Kyle Aarons

The Kandric Saga

Chapter 1

Kandric and Glaster

Kandric brushed tears out of his hazel-green eyes as he walked down the combination dirt and cobblestone street with slumping shoulders. For three days now he had tried to find a way to earn a cooper or even a loaf of bread, but all to no avail. No one wanted the help of a puny half-elvish 11-year-old equivalency boy.

As he turned down the road leaving the village of Slome, two boys stepped in front of him. It was clear they had every intention of making his life even more miserable than it already had been over the last month since his teacher had left on a quest of some kind. Both kids had the look of street thugs, only younger.

The younger of the two wore a tattered leather vest over somewhat grimy shirt and britches. His blond hair had clearly not been washed in days and he probably had lice judging by the way he kept scratching his head. A rusty dagger hung loosely from a makeshift wood and rabbit skin sheath. Its leather belt looked as if it were ready to break at any moment. He carried a pathetically made short bow and had a quiver of seven arrows over his left shoulder. At least two of the arrows were missing feathers and none looked really straight. His sandals were held together with strips of twine and a couple leather straps.

His buddy had what looked to be some discarded studded leather armor that was quite a bit too big for his 13 year old frame. Several of the bronze studs were missing and the youngster had cut slits along the sides of the top so he could adjust it with a rope belt to fit him. The pants were crudely cut along the bottom of each leg. It was clear whomever the former owner had been, must have stood quite a bit taller than the brown haired, brown eyed tough who now clamed them. He carried a set of bronze throwing knives in bandoleer. It should have contained six knives, but two were missing. Over his shoulder he carried a poorly made bronze short sword. The older one looked over to his friend with a smirk, "Looks whats we haves here! They'll let a half-breed in almost anywheres don't they."

The younger one snickered, "Ya Porma, my pa always said there was nothin worser than mistake like them there halfers. Even worser than the Elves. That's whata he always said."

Kandric took a few steps back and to the side hoping to avoid more than a few mean words. By now he was used to them. Very few thought much of Halfelves. The Humans hated them because of the Elvish side and the Elves felt they were contaminated by the blood of an inferior race. He was also out of the growing loop of both races. Elves aged much slower then he did while humans raced by him growing at more than double the rate. For an example Kandric would be considered an adult at the age of 35, while his full Elvish siblings would not be adults till 60. Humans on the other hand were adults at 15 or 16 depending on the customs of the land. Over the course of time an equivalency rate had been established so kids of various ages could be kept in similar grouping. For purposes of the ratings a Human was considered adult at 16. Why this had ever been done was still a mystery to Kandric because he very seldom saw interaction between the races. Kids tended to gravitate toward their own kind and was often the case this caused a tension between races that lasted into and through adulthood.

Porma the older of the two looked over at Kandric, "Where ya think yer goin halfer. We ain't done with ya yet."

Before Kandric could run Porma jumped forward and grabbed him, tossing him to the ground like a rag doll. Kandric's hunger, small size and discouragement just made him to weak to defend himself against a well-fed punk, let alone two of them.

Porma pinned Kandric's arms behind him and pushed up causing enough pain to force a cry of pain and a few tears from the Halfelf below him.

"Oh, poor halfer is crying." Porma taunted while pushing up even harder. "Emroc, bring your dagger!"

Kandric watched in horror as the younger boy unsheathed the rusty Iron weapon. Elves were allergic to Iron, a trait they passed on to their halfelvin children. Rusty Iron was by far worse than regular iron. "No! Please!" Kandric shouted. Only to have Porma clamp a hand over his mouth and push his arms up to where he was sure they would come out of socket at the shoulder.

"Come on Emroc!" Porma jerked his head indicating to come over to where he held the halfelf down. "I've always wanted ta see what iron does to a halfer!"

Emroc knelt down and waved the dagger in front of Kandric's eyes. "What do ya want me to do Porma?" Emroc sounded unsure of himself, but refused to seem weak in front of his older and tougher friend.

Porma's eyes glinted with pure malice as he smiled, "Let's experiment. See what happens when you touch his arm with it."

Emroc shrugged, "OK" then pushed the flat of the rusty weapon onto Kandric's arm. Almost instantly the skin under the blade started to turn red.

Kandric squirmed with all his might, but couldn't hope to get out of the grip of Porma. Tears flowed as the efforts of his struggles only caused his shoulders extra pain. The burn of the iron on his arm reminded him of the time he accidentally fell on a glowing ember from the fire in his mom's one room hut in the middle of the swamp slums.

"Neat!" Porma smiled seeing the bright red mark left behind, "Try his leg!"

A new flash of pain erupted as the dagger was pushed onto Kandric's calf. He tried to kick, but this only caused Porma to laugh and sit on his thighs pinning him even more.

"Hey," Emroc stated, "it is even in the shape of the blade! Now what?"

A pair of men walked by ignoring the whole thing, either not realizing the torture the boys were putting Kandric through or not caring. They continued to talk until they turned the corner and vanished from site.

Porma couldn't have been happier, "See halfer, no one cares about you. I can do whatever I want and get away with it!" He glanced over to Emroc, "Put one on his forehead right between the eyes!"

Emroc grinned, "Yea! Good idea!"

By now Kandric had given up all hope. He felt Porma pull his head back with the hand over his mouth and a new burning as the iron was pushed into his forehead. Had he have eaten anything he surly would have lost it, but the nausea came anyway. Next thing he knew he felt Porma let go of him. He fell face fist to the ground and started to sob.

Both boys chuckled as Porma got off him and left him lying in the street. "Bet he won't forget dat fer a while, huh Emroc?"

"Sounds like a baby. Stupid halfer!" Emroc nodded, "Bet he'll go home and cry to his little mommy too!"

Both boys turned the corner laughing and roughhousing with each other.

Kandric slowly crawled over to a building and used it to help himself stand. His legs were wobbly and his vision was slightly blurred. Shaking with a mixture of anger and fear he looked at his arm. The welt already had a few little white blisters forming on it, as he knew his leg and head would. The marks itched like he had been bitten by thousands of chiggers and he knew he must not scratch them. It the blisters broke, they would spread.

Carefully he looked around and ducked into a back ally. Making sure no one could see him, he went into thought and recalled the words he would need. The hand movements came automatically as he went through the spell. His hands started to glow with a lime green color until it was almost bright enough to read by. Satisfied he put his hands on his chest and let the magic seep into him. The green glow flowed through him and concentrated on the three marks and his aching shoulders. Only a minute later all signs of his encounter with the boys and the iron weapon were gone.

With the itching all but eliminated, he looked over where he was. Off in the back corner of the ally a cat munched on some discarded stew with chunks of meat. Quickly he went over and shoed the animal away. Looking at the half-eaten and spoiled stew he again went into thought. New mutterings emerged from his mouth as he concentrated on the stew. A bolt of blue green light shot out of his fingertips and encompassed the moldy meal. Seconds later it looked fresh, well as fresh as peasant stew ever looks, he thought to himself.

For a few seconds he debated heating it up with yet another spell, but he didn't have much magic left. The healing spell drained a great deal and he suspected he had just over done the refresh spell as well. Oh well at least cold stew is better than no stew. He thought to himself as he ate the meal. Even with the magic of the refresh spell, the food tasted terrible. It even crunched some because of sand and dirt. Regardless, he forced down every chunk big enough to pick up.

I wonder what type of meat this is. Oh, bad question. It is probably better that I do not know.

The food, if one wanted to be generous enough to call it that, eased both Kandric's body and mind. Suddenly he felt guilty about not bringing some home to his mother and siblings. That was the original reason he had traveled to Slome. The winter had been hard on all the swamp dwellers, especially for those who lived in what was referred to as the swamp slums.

The swamp slums was considered part of Slome, but was really an independent village all to itself. Over 75 building most nothing more than one room shacks spread out 3 square kilometers of swamp and bog. During the summer insects, Goblins, and giant lizards played hell with the residence and during the winter the frozen swamp gave up little in the way of food. Often, during really hard winters, Goblins would come and raid taking food, belongings and once and awhile whole families. This had been the case this last winter.

Speculation centered on the children being used as food for the Goblins while the adults were worked to death in the frigid cold getting wood to keep the vile creatures warm. It was during one of the early attacks a few years ago that Kandric discovered he could use magic.

One Goblin had charged into their hut knocking his mother down. Anger roared through Kandric's small slender frame and instinctively he raised his hands in a thrust like motion. Sparks shot from his outstretched fingers and caused the Goblin's cloak to ignite. Frantically it jumped out the door trying to get to water, but instead tripped and hit its head on a stone. The impact killed the beast and scared off the other three.

No one had seen what he had done. His mom had been knocked senseless by the Goblin and his siblings had all tried to hide under their threadbare mats. Scared and weakened by the magic he didn't tell anyone. But somehow, a man who lived in the swamp slums did find out. While Kandric's body digested some of the food and got its strength back, he sat in the back corner. The rest caused his mind to drift back to what had led to him becoming a trained spellcaster 3;

Two days after the Goblin's death the one armed man, as everyone had called him for as long as Kandric could remember, came and offered Kandric a job that would pay real copper. Eagerly his mom accepted the offer for him. Coins could be used to buy things in Slome, and could also be put aside for emergencies.

Over the next four plus years the man would send Kandric to cut wood, help mend fish nets and many other simple, yet meaningful jobs the one armed man could not do, but those chores were for show only and took only a fraction of the time the man wanted.

The first day he cut wood for two hours and was called in by the man. Never before or sense had Kandric seen such a contrast in living conditions. The shack was similar to all the others, except this one had actual rooms. The furniture was poor, but at least he had some. He also had a real stove and brick fireplace. Clearly this man was rich compared to anyone else out in the swamp slums.

The man led him to the back of the shack, opened the door to the pantry and pulled a lever. Torches lit a hidden passage down. Within seconds it become apparent the real home was underneath the hut everyone thought the man lived in. There were no holes in the planking above that lead to his 'hut' and the place was decorated with real fancy rugs and many weapons, some made of silver and others had gems set into the handles. Real furniture of redwood, ash, and rosewood showed off the man's wealth. Several heavy doors told Kandric this was just the beginning of what was down here.

The one armed man motioned to Kandric, "Come boy, have a seat next to me. I have an offer to make you. One that I think both of us could find beneficial."

"That would be up to my mom," Kandric stammered still not believing or understand the wealth and power of a man who acted poor like all the other slum dwellers. The hut was nothing but a façade. All the real riches were here in the man's basement. Riches was an understatement of the greatest proportions. This man had enough in one of the jeweled weapons alone to fetch enough to buy a good potion of Slome!

The man continued, ignoring Kandric's stunned looks, "No, actually it is not. She agreed to sell me your services for work I need around the hut. Under the deal I struck with your mom I can use you for as long as I want each day for whatever type of work needed. In return, she gets a copper a week. My needs are not all that great, for as you see, I am not a man without some means. Therefore, your services for such chores would be no more than 2 or 3 hours a day. What I propose would keep you here for more like 10 to 14 hours a day, sometimes for days at a time."

Kandric scowled, "Many people here would work for a copper a week for that much time sir that are much stronger than me."

"Ah but few have your allure, and fewer yet have your ability with magic." The one armed man maneuvered next to Kandric stroking his long soft reddish silver hair as he spoke.

Kandric froze up, "How do you know about my magic?"

"I felt it in you for a long time now my boy. Now it is active. You did well against the Goblins. You killed their leader. They will never attack your hut again. Word will surely spread. No Goblin will want to take on your hut when there are so many others that have not claimed one of there own, let alone a leader." The man's hand moved down rubbing Kandric's back sliding under the burlap bag that was his shirt.

Kandric noticed the hand and enjoyed the man's touch. He was not used to physical contact of others, being the only halfelf in the slums no one seemed to care for or about him except his mom. His two brothers and one sister had become jealous over the prior few years because he grew much faster than they because they were fully Elvin. Now he was the biggest and oldest even though his oldest brother had eight actual years on him.

Kandric allowed the man to pull him closer, "How could you know I did that? You didn't see me."

"I didn't have to young'an I felt your power emerge in a great gushing of energy. It was a simple matter to trace down the source. I already guessed it had been you, because like I said, I have felt the untapped magic in you for a couple of years now." The man's hand was now completely under Kandric's makeshift shirt rubbing between his shoulder blades and still moving down. He could feel the hole his mom had cut in the top of the bag being pulled down thus starting to push at his throat some. Gently he pulled at the opening so it would feel like he was being strangled. "So what do you want sir."

"First off, my name is Glaster." He suddenly removed his hand from Kandric's back and twirled his fingers in a counter clockwise motion. A dark golden beam shot out and flashed around them for a moment. Suddenly they were elsewhere, on a cliff overlooking an abandoned castle with crumbling walls.

"And that, dear boy, was my home until the armies of Molden destroyed it 35 years ago and took my arm in the process."

Kandric gasped, "Where is the swamp?"

"Over a thousand leagues to the north, dear boy." Glaster pointed for emphases. "That is why the weather is so warm here."

"As for what I want," Glaster smiled at Kandric, "I want to make a deal with you."

Kandric's young eyes betrayed his confusion, "Mom already sold you my services. What else is there?"

Glaster's eyes danced with merriment, "Simply this, I will teach you how to be a shaman, to read, write and cast all of the first, second and third echelon spells I know plus a few even more powerful spells. Of course you will not be able to cast the upper echelon spells for many many years but you will have them in memory for when you do get powerful enough."

"What's the catch?"

Glaster carefully looked over the beautiful boy in front of him again. For three years since he had first noticed the power in the little boy he knew he would have to find a way to get him, to posses him. Now was that chance. "In exchange you will agree to be my pleasure boy. Furthermore, you will also agree never to let anyone know you are a spell caster or who trained you, even if that means allowing yourself or others to get hurt. I expect you would defend yourself in life or death instances, but you must be sure your life is truly in danger."

Kandric was in no way naive about what it was Glaster wanted, he may have only been the human equivalence of 8 but he had lived longer than that. Besides, growing up in the slums educates a boy far more than many would realize. Several times over the years he had seen men, and an occasional woman come to the swamps and offer parents coins for the services of their children. Enough times of seeing the same men come and offer money for the use of the same children was enough to put some of the pieces together. The rest fell into place when he had actually overheard a full transaction. Sex was also not easy to hide in the slums. There were just too many holes in walls to see through and too little privacy.

