in magic, but he
quickly decided against it. Many of the merchants were distrustful of
power-wielders in their group. Especially unqualified ones.

The merchant regarded him shrewdly for a moment. "Ready to start at
dawn tomorrow? We meet outside the inn. Payment upon safe arrival at
our destination. Providing you've done your job properly, hmm?"

Blade nodded, surprised at how easy it had been to get the job. They
must be desperate for people to make up the numbers. After all, they
hadn't even asked him to prove his claims!

Still, he wasn't one to complain at a bit of good fortune. After his
recent run of luck, it was about time that something went right for
him.

Determining to get a good night's sleep, he hired himself a room and
retired for the evening.

* * *

The following morning, he was up before the sun. He quickly washed and
dressed. The cold water on his face served to wake him up very
thoroughly.

He looked around his accommodation and shrugged. No possessions to
speak of. There was virtually nothing to pack. All that remained was
for him to meet his fellow travelers outside. He was far too
apprehensive to think about breakfast!

Wandering outside, he could see that the preparations were already
well underway. In fact, it looked like he was one of the later
arrivals.

Blade spotted the man who had hired him the previous evening.
Predictably enough, the merchant seemed to be directing affairs.
Wandering over, he tentatively tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do to...."

"Yes, yes," snapped the man, impatiently. "Go and help Karl and Chel."
As Blade hesitated, he jerked his paw in the direction of the far
wagon. "Over there, boy!" he snapped.

Blade hurried away, glad to be out of the eccentric old man's way. A
man seemed to be checking the wheels of the wagon, and as he got
closer, a female appeared from behind it.

He stopped short in shock.

It was the snow-wolf! For the second time in less than a day, she had
stunned him into mental paralysis.

For an instant, his thoughts overflowed with delight. She was part of
this journey too? They would be traveling together?

Then the implications of that became apparent to him.

She was just a guard. A mercenary, like him.

Her air of confidence and adventure was nothing more than an illusion.
Her life was as dull and mundane as his own!

As he began to walk towards them again, his heart and hopes both
dropped to the depths.

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

"It *is* dead, you know."

The cool, amused voice startled Blade out of his melancholy trance.

"Sorry? What?"

He looked around to see Chel staring at him with a peculiar smile on
her face.

Even now that he knew the truth about her, she still seemed strangely
exciting to him. Somehow, he couldn't reconcile this free-spirited
snow-wolf with the tedium of a mere mercenary's life.

Chel sighed and affected an air of exasperation.

"The ham. It's dead. Killed it myself. I watched while it was cooked,
sliced and served.

"I thought you might be worried that it was going to walk away from
your plate," she added, as he continued to gaze blankly at her. "After
all, you've been staring at it for long enough."

Blade heaved a sigh and looked down at his supper plate. The ham had a
vaguely congealed look about it. Well past hot and heading speedily
into tepid by now. He wondered exactly how long he had been lost in
thought.

Ever since dawn, he supposed. When he had first found out that Chel
was ordinary, and his hopes of an exciting new life had been crushed.
He had ridden alongside the caravan in moody silence all day, talking
and listening to no-one. Lost in thought.

"Are you going to eat it?"

The demand in her voice was unmistakable. Blade shrugged and offered
the plate to her.

"I'm not hungry. Want it?"

She took the food with obvious satisfaction. Blade felt her
uncertainty, as she tried to decide whether to take the food and run,
or to stay and talk. His spirits lifted unaccountably as she sat down
next to him.

"Is this your first trip out, pup?"

He winced at that, although his reply was polite enough.

"I've been doing merchant runs for a while now."

She stared at him appraisingly. "I haven't seen you on this route
before."

"Hardly surprising. I haven't been around here." Blade's curiosity got
the better of him. "Do you do a lot of this type of work?"

She nodded, but Blade tensed with excitement. You couldn't grow up in
a Bardic family without learning to read people a little. The sudden
shift of her eyes, to gaze elsewhere. The subtle tension in her
shoulders. The slight pause before the nod.

She was lying.

No. Maybe not lying. Just holding back a little. Blade firmly resolved
to find out more about her.

Outwardly, however, he showed no signs of his realization. Nor was he
surprised when she changed the topic.

"You look too young for this sort of thing. Is this the only job you
could get?"

Blade sighed. Was he always going to be the baby of whatever family he
joined?

"I've done five years formal training already," he pointed out, with a
slight edge to his voice. "I'm hardly inexperienced."

"Slow learner, huh?" Her patronizing smile grated on Blade's nerves.

"I wasn't training for this job!" he replied hotly. "I was going to...
I changed my mind and swapped professions," he ended, silently cursing
himself. He had nearly broken his resolution not to mention his
apprenticeship as a Mage.

Now it was *his* turn to change the subject quickly.

"Anyway, what did you mean by 'the only job I could get'? This was the
first one I tried for. I got it easily enough."

Chel pushed the nearly-empty plate to one side and lay down on the
grass. She stared up at the dusky sky reflectively. Blade waited for
her answer, feeling a little confused.

Just as he had resigned himself to being snubbed, she rose to her feet
with a lithe, fluid movement.

"I fancy a walk in the woods. Care to join me?"

Blade raised his eyebrows in surprise. "With pleasure."

Her only response was to break into a run, disappearing into the trees
as he watched. Startled, Blade scrambled to his feet and sprinted
after her. This was a 'walk'?

He quickly caught up with Chel, and he paced her easily. She looked
around in surprise.

"Fast," she said, beginning to pant a little.

Blade hid a smile. She obviously hadn't run with a wolfhound before,
otherwise she would know that he was hardly straining himself.

As they traveled further along the path, the shadows grew deeper. What
little natural light still remained was blocked by the dense foliage
overhead. Chel slowed down finally.

"I wanted to talk to you," she panted, settling on the ground with her
back against a tree.

Blade sat down beside her. "I gathered that," he said thoughtfully.
"You don't want to be overheard?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "I figured I owe you for the meal.
So.... a piece of advice. Drop out at the next settlement we pass
through. Find yourself a decent job. If you can."

Blade frowned. "What's the matter with this one?"

"Did you discuss payment with Grigori?"

"The pay was written on the poster that he put up," faltered Blade,
trying to guess what Chel was driving at.

Another patronizing look. "Grigori takes on first timers generally.
You don't get many people willing to work for him second time around.

"He sticks to his agreements. Only the letter though. Not the spirit.

"Wait and see. You'll get to the end of the journey and ask for your
pay. Then, suddenly, he'll start deducting the price of your food, use
of his horse, his blankets..... he offered you a mug of ale earlier?
That'll be included in his bill.

"I've known people end up owing *him* money at the end of the trip. He
never gets it, of course. Still, you'll have a fight on your hands if
you want to see the gold he owes you. Better off to cut your losses
and leave."

"I don't get it," Blade answered slowly. "If he's so bad to work
for... what are you doing here?"

She grinned. It was the same expression of vitality that Blade had
fallen for when he first saw her. It had lost none of its power over
him and he felt himself grinning in sympathetic resonance.

"I just happen to be traveling in the same direction as Grigori this
time. It suits me to get free bed and board, without having to work
too hard for it.

"Besides, he wouldn't *dare* cheat me. He knows me too well."

Her confident smile and the slight air of belligerent awareness
suddenly struck a chord with Blade. He remembered that same air from
his past. Something to do with his parents......

Suddenly, the memory hit him with a shock. One of the criminals that
Whisper had brought to justice. That same smile. Identical swagger.

"No," he breathed. "You're an assassin."

Too late, he realized that he had spoken the words aloud. His head
snapped around, and his body tensed in readiness for an attack.
Assassins were incredibly dangerous, especially when discovered. He
knew *that* much about them.

She reacted, but not in the way that he expected. As he watched, Chel
threw back her head and roared with laughter. For a humiliatingly long
time, she continued to laugh. Finally, it wound down to chuckles and
the occasional snort.

Blade watched her, hot with embarrassment. As she wiped the tears away
from her eyes, he spoke a little sullenly.

"Well, you're not just a mercenary. I know that. So, what *do* you
do?"

Her mouth twitched again, with obvious amusement.

"Not an assassin at any rate. I'd better tell you the truth, rather
than having you think that about me. I do all kinds of work, but
mostly I find people."

Blade cocked his head in surprise. "You're a tracker?"

Her reply was sharp.

"No. Trackers are trained. I never got long years of being taught my
job. Some people never get that chance." Blade could sense the
bitterness in her voice, but it was gone when she spoke again. "I
prefer to call myself a bounty hunter. It's what I do most of the
time."

"A bounty hunter?" Blade frowned. "Are you looking for someone at the
moment?"

She stared at him oddly. "Why the questions? Look, I've said what I
came here to say. I'm going back to camp now, before someone comes out
to look for us."

There was the hint of a sneer in her parting shot. "Stay out any
longer, and they'll start to make assumptions. I wouldn't want to be
accused of crib-robbing."

Then she was gone. Blade cursed himself. Too many questions, too soon.
Now he'd probably never get the chance to talk to her again.

He waited behind for a few minutes, mindful of her last comment.
Stinging though it was, she had a point. Neither of them wanted the
rest of the guards gossiping and making up stories about them. Sexual
tension tended to make the long voyages unpleasant. Therefore,
romantic encounters were discouraged as a general rule.

Strange thoughts tugged at him. A bounty hunter.....

She had admitted that she had no formal training. Could *he* take up
the same job? His heart leapt with excitement at the thought. It
sounded like the life of a true adventurer.

Reluctantly, he banished the dream. He hardly even knew what the job
involved. There was no way he could simply take on the tasks with no
background to work from. He needed someone to show him how. He needed
Chel.

He sighed. The chances of her helping him out were remote to say the
least. She obviously saw him as a mere child, and he couldn't picture
her working alongside someone. There was the mark of a loner about
her. Luck didn't seem to be running his way at the moment, he thought,
a little bitterly.

Finally, he headed back. The forest was dark now, and he
subconsciously began to rely more on his former training, magnifying
his normal senses by magical means. Before long, he saw the light of
the campfire in the distance, and he got back to find Chel sitting
with another of the mercenaries and chatting.

She ignored him studiously, and he sighed. Grabbing a blanket from the
wagon, he settled down to sleep by the fire for the night.

* * *

It was two days before he got the chance to speak to her again.
Curiously enough, it was Chel who sought Blade out this time.

As they set off, she jerked her head at him. "Come on. You and I will
do rear-guard today."

Pleased and surprised, Blade dropped to the rear wagon and let the
rest of the guards spread out ahead of them.

For a while they rode in silence. Then Chel turned to him and spoke
abruptly.

"What made you say what you did in the forest?"

Blade looked at her in confusion. "About you being after someone?"

She waved his comment away impatiently. "No. About me being an..." she
looked around briefly. Nobody was close enough to overhear her. "An
assassin," she finished, softly.

He swallowed. "You looked.... I just had a feeling, that's all," he
ended lamely.

"A feeling?" she asked slyly. "Just a hunch, or something more?"

As he looked uncomfortable, she continued. "There was *nothing* you
could have based a guess like that on. It was a ridiculous assumption
to make, and yet, in a way, you came close to the truth. I've seen
other people do tricks like that in the past.

"You're a tracker, aren't you pup?"

Her statement left Blade completely off-balance. How could he deny it
without telling the truth? How could he tell the truth without risking
his secret being betrayed?

A few overheard comments in the last few days, had made him anxious to
keep his magical abilities to himself. The eldest guard in particular
was obviously biased against those who could wield power. One of his
favourite comments was: "Never trust a Mage." Most likely, he would be
thrown straight off the caravan, in the middle of nowhere.

He opened and shut his mouth a few times. "I.... " he began, not
knowing what would follow. Chel interrupted him before he could
continue.

"I thought so," she said, with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll keep your
secret."

That should have made Blade feel a little better. Somehow, it didn't.
He looked at her warily, trying to decide whether or not to contradict
her.

"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to take a trip with me," she
continued smoothly.

Blade did his goldfish impression again. "What.... trip?" he stammered
out finally.

Again, she flashed the conspiratorial smile. "I'm leaving the caravan
as soon as we hit the coast. Traveling North for a while. I usually
work alone, but I need a power-wielder for this job. You interested?"

"Why me?" he asked. "You obviously think I'm young and inexperienced.
You could get someone more suitable than me." Even as he said the
words, he was kicking himself. Here she was, practically begging him
for something that he longed to do, and he was throwing it back in her
face.

He couldn't help it. His nature and his background made him question
things that looked too easy.

Chel regarded him thoughtfully, and Blade could virtually *hear* her
deciding whether to tell him the truth.

"Why?" she echoed at last. "Because you're probably good enough for
what I need. Because you'll welcome a bit of action after a run like
this. Also.... because I won't have to pay the going rate for an
unqualified tracker."

"You and I both know how much truth there is in those reasons." Blade
shook his head as he spoke. True, yes. Also evasive. You couldn't
easily lie to a Bard's son.

Instead of becoming offended, Chel merely chuckled.

"You answer me like that, and yet you still wonder why I feel that
you're suitable for the job?

"Take my first answer. For now it's the only one you'll get, young
tracker.

"Now tell me. Do you want the job or not?"

Blade hesitated. A decision? Now? Based on virtually no information?
Simply wandering off with a highly suspect snow-wolf, to destination
unknown?

It barely occurred to him to wonder whether or not he was up to the
job. Growing up as the son of Nikki and Whisper, the whole family had
become talented amateur trackers, almost by default. Still..... even
so.....

It was crazy. It was alluring. He made up his mind.

"I want to stop by my parent's village. It lies to the North, so it
shouldn't be too far out of our way.

"Other than that, I'm with you."

* * *

CHAPTER THREE

Three days had passed since Blade and Chel had left the caravan.

Blade had felt a little uncomfortable about simply sneaking off in the
middle of the night like a pair of thieves. Chel had pointed out,
rather impatiently, that if he told Grigori of his plans to leave, he
could only expect one result. Grigori would decide to charge him a fee
for defaulting on his agreement.

"If you want to cause unnecessary problems for yourself, that's fine
by me," she said sarcastically. "Don't expect *me* to join in though.
Or hang around while you battle out your rights with him. After all,
he wasn't going to pay you anyway."

Blade had seen the logic of her arguments and had left with her,
albeit with a twinge of guilt.

Now he had plenty of reasons to be glad that he had decided to journey
with Chel. At times, she seemed to have an unlimited and barely
restrained supply of energy. Out here, traveling along in the wilds,
she was in her element.

They hunted, laughed, talked, told stories, walked in shared silence
and just generally enjoyed their travels together.

For the first time in his life, Blade was in love. Not with Chel - at
least, not entirely. He was in love with life. The freedom, the open
air, the companionship and lack of cares.

As for his companion, she seemed to unbend a little as the time went
by. Still, Blade got the impression that questions were still not
welcome. He still knew very little about her. He knew *nothing* about
the job that they were engaged in.

When he had tentatively brought that subject up, she had given him
that amused, patronizing look again.

"Hadn't we better wait to see if mummy and daddy will let you out to
play first? After all, that's what you're going to them for, isn't it?
Their approval?"

Blade had been stung and embarrassed by her words, and had resolved
not to ask again. He hadn't entirely been able to dispute her words.
The approval of Nikki and Whisper meant a lot to him. If they told him
they were against his new plans...... then he would have a hard
decision to make.

He had to be true to himself. At the expense of running directly
against his family's wishes though?

Until now, Blade had studiously avoided thinking about what he would
do. That wouldn't work any more. Another hour and he would be back
home with his family. Then he would have to face the consequences of
his decision.

Blade's spirits drooped. His family had been very understanding so
far, but how could he expect them to understand this? Giving up five
years of training, simply to wander round the country. Chasing
something that he couldn't explain, with a female that he hardly knew.
He knew what *his* reaction would be if someone told him of a plan
like that!

As they got closer, Blade turned to Chel.

"Look," he began desperately. "I want to handle this *my* way. Sort of
lead into it gently."

Chel interrupted with a smile quirking at her lips. "You want me to
stay out of the way, right?"

He looked at her for a moment, then nodded gratefully. "Yeah. You
might," he paused, trying to find a polite way of saying what he
meant. There wasn't one. "You might overpower them a bit," he finished
hesitantly.

She sighed and looked around the track resignedly.

"It's not exactly an interesting place to leave me. But okay. I'll
stay here. Make it snappy, youngster. I bore easily."

He gritted his teeth again, over the consistent references to his age.
Still, he had bigger problems on his mind right now. Wasting no
further time, he sprinted down the track, towards his home.

Running towards the most difficult encounter of his young life.....

* * *

For one of the few times he could remember in recent years, Nikki was
at home with nothing to do.

He was quietly meditating in the shade of a tree when his awareness
twinged. Someone was coming his way. An excited someone. Amazement
mingled with resignation as he realized it was Blade.

And... Yes, there was someone else with him. Female and with an aura
that intrigued him.

He also noticed something else. Blade, while anxious, was also happy
with himself. Now this was definitely something new.

He chuckled softly to himself and decided to wait where he was.

* * *

"Over here son."

Blade jerks in startlement.

"Oh, hi dad. Where is everyone?"

"They're off working. I didn't have anything to do so I stayed home
when your mother took off last week. I'm working on some new tales
finally.

"So what have you been doing lately? I didn't expect to see you for
some time yet."

He grins at his son. "Do I get to meet your new friend?"

Blade sighs. Trust his dad to come to the point.

"I quit as a bodyguard. Then, I decided to come home and tell you
about it.

"Then I hired on to help guard a caravan and met Chel.

"Dad... I..." Blade hangs his head dejectedly. "I let her talk me into
leaving the caravan early."

"I assume there was a reason?" Nikki's voice is neutral.

Still looking at the ground, Blade nods. "Yeah. Chel convinced me that
I wouldn't get paid at the end. That I would wind up owing him for
food and stuff.

"So when she asked me if I wanted to help her, we left and came here
so I could talk to you and mom to get your ok."

Nikki lets the silence last a bit. Finally, he relents.

"Son. You've trained three years as a Mage. Two years as a bodyguard.
You've grown up around Bards and Trackers.

"I was hoping you'd remember the one lesson we've always emphasized
around here.

"Each of you has the freedom to be whatever you want to be." His voice
is gentle.

"Whisper and I mean every word of that.

"I can tell you are happy with yourself.

"As for your decisions, I wasn't there. I won't condemn you for
walking away. Sometimes you have to.

"If you want to join Chel, that is up to you entirely. I'll support
you in whatever *you* decide."

He smiles a bit. "Now, does she know who and what you are?"

"She thinks I'm someone who quit training as a tracker. I haven't told
her anything else."

"So how do you want to handle this? Am I just Nikki, your father? Or
am I Nikkolai the Bard *and* your father?"

He smiles slyly. "You set the stage, I'll play the part for you.
Decide quickly for she's headed this way."

"She is?" Blade looks up in surprise. Then he sighs. "She would be."

"Dad, she treats me like a kid. Oh, we get along but...

"She's frustrating at times."

"She's had a hard life son." Nikki smiles slightly.

"An interesting one if you can get her to talk about it."

He nods. "Yes, I know who she is. So does your mother although they've
never met formally.

"Not my tale to tell though."

Blade's look is questioning. "And you approve?"

Nikki's response is a nod.

Blades thinks about it and finally shrugs in resignation. "You're my
dad. And a Bard. It's time she knew."

As they both become aware of a presence, they share smiles and it is
Nikki who speaks first.

"Be welcome Chel. Blade was telling me you think you can use his
skills.

"Care to join us?"

Chel freezes at the edge of the clearing. 'How did he know?'

After thinking about it, she realizes she must be the only person in
the area other than Blade and his father. That still doesn't
explain..... Oh, Tracker. That must be it.

She walks over and seats herself near them.

"I told you I bore easily youngster."

Nikki smiles. "Too easily for a bounty hunter Chel."

Suddenly there is the distinctive whisk-whisk of thrown knives.

"Ambush!" Chel lunges for Blade and Nikki only to be stopped in place.

"You betrayed me!"

Then she looks at Blade's raised paws. He's holding two knives in one.
The other is pointed at her.

"No, *I* was 'ambushed'. Dad's playing again.

"Chel, meet my father. Nikkolai.

"I stopped you from attacking us and making a mistake." Blade smiles
at her in innocence.

The two wait as she sags back to the ground.

"Hello Chel. Blade tells me you think he could be of use to you.

"I gather you *used* to doubt his skills?" His voice is mild but the
emphasis on *used* is unmistakable.

Then, in that same mild tone, he continues. "Pretty dangerous for
someone to still be making assumptions about people. I thought you'd
outgrown that by now.

"Good thing Blade wasn't hunting you isn't it?"

"Have we...?" Chel lets her voice trail off.

"Nikki? Is it really you?"

"Yes 'little-one'." He smiles at her.

Blade stares in shock as he watches them hug each other. Chel is
crying in his father's arms. What happened to the Chel he knew?

Nikki smiles at him. "I was on the team that rescued Chel and some
others many years ago. Maybe someday she'll tell you about it."

'Rescued?' Blade's thoughts churn. 'Chel had to be rescued?'

Nikki holds her away and looks her over. "You've done well. Whisper
and I have kept track of you. She'll be sorry she wasn't here to meet
you finally.

"Blade doesn't need my or anyone else's approval for what he does.

"It's up to the two of you if he joins you."

"Chel?" Nikki's voice is gentle as he looks her in the eyes. "There is
much Blade could teach you about handling your powers. Things I
couldn't. He chose to become other than a Bard.

"Up to the two of you but I think you should find time to be honest
with each other."

He reaches and gently places her paw on his forehead and opens himself
to her. After she pulls it away, they hug again and he gently holds
her as she calms herself.

Finally, she pulls away and settles herself facing the two of them.

* * *

Chel sits down, still dazed.

Nikki? The *same* Nikki?

Unmistakably so. Even without the mind link, she could not have
confused him with another. She is even vaguely frustrated with herself
for not having recognized him as soon as they met.

Still, how could she have been expected to guess? She had met him for
a few brief weeks, over ten years ago.

The kind, calm, *gentle* hound, who had given her and the others the
strength to adapt to their new world. After their rescue. After.....

She mentally shrugs away the memories. It was a *long* time ago. Then
was then, and now is now.

She looks at Blade with a wry smile.

"You're not a bit like your father."

Nikki and Blade share a smile. Chel notes that the youngster - no, she
mentally corrects herself. The tracker - seems a lot more at ease now.

He has always been unsure of himself. Nervous. Now though, there is a
new air of confidence and self-assurance about him. The air of an
adult.

She sighs. How much should she tell him?

He deserves to know what he's getting into. To make an adult's choice
about the job before him. Her mind is still fresh with visions of him
with a dagger in his paw, pointing towards her. He has earned her
grudging respect.

At last, she speaks.

"All right. I'll tell you what I know. If you want to come with me
after this, I could still do with your help. If you don't, I'll find
someone else and travel on without you. No hard feelings. The choice
is yours.

"I've been tracking a man for months now. A human."

Blade opens his mouth to interrupt, but she holds up a paw and stops
him.

"No, don't ask me why I'm hunting him, or what he's done wrong. If
you're working on a job like this, you learn not to ask. I get paid if
I bring him back, and that's all I get to know."

She spares Nikki a watchful glance.

"I *do* know which side to work for, though. I've learned to spot the
people who are lying to me, or have evil intentions. They....."

She trails off. How can she explain, even to a Bard, that they 'feel'
wrong to her. They smell wrong? No, it isn't that. There is some
subtle instinct at work. A jangling of her nerves when they speak. A
sudden need to distance herself from the influence of that person.

"I just know," she finishes, lamely.

She is surprised when Nikki's only reaction is a knowing nod. Even
Blade accepts the statement without question. Relieved, she continues.

"Anyway, I have reason to believe that he traveled North, over the
mountains.

"The reason I need a tracker or a power-wielder is this. My quarry has
some power of his own. He can shift shape. I've been warned of this,
but my employer doesn't appear to know the exact details.

"That means that I don't know exactly *how* powerful the man is. I
know he has some other abilities, but I have no idea where his power
ends, or how much control he has over it. The only way I'll find out
is when I finally catch up with him.

"That's why you'd be so useful, Blade.

"You can use power. I know that I can trust you, to a certain extent.
My instinct tells me so.

"Even if you're not very good at what you do... which I'd be surprised
at, knowing who your parents are... there would still be two of us
against the one of him."

She grins wryly and regards each of them in turn.

"If you must know, I was half expecting you to go in as a decoy. As
bait, of sorts. You help to locate him. Then you distract him while I
do the job I'm being paid to do."

Again, she looks defensively at Nikki and half-smiles.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Nikki. Being bait is an honourable
enough profession."

Nikki's voice is gentle. "The bait usually knows that it's being
thrown in as a lure."

"I would have told him!" she protests. "When we were a little closer
to our goal."

"Thanks," mutters Blade, wryly.

She smiles. "Anyway, my plans have changed. There's no *way* I'd send
Nikki's son in as a decoy now. You'll probably be much more use to me
as a partner. If you still feel like handling the job?"

Blade suppresses a grin of pure satisfaction. It hadn't even occurred
to him that he might back out. Still, a little caution would be
advisable for the moment.

"We never discussed pay when I left your caravan," he states mildly.

Chel looks at him for a long moment, then breaks into a laugh.

"His father's son," she remarks, to no-one in particular.

"Partners, I said. You get half of the fee, if we manage to bring this
man back. Will that be suitable, or would you like me to sign the deal
with my own blood?" she added, sarcastically.

Blade grins. "I'll settle for half. I'll even take your word for it.
After all, even if you'd think of cheating me, I can't see you trying
to get away with anything while Dad's around."

Chel raises her eyebrows. "You have a point," she acknowledges. "It's
hard to cheat a Bard. At least, it's hard to cheat them and get away
with it. All right, Blade. You have a deal.

"Now, when should we leave?"

* * *

Blade looks at Chel and then at his father.

"Not yet," he says quietly. "Before you *do* decide that I'm going to
be okay for this job, there's something you should know."

He sighs. "I haven't exactly got a good reputation for finishing
things off.

"Three years as a Mage, then I got bored. Two as a bodyguard. Even
more bored. I'd just given it up when you and I met.

"I've never trained as a tracker. You just kinda pick that sort of
thing up in this family.

"I'm not saying I couldn't do the job. I'm just saying that my track
record for finishing things off isn't so great."

He shrugs. "Dad's right. We both deserve the truth from each other."

Blade falls silent and Chel regards him thoughtfully for a moment.

Finally, she breaks into a grin.

"You forgot Grigori's caravan. You left that mid-voyage as well."

As his face drops, she laughs.

"As I remember it, I virtually had to drag you from the voyage, even
though you knew you were going to get no money at journey's end.

"Relax, Blade. I trust you. You may leave careers behind, but I don't
think you'd leave people who were counting on you. You don't seem the
type.

"Besides, if I see you becoming bored with the job, I'll just have to
work harder to keep you interested."

She winks at him, and Blade is left grinning foolishly.

"Are you ready to leave now?" she asks, smiling at him.

"Yes. Of course," he replies happily.

"Good-bye, Nikki." Chel regards the Bard with rare seriousness. "It's
been a real pleasure. I hope we meet again."

"Bye, Dad."

As Chel and Blade depart the clearing, Nikki follows them with his
gaze.

"I think we will," he murmurs softly.
====

Chel - Liberty
Chel (Rachel), Petra, Nikkolai, Elsa and Charl
---

The night air was chill in the mountains. The only light came from the
stars above, and the glow of one small fire.

Blade and Chel, with a single blanket wrapped around them, huddled in
towards the warmth of the campfire. Chel's thigh against Blade's was a
welcome point of contact and heat.

It was that quiet portion of the day now. The time after they had
eaten, but were not quite ready to go to sleep.

Many times they would sit in silence. Sometimes they would talk
quietly about everything and nothing. There were occasions when they
would tell stories to each other.

Tonight, Blade could sense that Chel's mind was far away in some
distant realm of thought. In the dim light, he regarded her curiously.

Finally, she seemed to sense that she was being watched. With a slight
start, she turned around and looked at him inquiringly. He smiled a
little hesitantly, "What's on your mind?"

Chel sighed.

"I was just thinking about where we're heading", she answered.

"It's not far from where I met your father, all those years ago."

She lapsed into silence again. After a few minutes, Blade took a deep
breath.

"What happened? Will you tell me about it?"