Kandric felt so small and afraid right then, but tried his best to hide it, "What if I do not agree?"

Glaster shrugged, "That would be of no benefit to you at all. If you choose to decline my offer, I guess I go to your mom and make an offer of, oh, five silver a month for you and do not train you. Your mom didn't even hesitate to let me work you for as long as I wanted you for a copper a week, do you think she would pass up on five silver a month allowing me to keep you and do whatever I wanted?"

"I truly hope you are smart enough to make the wiser of the two choices." Glaster stopped letting the boy see just how poor his choices were.

Kandric knew his mom would take such a massive amount of money and even agree to never say a word. With that kind of money she could save up enough to move, and might even agree to sell him outright when she did so if this man still wanted him. It seemed Glaster had him trapped. However, to actually learn to read and write, that was a dream for young Halfelf. Kandric looked up at the one armed man and nervously nodded, "Ok, but I think my mom should get five copper a week."

Glaster nearly exploded with laughter, "Oh, you do, do you! Even men who work in the village make only about a copper a day! The men of the swamps are lucky to bring in half that much!"

With butterflies in his stomach, Kandric held his ground stubbornly, "Yea, but I heard the baker make an offer to Sarmout's parents for a silver a week to be his 'little toy'. That's 10 copper a week!"

Glaster looked out over his once proud home with a bemused grin. This lad is smart, knows how to count, the conversion rates for copper to silver and has paid attention to what goes on, this only makes me want him all the more!

He ran his hand over the boy's silk like reddish-silver hair again, "I will agree to pay your mother three copper a week for your services. However, this will mean you must stay over at least two nights a week, and go out with me on the road when I travel. For every three complete days we are gone your mother will get an extra copper. If we are gone for less than three straight days she will not get any extra."

Kandric thought it over for a few moments before nodding, "OK, you win. Three copper a week."

Glaster wrapped his single arm around the boy, "Well bargained. Now let's get back to our little swamp before we get noticed."

Kandric again nodded. He knew he had just agreed to be little more than a plaything to the one armed man, and as best he could tell, he alone knew the man's name. Many of the swamp dwellers steered clear of him because he was such a mystery. Not to mention far wealthier than anyone else who lived in the slums. It was well known Glaster traveled on business from time to time. Many thought, because he was rich by slum standards and so secretive, he must run a thief's guild or something similar.

It took only seconds for Glaster to cast a spell to transport them back to Kandric's home swamp. Moments after they reappeared in Glaster's den he grabbed the boy and turned to face him. "You must never speak of what I have said or what you saw. I will be by your house later today to let your mom know of our agreement, but with none of the real details. Do you understand that I will not tolerate you speaking to anyone about this?" Kandric swallowed hard, "Yes sir. I understand. I will not breathe a word of any of this."

"You are a very smart and gifted boy. Just remember that when you come tomorrow your job will be much different, and I do expect you to stay with me tomorrow eve. You do understand, correct?"

"I understand," Kandric weakly stated.

Glaster pulled the boy to him and gave him a kiss to his left temple. Before releasing the boy from his grasp he licked around the hairline for a moment, "You have a wonderful taste," he whispered far too softly for Kandric to hear.

"Huh?"

"Never you mind little one. Just talking to myself more than anything. I expect that you will be bathed and clean when you come to my door. Be here at sun up, no later!"

"I will," Kandric squeaked in a somewhat frightened voice. Before Glaster could say more he hustled out the door.

As Glaster promised, he showed up later in the day and made the agreed upon offer of 3 copper a week for the boy plus extra for extended trips. It didn't surprise Kandric at all when his mom called to him and announced the new arrangements and that he was now expected to work for the man seven days a week and spend at least two nights over there.

Never before had he seen his mom so happy with him or happy in general. In her eyes he was now making as much and in a few cases more than full-grown men in the slums. She mistakenly thought Kandric's work for the man had impressed him enough to make such an offer. This mistake led her to show pride for her son in a way he had never seen before. A guilty feeling crept up into his gut, but he refused to let his mother's happiness fade. I will do whatever it takes to keep my mom thinking I am a hard worker. No matter what Glaster wants of me, I cannot let mom down.

Kandric showed up the next morning at Glaster's just as the sun was starting to lay a carpet of long shadows on the floor of the swamp. Before he could knock, the door opened to reveal Glaster in a nice robe, way nicer than he had ever seen before. It seemed to even shine some, and the silvery collar was ordained with strange winged beasts.

"Hello my boy." Glaster had been eagerly waiting for this moment for hours and it showed.

Kandric had an idea as to what the man wanted but nothing firm. He stepped through the entryway and allowed his "employer" to close the door. He started to turn, but a hand on his back stopped him.

"Let's proceed down to the den boy. You know the way."

Kandric took a breath and walked into the kitchen. The whole time Glaster's hand remained on his shoulder and guided him, almost pushing him to hurry. Keeping his mind on doing what he was told, he opened the door that led to the man's basement. Instantly the three torches on the staircase lit to shed light on the passage down. The magic surprised him causing him to jump slightly.

"Ah, a lesson in magic before we even start formally." Glaster chuckled, "Did you feel the power or not?"

"I did, I think I did at least. It felt like the area does before a thunderstorm."

"Very good! You indeed are very sensitive to magic! Remember that feeling, it will come into play when I start teaching you. Now continue down."

Glaster nudged the boy forward and guided him to the massive padded couch. Sitting down he used his one arm to pull the boy onto his lap. As he had done the day before he started by running his fingers through the boy's fine hair. He inhaled deeply allowing the boy's smell to sink in, and oh what a fragrance it was!

Kandric sat still, not knowing what to do or what the man expected out of him. It didn't take long before he felt the hand start moving down his back. Like the day before, he had to pull at the hole for his head as the front was pulled against his throat. Nervously, he tensed wondering if this action would anger Glaster. The last thing he wanted was to be magically transported and left on some faraway mountain or some other spell that could do even worse.

Glaster shook his head, "Oh, this will clearly not do at all. Raise your arms up little one."

Kandric did as he was told. It took no time at all before he felt Glaster deftly use his single hand to remove his makeshift shirt. Feeling the man pull him back, he allowed himself to slide against the man's chest. For a human of his age and only having one arm, He was surprised at how strong Glaster's muscles felt. His arm was well shaped and his chest was solid as a carved stone.

Glaster inhaled again, the boy smelled wonderful. Slowly he started exploring the boy's back and chest. The silk smooth hairless skin seemed flawless, other than its owner's inability to relax. That was fine though. He had a small mean streak that liked a boy to be afraid. For some reason it turned him on. Yet, he also knew should anyone ever do anything to truly damage one of his special children he would kill on the spot. This boy could very well be the most special of all. He was beautiful and highly gifted in shaman magic as well. However, there was more. An indescribable attraction he could not trace to any source drew him to this boy the very first time he laid eyes on him. Had the boy not agreed, he would have risked exposing himself by buying him. He had done it before, but would have hated turning such a perfect boy into a mere piece of property.

Boys were what made the world revolve for Glaster. No matter where he went, or what he was doing his eyes searched for their youth, vibrancy and looks. Nothing brought a smile to his face faster than a couple of boys playing and being boys. Of course this weakness had led to him losing his right arm in the fight for his home, but it had been a small price to pay to save a boy's life. The boy had certainly repaid him over the following four years.

Glaster glanced at his stump for a moment, sticking only 20 centimeters [8 inch] down from his right shoulder. Oh how wonderful it would be to have both arms to really hold and caress this perfect body sitting on my lap, he mused. So be it. One of these years I will find the magic to get a new arm, until then at least I have this dear boy.

Having thoroughly explored Kandric's upper body, he moved his hand down to untie the rope holding up his burlap britches. By now he could smell the mixture of fear and uncertainty in the boy. His increased tension had led a light sweat. Glaster licked the halfelf's back between the shoulder blades and kissed at the neck, enjoying the slightly salty taste.

Kandric felt his belt being untied. He had expected this, but it still caused him to shudder with fear. Next he felt his sandals being kicked off by the one armed man's foot. This, having been done so easily, told him this man had done this many times before. Even the fact that his belt had been effortlessly undone one-handed, spoke volumes as to this all being done with the practiced ease of a master.

The tongue sliding gently around his back took him by surprise. Kandric quickly realized what it was and thought it disgusting. However, the longer it continued the more he liked it. Involuntarily, he started to relax. He no longer cared that he had been maneuvered out of his britches or that his legs were being explored by the hand. Even as it wandered higher onto the sensitive area of his inner thigh and further still slipping under his badly worn, but freshly washed loincloth, he was able to enjoy being caressed.

Part of his being said this was not what he wanted, but with every passing moment the other half wanted more. Letting this side of him win took no real action other than letting Glaster massage every centimeter of his body. Somewhere in all the kissing, licking, caressing, and fondling Glaster had removed his loincloth. His realization of total nudeness came as a shock. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how he had been undressed or for how long he had been naked.

Glaster felt the boy tighten again. He smiled. His one hand kept a light hold on the two robin egg sized boy balls. He enjoyed it as the sack tightened and they moved up as the boy's fear and uncertainty reappeared. Part of him was disappointed that he didn't cause the spasms of an orgasm to overtake this beautiful lad. Yet, he could enjoy this youngster's fear as well. It was a two-sided coin both of which were wins as best Glaster could determine.

Finally he decided to speak to the boy again, for not a word had been said since he had guided Kandric down the stairs. "This is only the beginning. By tomorrow eve you will understand almost everything I want from you. In the meantime, you must learn the rules regarding your duties."

It took a few moments for Kandric to find any voice at all. When he spoke his words were mere squeaks. "What rules, sir."

Glaster started using his thumb to stroke the boy's penis while still holding the now tight boy sack. "There are a few things you must get used to. Are you ready to pay close attention? Say so if you aren't because I will punish you for not following them."

Kandric could tell by voice inflection alone the man was dead serious. A slight squeeze to his testicles further confirmed just how important it was for him to get this right. He took a breath and got ready to pay attention before answering. "I'm ready," he stammered out at last.

"Excellent! First, you will come here clean every day, no excuses."

"I have to take a bath every day?" Kandric was mortified at the thought.

"Yes. I do not care for a dirty boy. Nor do I want anymore dirt than is absolutely necessary to come into my den, or any other the lower rooms for that matter."

"I understand."

Glaster's eyes gleamed at how resigned Kandric sounded. "Next, each night I will tell you chores for the next day. These are to be done before you take your bath."

Kandric meekly nodded. This at least made sense.

"Third, you will report to me after getting clean. I will then undress you and we will start your studies. You will remain on my lap unless told otherwise. Breaks will be given as needed, so do not be concerned about necessary matters."

"Everyday?"

"Unless I say differently, which will be seldom. You will spend four hours a day learning to read and write Elvish, Northmen, Universal, and of course Shamanistic. Another hour after lunch will be learning Mathematics. Magic lessons will take up several hours following your other studies."

"I'm going to be indoors all that time everyday?" Kandric could feel his love of being outside, fishing, hiking and exploring being crushed.

"No, no, no." Glaster chuckled, "You will get play time and we will do quite a bit of traveling. But this will be rare until you learn the basics of reading and writing all four languages. The harder you work and the faster you learn the more free time you will end up with."

"I also want you to master all the auto-spells. This will not take you much time at all as long as you follow instructions and practice." Glaster took his hand and started rubbing on the now hard five centimeter [2 inch] long boy muscle the thumb had gotten started. His own was now fully up and he could feel the beginnings of his own cum wanting to explode outwards.

Kandric shifted trying to get off the ever-growing lump he felt pushing into his bare boy crack.

Glaster stopped him almost immediately. "No. You must get used to it. Now move back to where you were."

Kandric swallowed hard and slid back over the large bulge under Glaster's robe. He noticed the man adjust as well pushing the man-rod up into his butt crack. It was very uncomfortable for a few minutes, but he gradually got used to it. With his mind so preoccupied he suddenly noticed he had missed some more instructions. Almost terrified he interrupted, "Sir I kinda lost track of what you were saying."

"You told me you were ready to pay attention boy!" Glaster growled.

"I was. I mean I did," Kandric stammered out

"You did promise, but didn't follow through!" Glaster made his voice angrier than what he truly felt. One thing he had learned about children was: it happened to be far easier to start out to harsh and slack up later then to start slack and try to become more firm. "Stand up!"

Kandric chewed on his lip as he stood. The very last thing he wanted was to find out what would happen when this guy got mad. Now he was and to make matters worse it had been his fault. He turned to face his employer hoping whatever punishment was to come would be quick.

Glaster's had shot out at lightning speed, "I did not tell you to turn around. Did I?"

"No sir."

"Yet you did. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior. See those two large books on my end table?"

Kandric felt the man's hand tighten like a vice over his bare shoulder. Each second he looked around trying to find what the man was talking about, the pressure increased. By the time he spotted the two black tomes lying behind an unlit lamp on a black table tucked into the shadows of the room's rear corner tears of pain threatened to start falling. "I see them," he gasped out at last.

Glaster released his grip, satisfied by the clear finger marks he had left on the boy's right shoulder. "Get them."

Kandric hefted up the two massive books, each weighing over five kilograms [11 pounds]. He never realized paper could weigh so much!

Glaster went over to his cabinet and withdrew an hourglass. "Lift the books over your head boy!" Bewildered, Kandric did as he was told. He looked around expecting the man to go for a cane or paddle. Instead he watched as the glass device was turned upside-down. Bit by bit grains of multicolored sand started tumbling into the bottom area.

"If you do not wish to use your brain, you will use your muscles instead." Glaster announced angrily. "You are to keep both books held above your head and feet still until the very last grain of sand falls to the bottom. For every time you drop your arms you will spend another full cycle of the time piece in stocks in the middle of the freezing cold bog dressed just as you are."

Kandric was mortified. "I am not dressed at all!" he nearly shouted.

"Exactly." Glaster stated matter-of-factly. "The cold would not kill you, but by the time one side of this empties, you would wish it had. Therefore, it would be in your interest to keep those books held up high."

Kandric watched the grains trickle down making colorful patterns. Somehow each color seemed to try to stay together making neat swirling designs in the glass. This held his interest for only so long though. The books pressed down on his graceful slim arms. Long before the top part had even half emptied he felt his arms shaking.