She started, and glanced back around at him.

"What? Oh....

"All right then. A story...."

She closed her eyes, and drifted back, until she was there, living
through the events again.

* * *

Young Rachel awakes suddenly and opens her eyes.

She sighs softly. The room is in complete darkness. It is the middle
of the night.

She can feel Petra's fur, soft and warm as it presses against her. A
snow-wolf and a cat, she thinks wryly. That is an unnatural
combination if ever she heard of one. Nevertheless, the two of them
have been thrown in with each other, sharing the same small mattress
to sleep on.

She remembers Alys with a twinge of sadness now. A few weeks ago,
there had been a young vixen crushed into these cramped sleeping
quarters as well.

Then Alys had reached her fourteenth year, and she had been moved on
to serve Lord Kaine as an adult.

In a few short weeks, it will be Rachel's turn to be moved on. Glumly,
she considers the prospects before her.

Being a kitchen slave is dirty, unrewarding work, but it is relatively
safe. All the children are brought up to share such duties.

Once she hits her fourteenth birthday though.....

She winces. She may be moved out to Lord Kaine's farms. All in all,
that will be the best of the three options. Planting, harvesting,
reaping in endless cycle. Dull work, but she could manage it easily
enough. Unfortunately, it is the least likely option for one such as
her.

She is strong enough to be sent into the mines. On the other hand, she
realizes with resignation, she is also striking enough to be sent to
Lord Kaine's harem.

Weighing up the options, she finds that she would almost prefer the
mines. The idea of performing intimate services for a lizard is enough
to make her shudder. There was also the fact that Lord Kaine was said
to be a rather cruel and unpleasant lover to endure.

The mines would be a hard and unpleasant lifestyle. Early death is
almost a certainty if she goes there. Still, her parents ended up in
the mines many years ago. Maybe there is the slim hope that she will
meet them if she is sent there.....

Suddenly, her thoughts are overtaken by an overwhelming sense that
something is wrong.

She has been sleeping badly in the last few weeks. Almost every night,
she has woken up at least once. Once awake, she then found it hard to
get back to her slumbers. Nevertheless, she is aware that tonight is
different.

There is a tense feeling in the air. The prospect of something big
happening.

She doesn't know how she knows this, but she has lived with her
'feelings' long enough to have no doubts.

Her life is going to change tonight.....

* * *

They have been gathering for weeks now. Guards, Trackers, Healers.
Even a few Mages and Bards.

Each has only spent a few days or at most a couple of weeks in the
area until now.

Nikki sighs to himself. The aura of fear and depression is almost more
than even he can hold at bay. Yet, he must. For the sake of those they
would help, he must remain open to nuances.

Whisper had done her part in helping to find this place. Rumors were
all she had to start with. Working as a Bard, she had discovered this
valley and quietly explored its fringes. Returning to the King, she
had made her report and decisions had been made.

In the last several months, the extent of the operation had been
mapped.

It is known that at least one person here is a power user of some
type. What is unknown is the extent of that person's skills.

He studies the surrounding area cautiously. Since he had been the only
Bard available who was also used to dealing with children on a daily
basis, (he smiles wryly to himself), he was chosen to deal with the
younger ones here.

Judging from the known size of the valley and the extent of the
operations...

Nikki sighs again. It is a certain thing that there will be young ones
who are orphans. It will be weeks before he gets home to his own
family. These people deserve whatever time is needed to start them on
the road to being free.

All who are in position are Masters of their crafts or senior Guards.
All are from out of the area. Most importantly, all are totally
committed to the task ahead.

As the sun slowly falls towards the horizon, Nikki touches his
partner's arm and comments softly. "At full dark, we begin to move.
Just after they have eaten and begun to settle for the night. Pass the
word to the others."

She nods and moves away. In the meantime, Nikki settles and waits
patiently and hopes they've done enough preparation.

* * *

Try as she might, Rachel is unable to get back to sleep.

Her mind is churning with fear and excitement. It is as if there is a
massive storm cloud poised over the area, ready to erupt at any point.
The air is heavy with tightly controlled tension that makes it hard to
think or breathe.

Finally, she can stand it no longer. Reaching out, she shakes Petra
lightly on the shoulder.

"Mmmmm? Rachel? What's wrong?"

Petra's voice is still sleepy and slurred.

"Something's happening, Pet. Something's going on. I'm scared."

They speak in whispers, aware both of the guard's patrol and the other
slaves, trying to sleep in various alcoves around this room. Petra
finally sits up in the darkness.

"Did you hear a noise, Rachel? Is that it?"

"No. I just know something's going on, that's all."

Petra lies back on the bed with a sigh.

"Try to get some sleep will you? It's late."

"But...." Rachel sighs and gives up. After all, maybe she *is* just
imagining things.

No. Sometimes her instincts have been wrong, but not this time. There
has never been such an overwhelming feeling before. It is so strong
that her head is beginning to ache.

The minutes begin to tick by. There is silence and darkness in the
kitchens. In all too few hours, she will be expected to get up and
begin her chores. She needs her sleep. To her frustration, she
realizes that there is no prospect of her resting again tonight.

For a countless period of time, Rachel lies still and terrified in her
bed. She strains her senses, trying to get a picture of what is taking
place. Her instincts are not there to be ordered or controlled,
however. There is just an all-consuming feeling of danger and
expectancy.

More disturbing than anything else is the feeling of vast change
looming. Her life is bad enough at present, without waiting for it to
get even worse!

Suddenly, an insane idea hits her. She has always dreamed of escaping
this place. Freedom lies outside the valley. Enough people have told
her about the way things are outside. She wants to see it for herself.

Despite that, she has never tried to run from Lord Kaine's domain.
None of the slaves have.

There are plenty of guards around. She might be able to get through
one or two, in ordinary circumstances, but all it would take was one
of them to sound the alarm, and her hopes would be dashed. Everyone
knows it is impossible to get out of here.

Now, though?

If she stays here, what lies in store for her? A choice of unpleasant
fates, and not even her own choice at that. At least if she runs, she
is making her own fate, not just waiting for it to happen to her.
Desperation drives her to do something that she would never consider
at any other time.

She gets up and tiptoes her way along to the cupboards. Her fingers
quest within the depths, trying to find something small and heavy. The
best she can manage is a large crushing-stone. It is designed for the
preparation of herbs, but it will do as a weapon - of sorts.

She contemplates taking a knife. A shudder runs through her as she
considers having to use it. Still, once started on this, she cannot
afford to get caught. She has few doubts that summary execution lies
in store for her should she be caught. She will be used as an example
to any other would-be escapees. Better to die fighting. Reluctantly,
she puts one of the smaller kitchen blades in her belt.

For a moment, Rachel considers the merits of getting out on her own.
She is fast and strong. She probably stands more chance solo than with
anyone else in here. More than that, if she is caught, anyone with her
will share her fate. It is one thing sending herself into danger, but
risking her friends?

Still, could she live with herself if she goes free and leaves them
behind? She knows what she would prefer if the positions were
reversed.

Reluctantly, she decides to compromise. She will take Petra with her.
The young cat is her only real friend left here anyway. She is not as
fast as Rachel, but, she decides that Petra will not slow them down
too much.

Walking over, she shakes Petra gently again.

"Huhnnn? Wha...Rachel?"

"Come with me," she hisses. She drags Petra up by a paw.

"Where? What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later. Just trust me. Now come *on*!"

At last, Petra catches the urgency in Rachel's tone and she rises
quietly. There is no need for either of them to get changed. Each of
them has only one sparse and ill-fitting set of clothes, which they
wear all the time.

Rachel leads her friend to the back door. Again, Petra hesitates for a
moment, but she trusts her friend.

The door is not locked. They have no need to keep slaves within the
confines of the house. This place is isolated enough that recapture is
a virtual certainty in the unlikely event of one of them making a
successful escape from the compound. Lord Kaine's high advisor has
enough magic to locate and retrieve errant slaves. At least he will
have, unless he is distracted by the ensuing events. Rachel hopes, for
her sake and Petra's, that he is.

Silently, they make their way through the door and into the yard.
Keeping to the shadows, they begin to run. Rachel holds Petra's paw,
and she can feel the terrified tightness of her grip.

They have barely reached the edge of the courtyard, when they hear a
deep, commanding growl.

"Hey there! Stop!"

Rachel thinks quickly and makes her move. She begins to run straight
towards the guard, dragging Petra along with her.

"Message from the Master," she pants, unfeignedly wide-eyed with fear.

The guard glances at them suspiciously, as she rummages through her
front pocket. He catches sight of the half-hidden knife at the same
time as Rachel, holding the rock in her paw, swings her arm around.

He growls and puts half a paw up to grab at her. Not fast enough
though. Her desperation lends speed and strength to her action, and
the rock makes crashing contact with the side of his skull.

The guard sways for a moment, and his paw makes its journey towards
the fresh wound below his ear. Before it reaches its destination,
however, he groans and topples over.

Petra stares at Rachel in open horror.

"You've killed him!"

"No I haven't. He's just wounded. Now, hurry up!" Rachel tugs at
Petra's paw impatiently. "Or would you rather stay here and take the
blame for this?"

Her words shake the cat out of her shocked trance and they run on.
They have barely picked up their pace, however, when they see two
figures emerge from a dark alcove nearby. In the near dark, Rachel can
make out that they look like canines - possibly wolves.

This time, there will be no chance to ambush them. Their only hope
lies in continued flight, and it is a slim hope at that.

Again, the warning cry is sounded out. It only spurs Rachel and Petra
on. They redouble their efforts, and put valuable distance between
themselves and the canines in the first few seconds.

Suddenly, Rachel feels strange. Despite her best efforts, her paces
begin to slow. She can see the frightened look on her friend's face as
the same thing happens to her. Although her mind is whirling
frantically, urging her to flee, her body comes to a full stop and
waits passively for the guards to reach her.

With a mixture of horror and resignation, she realizes that her plan
has failed. Recapture and punishment are the only futures that lie in
store for her now....

Finally, the figures catch up to them.

Nikki is almost overwhelmed by the terror he feels from these two.
Mostly, it comes from one of them.

He keeps his voice gentle and soft. "Your timing could have been a bit
better, but you've found your freedom."

Rachel and Petra gasp as a dim light glows in the other figure's
hands.

It is Rachel who speaks first.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Nikki's voice is gentle.

"Who are we? We're part of a group of people who believe everyone has
the right to choose their own destiny.

"I'm Nikkolai. A Bard. My partner with the light is Elsa. A Mage.

"There are many others scattered around this valley and waiting for
the right time to move." He gestures and the two girls see shadows
moving in the darkness. Every once in a while, one of the aroused
guards passes by without seeming to notice what is going on.

"What are we doing?" His voice turns grim with suppressed anger.
"Helping put an end to what is going on here."

Then they see his smile return. "And incidentally saving a young cat
and snow-wolf from their rather careless mistake."

He holds up a paw to forestall the heated retort from Rachel. "I can't
blame you for attempting to escape this. I know what awaits female
slaves in places like this."

He kneels before them and reaches and grasps a paw in each of his.
Placing their paws on his forehead, he quietly asks them...

"Little ones? Will you help us save the others here?"

He opens himself to them and waits.

Both are still shivering in their fear.

It is as though the four of them share a pocket of calmness in a world
filled with madness.

Crying with the relief of finding someone who cares, they fall into
his warm embrace.

"Petra. Rachel. It's over. *You* get to choose your destinies now.

It is Petra who speaks for both of them.

"I..." She looks at Rachel for confirmation. "We can't go back. Please
don't ask us to."

Nikki nods in understanding. "You don't need to. All I need is for you
to share what you know of what awaits us."

His voice is gentle. "If you permit me, I can learn what I need to
know without you having to remember and speak of it.

"Indeed, if you permit, I can help you start to deal with what has
happened already in your young lives."

He puts a chuckle in his next words. "I have children of my own. I
doubt if even *they* could have done any better than you have."

It is Rachel who finally asks the question. "It won't hurt us?"

She has seen people's thoughts ripped from them as they cringe and
scream.

"No little ones. I do not take without permission. I only accept what
is given by choice. Your choice.

"My word as a Bard."

Rachel takes a deep breath. "To cause *him* and his pain, I will do
whatever I can."

She shivers slightly. "Do what you must."

Nikki studies her thoughtfully in the dim light. There is strength in
this one. In spite of her fear, she remains alert to chances to
survive. To seek revenge. Justice.

He sighs to himself. If only they had been found sooner. It will be
years before she can be properly trained to handle her latent powers,
if ever. Her shivering as she asked about 'hurt' tells him much about
what she has had to live with.

"Rachel, touch my forehead. I will guide you in what needs to be
done."

He nods at her bewilderment. "Yes, you get to control the link."

Tentatively, she reaches out and lightly touches his forehead.

His inner voice is as calm as his normal one as he asks his questions
about where she has been. Tentatively at first and then with a growing
confidence, she describes the layout of the area and building behind
her.

She is amazed at the details he manages to get her to bring out.
Things she never realized she noticed.

"Yes Rachel. This way allows for such things. It's quicker as well.
You've only taken a few breaths while I learned what I needed to know.

"I thank you. I will not need to question your friend."

With that, he reaches to remove her paw and enfold it in his. "Little
one, you have our thanks this night. Be patient for a while longer."

And with that, he is gone so silently that it is several seconds
before she realizes he is no longer there.

A soft chuckle brings her back. Elsa is laughing quietly.

"Aren't you going with him?" Rachel is puzzled that she remains
behind.

"No Rachel. Nikki is well able to care for himself.

"What is happening now, well, it calls for the skills of a Bard. I
would be a hindrance right now.

"When Nikki and I felt you two begin your journey, we agreed that I
would care for you until he is finished in there."

She points at some frozen figures nearby. "As well as deal with any
curious people who night disturb him or who escaped the notice of
others working to put a stop to all this."

Petra ask the question they both have.

"A Bard's skills? That doesn't make sense. I don't see how a
story-teller could deal with all those guards."

Elsa's voice is soft. "Petra. Rachel. Nikki has skills and abilities
that I can't begin to match or understand. I am a Mage and a Master of
my craft. Nikki is a Bard and became a Master years before I began my
training."

She smiles at their gasps. "Yes, Bards are capable of things even
Mages cannot duplicate. Our world is built on balance. Have you never
wondered who balances the skills of Mages?"

She looks at them thoughtfully. "No, these people would not explain
that to you. It would bring thoughts of other ways. They would loose
their hold if they allowed such thoughts to be discussed.

"Bards provide the counter-balance to Mages. Just as Mages and others
balance the skills of Bards.

"So, now we wait for him and the others to return. Then we decide what
we are going to do about things here.

"Not least of which is that you two get to have a say in your own
futures."

With that, she falls silent.

Silence ensues and the minutes pass.

Rachel gazes around restlessly. Too near, her mind screams at her.
Still too near!

Despite the reassuring figure beside them, her nerves are still
jangling like a jailer's keys. It is with difficulty that she fights
the urge to take flight again like a wild animal. To run herself into
exhaustion or find a burrow and bury herself in it until the danger is
past or she is found.

A thousand 'what ifs' begin to clamour in her mind, and finally she
can bear it no longer. She tugs on Elsa's cloak, clears her throat
nervously, and asks a timid question.

"Mistress - what is he doing in there?"

The Mage looks down and smiles gently.

"You may call me Elsa, little one.

"As for what Nikki is up to..." she laughs softly, "....he's probably
enjoying himself immensely. Don't worry about the wolfhound. You've
given him the information that he needed so he knows what to expect
now. If he didn't feel that he could handle whatever's in there," she
jerks her head back in the direction of the main building, "then he
would have waited for other members of the team to join him."

"Oh." Rachel considers this for a moment. "Well then, what's going to
happen to us?"

For a moment, there is a brief spark of pity on Elsa's face. The
expression frightens Rachel more than anything that she has seen or
experienced so far on this strange night. For the first time, she is
aware that the adults don't know all the answers. That revelation is
an unwelcome and shocking one to someone who has spent their entire
life trained in complete subservience to her elders.

Elsa speaks, driving the unpleasant dread away, for now.

"What would *you* like to happen, Rachel?"

Rachel stammers. "Well, I.... I want to be free."

Elsa sighs. "Free to do what? You are going to be faced with some hard
choices, little one. If we simply free you tonight and then abandon
you, we would be leaving you at the mercies of dangers at least as
great as any your former Master has represented.

"Once we know what you want from your new life, we'll do our best to
make sure you have a chance at it. Until then," she shrugs, "I
strongly suggest that the two of you remain with us."

Rachel frowns. "What about the other slaves? Are you going to free
*all* of them? The ones in the farms and the mines as well?"

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Elsa suggests, smiling gently. "The
first ones are on their way out now."

As Rachel looks back at the main complex, she sees that the exodus has
begun. The slaves begin to filter out, guided by the busy teams of
trackers and guards.

They continue to appear, and the two young wards watch in fascination.
There are so *many* of them! It seems like hours have passed, and yet
more slaves are still trickling out into the freedom of the cold, open
air.

Her eyes begin to blur, and despite the excitement of the occasion,
she drifts slowly away into a doze.

It is light when a gentle paw shakes her awake.

"Rachel? It's time to leave."

She blinks, and realizes that Nikki has returned and is standing over
her. Yawning, she accepts his help to get up, and she walks beside him
in the dawn light.

As she gradually wakes up, the snow-wolf realizes that there are
groups and pockets of people all around her. The whole of Lord Kaine's
household appears to be on the move.

"Where are we going?" she asks curiously.

Nikki smiles. "We're heading back to our camp, little one. There's a
lot to do, and we have to find out how we can best help all of you now
that you are free."

Rachel rubs her eyes and trudges onward. Then a sudden thought stabs
fear into her heart. She feels compelled to ask. "What happened to
Lord Kaine? What happened to his Mage? They didn't escape, did they?"

"Escape? Oh no." Nikki's eyes twinkle as he looks down at his young
companion. "They chose to come with us and receive justice at the
King's courts."

Rachel looks confused. "They *chose* to?"

Nikki chuckles again as he remembers that confrontation. "When
confronted by a simple choice, they made the wise decision. They may
be greedy and cruel, but they aren't stupid.

"On my way in to see Kaine and his advisor, I released more of the
slaves. Some of them chose to follow me to the central chambers.

"Once there, I gave Kaine and his people a 'Bard's choice'. And my
word.

"I and the people here would guarantee their safety until they arrived
at court to receive the King's Justice...

"Or, I would allow them a chance to leave and none of the people
gathered here to free everyone would hinder them.

Rachel gasps and turns to him in shock. "You'd let them free???"

His casual words have torn her soul at the thought of miscarried
justice. How could she have misjudged him?

"Easy Rachel. I only said those of us gathered here would not stop
him. I said nothing about others who have reason to hate him. And he
and his advisor knew what I meant.

"Plus..." Nikki chuckles softly and with hidden amusement. "It's well
known that my mate is both a Master Bard and a Senior Tracker.

"They well knew that *she* would be certain to be after them for what
they have done here."

He kneels down in front of Rachel. "Young Wolf. You have my word as a
Bard that you and your friend are free and have nothing to fear from
your former master."

Free. Rachel contemplates the word in awed silence. Somehow, despite
her desperate plan to escape, she has never really considered what
freedom would mean to her. Now she realizes that she had no idea what
it involves. What is the outside world like? How big is it? What do
people do when they aren't slaves?

She has been told stories, of course. She has listened when the new
slaves have been brought in, and they tell tales of life outside the
confines. Some of the stories are terribly jumbled though. Some
blatantly contradict others. Which is she to believe?

It seems that freedom is not going to be as easy as she had imagined.

* * *

The next few days are frustrating and bewildering for Rachel. She is
surrounded by strangers, and everyone seems too busy to talk to her.
People are kind enough, but she feels useless. In the way.

Guards question her occasionally. They seem to want to know
everything. Where she had worked, how long she had worked there,
whether she had family. Whether she has friends. What she wants to do
now that she was free. Name, age, area of birth, questions,
questions....

She answers them as best she can, and they listen attentively before
moving onto the next slave and repeating the same questions.

Through it all, she sticks close to Petra. It seems that the young cat
is her island of stability in the midst of all this chaos. If
anything, Petra is more scared and lost than she is. Rachel is forced
to remain strong for the sake of her friend.

Towards the evening on their first day in camp, the two of them begin
to notice changes taking place. People are being grouped together.
Reunited. There are families, meeting up for the first time in months,
or years. Some of the meetings are awkward, some are joyous. Rachel
and Petra watch them all in fascination.

Many of the reunited families are leaving the camp, seeking their
futures alone and free. As time goes by, there are less and less
people around. All the while, the two of them swap daydreams of
finding their families and making a future for themselves. Fragile
little dream-castles, built on desperate foundations of childish
imagination.

Then it happens. For one of them. Petra is taken aside and when she
returns, her face is aglow with joy.

"They've found my father," she says, her voice shaking with
excitement. "I'm to go and meet him at the other side of the camp."

Rachel stares at her for a long moment before forcing a smile. She
murmurs her congratulations, and the two of them hug for the last
time.

Petra is sad, but the emotion is fleeting. Rachel can tell that the
future is important to her friend, and the past will fade away in her
new-found happiness.

For Rachel, there is only bleak sadness at losing a friend. Of course
she is happy that Petra has a chance at achieving her dreams. Of
course she knows that it may be her turn to get called in for a
reunion next. None of that seems to register at the moment. A
combination of despair and chilling fear threaten to overwhelm her,
and she is grateful when Petra finally leaves, allowing her to shed
her tears at last.

Another day. Questions, confusion, people coming and going around her.
Rachel journeys through in a daze. She barely notices her
surroundings. Life is just a monotonous routine that she must endure.

Finally, Rachel gets her own summons. One of the trackers takes her by
the paw and leads her on a trek through the main camp. She goes with
them unprotestingly, barely wondering who and what she is going to
meet at her destination.

Her heart gives a sudden, glad leap when she sees Nikki's familiar
smile waiting for her. Ignoring the surrounding people, she breaks
free of the tracker and runs to him, throwing her arms around his neck
with almost bone-breaking intensity.

He smiles gently and holds her in his arms with the same quiet caring
that he showed on the night of their escape. It seems so long ago now!
Rachel fights to control her wildly jumbled emotions. Joy and aching
pain mingle and dance around in her brain, bringing tears to sting her
eyes.

A male's voice cuts into her happy meeting. Young, hard, and cynical.
She looks around abruptly to see who is talking.

There are eight other youngsters here. Varying ages. She recognizes
none of them, but that is hardly surprising considering how many
slaves were rescued.

The speaker is a tiger cub. The eldest in the group with the possible
exception of herself. Her grip on Nikki relaxes and she is gently
lowered to the ground as she considers the tiger's words in shock.

"So, we're the group that nobody wanted to claim, right? What happens
to us now?"

Rachel looks at Nikki warily. Is it true? Are they what's left when
all of the happy endings have been taken away? Numb and silent, she
waits for him to speak.

Nikki settles to the ground in the silence. He gently places Rachel in
his lap and holds her close until her shivering stops.

"Young Tiger. You know as well as I that it is not a case of 'claim'.

"I have no easy way to tell any of you this."

As they slowly start to realize what he is about to say, he calls them
to him.

"Come, sit with me. Let me help."

He lets his voice fill with all the compassion he feels for these
children and their plight.

"None of your families have survived. None died in the chaos of
freeing you. They died before we got here. Some of them died years
ago.

"We're doing everything we can to trace your lineage further or find
you homes."

He looks directly at the now crying Tiger cub.

"I make you all the same promise I made Rachel. I'll be here until you
all find homes. Somehow, we'll find happy endings for each of you.

"My word as a Bard."

With one arm he wraps Rachel in a hug and with the other reaches out
to the rest of them.

Slowly, the tiger cub reaches for his hand and lets himself be drawn
to Nikki's side.

As he is surrounded by weeping children, Nikki cuddles each of them
and lets none of his own pain show.

His voice is gentle. "My little ones. I'm here. Until we find you your
places in the world, I'll be here."

At least his own children understand that at times he will be absent
for long periods. He has already sent home the word that there were
far fewer orphans than anyone dared to hope for. Already, there have
been offers to take them in and care for them.

Nikki smiles to himself. If they can't find anyone suitable, he has
decided he will take Rachel home with him. She has a strength that
will require special nurturing and understanding. It will be
interesting to keep track of her in the years to come.

* * *

Chel came out of her past long enough to smile wryly at Blade.

"Your father told me his side of the story back there when we met. I
never knew how much he suffered during those weeks when he was helping
us.

"You can be proud of him. Not once did he let any of us feel that we
were unwanted. He never faltered in helping us believe things would
work out.

Blade nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like dad all right."

He could see Chel's smile. "Turned out he was right but it took a lot
to convince us kids he was.

Her sudden grin came as a surprise. "You almost wound up with an
adopted sister. Me."

Blade gaped at her in shock and sudden confusion. "I did? I mean
you..."

Chel reached down and squeezed his thigh where it contacted hers.

"Yep. I didn't know it for certain until he told me. I wanted to stay
with him but I never knew how close it came to actually happening."

In the stunned silence that ensued, Chel leant back and gazed into the
distance again, reliving childhood memories.....

* * *

Life goes on. Eventually, the tears stop flowing. The pain becomes
more manageable, if not any less.

Nikki is true to his word. Throughout the orphans' first hesitant
steps towards freedom and happiness, he is always there.

The recovery is more difficult for some than others. As the two eldest
orphans, Rachel and the Tiger are looked up to and leaned upon.
Despite their own pain, they find themselves having to unite in their
strength to keep despair at bay within this fragile group of children.
After all, one Bard cannot be expected to split in nine directions at
once.

As she had done so often in the past for Petra, Rachel now puts her
own feelings aside and lets none of her fears for the future show. If,
at times, she feels a foolish yearning for the parents that she never
really knew, she learns to not let that longing erupt and consume her.

Over the days that follow, as she and the tiger help the younger ones
and each other, the two of them grow closer. His name is Charl, and at
times, he is the only one that Rachel can confide in when she needs
comfort and Nikki is away.

Despite his outer shell of hardness, he is as scared and lost as she
is. The two of them have little idea about how life outside the valley
works but both of them agree that neither of them have much chance of
Nikki's 'happy ending'. After all, they are both thirteen years old.
Nearly adults! Who could possibly want to take them in at this point
in their lives?

Instead of dwelling on the hopelessness of that option, they try to
get what they can out of life at the camp. To learn enough so that
maybe they can survive once this is all over.

Charl and the wolf become favourites at the camp. The guards and the
trackers take great delight in teaching them about hunting, making
fires, foraging for food, recognition of what is safe and unsafe to
eat, and other basic skills.

Together they become Charl and Chel, the 'Hunters'. Chel alters and
shortens her name in a perverse show of camaraderie with her new
friend. Also, the guards note with wry amusement, it provides them
with an excuse for ignoring calls back to the camp. On many an
occasion, the caller would be fixed with an innocent and wounded gaze
and told:

"But I thought you were calling out to the other one!"

Most of the time, they simply let it pass, indulging the two 'little
ones' in their explorations of their new limits. The rescuers delight
in seeing recovery develop and confidence grow. The wolf and the tiger
are learning about life outside of slavery, finding their own place
within it, and incidentally becoming all but inseparable from each
other.

For a while, Chel chooses to believe that somehow, the two of them can
stay together. It is a shock to both of them when Charl is offered a
place with a family of felines in the neighboring valley. He hesitates
a moment, considering the plans that he and the snow-wolf have laid
together.

Dreams versus reality? Even Rachel can see that there would be no
contest. Gloomily, she is forced to admit that she would have taken
the chance if the situation were reversed.

Nevertheless, it is hard on her, seeing Charl disappear from her life
in the same way that everyone else has. First her parents, before she
even knew she had them to lose. Then Alys and Petra, and now him. Who
next?

Almost unconsciously, she decides that there will *be* no next time.
Her life here is transient. Making friends is pointless, as they will
all disappear in time. With renewed energy, she throws herself into
the task of learning from the rescuers. Her tutors become her new
anchor, as her learning becomes a focus that can help her forget her
pain temporarily.

The fact that Charl has found a home has done nothing to restore her
faith in a happy ending for herself. He was lucky. In her opinion, the
small chance of both of them being so fortunate is not worth thinking
about. She still trusts Nikki from the depths of her young heart. She
just believes that he is mistaken in believing that everything will
turn out right in the end. At least for her.