Glaster calmly went over to a chair and sat facing the beautiful halfelf. Making sure to seem very disinterested in the plight of the boy, he reached down and started studying a scroll. Occasionally, he glanced up just to make sure the books were still held up then would return to his reading.

Over the years Glaster had paid close attention to this child. He knew this would be far worse than any beating because Kandric was not one to do things slowly. Everything the lad worked at he accomplished as quickly as he possibly could. In many ways this exercise would build his mind as well as strengthen his body. A person who could not learn some things had to be done over the passage of time would be on a path to self-destruction.

Kandric continued to watch the sand drain down in agony. By now his shoulders were aching, especially where the man had clamped down. He began to suspect the pressure had been applied just so on purpose, which of course it had. Briefly, he wondered if he would be forced into stocks in the middle of the bog. One look at the man when he did glance his direction answered with a resounding YES.

Finally, he could bare the pain no longer, "Please let me stop!"

"No." Glaster answered without looking up.

Tears started to blur his vision, "I can't hold them up anymore."

"Then lower them for a few minutes and go to the bog for a cycle after you are done here."

"I'll freeze! Please let me put them down." The pain caused tears to start trickling down his cheeks

"No." Glaster repeated, looking up annoyed. "You agreed to my terms for 3 copper a week, a man's pay out here. You wanted a man's pay, now you must deal with being man like in your decisions. A man who agrees to something then backs out after already being paid could be flogged or worse. You are under contract to me, yet couldn't even pay enough attention for me to lay out all I expect of you. Now deal with your punishment. No more talk."

Kandric looked back at the glass; it still had a whole lot of sand in the top. Tears flowed freely now. He didn't see any way of keeping the books up. His fingers started to spasm and his arms hurt far worse than any pain he had ever felt. Even his legs were starting to cramp up. Not being allowed to even move his feet prevented any shifting that would allow some relief.

Just as he was ready to give up on himself, he felt Glaster cast a spell. The top book lifted up in the air and landed back on the small table where he had first picked it up. With half the burden lifted, he forced himself to make it until the last grains spiraled down to the bottom area of the hourglass.

Glaster jumped up and grabbed the exhausted child before the youngster could react. He used another spell to replace the book on the end table, as he lifted the boy onto his lap and cradled sweat drenched head. "You have a very strong will. I am proud of you," he whispered gently.

Kandric cried as next to every joint in his body had stiffened and was trying to loosen up. It seemed strange. He should hate this man, but he had taken the first book off in the nick of time and didn't allow a single extra second of punishment beyond what he had promised from the start. The words of praise hit an especially tender spot. Never before had anyone other than his mom said kind words to him, and she almost never seemed proud over anything he did, except get a job from this man.

Tenderly, Glaster worked on each and every sore spot on the boy, rubbing and helping each muscle to loosen. Again he wished he still had both hands. It would have made his work faster. Still, I wasn't a bad thing to take twice as long when working on such a living work of art. As the boy calmed and loosed, he started over where he had begun earlier in the morning. He couldn't help but smile as the boy drifted off into a soft sleepy nap.

Glaster's hand lingered on the boy's chest for quite some time. Each breath felt precious and sounded so gentle. He hated what he had forced the boy to do, but knew this would not be the last time he would have to deal with such problems. In the long run, his discipline would do far more to help then the discomfort had caused.

Kandric woke on the man's lap to find him again studying a scroll. Clearly his waking up had not been noticed. His legs and arms still hurt some, but nowhere near as bad as they had been. Feeling comfortable, he decided to close his eyes again and rest. Every once and a while he noticed a hand slide over a part of his body almost always coming to rest on his testicles. Every time this happened he would also feel a kiss and or a couple of licks around his head, upper chest or neck. If this is what the man wanted, he could easily live with it.

Finally Kandric had to relieve himself. He took a deep breath and stretched. Instantly he felt a hand turn his head as a kiss fell on his lips. He tasted the kiss and found nothing disgusting about it at all. In many ways he found this fun and comforting. Yes, he could live with this no question.

"How are you doing little one?"

"Ok, but I got to go outside."

Glaster chuckled, "No you don't. Get up and come with me."

Kandric stretched again and followed his employer through one of the heavy doors. Before him an elegant bedroom opened up with a real canopied gigantic bed against the far wall. Two dressers with silver mirrors stood on each side; one looked to be set up for the height of a child, the other considerably taller. Next to the bed another door opened into a stairway going down.

Once down a new set of torches ignited revealing a room with a pair of chairs on a wooden walkway. Both seats had holes cut in the middle. Under the platform a fairly swiftly flowing stream splashed through one wall and out the opposite side. A pile of sponge leaves was stored in a box next to each chair.

Glaster smiled at the boy's slow understanding of what the uses of this room were. "There is no need to go out into the cold when you can allow the current to sweep your waste away. There is another one of these rooms through the redwood door at the end of the hall. This one is only for the two of us."

Kandric nervously started to pee into the stream. "Do others come here?"

"Yes, I do some business out of here. I am a merchant of many things, those who want really expensive goods I transport here magically then take them back. They never see where I live or where I store some of my most valuable wares. You will learn how to be a servant when I bring in guests. The clothing in the small dresser is for you during those times. It also contains traveling clothing, which you will unfortunately have to where when we do travel."

"Why do you have two rooms like this?"

"Because the other contains smashed papyrus. Sponge leaves are just too expensive to use on someone I do not care about or for. Besides, I like not having to go far at night, and I do not like the idea of people I know little about walking around in our bedroom."

"Our bedroom?"

"Oh, yes. You will be sleeping with me when you stay over. Had you been paying attention earlier, you would have already known this. I do hope your morning exercise taught you I will not allow you to be lax on listening to me nor on your studies."

Kandric nodded vigorously, "Yes sir. I will do a better job of listening from now on."

"I am sure you will. Never forget, however, those two books will always be close by as will my timepiece. I truly do not like to use them, but when I instruct you to get the books you will know what you are to do. Any complaints from you and I will either make you stand longer or add an extra book or two."

The very thought of having to stand holding more books or even a fraction more time caused Kandric a brief cold tingle. "I will never argue sir." Never before had his words held more sincerity 3;

***

A loud clattering sound returned Kandric to his present situation. He shook off the memories and stood, again looking around to make sure no one noticed him. Of course, with his small size and poor peasant clothing, it wasn't all that hard to blend in. Quickly, he identified where the sound had come from and forced himself not to giggle. The cat, which had been eating on the stew earlier, had startled a woman causing her to drop a mound of dishes she had been washing.

To make matters worse, the old woman angrily kicked at the stray, but it jumped clear causing her to slip and fall.

Kandric held a hand over his mouth preventing any sound from emerging. He couldn't help but cheer for the poor animal. After all, it had already lost one meal. This thought reminded him of what he needed to do.

Having found a meal for himself, makeshift as it was, had improved his demeanor and resolve to find food for his family. He still couldn't believe things had gotten so bad so quickly for his family.

He guessed his mom had gotten too used to the three copper a week. Over the years she had stopped saving, instead spending it for clothing, extra food and to send his oldest brother to school. She never once realized her desire to have at least one of her children learn to read and write had already become a reality. In some ways he found this funny, in other ways it hurt because she hadn't even noticed the few times he had tried to show her. He couldn't come right out and say it, Glaster had forbidden that. However, he had given permission for him to use his reading skills when his mother was around. Thus far, she had yet to notice. It hurt his feelings so much each time that he had all but abandoned trying to show off over the last few months. Even worse, in Kandric's opinion, was that she seemed to be blaming him now that the money was no longer coming in, complaining that his brother couldn't go to school. Meanwhile, all her kids were going hungry. It was becoming clear that she was never really proud of him for getting the job, but instead only wanted the money. He half thought of forgetting about her altogether, but he couldn't let his brothers and sister go hungry. He sure wished Glaster would return.

All the current problems started about four weeks ago. His master had left on a sudden quest, saying it was far too dangerous for Kandric to come. This was highly unusual. Glaster had even taken him out to practice his magic against the Goblins more than a few times. Twice he had been slightly injured. Both times the offending Goblin had instantly wished it had never hurt the boy throwing spells at it.

Each time Glaster cast an extremely powerful spell, which killed, but unfortunately for the Goblin did so in a very slow, terribly painful manner. Interestingly enough, both times all the other Goblins ran away in terror.

The day he left, Glaster handed Kandric's mom six copper promising to make up any difference when he returned. When the money ran out after only three weeks, Kandric tried setting several traps to catch game, but all had been raided by Goblins and even the snares had been taken. He could not fish on the thin ice still covering the swamps for fear of falling through, nor could he cast a line in because there was still ice covering pretty much the whole swamp this early in the spring. He knew if worse came to worse he could go in and take something of Glaster's to sell. His master would understand. Yet, he bet Glaster would be disappointed in him. That was not something he wanted to see in the man's eyes. He would just have to figure out something else.

Chapter 2

Aster

An Elvin blacksmith apprentice at the Bronze Axe metal smithy noticed a pair of wagons come through the east gate of Junsac. The trailing wagon had some obvious damage to its front and right side. The animals pulling it seemed to be straining just to keep its wheels turning. Four warriors all in blood tarnished chain armor kept both wagons surrounded. This told everyone on the street not to get in the way. All four warriors rode Warsteeds of a very high caliber. The horns sticking out of the horse-like animals' heads all had been bronzed and bladed. At least one of the rear-guard Warsteeds had been injured. Its limping trot challenged the rider just to stay on.

The lead wagon driver noticed the metal smith sign and immediately turned his team of draft horses toward the back stable area. As the second wagon tried to follow its front axial suddenly snapped sending its driver plummeting forward. Crates of goods toppled down onto of the hapless dwarf crushing him. With no instructions from their master, the horse team continued to pull. Their impressive builds allowed them to drag the wagon for quite a few meters splintering boards and breaking open several crates. Suddenly, the hitch gave way. Both animals leapt forward then bolted strait for the shop.

The apprentice's eyes grew wide with fear, "Shade, stop them!"

At the mention of its name, a dark gray, almost black, canine's head jerked up. It took only a split second for it to identify the problem before bolting out through the door. The draft animals didn't seem to notice this newcomer at first, but a hard nip on the left flank of the left side horse changed that. It veered to the right forcing its hitch mate to go with it. This forced both animals into the smithy's coral.

Shade growled and barked menacingly as the pair tried to turn and bolt back out. This time they did pay attention and turned away from the promise of a painful bite.

The Elvin boy wasted no time yelling out orders to two younger apprentices. Everyone watching had to give all the kids some credit. Within just a few minutes the youngsters had the situation under control. The gate to the coral had been shut and latched while a large amount of grain was thrown in the food trough.

Shade kept a wary eye on the horses and barked loudly whenever they tried to push on an area of the fence. On the few occasions when one of the apprentices was put in any danger, Shade would leap forward and snap its jaws loud enough to be heard in the forge. It became apparent neither animal wanted anything to do with the ferocious wolf-like canine or its razor sharp ebony colored teeth.

With nowhere safe to run, both animals quickly calmed down and went over to the troughs for much-needed food and water. Still hitched together, the animals disputed between them which was more important, food or water. Once they decided on water and completely calmed, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

The lead wagon driver looked around, "Quick thinking boy. Where is the blacksmith?"

"He went to get ore in Silverton," the Elvin boy stated with a bit of a bow to show respect to the merchant.

"Then why is this shop open boy?"

"My name is Aster, and I am in charge till he returns," the boy answered.

"With no teacher? What type of shop is this?" the merchant's voice told of his indignation.

"We do not have a teacher here at the moment, but I am guild certified. That allows me to run his shop for short durations," Aster kept his voice much more neutral than he felt. For over three years since he had been the youngest in the barony to pass the guild tests for metalworkers, he had been treated with a measure of verbal abuse. Usually, like now, it was not the words but the tone behind them that betrayed their real meaning.

The merchant rolled his eyes, "Yea, sure."

Aster's eyes narrowed, "I am. The Animal Adept Guild and the Healthman Guild also certify me. Had it not been my," he held up two fingers on each hand moving them up and down as he said, "quick thinking," then dropped his hands. "Your animals would have run into this shop and you would be paying several hundred silver in damages, if not more. As it is, you only owe us for the food for your horses, four copper." He held out his hand to emphasize the price of feeding the horses. A price that was easily twice as much as the food provided was worth.

The merchant took a step back, not at all expecting the lad in front of him to challenge him. "Very well, who am I to argue. How much to house all my animals?"

Aster was not about to be pulled into doing anything extra for this man, "This is not a stable. If you have business for us we can work out something, otherwise there are stables at the Green Vine Inn and Bloodhaven's Tavern. You can go further into the city, but the prices will go up."

The biggest guard came over, interrupting the merchant, "Kald is dead, Handri."

The merchant cringed, "His death is a major blow. Go into town and see if you can find us another driver and a few more swords. I'd like another Dwarf to replace Kald if possible. I want to give this one more shot before we give up. Before you do so though, let's get what we have left sorted out."

The man bowed and left, shouting orders to the other guards.

Aster thrust his hand out, "You still owe us four copper."

Handri smiled, beginning to like what he saw in this boy, "What if I do have business for the forge?"

"Then we can work on some arrangements," Aster answered while lowering his hand, "What is it you need?"

"Can you fix the wagon?"

Aster looked back at the mess on the street, "I doubt it. You could probably sell what is left for salvage. There are three wagon makers in Junsac."

Handri nodded as if expecting the news, "Very well. My guards need repair to their armor and replacements for lost daggers, damaged weapons and the like. I will also need weapons to outfit any grunt swords I can find."

Aster grinned, "You know that will not be cheep."

"Yes. I have money, but I expect a fair price."

"And you will get one. Have your men put all the animals in the coral. I will have the most experienced apprentice help your men in getting out of their armor and show them our weapon selections. Would you like one of the others to show you to one of the wagon makers?"

Handri again nodded, "Yes, that would be most kind. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"You can ask, but I will not guarantee an answer."

Handri laughed, "Fair enough! Ok, you say you are guild certified. I can accept such a thing, because I know if you claimed to be and were not the guilds would kill you and shut this business down. So why do you not wear your guild pins?"

Aster flipped over his collar, "I do, just do not show them. Most adults are not comfortable around me when they are displayed."

Handri nearly choked upon seeing the silver guild pins. "You are a second echelon Animal Adept at your age?"

Aster gave a quick uncomfortable nod, "Yes, as well as Metalworker and Healthman. Just completed my second echelon testing a couple months ago. And if you would, please keep your voice down."