One by one, she watches the other young ones disappear. Five left.
Then four. Three. Nikki has more time for each of them now but Rachel
won't let herself become too close to him. He too, will leave.
Eventually.

Even now, when she is near the guards, she hears comments. They will
be moving on soon. This area is rife with slave trading, and they have
other domains to go to.

The thought worries at her. Not because she thinks that she will be
abandoned. She has too much faith in Nikki to believe that will
happen. Still, she sees him looking thoughtfully at her from time to
time. Wondering what to do with her when everyone moves on, no doubt.

Does she really want to be trailed around like a piece of spare
baggage? The thought doesn't appeal at all. Yet she is naggingly sure
that it is *exactly* what will happen to her.

Now, with her fourteenth birthday only days away, she spends more time
thinking about the problems before her and tries to come to a solution
on her own. It is of no use. She simply doesn't know enough about the
outside world to be able to plan for her future.

The morning before her looming birthday, she wakes up from an uneasy
sleep and is immediately drenched with the familiar feeling of dread.
She goes to get some breakfast and prepares for her usual daily tasks,
but she is stopped by a gentle paw on her shoulder.

Looking around, she sees Nikkolai smiling companionably at her.

"Care to walk with me, little one? It's a beautiful day."

Chel looks around in surprise. She had barely noticed the blue skies
and the sun on her fur. Forcing a smile in return, she nods and takes
his paw.

In silence, the two of them wander along the river in its course
through the valley. Their path leads them to where the river widens
into a clear lake. Rachel's soul aches at the beauty of the clear,
expansive water. As it ripples slightly in the breeze, the sun glints
blindingly on its surface.

Lost in the beauty of the moment, Chel sits down at the edge of the
lake. She's been here before, of course. Only in the role of hunter
though. Always with some important task or other. Never in leisure,
with the time to simply sit back and enjoy the dreamy stillness of the
water.

She is barely aware of Nikki sitting down beside her, until he breaks
the long silence in a gentle voice.

"Chel? I know you've been troubled. You don't have to suffer alone.
I'm here if you want to share your problems with me."

As his paw enfolds hers, she turns to him to give an answer. A denial?
An admission? She doesn't know, and no words will come out.

"Won't you let me help you?" His voice is soft and wistful as he gazes
at her.

Suddenly her defenses are laid bare. The tears start to flow as she
sobs out her pain.

"I'm fourteen tomorrow.... and.... and... the guards are going away
soon."

With that enigmatic outburst, she lays down, buries her face in her
arms, and weeps stormily.

Silence greets her admission. Doesn't Nikki have anything to say?

Suddenly, she is aware of soft splashes. Startled, she looks up and
then out at the lake.

Nikki, smiling, has gathered a pawful of pebbles and is tossing them
in the lake.

Without turning, he sobers and whispers softly, "Life is like those
pebbles you know.

"Sometimes we have no control over what happens to us. We move along
pulled this way and that in response to what happens around us.

"Yet, like those pebbles, we can touch each other." He waits for all
the ripples to vanish. The he tosses one in and after it lands, tosses
another one in a different place.

"Watch the ripples Chel. They interact briefly and then continue to
have the strength to move on their way.

He sighs and gazes out across the stilling water before them. Gently,
he places each remaining pebble back on the shore.

Chel is confused. What is he saying? She knows it is important but in
her mind, all she can see is her looming 'adulthood' and being thrust
into a world she doesn't feel ready to deal with.

"Chel. I'm sorry. I forgot that in a slave's world, some things are
governed by your age and physical maturity.

"It doesn't work that way for those who are free.

"You are no longer a pebble to be tossed about by other's desires.

He picks up a single stone and gently turns over one of her paws and
places it in it.

"This is your life. You get to make your own choices.

"There are those here who would welcome you to join them as an
apprentice. I know at least one person, who, if we fail to find people
you want to live with, plans to ask if you will live with his family.

"Relax. It isn't your age that is making it so hard to find a place
for you."

He reaches to lift her head and wipe her tears away and look her in
her eyes.

"Rather, it is the knowledge that you are special. I, the others... We
all have a deep desire to see that you are given the chance to grow
and become the person you are meant to be.

"Because of that, we've all been letting you find out whatever you
seek to know.

"You have an ability few have. Trust it. You'll *know* when you choose
the right path. Maybe not just what makes it right... But you will
know that it's right for you.

"Don't try to force the decision. It will happen in its own time. For
all you are 14 and forced to be wise beyond your years... There are
things that only time will teach you. Finding the patience to wait
things out is one of them.

"Think. You've spent all your life learning to be a slave. Now,
suddenly, a new world is revealed to you."

He chuckles softly. "Don't you think it is a bit unrealistic to expect
to know all about it, and your place in it, in a few days or weeks?"

He falls silent and returns to gazing at the lake.

* * *

A soft chuckle brought her back to the present. Chel turned her head
to see Blade laughing and wearing a rueful expression.

"Well, at least I know that Dad's consistent," he said, in answer to
her unspoken query. "It sounds like exactly the same sort of thing
that he's been trying to tell *me* for years.

"Take control of your own life. Don't rush things. You'll know when
you've made the right decisions.

"Funny how his words never seemed to make much sense until I found
what I was looking for. Now I know *exactly* what he meant, all that
time ago...."

His voice trails off into good-natured laughter, and Chel breaks into
a grin as she watches the young wolfhound beside her.

"I guess you're just a slow learner then," she remarked teasingly.

Blade smiled wryly. "We all reach our own solutions in our own time.
Carry on with the story, wolf."

Chel drifted back again, to the lakeside, with Nikki....

* * *

Chel's mind reels as she tries to take in what has been said to her.
Relief floods her, almost overwhelming in its intensity.

The wolfhound's gentle words have cleared her head for the first time
in days. Some of the things that he said are confusing. She doesn't
understand them all. Nevertheless, she now has the reassuring
knowledge that her future and her choices do not have to be faced
alone, without help.

More than that, she suddenly feels that she *has* a future.

Apprenticeships? A family? People that will take her in and care for
her, when all this is over. The certainty of that knowledge makes
fresh tears of relief brim in her eyes.

In silence, she ponders the options before her, calm and unhurried in
Nikki's silent companionship.

A family....

For weeks, she has dreamed of little else. Surrounded by people being
united, she has felt grievously alone and envious of what they had
together.

'You'll *know* when you choose the right path.'

Nikki's words echo in her mind. Without conscious thought, she scoops
up a handful of pebbles. The wolfhound watches her in gentle amusement
as she imitates his actions. A pebble plops into the water, followed
by another. The ripples touch, merge, move on, change and finally fade
to stillness again.

Now that a family is not just a vague dream, she wonders whether it is
what she actually wants. She has no knowledge of what *real* families
are. What they do. How they act.

Maybe that's what the Bard is trying to tell her. She will need to
experience such things before she can decide whether they are for her.
At the moment, all she has to go on is her instinct.

Sighing, she gazes at the ripples. Instinct is all she has, and
instinct is filling her mind with doubts. A family seems so.... so
*permanent*. It would be jumping into something that she has no
experience of, and if she makes the wrong choice, she will have to
live with the consequences of that for a long time to come.

'You'll *know* when you choose the right path.'

A family is a dream. That's all. It isn't right for her. Not now.
Maybe not ever.

An apprenticeship then?

Her mind wanders over the possibility. It sounds hopeful. Space.
Preparation for her life's work in the future. Training in.....

Staring into the depths of the lake, she realizes that here is another
snag. Training in what? She has no knowledge of what she wants to do
with her life. Her instincts are not something that she can simply
command, and they tell her nothing about which job would be right for
her.

There is no hurry to decide. Nikki says so. She knows, in her heart,
that he is right. A decision of sorts *is* necessary though. Soon, the
guards and trackers will move on, and *something* will have to be done
with her.

The first step of her path will lead onto other steps. Inevitably, it
will close some of the existing pathways off from her as well.

If only things could stay as they are for a while longer! She needs
more time, with people she knows and trusts. It's too soon for her to
make her choices.

Frustrated, she hurls the remaining pebbles into the water, watching
the ripples merge and mingle in a multitude of patterns. As the stones
sink to the depths of the lake, her eyes suddenly widen in
astonishment.

Could the answer really be as simple as that? So obvious that she
overlooked it?

She already *has* a family. She already has a purpose, and a path to
the future. All she needs to do is accept what she has right now.

Who has looked after her and helped her, since the night of her
release into freedom? Who will support her in her decisions, and allow
her the freedom and the space that she needs? Who are her friends?

This band of people. The guards. The trackers. The power-wielders.

All the time, she has been blinded by the fact that they will move on
shortly. Now, suddenly, she dares to hope that she can go with them.

True, the group will split into smaller components now. Many of the
power-wielders are heading for their own homes shortly. The main group
will be joined by other individuals, new to the task and willing to do
their part to free other slaves. Just as she has been freed.

Why shouldn't she be one of the helpers? She has learned a lot in a
few short weeks. If nothing else, she knows more about being a slave
than any of the rescuers. She can repay her own rescue by helping
other newly freed slaves to adapt. While she is helping them, she will
be learning valuable lessons for herself, and in time, she will be
ready to join the world as an adult.

Meanwhile, she will have a family so diverse and big that it will
offer both freedom and security, in a way that she cannot depend upon
from a normal family just yet. People will come and they will go, but
she won't be left on her own again. Never totally.

Lots of little pebbles, each one small and insignificant. Together,
they can make infinite differences to the surface of the water. Chel
finds herself longing to be a part of that greater pattern.

Her feelings tell her that this way is right. Freedom, space, time to
think, adjust and adapt, security, a path to the future. It is all of
that.

Now, if only she can make them see....

She scrambles to her feet, only remembering Nikki's continued presence
as she turns. He is watching her and smiling slightly.

"I think I know what to do now," she says, distractedly. "I've got to
go."

She runs a few paces, before slowing and turning back again.

"Oh.... and thankyou," she says, hugging him impulsively.

A few seconds later she is gone. Nikki chuckles softly before getting
up and wandering slowly back in the wake of her path. Things can
happen without him for once, he thinks with amusement.

* * *

Chel lay back, looking at the stars for a moment. Blade waited
patiently for her to continue.

"There isn't much left to tell," she said, her eyes still locked into
a vision of the past.

"The guards accepted me as a helper on their next job. Your father
disappeared with a lot of the other power-wielders.

"I spent two years with the team in that valley. There were hidden
pockets of slave trading all over the place.

"As they became harder to find, I became more useful to the guards. I
volunteered to act as a lone scout. A piece of bait, if you like. On
my own, a single, young wolf, I brought the traders out of hiding as
they came hunting for me."

She shrugged. "I got my wish. I made a difference, and repaid my debt
to those who freed me.

"It was the right thing to do. For me.

"We all find our own path in the end....."

She smiled into the darkness.

"Goodnight, Blade," she added softly.

"'Night Chel."

Silence descended, broken only by the crackle of a slowly ebbing
campfire. At last, even that faded. The hound and the wolf slept side
by side in the darkness, each dreaming their own dreams. Sharing the
same path, for a while....
====

Blade's Travels - Part Two
Blade and Chel
CHAPTER FOUR
---

The journey had been a long one. Their travels over the mountains had
been hard at times. The last stage of their journey had been
especially hard as they had seen the onset of an especially fierce
Rabelaisian Winter.

Blade didn't regret a day of it. His five years of training had been a
prison compared to the freedom and quiet union with nature that he
felt now.

Chel had been good company. She had taught him a lot of her
professional skills. At the same time, he busied himself by starting
to train her natural flair for power-wielding into a more disciplined
skill.

A mutual respect had gradually blossomed between them.

Blade found that Chel was versatile, capable of thinking quickly, and
better than he was with a sword. More than that, she was a fast
learner and she was interested in learning what he could teach her.
Her progress was little short of astounding.

In return, Chel learned that Blade was more than capable of doing the
job that she had hired him for. He was pleasant company, and, he was
genuinely interested in the work.

Blade grinned ruefully to himself. In all honesty, he had to admit
that even a complete beginner would be able to tackle this mission so
far.

The trail was comically simple to follow. You just found the place
where there had been recent trouble, and headed straight for that
location. As if that wasn't enough, Chel already had a good idea of
where their quarry was headed.

The snow-wolf had been telling the truth when she said she didn't know
what he'd done to deserve being hunted down. However, she had been
hunting him on and off for over a year now. In that time, she had
found out a lot about him and it was easy enough to guess at the rest.

The man seemed, by all accounts, to be a natural jinx.

He would travel from place to place, and without him seeming to do
anything, problems would erupt around him.

Brawls, murders, robberies, petty squabbles, family feuds, jealous
accusations, kidnappings, inter-village wars......

The list went on. The misery lingered for a long time after the man
had moved away from the area.

Of course, none of the locals had thought to blame the passing
stranger. Nevertheless, he was undoubtedly the cause of their
problems. Whether he was consciously making this trouble or not, he
had to be stopped.

One thing worried Blade though. As they traveled, he mentioned it to
Chel.

"Chel," he began hesitantly. "Is it right to punish someone for
something that they have no control over? What if Raynard isn't
consciously causing all this trouble? It would be like arresting
someone because they owned a pond that someone had fallen into and
drowned."

Chel sighed. "I told you before. We don't ask those sorts of questions
in this job. The fact is, he's causing trouble. Look at all the people
who are suffering while he's free.

"Still, if you're determined to cause yourself grief by agonizing over
the subject, think of it this way. Sure, he's got a pond. He can't
help that it's inherently dangerous to the unwary. What's to stop him
putting up warning signs beside the pond though? He could have chosen
to dig the pond somewhere other than the middle of the main streets,
come to think of it.

"It's not so much that he's got this unfortunate talent. It's the way
he's handling it that's causing the problems. I've been tracing him
for over a year now, and I've never heard tell of him trying to get
help for his little 'quirk' or trying to stop the problem. He's got to
be stopped, and that's all there is to it. We've got a job to do,
hound."

Blade grimaced. Her words made logical sense, but ethically, he
couldn't help but feel that the whole business stank.

He realized, with resignation, that he was just going to have to deal
with it somehow. They were close to their destination now. Another day
or two and they would have caught up with him.

Then he would have to do the job he had agreed to do.....

* * *

Chel was fast and fit. She could keep up a fast pace over long
distances and Blade could pace her easily.

Just over a day later, they arrived at the outskirts of their final
destination. Immediately, Blade could sense the wrongness of the
place.

"He's here," he said, his ears flattened back slightly.

Chel looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I won't ask how you know," she
remarked wryly. "You're sure?"

He nodded. "There's trouble, either headed for, or happening in this
town. Everything feels...." He shrugged helplessly, "I don't know....
tense. Looming."

She was silent for a few moments. From the sudden tensing of her body,
Blade realized that when she concentrated, she could feel it too. She
was learning fast.

She sighed. "Okay. I had hoped we could find him somewhere else, but
it was a slim hope at best. Let's go on in."

As the two of them walked into the confines of the village, they took
silent note of their surroundings.

To outward appearances, the town seemed pleasant and friendly enough.
Two main paths ran through the settlement, and there were a number of
pretty-looking shops and taverns scattered around.

Even the individual people looked happy. They nodded and smiled as
Chel and Blade passed by. A couple of adolescent female cubs stared
and giggled as they approached Blade.

The details were perfect, but Blade felt oppressed by the dark
atmosphere that lay behind the happy veneer of this place. It was like
a thick fog that settled cloyingly around him and he couldn't shake it
off.

He shook his head. Chel had just spoken to him.

"Sorry? What did you say?"

She sighed impatiently. "Should we find somewhere to stay? We might be
here for a while," she repeated with mock patience.

He shuddered. "I hope not. There's going to be a lot of trouble around
here."

"As long as it takes," stated Chel, not without sympathy in her tone.

Together, the two of them sought out one of the more reputable looking
taverns. They ordered a drink and a room, and proceeded to make a few
cautious enquiries.

It seemed that the man they sought was here. Being human, he was
easily recognizable, and this wasn't the first time he had visited the
place.

Raynard had been here almost a week now. He had taken no efforts to
conceal his presence, even though he must have been aware that others
would be following him. He showed no signs of being in a hurry to
leave either.

Chel sighed when she heard the news.

"That's what I feared," she said, glumly.

Blade cocked his head and stared at her.

"Isn't it about time you told me what was going on?" he asked quietly.

"Okay. Grab a table out of the way somewhere, and I'll tell you what I
know."

The two of them settled at a shadowed table in a small recess. Chel
regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.

"The situation is this. Every time Raynard feels that his pursuit is
getting too close for comfort, he heads for this place. It's like a
sanctuary for him. He stays here for as long as he likes, then he
simply changes form one night and sneaks away while nobody can
identify him.

"He can be miles away before his trackers even realize that he's gone.
More than that, he can have fled in any direction he chooses and it's
impossible to tell. The only thing to do is wait until you hear of an
unlucky incident and start tracking him again from there. That's why
he's remained free for so long. The bounty hunters simply aren't up to
the task of finding him. Most of them tend to chase the easier targets
for their money."

Blade frowned in confusion. "Why don't you just have a word with the
elders, or the village leader? They can deal with him, or just let you
take custody of him, then he hasn't got a chance to escape."

Chel smiled grimly. "That's the whole point. He's safe here because
the ruler of the village protects him. They have a long standing
relationship, and she won't hear a word said against him. They say
love is blind, don't they?"

"Hasn't anyone tried telling her that he's trouble?" Blade protested.
"Can't she see it for herself?"

Chel shrugged. "It's been tried. She turns a blind eye to the trouble
that follows him around. It's easy to shrug something like that off as
coincidence if that's what you want to believe. After all, there's no
physical proof. Nothing that we can show her or tell her is anything
more than hearsay.

"We bounty-hunters have a code of practice as well, you know. We have
our rules and we stick to them. One of those rules is that you don't
go against a leader in their own village - however much you may
disagree with their rulings. We don't interfere in how people run
their homes, because most of us are eternal travelers. Because we
don't have places of our own, we refuse to mess up other peoples'
lifestyles. After all, we can always move on, and they're stuck with
whatever the results of our actions are.

"That's why I need you here. You've got power - maybe not as much as a
Master, but you should be able to do *something* to stop him just
walking out of here when he's done his damage."

Blade could clearly hear the frustration in Chel's voice as she spoke
about Raynard. He had obviously got the better of her before by
traveling this route. She was determined that it wasn't going to
happen again.

He nodded. "I can certainly do *something*. Question is, will it be
enough?

"I'll need to set up an automatic trigger spell, so that I'm alerted
the moment he decides to leave the village. I'll be able to tell what
form he's in and what direction he goes in.

"There are problems with that though.

"First, the knowledge of his location won't last long." He smiled
ruefully. "I never got around to learning the finer points of how to
extend control of the basic power.

"Second, I'll have to be within sight of him when I set up my trigger.
A trained Mage would be able to manage it by thought alone, but...."
He shrugged eloquently.

"Lastly, if he's any good with power-wielding himself, he's going to
know that I've done some casting. However discrete I make the words
and gestures, he'll still sense the presence of another power-wielder,
and he'll know that power was directed at him. Depending on his
abilities, he may even know what I've attempted.

"Since you don't know that much about him, I suppose we'll just have
to take that chance. We'll just have to be aware that he may be ready
for our pursuit."

Chel sighed. "If that's the best you can do, we'll have to make sure
it's enough. It's a better chance than I would have had without you."

She smiled, a sudden, warming smile and Blade's heart lurched. Again,
he silently cursed himself for being a fool.

How had he let himself fall for this aloof snow-wolf? There was no
chance - absolutely none - of them staying together. He was hired for
a single job, then she would be on her way again.

If he could have seen it coming, then maybe he could have warded the
feelings off somehow. The development had been so gradual, though. By
the time he had realized how he felt about Chel, it had been too late
to back off, or change the facts.

It was true that she had warmed to him. They were good company
together. They laughed a lot, and at times, he had even managed to
break through the all-but-impenetrable barriers that she had erected
between herself and the rest of the world.

He wasn't fool enough to think that it was enough though. Better to be
realistic now, and accept what he had. Rather that than build up false
hopes only to have them shattered later on.

He shook the feelings away for now. They had this job. They were
together. It would have to be enough, for there couldn't be any more
whether he liked it or not.

"Ummm.... I'll go and prepare my casting," he managed, a little
weakly. "It's been a while. I'm probably out of practice."

He went up to his room and shut the door behind him, letting out a
sigh of mingled relief and regret.

It was true. He *did* have to cast his memory back and dig out the
correct phrasings and gestures for this particular casting. Things
that had once come automatically to him were now an effort of
remembrance.

Still, more than the practice, he had needed some space from Chel.
Proximity to her made him want to do insane things like tell her how
he felt. Better to get some distance and perspective back, before he
made such a stupid error of judgment.

He lay back on his bed and started to cast his mind back to the
appropriate lessons from his former Master. After a while, he was
fairly confident of having remembered well enough and his mind began
to drift to pleasanter, bittersweet memories and daydreams. His
travels over the mountains with Chel haunted his thoughts as he
analyzed every word and gesture, trying to find some sign that she
returned his feelings.

At some point, he must have fallen into a doze. He was awoken abruptly
to the sound of a casual rap on the door. As he opened his eyes, he
saw Chel opening the door and walking in, to sit on the bed beside
him.

"Uhhmmm..... yeah?" he slurred out, gradually focusing on the world
around him again.

She smiled grimly. "Raynard's downstairs. In the bar. I thought this
might be your chance to set up your trigger. I can see you've been
hard at work on your... preparations," she added, with a teasing grin.

He chuckled wryly. "Don't worry. I'm prepared. Okay, I'll give it my
best shot. We'll just have to see if he notices. Keep an eye out for
him reacting in any way to my casting."

The two of them went down the stairs together and sat in the darkest
corner of the inn. Blade didn't need the man pointed out to him. There
was a powerful aura of looming disaster emanating from him. It was so
strong that Blade could virtually *smell* it.

A cougar female sat by him, engrossed in his conversation. Blade
guessed at it being the leader of the village. For a moment, he
wondered how anyone could be so in love that they could overlook the
amount of trouble that this human brought with him. Then he smiled
wryly. Chel wasn't exactly the easiest companion to get along with,
and yet he overlooked all of her faults and saw only what he wanted
and needed to see. Why? Because he was in love. Apart from the threat
that Raynard presented, there was very little difference between
himself and the leader of this village.

Sighing softly, he turned his mind to the task of setting a mental
trigger before the two of them disappeared from his sight.

Keeping his words to the merest breath of a whisper, and his gestures
as small as possible, he proceeded to lay his trap for Raynard.

He had been right, in that his skills as a Mage were all still there.
They came back to him surprisingly easily. Still, he felt a slight
awkwardness at handling power so obviously. Wryly, he wondered whether
that had been a part of why he had given up his career as a Mage -
because, growing up in a household of power-users who used nothing but
subtlety, he had somehow come to think of Mage magic as being clumsy?

Whatever the reasons were, he had no time to think about them now. As
the power flowed from him, he watched Raynard with a hawklike gaze,
looking for any sign that he had been discovered.

For a moment, Blade thought he had got away with it. Then, a momentary
tensing of Raynard's shoulders told him otherwise. A few seconds
later, the man began to look around the room, seemingly casually.

Blade waited, still and silent. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw
Raynard's gaze fall upon him.... and pass him by. The human continued
to study his fellow drinkers for long enough to convince Blade that he
either hadn't identified the two of them, or he was a damned good
actor!

He let out a slow, shuddering breath and took a sip of his ale. For
minutes, he sat in silence, watching for any sign of discovery. At
last he looked at Chel and dared to speak again.

"Let's get out of here," he said in a low voice.

* * *

The days that followed were dull and frustrating. Blade hardly dared
to step out of the tavern, for fear that he would do something to
alert Raynard's attention to him. Now that the human knew there was
someone on his trail, he would be ever alert for the smallest sign.

Chel stayed similarly out of the way. She was unlikely to be
recognized for her power-wielding, but there was always the risk that
her physical appearance would give her away. After all, she had been
chasing Raynard for some time now, and he might be able to pick her
out in a crowd.

Together, they kept company. Eating, drinking, sleeping, playing dull
little games to while the time away. The freedom to go hunting, or
simply to run in the wind was a distant dream while they waited for
Raynard to make his move.

Then one night it happened. Chel was awoken from her sleep by Blade's
urgent shaking of her. Although it was dark, she could *feel* his
tension radiating jarringly through her brain. One of her feelings
again, bypassing logic with its strength and certainty.

"I can sense him," whispered the wolfhound, his head cocked to one
side. "He's moving out."

Within the space of a minute, Chel was out of bed, fully awake and
ready to track her long awaited prey.

"Which way is he headed, Blade?" Chel spoke in low, urgent tones. Even
in the darkness, Blade could see the sparkle of the hunt come alive in
her eyes. "Come on, let's go."

The two of them moved out of the tavern. At this time of night, the
village was utterly deserted and lifeless. Better that way, thought
Blade, grimly. Less distractions and no problem with uninvited
interference.

Even as Blade was heading out of the door, he was already picking up
speed. By the time they reached the first junction, his pace had
increased to a sprint.

Chel ran fast, falling behind a little, while she kept her senses
alert for any signs of their quarry. From time to time, she glanced
sideways at Blade, but she knew better than to distract him now.

The young wolfhound ran on. His heart was hammering wildly, and he
felt strangely unfocussed. There was a slight uneasiness itching at
his brain, and as seconds turned into minutes, it grew more evident.

His pace slowed, almost without his conscious thought.

Something was wrong. What was it? 'Think!' he chided himself.

He was aware of Chel looking at him impatiently, frustrated that the
trail was growing cold while he hesitated. He shook his head in
exasperation. Even if his instincts were correct, and something was
amiss, he should be able to rely on his natural abilities to track the
human without the aid of his power. There was certainly no reason for
him to be standing here like a complete fool! If he *was* still human,
that was....

Wait - that was it!

His spell trigger was telling him that Raynard had disappeared this
way. His instincts as a tracker were telling him nothing of the sort.

As one of the Bards' children, he had made sport of tracking. They all
had. You just developed an inner knowledge of certain things. Like the
recent passing of a traveler.

Things got stirred up. There was a sense of fear from the smaller
creatures that made their homes nearby if a predator passed by. There
was the sharp interest from the larger creatures if anything smaller
made its way through an area. If nothing else, there should have been
an awareness of the quarry's own adrenaline-enhanced excitement,
pervading the area like the scent of blood in the air.

Yet here he was, receiving nothing but mixed signals. The Mage in him
said go this way. The tracker denied it. More than that, his spell
should have created an awareness of the form Raynard chose to travel
in. He had no sense of knowledge there, and that was wrong!

Wincing, he cursed himself for a fool. Such a simple trick! Raynard
had set up a false signal to counter the trigger that Blade had
prepared. Now he had wasted precious minutes following the wrong path.

"He's not here. Come on!"

Without waiting for Chel's reaction, he began to sprint easily back to
the source of the trail. If he couldn't rely on his Mage training, he
would have to fall back on his childhood games to catch Raynard. Track
him by instinct and perception alone.

As he reached the outskirts of the settlement, Chel finally caught up
with him.

"What's going on?" she panted at him.

He waved a paw distractedly. "Shh... I'm trying to pick up his trail
again. Let me think...."

She waited, controlling her impatience as he wandered slowly to the
main junction of the village. His expression was distracted, oblivious
to everything except his tunneled instincts.

Blade sighed to himself. Raynard had not made his trail easy to
follow. He had managed to block his own aura completely from Blade's
perceptions. Therefore, he could only be found through the reactions
of the things that surrounded him.

No doubt an experienced tracker would have been able to hone in on the
surrounding signals immediately. Blade was fully aware of his own
limitations though. It was a good thing that the trail was still
fresh, otherwise his chances would have been even more remote.

Suddenly, his mind caught onto a nuance that he previously overlooked.
Disturbance, in the distance, but still reachable. Was Raynard still
human or had he already changed to another form? Blade's instincts
told him that they were chasing a man, but he couldn't be sure. It
didn't matter, he would leave a trail no matter which shape he used,
if Blade was skilled enough to follow it. He prayed that his talents
were up to the task.

"I've found him," he grinned triumphantly. "This way, Chel!"

The two of them sped off for the second time. The wind battered at
their faces as they fairly flew to the opposite end of the settlement,
and out the other side.