Handri swallowed hard, "Sorry," his voice lowered to less than normal talking voice, his surprise he could not hide, however. "But you cannot be more than human equivalent of 13!"

"Twelve actually. I was certified first echelon just over three years ago, I am now 45 years old."

Handri's voice became more impressed than astonished. His scowl slowly changed into a smile as he spoke. "A very young twelve! How is this possible?"

"I get quite a bit of practice," Aster answered matter-of-factly

"Oh, and how does a boy your age get such practice?"

Something about the merchant told Aster he could be trusted. He didn't act like most adults and seemed genuinely interested. After a moment of thought he decided to test the waters. "If I tell you that, you must keep it a secret. Not even the guild knows where I get all my experience."

Handri raised an eyebrow. His interest was definitely peeked, "Very well young one. I will not say a single word to anyone."

"Be aware I will tell others of your promise."

Clearly this slender silver haired, green-eyed elf had a major secret. Part of Handri debated just dropping the whole thing, but he was a merchant. A merchant had to be nosy and find out whatever might help in making a sale or bargaining for the best price for needed goods or services. In short order the merchant side won out. "I understand."

Aster gave a charming smile showing beautiful white teeth. His looks and demeanor could not have been in bigger contrast to the words he spoke. "I am volunteer member of the Barony Watch." Quickly he flipped over the opposite side of his collar showing a jade dagger pin.

Handri took another step back. The Junsac Barony sat on the fringe of the kingdom and had, out of desperation, developed a method for dealing with the wilds beyond the settled lands. Their answer had become know as the Barony Watch. Everyone in the kingdom instantly thought of Junsac when those words were spoken. Some just called it The Watch.

The Watch kept an eye on the wild borders. When a problem came up, it was dealt with. In the last twenty years, the kingdom of Kronar had not once had to send troops to deal with anything up in the Barony of Junsac. No monster was considered too tough, nor any enemy too sly to stand up against the Barony Watch.

It wasn't that The Watch was a group of do-gooders either. Over the years they had stolen, framed people, murdered, and at least once made an entire Marquis' family to just disappear. Every man, woman, and child including three steps removed into the extended family simply vanished. All the belongings were left alone. One home had a half-eaten dinner on the dining room table. No bodies, no blood, no clues other than a purposely left behind jade dagger pins at each site.

The jade dagger pin of The Watch was only given to members who had fought in three or more campaigns in the wildlands beyond the borders of the kingdom. It was rumored to be magical in nature, but only those who owned one actually knew for sure what powers it had. Others knew it glowed a blue green and anyone attempting to steal one would die from a very hideous disease. There was no doubt this boy spoke the truth. The jade dagger had definitely been shimmering blue-green on its own accord.

Of course not even The Watch could have done everything attributed to them. However, if even a tenth of what was said had been The Watch, they were a group to be feared. The extra rumors only helped maintain the group's mystique and kept any enemies guessing.

Handri was not used to being speechless, but right at the moment he couldn't even squeak. Matter of fact, he was having difficulty breathing. He had met members of The Watch before, but never before had it occurred to him that there were some who remained hidden. He also wondered how many people he had been rude to, much like this boy, who could have called on friends to do very vile things for revenge. It had been known, or at least rumored, to happen.

Aster saw color drain from Handri's face. Part of him felt satisfaction, but another side felt sorry for the man. He had lost a wagon, a driver, and had clearly had a rough last few days judging by how tired the guards seemed. A question needed to be asked, "What happened out there?"

Handri forced his throat open by taking a few deep breaths. "We were taking supplies up the Dark Ridge Pass. We were jumped by Gnolls again."

Aster's eyes narrowed. This sounded like the very thing he was told to keep an eye out for. "Again? You mean this has happened before to you?"

"Oh yea. Nothing has been able to get through this last winter. They have got to be running out of food by now if their winter was even half as bad as ours."

Aster thumbed the Barony Watch pin for a second thinking about what he had just heard. Seconds later he got his answer, Get all the information you can my young friend. He heard in the middle of his mind. I will try getting a team ready, but you know we are stretched pretty thin.

— I know Master Lannet. The black dragon has the Everone Barony in shambles and we are still trying to find out where the lizard man army has disappeared to. I would like to check it out first hand, but I cannot leave the forge.

— If you are willing, and I sense you are, I will get a blacksmith to cover for you while you are gone. You know the guild will cover for you.

— Yes, do so please.

— Aster, you will be out there with no backup until I can form a team. You must make this decision on your own. Do you really want to be out there without any net?

— Master what about your semi-retired friend? He is above the pass.

— Unfortunately he is not Aster. He is down in the capital checking on an assassination rumor that seems to hold some truths. The crown prince's life may well be in his hands. I hope he will have that wrapped up soon, in which case I will send him; however, you know he will want favors.

— As usual. His price can be fun to pay. Let him know I am willing. I will do what I can on my own until then Master.

— I will pass on your message, but you are only a volunteer Aster. I cannot order you to do this, nor would I. The Watch does not send out lone agents unless we have no choice. The kingdom is not yet in jeopardy from this new potential threat.

— Master I have a very bad feeling about this. We need to check on this.

— Very well Aster. Rest assured, I will find help from somewhere no matter what the cost.

— Do not waste resources yet Master. Let's see what I find first.

— Aster, please be careful. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt or worse.

— I will Master.

Aster shook his head to clear it before turning his attention back to Handri, "May I join you on your next attempt?"

Handri's eyes went wide, "You cannot be serious!"

Aster's gaze hardened, "Deadly serious. And you must keep your word not to tell anyone of my status."

Handri's mind raced. He couldn't take a boy into such danger. If he got hurt, The Watch could blame him. Yet this was not just a boy. Another thought clenched his decision. I do not want The Watch to be unhappy with me for not agreeing. If I do this, they may feel they owe me at least a little favor too. As normal, the thought of a favor being owed to him was just too much to pass up on. Besides, being an ally of The Watch could never hurt. Could it?

Finally he answered, "Very well young one. Keeping what and who you are a secret though, may be very difficult."

"Tell them you hired me as metal worker. Obviously you need one judging by the damage to their armor I saw them wearing."

"This is true. Do you have a traveling armor repair kit?"

"No, but I can borrow one."

"Let's make this official. I will buy you one and pay you a three copper a day wage to be our metal worker plus an extra two to be our Healthman. The armor repair kit and full Healthman's pouch will make up for the lack of hard money you will get."

"That is only about a forth of what my qualifications should get. As long as you also provide good food and travel gear I can keep as my own, I agree."

"Good. When will you be ready to depart?"

"As soon as I get the guild to send me a replacement. Should be later today."

Handri shook his head, "Too soon. It will take me some time to get things ready. I still have to hire some new swords and equip a new wagon. Say three days hence?"

"I will be ready. Do not forget food for Shade and Dart as well."

"Shade and Dart? One is your wolf, what is the other?"

"Wolf? Not quite," Aster chuckled, "but he does eat the same things as a wolf. My other pet is 3; Well let me just say it is a very large bird of prey."

Handri glanced down at the huge canine sitting next to the boy. It sure looked like a wolf. Clearly the lad would not give out any more information. So be it. "Very well. One wolf beastie and one giant eagle or something to feed. I can do that. Now find me someone to show me to a wagon maker if you would. I will also need to visit the general store and Healthman shop to set up a tab for you. I want you to have the best, so get Elvin steel traveling Metalworker's kit and Healthman tools. Also get armor and weapons as needed. If this works out, I may wish to discuss hiring you for a longer term."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, your skills could be exactly what my caravan needs. We will just have to see how you blend in as a team member before I say more."

Aster nodded, "Oh, I understand. I will get one of the boys to guide you into town."

Quickly Aster instructed the youngest apprentice to take Handri around to whatever shops he needed while he attended to the needs of the warriors in the shop. He took over most of the duties, sending one of the last two apprentices to the Guild to get a temporary fill-in while the last boy tended to the forge, keeping the fire hot and cleaning up.

The lead Swordsman noticed this with an approving eye. For a young lad, Aster controlled the shop with practiced ease. It made no difference how busy things got. Five times others came in requiring services. Somehow, both his men and the other customer were taken care of without making anyone feel delayed. At the same time, the single instance one of his Swordsmen became a little overbearing, he was stared down and told to 'grow up and wait his turn'. After that nobody questioned who was in charge of the shop.

Aster had never been worked so hard. He gained a whole new respect for his masters. At least the owner would be thrilled with the sales. The problem would be restocking all the bought goods. It looked like about a third of the weapons would be bought including next to all the bronze weapons. In addition the other business cut into horse shoe supplies, nails, and other common forge equipment. Twice he had to stop work to repair lightly damaged items brought in by other customers plus spend time over the forge to repair links in all the Swordsmen's armor.

As he did so, Aster listened to the four men as they discussed what weapons they should get. It became clear in short order that all four were experienced and guild certified Swordsmen. None of them looked forward to braving the pass again. Judging from what was being said he guessed several hired non-Swordsman guards, also known as 'swords' had lost their lives. Only the true Guilded Swordsmen, Handri, and the wagons had made it all the way. The loss of the Dwarvin driver after all they had been through seemed to really weigh on all their minds. The three junior Swordsmen all talked about throwing in the towel, but their leader denounced such an act with a withering glare. He clearly had a great deal of sway over the others. One by one they fell silent and started preparations for their next journey.

Over the course of the day Aster got to know a little about each man, but he spent the most time with their leader, Pocet. Pocet didn't allow anything to be selected without first checking it out. Nor did he accept anyone's word as far as the armor being repaired. He inspected every fixed link before approving the work. This required him to spend a great deal of time around Aster, something he seemed pleased to do.

Aster took time showing the man every weapon. All the types of metal, whether bronze, steel (which Aster could only show with gloves on), Elvin steel, Elvin Silver Steel, and even Dwarvin Steel and Dwarvin Blue Steel.

Elvin and Dwarvin steels were not really steel, just compounds developed by the respective races that mimicked steel, long before steel had been invented. Elvin Silver and Dwarvin Blue were the best of the best, specially fired and hardened to a point no regular blacksmith could hope to achieve. The prices were well above what Pocet had been given clearance to spend, but he looked them over anyway. After careful examination he selected an Elvin Silver Steel long sword for himself. He paid for it out of his own money.

Pocet, like Aster, was Second Echelon. This separated him from the others in not only ability but also status. Yet it was clear to Aster, the man had natural leadership ability as well. The men listened to him not out of just fear or respect, but because they trusted his judgment. His Secondary Echelon rating just added to his authority. He wore his guild pins proudly, yet not predominately displayed. One had to be looking in order to see them pinned to upper edge of his silver belt buckle.

Over the hundreds of years guilds had developed in several fields and sub-fields. Each guild rated the experience of members through a complicated system of tests. Fully trained beginners started at Primary Echelon, then Secondary, Teaching, Expert, Master, and finally Legendary. Each Echelon had five steps to further give possible employers an idea of a guild member's skills. A Secondary Echelon step three Swordsman would be very close in abilities to any other Secondary Echelon step three Swordsman. Guilds had also worked together to make sure all fields were very close to equal at similar rakings. Thus a Primary step two Mage was pretty close to a Primary step two Animal Adept. All told there were guilds for eight fields and at least eleven sub-fields, although some of the sub-fields were further divided by specialties.

Very few made it to Teaching Echelon; fewer still progressed to Expert and beyond. In most kingdoms only Teaching Echelon and above were allowed by the guilds to have apprentices, but in the wild lands many Secondary Echelon rated beings took on apprentices because there were just too few teachers. The same held true for weaker kingdoms and war-torn areas. The guilds understood the need, but didn't openly condone the practice.

Pocet, like many wildernesses Swordsmen, was an Outdoorsman. It was a common and very handy sub-field focusing on hunting, tracking and survival. No wilderness group could survive without one. The problem with his group was simple; all of them were outdoorsmen not a single one of them even had a second sub-field. This meant they had no Healthmen, priests known as Channelers, Metalworkers, or other sub-field skills to help round out the group or help keep them alive. They also didn't have a spell caster.

Never once had Aster traveled into the wilderness beyond the barony borders without a spell caster let alone try the pass into the upper reaches. He doubted any members of The Watch would sanction even thinking about it. Clearly his skill would benefit the party greatly on their expedition. The lack of a spell caster truly troubled the boy though.

Much to his credit Pocet noticed the boy's ill ease; "You have become kind of withdrawn. Is there a problem?"

Aster chewed on his lip before speaking, "I was just thinking about our trip through the pass."

"Our trip?" Pocet eyes hardened, "Since when were you coming?"

"Handri hired me to be your Metalworker and Healthman. I am guild certified as both."

Pocet looked over Aster carefully, "Really? Where are your pins?"

"I do not like to show them."

"Look son, if Handri hired you fine. But I am in command of the journey. I need to know who or what we have as far as resources."

Aster took a breath. Seeing the other men now looking at him he cringed. He really didn't want anyone else to know how experienced he actually was. Being Second Echelon told others more than he wanted them to know. If he was underestimated from the start, he held a great advantage. However, if people knew then he had lost a very valuable ally, surprise.

Pocet put his arm around Aster and led him to the coral, "Let's talk alone. But I want you to know, I trust those men with my back in combat. That is more than I say for most."

"I understand. It's just that I get the feeling they would be very nervous around me if they found out," Aster replied keeping his words guarded.

"Found out what? It is clear you are a trained Metalworker and Animal Adept. You have shown me both of these abilities today. Actually, your metal skills are superb. As far as being a Healthman, I have no doubt. Handri would not idly hire someone without seeing proof," Pocet stopped before adding, "You must have started your training when you were quite young."

"Fifteen years ago I first started at the forge pumping billows in the mornings then grinding herbs for the Golden Peak Healthman Shop just down the street in the afternoons. Did it for a year with no pay or anything until the smith here decided I really wanted to learn. He took a day off, had me tested, found me an Animal Adept teacher, and talked one of the Healthmen into training me as well."

"So young? What of your parents?"

"I do not know. I was found wandering the streets bleeding from a gash on my head." He pulled up on his silver hair revealing a scar peeking out just below the hairline and extending well up toward the top of his head.

"I am amazed you survived such a wicked gash!" Pocet exclaimed, clearly appalled.