Blade kept his senses alert for more trickery, but this way *felt*
right. Here was a family of squirrels, just daring to re-emerge after
they had been frightened by Raynard's passing. As they caught a
glimpse of Chel and Blade, they quickly scampered back to the depths
of their hole again.

Here was a trampled patch of foliage, where he had cut off from the
main path. Yes, Raynard may have protected himself mentally from
Blade, but he had done a bad job of hiding his physical movements.
Probably because, as a power-wielder, he had thought that Blade would
have no skill at following a normal trail. He must have thought
himself safely out of the village with his little piece of
misdirection. How long would it be before he sensed that Blade had
found his tracks again?

Blade's unspoken question was answered even as he contemplated it.
They less than a mile out of the village when a glow lit up the sky at
their rear.

Startled, they turned back to see an angry red halo around the
settlement. For a moment, Blade could only think that it was an
unearthly contrast with the black, moonless night sky. Then, with a
shock, the message that his eyes had been giving him reached as far as
his brain.

He gasped, as Chel vocalized his own horrified thought.

"Fire," she panted grimly.

In the space of a second, a dozen thoughts whirled through Blade's
head.

Was it Raynard's doing? It *had* to be.....

Did that mean he knew they were after him? Again, Blade had to assume
so....

That meant that their quarry knew how to control his malevolent
powers. Not good....

What should they do? If they went back, they would almost certainly
lose track of Raynard. If they carried on, they were leaving a village
full of sleeping people to the possibility of burning to death.....

They had to carry on, and they had to go back. That meant splitting
up....

If he was the one to go back, Chel might be able to track Raynard.
Then again, she might not. All he would have to do would be to change
form, and he would be lost to her. He couldn't escape from Blade that
easily....

If Chel were to go back, he would be on his own. An inexperienced
youngster, with no knowledge of what to expect.....

He was scared. It didn't matter. There was no choice.

Chel seemed to have reached the same decision for herself. She looked
both furious and frustrated.

"Don't let him get away, Blade. Deal with him. For me," she said,
curtly. Then she was gone, a white form, fading into the darkness of
their surroundings.

Blade was alone. There was nothing for it but to continue the chase by
himself. Wasting no further time, he loped away, regaining his focus
as he ran.

After a few moments, he was aware of nothing but his pounding legs and
the trail of his prey. He was no longer Blade, but a combination of
every living creature within his immediate vicinity. Excepting Raynard
of course. The jinx was still keeping his mental patterns hidden from
his hunter.

It wasn't enough to hide from Blade though. Even when Raynard turned
into something smaller and faster, the young wolfhound was aware of
it. Fox, he guessed, by the way the creatures reacted to him. Swift
and cunning, but neither were enough to shake Blade from the aura of
his quarry's passing.

Blade's concentration upon his surroundings was such that he almost
didn't notice as he finally caught up with Raynard. It was a few
seconds before he identified the figure ahead of him as anything other
than an object in his way.

He had been right, he thought triumphantly. A fox.

He spared the energy for a slight smile. Raynard was obviously tired
now. The problem with most people who changed shape was that they
didn't do it often enough to get used to the alternate form. The man
wasn't used to running as a fox, and although he was swift, he also
tired more quickly than a regular fox.

As Blade rapidly closed the distance between them, Raynard realized
that his flight was in vain. Before the wolfhound's eyes, he changed
back to the man that Blade recognized.

As the hunter slowed, Raynard turned. His breath was harsh and
grating. His normally pale face was flushed from the chase.

Blade slowed until he was almost within arm's reach of the human.

"You've nowhere left to run, Raynard," he said quietly. "It's time to
take you to justice."

Raynard's smile was cold. "I think not, child. You've done well to
pursue me this far, but this is where the trail ends."

As Blade tilted his head in silent inquiry, Raynard laughed.

"You're not the only one with automatically triggered defenses, young
Mage. After I felt you exerting your power that night, I set up my own
counters to it.

"Now, if you so much as touch me, I'll take both of us out. Along with
a good chunk of the surrounding land.

"Nor will you be able to catch up with me at a later date. The trigger
will remain in place as long as I am alive. Poor little pup - didn't
you ever wonder why I was so hard to capture?"

For a moment, Blade was taken aback. It was true that, as a fellow
Mage, Raynard could be capable of doing everything he claimed.

Still, there was an inner voice that told Blade otherwise. Raynard had
an air of fear underneath the outer layer of confidence, and Blade was
hard to hide that sort of thing from.

'Besides', he thought edgily. 'If he was so invulnerable, why was he
running away?'

He forced his voice into a calm tone. "I'll take the chance, human."
Deliberately, he raised his arm and reached out to his adversary.

He was rewarded by a look of fear and hatred in Raynard's eyes.
Hissing, the man drew a dagger and took a pace backwards, holding the
weapon threateningly between them.

Blade snorted. "You want to play swords, Raynard?" In one swift,
movement, he drew the weapon from his own belt and leveled it at chest
height.

A darting test of each other's weaknesses ensued. The two shadowed
forms circled each other, meeting lunge with parry and seeking a gap
in their opponent's defenses.

Before the first blow was landed, Blade knew himself to be the better
swordsman. Raynard was agile but unpracticed. While he could defend
himself tolerably, he left himself open as he tried to attack.

It was a good job Raynard hadn't thought to challenge him with magic,
Blade decided thankfully. At power-wielding, the human would almost
certainly have had the advantage over him. Maybe, Raynard thought
Blade was better at casting than he actually was. After all, he had
spotted the counter-trap almost immediately. Wryly, he grinned to
himself. He was very thankful that his adversary didn't know the truth
about him.

As the wary contest continued, Raynard evidently realized that he was
going to end up the loser. With a frustrated snarl, he lowered his
weapon.

"What *are* you, hound?" he asked, almost plaintively. "You seem to
have an answer for everything!"

Blade let a slow smile spread across his face. "I take it that means
you'll come back with me?" he asked in measured tones. "No more
tricks? No more fires or destruction? I don't want to have to hurt
you, human, but I will if I must."

Raynard sagged and Blade's mind sang with elation. Taking the mans'
weapon from him, he began the trek back to the village with his
hard-earned prisoner.

As he walked, the question sang again and again through his dazed
mind.

'What *are* you? What *are* you?'

For the first time in his life, he both knew and accepted what he was.
A little of everything, a mix of all and a master of none.

Maybe he wasn't cut out for excellence in any one thing. So what? It
had been his wide smattering of knowledge and skills that had won out
over Raynard at last. Could a true professional have handled things
any better?

He shrugged thoughtfully. It didn't matter whether they could or not.
What mattered was that he *had* managed it. All those years of
'wasted' training hadn't been wasted after all.

He was Blade, and finally, that was enough.

* * *

EPILOGUE

Blade and Chel were approaching his family for the second time now.
Raynard was in tow with them, as he had been for their entire journey
over the mountains.

Truth to tell, he had been a model prisoner. It was as if all the
fight had finally been taken out of him on the night of his capture.
Apart from having to deal with the natural leakage of his 'bad luck
curse', neither Chel nor Blade had encountered any problems with the
human. They had purposefully avoided any population centers, as it
would have been too easy for Raynard to direct his powers
destructively. Just as he had on the night of the fire.

Now that they were encountering people again, for the first time in
weeks, Chel was consumed by curiosity.

Blade had requested this diversion, giving no reasons for it. Chel
understood how difficult it was to speak freely with a prisoner
around, but she was sure that Raynard's presence wasn't the only
reason for Blade's silence.

In fact, Blade had been little or no company all the way home. He had
been pensive and thoughtful, unlike the light-hearted friend that she
had made in the first stages of this job.

What was going through his mind, she wondered. What wasn't he telling
her?

This time, there was no-one to meet them in a convenient clearing. The
three of them approached the house and Blade relaxed visibly as Pippa
and Ash appeared in the doorway.

Usually, when the family met up again, the air was chaotic with
energetic tussling and laughter. This time, the atmosphere seemed
filled with a gravity that Chel could neither explain or understand.

As quiet greetings were exchanged, she couldn't stand the suspense any
longer. "What's happening, Blade? Why have we come here?"

He looked at her oddly. "Come inside. I'll tell you there."

The five of them wandered indoors and sat down. Blade took a deep
breath.

"I'm heading back over the mountains again," he said, wearily. "Pippa.
Ash. I'm asking one of you two to go with Chel, to hand Raynard in and
collect the bounty. You can keep my half of the money, or you can let
Chel have it. Either way, I know I have no right to ask either of you
for this. I wouldn't if it wasn't important."

He looked at the two of them, in turn. "Please?"

After a momentary pause, Pippa sighed. "So much for my vacation," she
said, smiling wryly. "I'll go, little brother. I trust you have your
reasons?"

Chel interrupted with dangerously deceptive calm in her voice. "Yes
Blade. I'm sure *you've* got your reasons. Maybe you want to share
them, before organizing my future plans so effectively?"

Blade gazed at the angry wolf with resignation.

"I'm sorry Chel. I have to go back and make things right in the
village that we left.

"You saw the place before we came back. It was a wreck because of the
fire that *he* set off." The young wolfhound looked at Raynard with
calm contempt. Raynard showed no sign of having seen or interpreted
the look.

Chel shook her head in frustration. "Yes, but what has that got to do
with *you*?"

He sighed. "I'd like to be able to say 'nothing', but I just can't."
Looking around, his eyes met those of Ash, and they shared a rueful
smile. Again, he turned back to Chel.

"There are things that you learn through growing up in a Bard's house.
Things that you can't help but pick up. Double-edged swords.

"Like how to read people. No, not magic, just..." he shrugged,
"....just learning to watch and listen.

"Before we left, I was watching and listening to the pain and fear
that came from the people in that village. Some of them had lost
family, many of them had lost all their possessions.

"The leader of the village - the cougar - she's what forced me into
the decision that I'm making now."

He sagged into a chair. "Along with her pain and her fear, there was
something else. Wounded pride. Repressed knowledge that she had been
wrong about Raynard all along. Anger."

His haunted eyes stared at Chel. "I fear for that village, Chel. I'm
scared because I think I know how she'll deal with the recent events.
Her anger, combined with her fear for her position as leader, is a
dangerous combination.

"Don't you see? She's not going to blame Raynard for this. Not *only*
him, anyway. She'll tell her people that it's the fault of *all*
power-wielders. She'll take their pain and bewilderment, and she'll
direct out against the rest of the world, so that it doesn't land at
her feet.

"Those poor people are very vulnerable at the moment. They're going to
jump at the chance to blame someone. Anyone. The more people the
better. So, at a time when they could do with some real help from
people who can use power to restore their village, they're going to
turn that help away."

Sighing, he added, "Within a year, that village will be turning all
wielders away. Possibly even lashing out at them in their anger. Even
a Master wouldn't be able to break through that layer of hurt and
anger. Rabelaisia doesn't need that sort of segregation and
separatism."

Chel looked at him in frustrated incomprehension. "In that case, what
difference do you think *you* can possibly make? You're no Master,
you're not even a fully qualified apprentice!"

He looked up. "I'm possibly the only person who *could* make a
difference back there. That's why I have to go back.

"They know me. They know what I did, and how I captured the *real*
menace that night. In my absence, they may be able to conveniently
forget that a power-wielder did some good deeds, but when I'm there as
a constant reminder, it will be harder to ignore the facts.

"More than that, I'll be helping them to rebuild their village. Doing
what I can to reverse the damage that Raynard did."

Chel was inexplicably angry with him. "It's not your problem, Blade!
You think you can set the whole world right on your own? You didn't
cause this damage, and you've got your own life to live. Besides, you
haven't finished the job I hired you for," she added, petulantly. "Or
is this something else that you're just going to walk out on halfway
through?"

Blade winced. "I don't think I can set the whole world to right, Chel.
I just see one little portion of the world that I can make a
difference in. Isn't that what you chose to do when you got your
freedom from slavery, all those years ago?"

He continued, taking advantage of her momentary silence. "As for it
not being my fault, our jinx wouldn't have caused the damage if he
hadn't been trying to avoid being hunted by me. I'm not completely
devoid of blame in this matter.

"I wish I could just ignore it and say that it wasn't my problem. The
fact is, I can't. It's something I have to try and do." Smiling wryly,
he added one last comment.

"I guess I can't avoid responsibility *all* my life."

Chel sighed, unable to remain angry with the wolfhound. "I think
you're crazy," she shrugged. "I had another job I could have used a
partner for. Still, if you're going back over the mountains, I can't
stop you. This is where we go our separate ways then.

"Just one question. If you knew all of that before you left the
village, why did you come this far with me?"

He smiled. "Could you have brought Raynard back on your own? That's
why I came with you. I don't run out on my responsibilities, whatever
you may think of me."

Chel looked at him. The answer was an honest one, and it made sense.
Still, she felt vaguely cheated. Disappointed. The sensation was made
no better by the strange way that Blade's brother was looking at her.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Okay. You've discharged your duties.
That'll have to do. I presume I'm staying here until your sister can
come along with me?"

Pippa nodded. "We'll start in the morning."

* * *

In the morning, Blade parted company from Chel with an unspoken wrench
at his heart. She had barely looked at him as she had said good-bye.
Even though he knew she didn't share his feelings about their
relationship, he had hoped for something a little better than the
abrupt good-bye that she had offered so coolly.

The mountain journey was tedious and long without her. Still, he made
it back to the village in good time.

Things there were every bit as bad as he had imagined them to be.
Despite his recent good work in the village, he faced ridicule and
hostility. His attempts to help were blocked at every turn, and he
found himself having to be more subtle than he had ever imagined
himself capable of in order to get anywhere with the villagers. He
became a healer, a tracker, a tinker, a story-teller, a swordsman or a
Mage, as and when the needs arose.

The leader especially was angry at his attempts to rebuild the
village. She could see the people beginning to question her former
claims about the evil of power-wielders. Blade was a threat to her
continuing leadership, and he had to be constantly careful that he
made no overt moves that could be interpreted as a danger to her.

All in all, it was a thankless, inch-by-inch task that he had taken
on. There were many times in the following months that he regretted
the decision that he had made.

He longed for his brief time of happiness to be restored to him. The
quiet freedom of living rough, with a good friend. Sharing quiet
laughter, running with the wind against their backs, mock-fighting and
teasing. One simple goal, instead of a hundred seemingly impossible
ones. Chel's argumentative tones, or her knowing comments.