"The Healthman who fixed me said the same thing," Aster shrugged, "I could only remember that I was 28 years old, my name was Aster, and a few other things. The rest I do not know. No one here recognized my name or me, so after I healed I lived in the orphanage. I took it on myself to do the rest."

"No one came looking for you?"

"No. The orphanage sent out word. I guess I was not wanted or something."

Pocet gave Aster a quick hug, much to the Elf's surprise.

"What was that for?"

"Because you are too good a kid not to be wanted," Pocet spoke seriously.

Aster had to fight back a tear, "Thank you. You are most kind."

"No need to thank me. I was just saying what I believe," Pocet gave Aster another quick squeeze, "Is that why you are afraid to let others know you are guilded?"

"No 3; well one of the reasons maybe," Aster stumbled over his words. Other than his friends in The Watch, the certification masters in the guilds, and his teachers, very few had been as kind as this man. For some reason, the kind words made him uncomfortable. It was much easier for him to take criticism than a complement. Something few understood.

Pocet kept his hand on the boy's shoulder as he spoke, "Look my friend, I will keep whatever you say between us. I can understand your reluctance at having your skills known and your nervousness around my men. I can guarantee they will protect you the best they can. Maybe one day you will trust them enough to share your secrets, but I must know what you can and cannot do. Otherwise I may make a mistake that would kill me, them or even you."

Aster cracked a small grin; "The problem is kind of reversed."

"Huh?" Confusion showed on Pocet's face.

"I do not need their protection, but they may need mine." With a light gulp Aster flipped up his collar revealing his guild pins. "How would they feel about me if they knew this?"

Pocet couldn't believe his eyes. Carefully he reached out and touched the pins. The light shock he got told him they were the real things, attuned to the boy. With a secondary step two rating in his field and sub-fields he could probably take on all three of his men and have an even up chance of winning, add in whatever animals the boy had, well this kid was beyond simply dangerous!

He looked over the boy again taking more care to examine beyond the shoulder length silverish hair, bright inquisitive green eyes and typical Elvin slender build. The boy's clothing was typical of forge workers, fairly skimpy. A leather tank top like vest with a deep V cut out of the front coupled with a leather loincloth made up most of what he wore. Leather forearm guards and leather chaps finished off the outfit and guarded against burns in the forge. Hardened leather boots protected his feet against sparks, hot coals, and molten metal. Even in the chill of the very early spring, those working around a forge had to be careful of overheating. Aster's clothing, or lack there of, allowed Pocet to take a look at more than the facial features.

First he noted the arms were very firm for a boy his age. No doubt this child pulled his weight in the forge. He had seen Aster work with his own eyes. Yet his arms were also graceful, still boyish. The arms led to developing shoulders that also held hints of the amount of work the boy did. His legs were really where the strength showed. They looked firm even when the youngster relaxed. When he walked, Pocet noted he could actually make out the muscles. It wasn't a build of a barbarian, not by a long shot. Instead this lad had the sleek strength of a mountain lion. One had to really look for it to find it. If anything this only made Aster more deadly. Only the very coordinated had such features.

Even when he gave Aster a pat on the shoulder or the two quick hugs, he had not wavered. He tested this again by giving the boy a fairly hard pat on the shoulder as if to say 'do not worry.' Again Pocet felt his hand hit solidness. And again the boy didn't budge or flinch. Oh my, what an impressive kid! was all he could think.

Pocet had to look away and find something else to think about. He felt his loin cloth starting to rise and couldn't allow this to be seen by Aster or his men. Only Handri and a few of his closest friends knew his interest in boys. Well, them and the boys he had spent nights with that is.

It just wouldn't do for men under his command to find out. It wasn't so much a matter of embarrassment. Many men had a taste for boys including at least one of his guards. The real problem, as Pocet saw it, was of weakness. He had no desire to get drunk, gamble, or find prostitutes. He believed this made him look rock solid and unshakable. If any of his men found out it would tarnish his reputation. Furthermore, such knowledge in the wrong hands could be used against him by the few enemies he had accidentally left alive.

The only times Pocet really had to hide his feelings were when Handri dabbled in the slave trade, until now that is. Having a boy with the beauty of Aster constantly around would push his ability to hide to a whole new limit. He could always look down on a dirty slave boy, but Aster was neither dirty or a slave. In fact, he would be the only other secondary guild certified party member. Silently he cursed Handri for hiring this child while another part couldn't be happier.

Clearly Aster enjoyed being touched in a caring way. Pocet realized it was probably seldom done. With no parents and being second in charge of a forge left him caught in between two worlds. The first being a cared about child, the second a highly skilled adult. Aster belonged in both, but qualified for neither. The very fact he hid his guild ratings proved adults were uncomfortable around him.

Also apparent was the fact the other boys in the forge obeyed him with a sense of awe. Clearly he didn't belong to the world of boyhood either. How could he? Other boys would never just be friends. Far from it, Pocet bet. Kids his own age surely were terrified of his skills. What boy would ever say something that might offend a kid who had abilities far surpassing 90% of the adults they could ever hope to meet? The answer, very few, if any. No true friendship could exist under such a one-sided relationship. Instead, the best Aster could hope for would be more like a father to a son. How hard must it be for a boy to be treated like a man by kids and a kid or, worse yet, a threat by adults?

Pocet saw this in Aster's eyes. The deeper he looked the more his own heart ached. Carefully, he put his arm back around the beautiful elf. "I look forward to having to having you along."

Aster felt as if his jaw had hit the floor. "Really?"

"Yes," Pocet stated while turning Aster to face him. "You're a great kid and your skills will help us make it through the pass. Why would I not want you to come?"

"Because you're an adult 3; "

"Yea, I sure am. I am also adult enough speak up when I need help. I don't care if you are 10, 35, or 105 in human equivalent years. A real adult will not only ask for help, but when it is offered take it. Anyone who wouldn't," Pocet paused and rolled his eyes." Well let me put it this way. Anyone stupid enough to pass up on offered help just because it came in a form he didn't like is acting far more childish than the young man standing before me."

Pocet put his arm back around Aster and led him toward the forge, "Let's find out how much we spent already and discover what we have left to buy equipment for a few new swords, shall we?"

"Yea, sure. Mind if I ask you a question though?"

"I never mind being asked questions unless we are in combat. At that point I expect orders to be followed. If you have a question as to why my orders were what they were, I'll be happy to discuss them after the battle. Understood?"

Aster vigorously nodded, "That makes sense!"

"Glad you agree. So what is on your mind?"

"Well, I was just wondering," Aster stopped and shrugged, "Never mind. Not that important."

"Hey, whatever you are wondering about must be important enough to at least ask."

After a moment, Aster again nodded, "OK you're right. I just what to know why you want to hire mere swords when Junsac has all sorts of real guild Swordsmen."

"Plain and simple," Pocet stated, "money."

Aster frowned, "I know you can hire four regular men for less than a single trained sword, but why? That makes more mouths to feed out on the road and ordinary people will never be able to stand up to a Gnoll, Goblin, Orc, or even a Kobald. Why bother?"

Pocet raised an eyebrow; "You really know your stuff. I have been telling Handri those same things for years. He does what he thinks best. It is his money after all."

"He seems smarter than that," Aster remarked with some disappointment.

"Oh, don't get me wrong my young Animal Adept friend, Handri is extremely intelligent. He just sees things differently. He would prefer more over better. He also thinks differently then we do. Understand he has no training, nor the ability to be trained. Only about a third of us can be guilded remember. And then only about half that number show enough promise to get training. Then you must figure that many of those who do have the innate talent to become a Swordsman, Mage, Animal Adept, Shaman, Warrior Adept, Druid, Sorcerer, or Mystic will never be discovered. Probably less than five percent of the world is actually trained. This means we are elite just by being guilded. Then you must take into account less than half of all guilded beings reach beyond primary echelon. We are truly the best of the best.

"Handri sees the world kind of like a pecking order. You have us at the top, the men with brains and money next. This is where Handri sees himself. Then comes those with just brains. Below that there are the stupid rich, skilled labor and average peasant. Everyone else falls even further down the ladder.

"Handri would prefer to keep a very few of the top notch around because he feels inferior to us. We are needed, and in my case I believe even liked. But we have something that he wants; something that money cannot buy. That makes him nervous and envious. The less of us around, the easier it is for him to feel good about whom he is. You will soon see some of this, but do not be concerned. He hired you. That is something he rarely does without talking to me first. You have gained his trust. I just hope he is paying you enough."

Aster absorbed the words but couldn't help but to giggle, "No where near enough, but he agreed to equip me, feed me and my animals and pay for a traveling metalworker's kit and Healthman's pouch. All in all I think I came out well."

"Animals?"

"Yes."

"I see only one."

"I have a large bird as well. It is off hunting for me and the other kids at the forge. It will be back by nightfall."

Pocet eyed the boy suspiciously, "Surely you can command more than a wolf and a large bird."

"Shade is no wolf and Dart is no ordinary large bird," Aster beamed a huge smile.

Pocet looked down at the canine again, "Not a wolf?"

This time the canine shook its head slowly and rubbed up against Aster.

Pocet felt his eyes narrow, "It understands what I just said doesn't it?"

Again the canine moved its head, this time up and down before it came over to Pocet. Gently the animal licked the swordsman's hand and offered a paw.

Pocet knelt and shook the canine's limb. As he did so he noticed a few things about it. First its paw had retractable catlike claws only much larger and sharper. Second it looked on with an intelligence that sent a small shiver down his spine. Finally he noticed this Wolf-like beast had shiny black teeth. Each one looked like a razor sharp shard of obsidian. A wolf this creature clearly wasn't. Never in his travels had he run into such a magnificent animal.

"So do you mind telling me what exactly this pet of yours is?" Pocet asked as he ran his hand down Shade's heavy soft coat of fur. Muscle after muscle rippled under his firm strokes.

"I would prefer to wait, if you don't mind," Aster smiled, "I would ask that you refer to Shade as a wolf when anyone asks about him. If you knew, you might accidentally say and I do want his secret kept for as long as I can."

"Keeping an ace up your sleeve?"

"Yea, kinda."

"I can accept that. Now I would like to ask you a question."

"Sure."

"How is it you have so much experience and no gear?"

Aster took a breath, "When I go out, I go with a few adults that have accepted me. They have always loaned me equipment saying I was too young to waste money buying my own, that I would grow out of it. The last few times, however, I realized I could take adult sized stuff like bedroll, water skins, and the like. So I would either have to spend my own money to equip myself or allow Handri to do it. In the long run I think I'll make out. 5 copper a day for a 45 year old elf is pretty darned good!"

Pocet laughed, "I can see your point! How much will your Healthman and metalworking stuff cost?"

Aster cracked a wicked grin, "Remember he will have to buy Elvin Steel tools for me 3; "

Pocet grimaced, "Ouch!"

"Yes sir! Total cost will be about 175 silver not including food."

"Seems you made a very good deal!"

"I try."

"What about weapons?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have a bow, throwing daggers, fighting dagger and an axe. Everything but the bow I captured from fallen enemies."

"So you have seen real action?"

"Like I told you; don't worry about your men protecting me. I may end up having to protect them. I have done it before," Aster looked up to see how this news affected his newfound friend. What he saw pleased him greatly

Pocet nodded, "Even more reason for me to be happy you are joining us. When we finish in the forge let's go shopping for your equipment, OK?"

Aster breathed a sigh of relief; "I would really like that!" He then looked down at Shade; "I'll be OK boy. Go help Dart find us a good dinner."

Shade nuzzled Aster and licked him twice before bolting down the road at an astounding speed.

"Can I at least ask you if Shade really understands us?"

"Yea. He is at the upper edges of semi-intelligent. He can follow complicated instructions as long as I do not use really big words. He probably followed almost everything we said."

"Amazing!" Pocet looked off in the direction the animal had gone. It was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sure you'll really be impressed when you see what else he can do."

"I'm looking forward to it," Pocet smiled in earnest, "Let's finish up here so we can head into town!

Kandric

Kandric wandered back into the swamp still trying to figure out what to do. Night was just settling over the icy swamp. A velvet backdrop heralded the end of a fruitless day, but with it came the moon's first light and the replacement of his spent magical abilities.

Early in his training Glaster had taught him to attune to either the dawn's first golden rays of sun or the twilight's beckoning moon. The choice had been Kandric's alone to select the moon as his magical replenisher. It had been his thought, and still was, that a spell caster would most likely use magic over the course of a day, not night. It also occurred to the still tender youth that night was scarier than day. Monsters, like Goblins, came at night. Therefore, it would be better to have all of one's magical abilities to start each night than each morning.

Glaster pointed out the other side of the coin, that fighting monster at night meant he could use up all his magic and have none for the next day, but Kandric remained firm. Looking back on it now he couldn't have been happier with his choice. The spells both before and after the boys attacked him had all but drained him. The thought of being out in the swamps at night without magical force to cast spells put a very vile taste in his mouth, or was that still the so called stew?

He shrugged. In the long run it really didn't matter. All that was important at the moment was finding food for his siblings. How though? He ran down a mental inventory, the only problem with that was it kept coming up as lack of inventory, No money, no traps, not even twine to make a trap out of. It was beginning to look hopeless again. Glaster would be so disappointed. And truth be told that thought hurt every bit as much as his family going hungry.

A sound, still very far and faint caught his attention. He knew every sound the swamp made by heart; this had not been one of them. Fear momentarily gripped him. Alone in the swamp still quite a ways from the swamp slums was no place to be, especially at night. Silently he scolded himself recalling Glaster's favorite phrase 'fear is the greatest adversary'.

Kandric took a deep breath to calm his nerves than took stock of what he had. This brought out one of the first grins he had in many days. Think resources! Glaster had taught him many valuable lessons over the years. One was how to make something out of nothing. Getting his mind focused like he was being tested by Glaster seemed to take away all the strain of the current situation. OK, first I need to see what I have: spells, warm shirt, worn, but decent britches, an empty pouch, a sling with a few stones, and a dagger boar horn knife. Umm not much, he thought to himself.

Quickly he looked around scolding himself. No. I will not let fear beat me. I can't panic when I do not even know what made the sounds. So I don't have much, big deal. I have been through tests like this with Glaster. Suddenly another though struck him; I have the swamp itself. Let's see that gives me ice, water, wood, rocks, and lots of places to hide. I am good at moving quietly outside so I have yet another advantage. A plan started to form.

Carefully he moved in the direction of the sound. Each step he slid in with his foot so he would not accidentally snap any twigs or crunch any exposed dry brush or leaves. After only 10 minutes he heard more noise. A small campfire told him exactly where everything was happing. Seconds later the first sounds of angry voices pierced the deepening night. Easily, he identified the language as Orcish. Again he took stock of his surroundings and angled around so he would be down wind. Orcs had a great sense of smell. The last thing he wanted was to be found, plus the breeze would push the sounds and smells to him.

It took a full half an hour to sneak up far enough to see, hear, and smell the makeshift camp. It didn't take all that long before he realized he could have done without the smell. Whatever the lumps were on the wooden spits over the fire, they smelled horrible. Hungry or no, Kandric would never eat something smelling so awful.

The Orcs continued to argue, totally unaware of the uninvited visitor just meters outside their camp. Kandric listened for a time, but most of what they spoke of was gambling and each thought the others were cheating. A few times one would snort about some boss who was always late, but nothing more. In all he counted six Orcs, but two were young. It seemed their only reason for existing at all was to play fetch when one of the adults wanted something.

It was somewhat disconcerting that the four tents seemed quite large and nice for Orcs. Each one had a fringe on it, which seemed to be of a different color. Unfortunately it was just too dark to make out anything definite. It also seemed strange that each tent had a mule drawn cart sitting next to it. This was very strange, but Kandric's need for money and food for his family overrode the danger he put himself in by continuing to watch. Most towns paid a bounty on Orcs, Goblins, Kobalds, Hobgoblins, and other intelligent monsters.

Kandric also noticed each of the adults had a pouch, and that none were empty. This could be a way to feed his family. An Orc head was worth two full silver and the money they carried would be more than enough to get through till Glaster came back. The only problem would be having to hike all the way to Greenhorn to sell the heads.

The inn keep just outside the town would pay him silver and a half per head taking his cut for acting like the real bounty collector. It had been an agreement worked out between Glaster, Kandric, and the inn keep a few months before when Kandric had asked about hunting down Orcs and Goblins.

Glaster foresaw the day Kandric would go out and take a few down on his own, so he set up a way for Kandric to collect yet be far enough away to where the Slome locals wouldn't take undo notice. Now was a good chance, except 6 to 1 odds were not good at all. He had spells, but still 6 to 1 was pushing it. He waited to see if a better chance came up, watching every move and getting a good idea on who was the toughest, smartest, and so on.

It was actually with some degree of pleasure for Kandric to see them at last eat. Just getting the blackened lumps away from the fire allowed the air a reprieve from the stench, then every bite they took amounted to less vileness to be smelled at all. Obviously they enjoyed whatever it was, because they downed every last bite and one let out a satisfied belch.

Another sound approached from the south, this time it was of a mounted armor wearing something. It took far longer for the Orcs to notice than it did Kandric even though he was to the north of the camp. The figure was already into view before the first Orc drew a fairly well constructed steel hammer. The quality of the weapon surprised Kandric. Orcs rarely carried well-made weapons.

A human figure stopped the horse and spoke out in broken Orcish, "Don't even think about it!"

The Orc took a step back and lowered the hammer, "I didn't knows it was youse. Sorry." It stammered out in thick Northman.

The figure in chain armor and helm slid off the mount and secured it to a branch, "Let me guess, he isn't here yet." This time his language slipped into Northman, clearly being the easier for him to speak.

"He no show up yet," the hammer toting Orc verified.

Kandric chewed on his lip nervously, this was very strange. A man talking to Orcs? Why? Worse than that, the voice sounded somewhat familiar. He quickly figured it was not a voice from Slome, no he would be able to identify any of them he knew. So must be someone from one of the trips with Glaster, and not just anyone either. It had to be someone they had done business with, or talked to more than once. Try as he might though, he could not put a face with it.

The armored man warmed his hands over the fire, "I do not like being so close to a town. What does he want?"

"We nots knows," the hammer Orc replied, "Boss want me here. I come here. No argue."

"Yea, well I can't just wander off. People might start to wonder about me."

The biggest of the Orcs came up speaking in Orcish, "That's what them for!" He pointed toward the two Orc children. "You take."

Both younger Orcs shook with fear and lowered their heads when the man glanced their direction.

"Good!" the man in chain nodded, "That'll keep people back home happy."

Out of seemingly nowhere two others appeared. The smaller of the two spoke. "I'm glad you're pleased. The Orcs don't like giving up sacrifices."

Instantly all the Orc adults and the man in chain bowed. None of them spoke or even moved till the smaller of the newcomers motioned for them to rise.

Kandric nearly gave away his hiding place as the latest arrivals made their way to the fire. They were Illorcs, the meanest, biggest, smartest of the two legged walking, talking monsters. They were as smart as humans, magically inclined as elves, and had the stamina of a dwarf. Their race had about the same percentage of field trainable beings as the other high intelligent races and a few even lived in towns and cities. Most considered them monsters even when they did live among the other races because they tended to have a very nasty demeanor. Nothing good could come of this.

Carefully, Kandric forced himself to slide a little deeper into the brush. His good position suddenly felt a little too exposed. Yet he couldn't leave. Something was going on and he had to find out what. Glaster always sought out information and wanted to know about strange happenings. Kandric had waited for years for an opportunity to make Glaster happy and proud of him. Maybe this was it.

All the beings, excluding the Orc kids, sat around the fire. They were clearly here to get instructions from the smaller of the two Illorcs. There was absolutely no question who was in charge.

The Illorc spoke after looking around for a few minutes; "You all have done well this winter. Food supplies in this region are next to non-existent. The Goblins have done their part by destroying traps, over-killing game, and keeping town watches on edge. The Gnolls will continue to keep trade caravans at bay, our agent is closing on his targets down in the capitol, and the Lizardmen are almost in position.

"Now we can move."

The Illorc's gaze shifted to the four Orcs; "First I want all four of your Orc clans to totally destroy a village in each of your areas. It must look like Hobgoblins did it. The clan that does the best job will be allowed to keep all the treasure and slaves they want. However, the clan that does the poorest job will be allowed to keep nothing at all. The other two clans keep half and give half to me. Understand, I said villages, not towns, not tiny hamlets. I will send one of my warriors to each clan to make sure my orders are followed. If they should happen to die, I will hold that clan leader personally responsible."

One by one the Orcs nodded understanding. Two looked happy, one annoyed, the last fearful. At least what Kandric took for fear. It was not easy judging the kind of pig-faced hairy beasts, especially the way their tusks got in the way of a real facial expression. Nevertheless, body language told a great deal of the story and the body language of all two legged intelligent beings seemed to be pretty much alike.

Finally, the Illorc turned his attention to the armored man, "As for you, I do enjoy the paperwork you provide. It has brought both of us great profits. However, it is time you took a more active role. I need well-crafted weapons, armor, and other skilled labor goods. Orcish and Goblin forged goods will never stand up against what a real metalworker, leatherworker, or even cobbler can do in a town where he does not have to stay hidden. I need you to start buying up goods at an enormous rate. I want there to be even more shortages than just food.

"While my army will be well equipped and fed, anything the others can muster will be just the opposite!"

"That will take money!" the man complained.

"Yes, I will give you some, some you will pay for on your own. What you want out of this cannot be given away. It is time to start sacrificing, just like the Orcs are doing with those two youngsters. Besides, I have brought you a gift to ease the pain on your pouch."

The Illorc clapped his six fingered hands together twice and grinned.

A third Illorc pushed through the brush pulling two chained youngsters of about 9 or 10. Both looked fairly clean and clearly terrified. Their heads had gags tightly wrapped around with an extra wad of cloth stuffed into their mouths to prevent any noise. They both wore skilled peasant clothing: woven shirts, animal skin leather jackets, soft furry boots and cloth britches.

The taller one appeared to have bloodstains on his shirt. Judging by the shear amount it probably wasn't his. His wide fearful eyes were blue and his tussled hair dark, but it was hard to tell if it was black or brown in the firelight.

The smaller boy looked far less unkempt. His gray eyes stayed glued on the Illorc pulling on the chain and his golden hair reflected the flames making him astonishingly beautiful. His clothing had no blood and it appeared he wore a nightshirt under his outer clothing. Unlike the other boy who had to be pulled and dragged, he kept pace so he wouldn't have to feel the bite of raw metal on tender bare wrists.

At the sight of the boys the Orcs started mumbling in angry tones. All looked upset.

With a wave of his hand, the smallest Illorc hushed them, "Relax, I have something for all of you as well." He turned to the Illorc leading the boys, "Leave them. Fetch the rest!"

The armored man went over to the two boys taking the chain away from the newest Illorc to the group. Quickly, the creature disappeared back into the brush.

"Very nice!" the man remarked while running his gauntleted hand down the taller boy's tear streaked cheeks.

The youngster jerked his head back, kicking wildly.

The man let loose with the evilest sounding laugh Kandric had ever heard. Involuntarily, he slid further back into the swamp only stopping when he realized he was moving at all. Fortunately, the years of work with Glaster seemed to take over automatically as well. He made no sounds and luckily no one had noticed his movements.

By the time he looked back to see what was going on with the boys, he noticed the taller one was being held up high in the air by the chains around his wrists. The armored man jerked up and down several times shaking the child unmercifully opening cuts where the shackles dug into the wrists. He then pulled the boy up by his hair. Once standing he moved his left hand down to over the lad's boyhood and squeezed, "You try that again and this will seem like a summer day of relaxing and swimming. Understand?"

Tears rolled down the boy's face like raindrops. Some even hit the ground. The gag absorbed whatever he tried to say, but the nod answered the question.

"Good!" The man let the boy fall back to the ground. He turned looking at the smaller boy; "You look smarter. Are you going to give me any trouble?"

Rapidly the boy shook his head causing his thick golden hair to wave around wildly.

The man motioned, "Come here then!"

The boy walked up slowly, but with no hesitation

The man removed his gauntlets before stroking the younger boy's cheeks. Methodically he moved his hands down caressing the entire face and neck. Briefly he pulled up the nightshirt and slid his hand into the boy's loincloth.

The boy tried to whimper, but the gag stopped any noise. A few tears threatened to fall, welling up in the corner of his eyes. And he lowered his head and chewed on his lips. He remained as still as he could and made no attempt to pull away or strike back though.

"Very good," the man somewhat snarled, "Remain this smart and you will be far happier than your partner will."

Seconds passed before he grabbed both chains and secured them to a metal ring on his horse's barding. "Oh, I will enjoy you two!" he snickered walking over to the Orc children.

He was rough as he quickly found two branches, tested their strength and secured the young Orcs' arms to them. He did this by placing the branches behind their heads forcing them to wrap their arms around it at the elbows. He then tied their arms to the branch and put an extra loop around their necks and tied it off at each end to their wrists. If they tried to struggle loose, the loop would tighten. The end result made an effective strangle device. An extra length of rope secured the branch to a second metal ring on the other side of his saddle.

He did the same thing to the taller boy without making the strangle loop. Instead he kept the chains on which would cause intense pain because as the horse pulled on his arms the branch would be pulled onto the back of his neck.

The smaller boy was spared this torment, but was warned about any misbehavior. Just to make sure his point got across, he pulled a small backpack out of one of his saddle bags, filled it with rocks and made the fearful child wear it. None of the children were allowed to sit. When one of the Orcs tried to, the man broke a long thin stick off a tree, pulled the Orc's britches down to his ankles and switched it until the back of the calves, thighs, and butt cheeks all showed angry welts. The little creature's screeches fell on deaf ears. If anything, the man seemed to enjoy the young creature's pain and thrashing about.

Kandric wanted to react, but he knew to do so would only lead to himself being captured or killed. If he really wanted to help the other boys, he would have to out think the beings within the camp. Inwardly he felt lost and hopeless, but he knew his only chance at stopping this group would be to watch and learn. He turned his attention back to the adult Orcs.

The Illorc was motioning toward a group of four other captives and speaking in Orcish. "We also managed to get these four. Well, truth be told, we got a few others as well, but I need my recreation too. You will have to figure out who gets what though. As you can see the women are clearly of prime breeding age, as most likely is the older girl. I seriously doubt the younger one is though."

The strongest of the Orcs laughed, "Me think we should fight for them!"

"No!" the Illorc leader commanded, "I do not need any of you hurt."

Kandric's heart sunk even further as he looked over the females. All four of the newest captives were chained like the boys. Two were somewhat older, probably in their early twenties. One was maybe 14 or 15. The last couldn't have been more than 11, if that.

Clearly the Illorcs had not been gentle to any of them. The two adults showed recent welts of black and blue forming on their faces. The older girl's face was somewhat bloody, probably from a shot to her nose, and the younger girl's knees were skinned and still bleeding. Like the boys, their clothing showed them to be skilled peasant or higher in cast. Unlike the boys, however, their clothing looked highly disheveled, torn, and dirty. Their treatment had left them exhausted and barely able to stand. In the young girl's case, probably unable to stand. The poor youngster had most likely been dragged some opening up the wounds on her legs.

The biggest of the Illorcs pushed them one at a time to the ground, leaving the young girl laying in simi-conscience agony where they had stopped. He went over to each one, splashing water on them and giving each a long drink. The younger girl even got a little basic bandaging at the lead Illorc's order. He wanted them alive and reasonably healthy.

There was no risk of any of them running and the Illorcs knew it. Still one rested a six-fingered hand on his battle sword and kept an eye on them.

Kandric realized he had missed some of the conversation between the lead Illorc and the others. The reason for them meeting so close to Slome escaped him, as did the way the Orcs settled on which of the females to take. By the time he refocused on what was going on the Orcs were each grabbing the chains to one female and pulling them toward their tents.

One didn't even make it to the tent before a dagger had cut off her clothing. She tried to struggle but the Orc outweighed the woman by a good 75 kilograms [165 pounds] and was in very good shape. The creature slammed a finger into her anus as his razor sharp dagger removed the last scraps of material. Her screams were just the start. All but the tent the youngest had been taken to soon echoed with sounds of fear, disgrace, despair, and pain. The last one had only an occasional whimper emerge from within.

Kandric felt his gut heave. Never could he imagine such horrendous cruelty. The fact the Illorc leader was smiling in shear enjoyment of it all, only made it worse. Somehow he would have to make every single one of these creatures pay. Unfortunately, it would have to wait. Acting now would do nothing more than guarantee failure, especially when he saw what else was in the camp.