All those things tugged at him. Yet even when things looked darkest
for him, he found hidden reserves of strength to pull him onwards. The
knowledge that he had done the right thing served as his anchor when
all else failed him.

Four impossible months passed. Then two difficult ones after that.
Three further months of fruitful toil, and he knew that he was winning
through the fear and the pain at last.

The cougar resigned her post and traveled on to new lands in the end.
She had felt her control slipping and in spite of her efforts to
martial forces against Blade, his popularity increased as hers
declined.

At this point, the villagers asked the young wolfhound to take over
the office of village leader. He declined with a smile.

"I have everything I want from you already," he shrugged. "The time
will come when I'll move on, and you need a leader who will be here
for a long time to come yet. Besides, I'd make a very bad leader," he
grinned. "I'm much too young, and I place too much value on my
freedom."

What he didn't add was that he felt his job was very nearly done here.
A few more weeks and he would be gone. He had made some valuable
friends during his stay at the village, but he was restless for his
life as a bounty hunter. Desperate to capture some of his former
happiness again, even if he could never have all of it back.

After a while, they stopped asking him. A new leader was chosen, and
Blade quietly approved the choice. They had picked someone who cared
about the village more than he cared about power.

Quietly, Blade began to make his plans for departure. He would go to
the nearest big city and pick up some names to claim bounty on. Then
he would allow his job to take him wherever it would.

Somewhere in the back of his mind was a vague idea about bumping into
a certain white wolf. Maybe they could share a drink to old times.
Maybe they could help each other on a job again. Beyond that, he
didn't dare to think.

Then one night, his plans changed abruptly.

He was quietly eating his meal at the inn. It had been a while since
he had needed to pay, either for lodgings or food in this place. The
gratitude of the locals had made life increasingly easy for him.

He was lost to his dreams and plans for the future, and so he never
realized that a stranger had approached or entered the village. In
fact, he was so wrapped up in his own private world that he barely
noticed a new presence within the tavern.

When a paw was laid on his shoulder, he jumped up in startlement. The
villagers usually kept a respectful distance from him, despite all of
his efforts to bridge that gap.

Whirling around, he saw a face that was both familiar and very
welcome.

For a moment, he gazed at Chel without being able to speak. His throat
worked and his mouth hung open slackly.

She grinned. "Is that any way to treat an old friend, wolfhound?"

"Chel," he managed, at last. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, if you don't want me around, I'll be on my way again," she
teased him.

"No, I.....No!" he protested, still at a complete loss, for the first
time in weeks.

She grinned in satisfaction at his tone. Then her face took on a
slightly more serious expression.

"I had to come back," she said quietly. "I owed you your pay for the
job. I never would have captured Raynard without you."

Blade stared at her, wanting to say so much, and yet not knowing how
to get the words from his brain to his mouth.

How could he tell her that her presence was by far a greater gift to
him than the money could ever be? How could he tell her that he loved
her, and his time away from her had simply augmented that feeling,
rather than making it die. How could he *possibly* tell her that he
couldn't bear for her to leave again?

He couldn't, of course. Numbly he watched as she disentangled a pouch
from her belt and held it out to him. He gazed at her in silent agony
and took the money from her unresisting paw.

After a moment, he realized that something wasn't as it should be. Her
paw was still outstretched for one thing. Did she want the money back?
His mind reeled in confusion.

As he watched, she slowly turned her arm, and silently spread her paw
out towards him in a gesture that he couldn't fail to recognize.

The gesture of life mates? She was offering herself to him?

He was paralyzed with shock. The sudden realization of all his dreams
was too much for his numbed brain to cope with.

She sighed impatiently, and Blade suddenly got the feeling that she
was desperately uncomfortable. "Come on, Blade. Do I have to do
*everything*?" she asked, glaring at him expectantly.

A slow, infatuated smile spread across his face and finally he found
the presence of mind to act. His paw came up to meet hers, before he
dragged the snow-wolf into a fierce embrace.

"How.... why did you come back?" he whispered, needing to hear the
answer.

She hugged him a little tighter. "You can blame your brother for that
one," she answered quietly. "Pippa and I became quite good friends on
the journey. We talked about you a lot."

At this point, Blade could feel her grinning against his shoulder, but
he knew better than to interrupt her. He waited for her to continue.

"Anyway, I traveled back to the house with her after we'd turned
Raynard in. I'd been trying to forget about you, after you'd left me
so suddenly. I'd fooled myself into thinking that I'd managed it.

"The evening after I arrived back, Ash found the time to speak to me.
He said...." she shrugged uncomfortably. "Never mind what he said. He
just suggested that I should come and find you, and that any offers I
cared to make wouldn't be refused by his baby brother.

"I'm glad I took his advice, hound of mine....."

Blade felt perfect contentment for the first time in his life. No
matter where the two of them ended up now, he had found a home. The
future could bring what it would. He was happy.
====

Brother Bard
Ash, Chel and Pippa
---

Ash felt them returning.

Good, Chel was with his sister. He had hoped this would happen.

He sighed. Sometimes Blade could be stupid. And Chel, for all her
experience, was no better this time.

It was time he did something.

'I hope Pippa got in her say about things. She's more of a medlar than
I am sometimes.' His thought was wry.

He had the 'Bard's Curse' worse than anyone else in his family.
Usually, he could suppress it. This time it involved his brother and
someone else close to his family...

As Pip and Chel came through the gate, he shared a look with Pippa.
She smiled slightly and then said something to Chel and went off on
some business of her own.

That left him facing Chel.

"Hello Chel. You and Blade can be pretty stupid sometimes." He knew
that he'd have to be direct. "But that's not all you have in common
and you and I know it."

Chel stopped and stared at him in shock. *This* was a Bard speaking?
One trained by Nikkolai?

She was wary... "What do you mean by that Ash?"

He sighed. "I'm not only a Bard. I'm Blade's brother.

"*He's* not going to openly admit he loves you. He can sense the ties
between you but he denies them in public and won't speak of them.

"You've closed yourself off as well."

He sighed and invited her to sit in the shade with him.

"You, of all people should have been alert to what he's been saying
with his body. He's been waiting for a sign from you that you cared
for him more than just as a person to do a job.

"Haven't you figured it out yet? What made dad be so careful in making
sure you had a chance to be yourself and reach your potential?

"What makes *all* of us so comfortable around you?"

He smiled slightly. "If not for Blade, *I* would make the
offer-of-mates."

She gaped. "You? But we barely know each other!"

He nodded. "Me."

He grinned at her. "Chel, you could have been a Bard. A good one.

"I'm not surprised it never occurred to you.

"It's a big part of why you never had to explain your feelings to any
of us.

"The problem is, growing up as you did during your early years, you
never had the chance to find out that people can sense when they are
with someone who is a potential mate.

"Blade has and he's been waiting for you to let him know that you
sense that connection.

"He's never taken the time to realize that you never learned to
recognize what those feelings mean.

"You'll have to make the first move. He can't. It's not in him to do
so.

"That's from living in a family with three full Bards. Haven't you
noticed that he seldom initiates but reacts to situations? That's a
Bard's habit.

"He probably doesn't realize that in reality, he could be, with very
little extra training, a journeyman Bard.

"It's up to you now. Think about it. Be sure, because you'd be living
with a man who in some situations, will habitually react as a Bard
would. You saw a sample of that when you came here a few days ago.

"Plus, he's capable of the same kind of unswerving attention to what
he sees as his 'duty', as dad is. Or, the same kind of commitment that
dad and mom have for each other.

"We all are."

With that, he got up and walked away as Chel stared after him.

* * *

Chel sat, gazing blankly after him until he was out of sight.

A Bard? Blade wasn't... he couldn't... he was so *young*! He didn't
carry or portray himself as a potential Bard. In fact, when she had
first met him, he had virtually *encouraged* everyone to have a low
opinion of him. Himself included.

She sighed and rubbed wearily at her eyes. It had worked too. Despite
knowing those extra depths and dimensions to him now, she still
thought of him as the unsure young wolfhound she had first met.

It took a conscious effort to remind herself of the fact that Blade
had caught Raynard, when she had failed for over a year. By himself.
No help from her. Not only that, he had subdued the human so
efficiently that he put up no further fight for either of his captors.

Oh yes. He was talented all right. Probably Bard material, just like
Ash had said. All that silence - his melancholy moods on the way back
here with Raynard - that had been part of Blade's own acceptance of
his abilities.

She sagged. A self-recognition that had led to them going their
separate ways. He had met her as a child, grown into an adult, and
finally moved on, leaving her behind.

Yet...

Ash had also said that *she* could have become a Bard. Looking at the
balance and serenity that seemed to surround both Nikkolai and Ash,
she somehow doubted it. Then again, she would have believed it without
question if Nikki had told her the same thing. Ash was no less
observant or able to judge her abilities than his father was.

However reluctantly, she had to accept the words of a Bard. They
didn't lie, and they were seldom wrong when they spoke aloud.

Were she and Blade so different then? No - and yes. He had gone back.
She had walked away.

If Ash was right, Blade had entertained hopes of a developing
relationship with Chel. So it would have made sense for him to stay
around and finish the job, surely? It was what *she* would have done,
had the situations been reversed.

Chel's head ached with the effort of trying to sort her thoughts into
order. She just didn't understand!

"I don't know why I'm even bothering about it," she muttered
rebelliously. "It's over and done with now. Blade's in the past - I
should just leave things as they are..."

"Wrong."

Chel opened her eyes suddenly, turning her head to see that Pippa had
returned stealthily to the garden. She was standing a few feet behind
the tree that Chel leant against. Chel had not sensed her, and had no
idea how long she had been standing there.

"You don't have to creep up on a wolf!" she snapped, irritably.

Pippa made no comment, but simply regarded Chel thoughtfully for a
moment. Then she sat down beside the snow-wolf and took the white paw
in her own.

"There's no point in lying, Chel. Especially to yourself.

"I saw you on the voyage with Raynard. I watched the way you reacted
when we talked about Blade. I noticed the way you continually swung
the conversation around to him at first. Pumping me for snippets of
information."

She sighed. "As the journey progressed, I watched the signs change.
The way that you began to avoid the subject. The fleeting pain on your
face when he was mentioned.

"Maybe you managed to convince yourself that he didn't matter as much
to you any more. That he was just one more person who'd passed out of
your life for good. We both know how much of your thoughts he still
occupied though. Maybe you stopped talking about him, but he was never
out of your mind for long.

"Is duty really so difficult for you to understand, Chel? I know you
felt abandoned by Blade, but his choices were pretty limited.

"He couldn't have stayed with you back then. Not without losing his
self-respect. Either way, he would have lost you eventually. If you
don't respect yourself, there's no way anyone else will."

Pippa gazed seriously at Chel. The laughing companion of her journey
was gone now. This was a different Pippa altogether. A stranger, but
one that Chel felt compelled to listen to.

The wolfhound continued, before Chel had a chance to speak.

"I'm not asking you to go and seek Blade out. I'm not *asking* you to
do anything that you're not ready for. Just think about it, that's
all. Think about what Blade means to you. Honestly, with none of your
usual defenses, and no pretense.

"Consider whether the price you pay would be worth the rewards. Nobody
can make that decision except you.

"I'll be in the house if you need to talk."

Just as Ash had, Pippa rose gracefully and walked away.

Chel swallowed. It was un-nerving, the way that this whole family
seemed to be able to read her thoughts and motivations.

Unwillingly, she was forced to admit that Pippa had been right. She
*was* fooling herself. Blade's image rarely left her mind, even now.
She constantly replayed his comments in her mind, especially the last
conversation between them.

They had been a good team. More than that, she had not felt her usual
need to keep her distance, when she was with him. She had trusted
someone, for the first time in many years.

Love. The word hovered nervously in the back of her mind. Reluctantly,
she forced herself to accept the truth of it. She loved Blade.

Enough to give up her freedom? Ash's words came back to her:

'He's capable of the same kind of unswerving attention to what he sees
as his 'duty', as dad is.'

For a moment, Chel felt invisible restraints around her. *Could* she
live by Blade's rules in that way? Unable to walk away, bound by
concerns that may not profit her at all? Constrained to 'do the right
thing', at whatever the cost?

In the past, her freedom had been the only thing worth having.
Except...

Chel blinked. Maybe she had never been as free as she had imagined.
There had always been that compulsion within her to 'pay her debts',
after all. Someone gave her something, she always managed to balance
the accounts before she went on her way again.

Even when she had been a child, newly released from slavery, she had
decided to repay her rescuers, by going on to rescue other slaves.

Duty had always been such a fearsome word to her. Only now did she
realize that duty had always motivated her. Maybe not the same duty as
Blade had, but they could learn each other's ways together. They could
compromise.

That's what partners *did*, wasn't it? Work *through* their
problems...?

Her heart still quailed at the thought of having to tell Blade about
her feelings. Now, though, she knew that there was no real choice. Her
path had been set ever since she had met the young wolfhound.

How could she be free, when he had already captured her heart?

* * *

Chel sat there for most of the rest of the day. Finally, she gets up
and sets down the path.

Suddenly, as she sets foot on a small bridge that crossed a small
stream, she pauses.

Chel sighs. Is *everything* going to remind her of Blade or his
family?

This time, she can hear Nikki's last 'lesson' just before she left him
behind those many years ago.

"You have an ability few have. Trust it. You'll *know* when you choose
the right path. Maybe not just what makes it right... But you will
know that it's right for you.

"Don't try to force the decision. It will happen in its own time. For
all you are 14 and forced to be wise beyond your years... There are
things that only time will teach you. Finding the patience to wait
things out is one of them"...

Chel smiles softly. Her voice is quiet as she speaks to the
surrounding air.

"I'm not ready to face Blade yet but someday I will be. I'm sorry he
has to suffer a while yet, but he's strong. He'll be there when I'm
ready.

"Bards *are* different.

"Ash leads one down the path and points out the wonders there.

"You, on the other hand, point out the path and let one make their own
discoveries.

"Thank you Nikki, and Ash."

As she smiles and steps forward again, she imagines she can see
Nikki's gentle smile and hear Ash's knowing laughter.

Who knows? Maybe she does.
====

End: The Tails of Rabelaisia 3/6 Pippa, Ash, Blade, Chel

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