Out of each tent two more Orcs emerged and stood guard. Kandric breathed an angry yet nervous sigh of relief. Had he attacked earlier, the addition of eight more Orcs against him would have spelled certain death. It had never occurred to him the tents might hold others. Regardless of anything else, this oversight would be remembered as a powerful lesson. Glaster always reminded Kandric to learn with every experience. His master's words rang in his mind as if the man was standing next to him. A mistake which doesn't teach is a failure, any other is just a mistake.

Kandric quickly realized he would have no chance against the Illorcs or Orcs, so he focused in on the armored man who was clearly getting ready to leave. He was mounted but had two Orc children and two human captives to lead. The chains on the humans would make noise to cover his attempts to follow as well. All he really had to do was slip away from the camp without the beasts noticing and to circumvent wherever the Illorcs had brought the captives from.

As long as he kept the fire between himself and the monsters in the camp, the crackling flames would blind their infravison. The wind still blew into his face so his scent was hidden. Finally the noise of the creatures talking and the cries of the female captives would cover minor slipups to his moving quietly in the woods. Kandric gave himself a satisfied nod. Everything was in his favor as long as he used what was available.

Quickly as he could, Kandric moved deeper into the woods and worked a parallel path next to the armored man. Two kilometers passed underfoot before he figured the camp was far enough behind him to stop watching his back as often. From here on out he had an advantage. Much like hunting game animals, he would strike only when he was ready while letting the prey get a false sense of security from seemingly peaceful surroundings. It felt good to put aside his earlier embarrassment and shame heaped on him by two boys. For now he was the hunter!

Chapter 3

Vondum

Vondum hated the pace he had to ride. The pair of Orc children and the two captive human boys really slowed him down. It truly aggravated him, but what could he do? He needed the Orcs to show his town why he had been gone, and the boys, well they were strictly fringe benefits. Besides, the boys were not holding him up any more then the Orcs already were.

When he really thought it over, it wasn't all bad. If Monarch had not ordered the Orcs to give him a pair of kids, he would have had to spend an extra day or so hunting down a few Goblins or something else. The good people of Black Rapids would not be happy if their captain of the guard came back from a week long trip empty handed. He dearly hoped he would make it back within the one-week time frame, but now he doubted it. Especially since his new orders kept him from heading strait back.

With any luck, a few of his trusted men had come up with a few kills as well by now. Add that to the Orcs and the town would be satisfied he was indeed doing his job. An extra few days or even a week or two would be brushed off. If his men had not been successful, two Orc children may not be enough. Briefly he picked up the pace, only to find the kids couldn't do it. One by one they stumbled, fell, and had to be dragged. He wanted all four undamaged as possible so he again slowed.

Two hours after departing the Orc camp, he spotted a frozen natural spring. Crystal clear ice shining in the three quarter moonlight told him the water was fresh under the frozen upheaval. He stopped. None of the kids would last much longer. They needed food, water, and rest. Vondum looked around before sliding off his mount. His Outdoorsman training told him something wasn't right. Try as he might, he could not detect the source of the problem though. If he was being watched, it was by something or someone quite good. This only made him more edgy.

Another few seconds of searching and finding nothing convinced him his prisoners would just have to do without sleep. Something was making his hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He was sure they were not alone, but a break was required. There was nothing he could do about it. Pushing them any further would lead to a serious injury or worse. Besides, his mount needed a breather as well. The weight of his body in armor, saddle, saddlebags, traveling gear, plus having to pull four children took its toll.

He patted his mount before detaching the ropes and chains from the metal loops he had added to his saddle for this very purpose. He glared at the Orcs while speaking in their language. "Sit and do not move until told!"

The Orc boy and girl both sat down instantly. They were exhausted and it showed.

If anything the humans were in worse shape. The gags prevented them from breathing in through their mouths so they were not getting enough air. They both had already collapsed to the ground by the time Vondum turned his attention toward them. He shook his head annoyed with himself for not thinking about their breathing sooner.

Vondum drew his dagger and moved toward the smaller boy. Too tired to stand, the boy just looked up shaking from head to toe with fear.

Vondum loved the look of fear, but need overrode pleasure for the moment. He required the humans to get their breath back and be able to go a while longer as soon as possible. With a practiced swipe, he cut the gag without so much as scratching the boy wearing it. With his other hand he pulled out the wad of cloth, identifying it as a shirtsleeve of what had once been a very nice tan dyed shirt. Silently he wondered what had happened to the owner. Only the wealthy wore dyed clothing.

Wordlessly he turned to the taller boy and duplicated the procedure. "Any yelling for help, screaming, or even talking and I'll brand your tongues with a hot poker. You will speak only when spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the smaller boy managed to gasp out.

The taller one only nodded and started coughing.

"Good, stay put," Vondum growled as he went over to his steed grabbing a pair of water skins. "I will only be gone a few moments, so you best not try anything stupid."

Using the back of his dagger, Vondum broke off the ice stalagmite. Just as he expected, fresh water shot up almost a meter high, falling back onto the frozen swamp floor freezing almost instantly, slowly forming a new see-through encasement for the cold night. For many this would be a beautiful sight, but for him it was nothing more than an inconvenience. He filled both water skins then moved his mount over so it too could taste its thirst killing coolness and receive some refreshment. The animal eagerly lapped at the water, showing its own need for rest.

Vondum shook his head. Things were not looking good at all. He had to find shelter for sleep or no one, including himself, would make it much further. The last thing he wanted was to end up on foot because his mount couldn't carry him any further.

After a few seconds thought, he walked up to the smaller human, "What is your name?"

"Conth, sir," the boy whispered, while still trying to get his breath back.

"Well, Conth, it is up to you to feed and water the others, unless you to want a wooden cross brace for your arms as well."

"No, sir. I will do what you want."

"I thought you were a smart one." Vondum nodded while tossing the water skins in front of him. "We will rest for one hour. You may grab up your chains and go back to the fountain, over to the Orcs and back to here. Anywhere else and you will be severely punished. Am I making myself clear?"

"Very clear, sir."

"Excellent! You will find some dry rations in my left side saddlebag. Get one wrapping for each of you. Do not touch anything else or my animal. Make sure you feed every bite to them before you eat. Once you finish come see me."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Conth?"

"Sir?"

"I will be watching."

"I understand, sir."

Vondum made sure Conth got only the food out of the saddlebag before he slipped off into the woods. He smiled as the boy stood on tiptoes trying to reach inside the saddlebag hung high on his mount. He doubted the youngster would try anything stupid. For one thing, he was too tired, and more importantly terrified. Briefly he thought about going back to make sure he didn't untie any of the arm crosses, but after a moment dismissed the idea. Fear would prevent such a thought from even coming up. He was right.

Vondum cast a light spell deciding on a deep crimson color to prevent any damage to his night vision. As and added benefit, it would also give the children an even more ominous feeling than they already had. He placed the spell in the middle of the rest site before sliding off into the woods. The glow would give him an idea of how far from the kids and his mount he was while hopefully distracting whatever was stalking him. He circled the resting area three times, each time going a little further out looking for any signs of something watching him. Twice he thought he heard something. A closer inspection only turned up bobcat tracks and a few fallen branches heavy with ice. Yet his honed outdoor danger sense still kept going off. The more he tried to dismiss it, the louder it got. Finally he gave up and headed back toward his glowing red gloom. I'll just have to keep myself extra alert and prepared, he thought to himself.

Quickly, he returned to the spring. His long absence would tempt even the most fearful captive, and something told him the Orcs weren't nearly scared enough. A slight smile crossed his face as Conth came up as soon as he came into view.

"The creatures won't eat sir," Conth said while holding up two of the meals in his left hand while carrying a third in his right hand

"Oh?" Vondum snatched the food, "What about the other meal?"

"You said for me not to eat until the others did sir," Conth answered with a gulp. "So I didn't eat mine yet." His small frame started shaking in fear.

"So I did." Vondum nodded. "You tried. I will not hold this against you. Eat. Come see me when you finish. I will deal with the Orcs."

"Yes sir." Conth backed away and sat on a stone with a water skin and the wrapped food. Try as he might, he couldn't get his hands to stop trembling. It had been easier when the man had left for a while. Each meal contained dried fruits and nuts wrapped up in a pair of thick rectangular shaped cuts of jerky meat and tied with twine. It required some work to get the twine untied, something he could not do with shaking hands. After a few minutes he gave up choosing instead to use his teeth to cut through. The last thing he wanted was to not get a meal because he had taken too long.

Each bite calmed his nerves and replenished some strength. Whoever prepared the jerky had really spiced it. It was hard to eat for a boy who's food had always been more subtle. For a few seconds he started to eat just the fruits and nuts inside, but realized he would probably have to get used to such wild food. With obvious distaste written on his face he stated tearing chunks off with his teeth and swallowing the meat with as little chewing as possible.

This was Conth's first real chance to take stock of his situation. He had just gotten to sleep in his father's wagon when shouts of alarm sounded. Still groggy, he had managed little more than to pull on his britches when a huge monster burst through the side of the wagon. For a moment it looked like the beast would kill him. It had even raised a spiked club. Another, smaller, beast stopped it though. The newcomer yelled something then cast some sort of magic that froze the beast in mid-swing. It climbed into the wagon and looked down. "Leave your sleeping clothing on and get dressed. If you refuse, I will release him to deal with you!" It pointed toward the statue like, club swinging monster.

Another of the huge beasts grabbed him the second he finished dressing. Shackles slapped down onto his wrists before he even realized what had been done. He tried to protest but his captor cupped a massive six-fingered hand over his mouth and had yet another beast secure a gag. A metal pin hammered flat on both sides kept the shackles locked and acted like a rivet eliminating any chance of the metal bands loosening. Chains were attached to the shackles and roughly nailed to the bottom of the wagon.

A couple of minutes of screams and battle sounds pasted before his cousin got tossed into the wagon and quickly had chains nailed to the opposite end of the wagon. His cousin's shirt was so full of blood; it dripped onto the floorboards, pooling around the crude nails holding his chains in place.

The creature who had cast the spell appeared again commanding six others. Two of the monsters held seven female captives, all in chains. Conth's mother among them. One by one the females were chained to the back of the wagon. All were already gagged.

The biggest of the attacking creatures came up tossing his brother into the wagon, followed moments later by his other cousin. Both boys were younger and were completely hog-tied, gagged and blindfolded. They landed hard. Had cloth not muffled them, their cries would have carried some distance.

He could not see much out of the wagon except through the hole the first creature had made and out the now open back. What he did see, was enough. His father's and uncle's guards were dead. At least the three he could see. The caravan wagons were being hitched up and taken away. All the goods his family owned were removed from the wagon he was ridding in and put into one of the other ones. Finally the two older boys from the third family that made up the total caravan were brought out for all to see. Two of their captors went up, held them with their arms pushed up behind their backs, and allowed the others to start hitting them. They were brutally beaten until neither moved. Their bodies were then loaded onto the last supply wagon with a clearly injured monster.

Quite a few minutes past as the wagon jumped up and down making a fierce pace. Each bounce caused a new bruise as his body impacted on the bare wooden floor. Looking back, it had probably been on purpose that the chains had been nailed down too far away from the sides for him or his cousin to get a handhold on the side of the wagon. The younger boys got it even worse, sliding and bouncing all over the inside.

Once Conth tried to hold his brother, but gave up because this made it even harder on him. At least with his hands free he could somewhat prevent the shackles from cutting into his wrists. Besides, he doubted the evil beings who now controlled him, would be gentle if they found out he had tried to help his brother. He didn't want to be held and beaten like the older boys had been.

In addition to his own pain, having to watch his little brother slide around and get splinters, he also had to bear witness to his mother's torments. The females fell one after another. The youngest first, then the others. There was no way anyone could have kept pace on foot that their captors demanded. His mother was the last to fall. He watched, eyes pleading for her to stand and keep moving. Whether or not she saw him, he didn't know for sure, but over and over she made her way to her feet only to fall and be dragged a little more. Several times she pulled up one of the younger girls even as she fell yet again. Her courage only lasted so long. She fell for the final time about 5 minutes before they took their first break.

Finally the leader ordered the wagon stopped. For the mother of the older boys, it came too late. They simply unchained her lifeless body and left it lying on the path. Orders were then given to toss the others into a second wagon outside of Conth's sight. One after another were picked up by one of the beasts and taken out of Conth's field of vision.

His mother was not among those given to the Orcs, so Conth wondered what happened to her. Of course his little brother and younger cousin had been left in the wagon when they pulled him and his older cousin up to the campsite. So there was a chance his mother remained alive. He hoped so even though he highly doubted he would ever see her again.

His father had taken him on many merchant runs so Conth understood his current situation. He had been captured in wild lands then given to another man. He was now a slave. No one would argue with his status unless they were direct family. Even if someone did, it would be his or her word against his current captor. Proof could be gained through a Mindmaster, but the man who now 'owned' him could pass the test. He had not forcefully enslaved him and didn't know the exact circumstances surrounding the boy. All he knew for sure was that he had been given Conth and Jamon. To really be freed someone would have to track down the spell casting monster who had given them away and force it to be scanned by a Mindmaster. No one scanned slaves because very few slaves believed they should be slaves. This clouded the truth surrounding a Mindmaster reading so badly a real slave would often times be freed by his or her own thoughts. Those who owned slaves could not have that, so reading a slave just wasn't done.

Conth's father had done similar shady deals in the past, buying a boy or girl with no real proof of slave status. Some had paperwork. But with so few people knowing how to read, documents of a legal slave trade were not often made. An illiterate parent selling a child into slavery to get out of debt to someone who also couldn't read resulted in a just such a situation.

Such matters were often cleared up by a few silver under the table to a town ruler who could get paperwork made up after the fact. With such transactions being common place, the market of illegal slaves prospered. The profits were large and risks small. His own father had managed to get enough money to buy a second wagon from just such tactics. Probably about a full third of the kids his family had bought and sold had been illegitimate sales. Now the tables had turned and he knew a great deal of what happened to him would depend on his actions.

His best bet at any type of decent life now rested in the hands of the man in armor. Conth figured he had done a good job so far, doing exactly what he was told and always answering with 'sir'. As long as he kept doing so he hoped the man would at least be reasonable. Regardless of the man's actions, Conth made up his mind to do everything in his power to keep his 'owner' happy as possible.

To this end he finished off the last bites of food, washed them down with water, and went over to the man force-feeding the Orcs.

Vondum crammed down a final mouthful of food into the girl Orc, clamped his hand over her mouth, and pinched her nose shut. This forced the squirming creature to swallow. With her hands still firmly secured to the branch behind her back, there was no way she could force herself to throw-up the meal. He followed up with a water skin, making her drink the entire contents.

He glanced over as the last gulp of water was forced down. "Ah, you finished every bite I hope."

"Yes sir."

"Outstanding. Did your brother eat?"

"Jamon is my cousin. He ate a full meal too sir."

Vondum scowled briefly, "I do not care if he is you cousin, friend, or stranger. You will refer to him as your brother from now on. Am I clear?"

Conth felt his hands start to shake again. His attempts at making this man happy were not going well at the moment. He concentrated for a second trying to figure out what the man would want to hear. "I am sorry. My brother ate his meal sir."

Vondum stood, kicking both Orcs onto their backs, "Move and I will cut off a finger," he growled in Orcish.

He turned back to Conth; "You seem to understand your place boy. I like that. I also like how quick witted you are. Come." Somewhat forcefully he placed his hand behind Conth's head and guided him over toward his mount.

Conth allowed the man to push him without turning, resisting, or commenting. The man dripped of pure evil most of the time, but he could sense a hidden caring side buried beneath layers of hate, resentment, and malice. The man was naturally greedy and power hungry. Anyone could tell that. As he was pushed out of view of the others he wondered if he could bring to the surface this man's long forgotten side. He also wondered what had made the man so mean, not that it really mattered.

Vondum sat on a flat frost covered stone and turned Conth to face him; "I could kill you."

Conth knew the man wanted to see fear. It wasn't hard at all to show it, but he made it worse look than he really felt. His shaking was real, his wide eyes and trembling lip were not.

"P-p-please, I will d-d-do wh-whatever y-you want."

"Now maybe, but what about tomorrow, or a week from now?"

"I will. Really!" Conth knew his words would come back to haunt him. This man was testing him. He wanted Conth to speak the words voluntarily so he could bring them up whenever he needed them. He could hear the man's thoughts as each word was committed to memory. It suddenly dawned on the apprentice Mindmaster that his 'owner' had long term plans for him in addition to more short term ones. This revelation broke his concentration ending his brief mind reading before he could find out more details. His teacher would have been highly displeased. It was rare for an apprentice to get any information let alone actually read thoughts. It might take weeks or even months for another opportunity and he had just blown this one.

Vondum pulled on the boy's shirt bring him closer, "You are prepared to do whatever I want?"

"I am sir. Please don't kill me."

"Do you know what you are?"

Conth nodded, "A slave."

"Close, but not quite." Vondum smiled with delight. "If you truly mean you will do whatever I want, you have dropped below even a slave. Do you still stick with your words?"

Conth did not understand exactly what the man holding his shirt was saying. Nothing was below a slave. Yet, he felt the man was deadly serious. He also knew his next words would save his life and that of his cousin or condemn both of them to suffering beyond belief. "I will do everything you command sir."

"Very well. I will say this only once, so get it set in your mind. By agreeing, you are whatever I want you to be, a tool, thief, diversion, murderer, toy, slave, whipping boy, servant, son, brother, orphan, or even a pet. One day you may be my nephew the next an indentured servant. Your life from this moment on is not only to please me, but also to act whatever role I need you to act. As long as you follow through, you and your brother will be slaves. He will require some breaking, but I will enjoy doing so. If you back out, I will make you torture your brother in a very painful slow manner. If you ever try to cross me I will make you kill him. Do not doubt for an instant of my abilities to make you do so either. Then it will be your turn."

Conth swallowed hard. Never before in his young life had he seen such a baneful look in someone's eyes. With tears welling in his eyes, he knew his life had changed irreversibly for the worse. His voice told of his surrender far more than his words. "I will do as you command sir."

Vondum liked what he saw. He pulled a hammer and chisel out of his saddlebags and cut off the shackles. "You will stay by my side until I give instructions otherwise. If I cannot reach out and touch you, you and your brother will both be punished."

Conth looked down at his free wrists and rubbed them before moving to stand next to his 'owner'. Silently he wondered what his Warrior Adept Master and Mindmaster Teacher would think of his weakness. He hoped he would never have to find out.

Kandric

Kandric had no problem keeping up a pace that matched the man and his captives. He clearly knew the area far better than the man and he had infravision allowing him to see much better than a human could in the moonlight. The cold night added to his advantage because heat sources stood out even better than normal. The fact that the man's mount kept breaking through the frozen crusts of mud-bogs further slowed the man's search efforts. Muttered curses often told Kandric exactly where his prey was.

Kandric watched Vondum stop, talk to the captives, and move into the woods. The man had sensed he was being followed which meant he was most likely an Outdoorsman. His skills, however, were not sharply honed in a swamp environment.

Just being an Outdoorsman, many people expect would be enough. One Outdoorsman would be as good as another, but the truth was quite different. It depended on the areas one mastered. An Outdoorsman trainee chose almost from the start of training what type areas he would be best in, what areas he would have some knowledge in, and what areas he would only have basic insights into.

Kandric had chosen to master swamp and forest and receive some training in grasslands and deserts. This left him knowing only the basics of tundra, mountain, and jungle survival. Although with the combined knowledge of swamps and forests, he was assured a jungle wouldn't be much of a problem as long as he used common sense.

His current adversary probably knew forests. He knew how to move in a heavily wooded area, but his limited knowledge of swamps and marshes allowed Kandric to out maneuver him. Several times the man crunched through a lightly frozen mud-bog slowing him down and distracting him enough to keep him always a few hundred steps behind Kandric.

It also gave Kandric enough time to sneak in and grab a pair of wrapped meals out of the man's saddlebags. Kandric heard part of the conversation between the man and smaller boy. The information on where the food was kept gave him a primary target. The man's mount didn't even seem to notice, being far to interested in the fresh water spring it was drinking out of.

Kandric thought about grabbing the boys, but realized it would doom them all. The kids would be unable to move quietly and would slow him down to a point were they would all most likely be captured. The noise of their chains would further make finding them a simple chore at best.

Kandric also considered thoughts about ambushing the man for a few minutes but dismissed such a risky move. Spells or no, the man was just too formidable to take on until he made a clear mistake. Lack of ability within the swamps was not a mistake. Besides, the man had cast a light spell and wore armor, so he was probably a Warrior Adept, which meant he was very experienced and his magic defiance would be quite strong.

Glaster had taught Kandric well and had taken him places for extra training over the years. Part of his training came from real guilds where he had been taught to judge other fields and how experienced others were. Therefore, he knew a Warrior Adept could not cast real spells until he or she was Teaching Echelon.

Warrior Adepts were basically a cross between a spell caster and a Swordsman; they had some advantages of both, but could do neither real well. They also had abilities to magically augment hearing, sight, smell, strength, stamina, coordination, or other traits for short durations. In addition they could sense magic shifts, danger, and even invisible beings when they got up to Teaching Echelon. The higher echelon a Warrior Adept was, the more he could increase these abilities. There was no way Kandric wanted to single-handedly take on a Teaching Echelon Warrior Adept until he had a clear chance at surprise or saw a major advantage. It didn't take a genius to realize the chances of either were extremely small.

The eager child side wanted to act. Fortunately all those times holding books above his head had taught him a more mature mindset. For about the 50th time this night he silently thanked Glaster and wished for his guidance. He knew he was out of his league even trying to follow such a powerful and skilled man. But he couldn't just drop it.

He now knew the Illorc who commanded the Orcs and this man was responsible for the near starvation within the Swamp Slums. All the traps and snares he had lost over the winter had been because of his orders and they were getting ready to destroy whole villages. If he just let this man go, he would be guilty of not doing something to stop their vile plans. Besides, he knew Glaster would enjoy the boys if he could figure out a way to get them and bring them to Glaster's home. His master might even let him have some fun with them. It had happened before.

Before he could relax and think about good times with Glaster, he noted the man was hooking up the Orcs to his mount again. This time, however, only the taller boy was chained to the other loop. The smaller boy came into view unchained without even shackles. The armored man then mounted his steed and pulled the smaller boy up to ride with him.

Kandric shook his head, OK; I'll only have to worry about rescuing one of them. I'm not going to risk my life only to have someone turn on me. Still, he is awfully cute. Glaster would like him.

Gathering what was left of the stolen meals, he hung back long enough to give the man and his captives a good lead before continuing his parallel path. His thoughts were mixed. Part of him wanted to help the chained boy another wanted revenge for the hard winter that was only made harder by the man's horrendous friends; still another part wondered what deal had been struck with the younger boy.

Such thoughts would only cause a mistake on his part so he concentrated on the task at hand. The first order of business was to keep a greater distance from the man. He knew the man had felt danger, a trait taught to all Outdoorsman in the wilderness. Added to his abilities to detect danger and increase his senses as a Warrior Adept, sticking close would not be wise at all. Kandric knew his swamp advantage would not last forever, and he didn't want to be discovered in regular forest areas by a man at least a full echelon better than he was. Instead, he used his knowledge of swamps and the area in particular to get in front and gauge where someone with a mount and leading prisoners would have to go.

Kilometer after kilometer slid beneath his feet. Confidence started to falter as he got to the edge of the swamps. By now Kandric had a good couple of kilometer lead on the man, but other options became available because bogs would no longer force a direction of travel. A few moments of thought changed his mind however. The early pre-dawn light revealed his location. If the man wanted to stay unnoticed he would have to stay off the paths leading to Slome and Hotcreek to the north and east.

The swamp lay behind him so going south would be out of the question. Smooth Rock would most likely prevent a northwesterly direction of travel, so the man's best bet to remain unseen would be to skirt the swamp to the west. Smiling, Kandric moved back into the swamp so he would still have an advantage if caught. He then headed slightly south and mostly west. After a couple more hours he found a nook between two fallen trees, pulled some peat moss over himself and settled down for a nap.

Vondum

Vondum took in a breath of relief as the sun finally pushed back the misty night into a forgotten memory. The sensation of being watched had let up a couple hours before dawn, but now he could really take a look around. Nothing stirred. Even the cold wind of an early spring morning was dying down. It took a few minutes before he gave himself an all clear and lowered his guard some.

He needed sleep, as did the kids. Glancing back, he realized the human boy was probably already past the point of exhaustion. Every footfall seemed awkward. It would only be a matter of time before the boy turned an ankle or twisted a knee. Still, the youngster's weariness brought some satisfaction. Reworking a person from a spirited free being into a submissive slave took a mindset most people didn't have.

For Vondum, destroying a person's will remained one of life's biggest pleasures. Each being had differences which had to be found and exploited. Some, pain broke, others hunger. Constant fear devastated many; the only problem with such tactics was finding what terrified a person. A few required out thinking and trickery. Even after breaking hundreds of new slaves, he never tired of the 'game'.

Vondum doubted either boy realized they were both pawns in this game. Each boy's treatment sent different, yet strong, messages to both of them. Conth's ability to maintain a feeling of self determination would last longer. Every time he followed instructions, he gave a part of himself away. Eventually, he would forget how to question his master. Sooner or later, probably later, he would realize he really did belong to the person giving orders. The shock of such a revelation would cause some rebellion. Once such actions were brought under control, all fight would be gone for good. His surrender would be complete.

Jamon's remolding would be more straightforward. He prided himself on not giving in. He could be forced, but somewhere in his mind he remained free because he hadn't willfully given in. This mindset was common. Vondum knew from experience such hardheadedness could be shattered by physically wearing Jamon down, keeping him debilitated, and making him ask for rest. The second he asked, a price would be attached. Eventually the boy would give in, too weak to care about his stubbornness. With his pride shattered, all fight would be gone.

If Vondum kept up the pressure long enough, the boy would never find enough confidence in himself to regain his pride. He again looked back. This time he stopped and turned his mount so Jamon could see Conth riding comfortably in front of him. Gently he ran a hand over the boy and handed him a water skin.

Jamon stopped and wavered from side to side. His eyes pleaded for a rest and he licked dry cracked lips as Conth took a long drink. Dismay clouded his face as the man prodded his mount forward and the chains pulled him forward again, this time slicing at an angle up hill. Briefly he stumbled as he tried to resist, but the constant pain on the back of his neck forced him to begin walking again.

Vondum smiled at Jamon's reactions. He gave the boy less than a week to be totally devoid of insubordination. His surrender would greatly assist Conth's eventual total compliance. Fear was such a wonderful tool.

Swampland slowly hardened into rough forestland as Vondum rode up a rocky ridgeline. For the first time in two full days he felt comfortable. Not only did he know exactly where he was, but also he was finally out of the swamp. If it were up to him, he would never again set foot in a swamp. Unfortunately, Monarch's plans would require quite a few more treks into the dismal murky nastiness. How anyone could find a swamp a comfortable place would forever elude him.

With a great deal of relief he guided his mount deeper into the woods to the west. A few hours past before he saw what he had been looking for. A cottage like farmhouse and other buildings appeared. Smoke gently curled up into crisp still air out of several chimneys. Smells of smoking Dagger-boar meat, pine wood, and hickory filled his nostrils.

"Remember your place Conth," Vondum stated as he ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"Yes sir. No more than an arm's length."

"Excellent. Today you will call me master, not sir." Vondum firmly turned Conth's head to look into the boy's eyes, "Your first task will be to take the Orcs to the water trough, cut off their clothing, burn the clothing, and scrub the Orc's with silver root to get rid of lice. Make sure you then wash your own hair with it."

Conth's brow furled, "Sir 3; ah, master I don't 3; well, I'm not sure 3;"

"Conth, do not tell me you are going back on your word so soon."

"No master," Conth squeaked, "I just don't know if I can 3;"

Vondum squeezed Conth's jaw hard, "You can. They are far too tired to stop you. There is a scrub brush and silver root in the barn next to the cages. Once you finish, put them in a cage and lock it. If I find a single louse, you will regret it."

Conth tried to nod but couldn't because of Vondum's viselike grip. "I understand master, I need a knife then."

Vondum gave an approving grin, "That is more like it. Get yourself something to eat then get to work." He handed over a small hunting knife, "Make sure you use the brush between their legs, and butt cheeks. Also remember lice jump so you should take off your nightshirt before you wash them. Once they are secure wash yourself, and your clothing also with silver root. You can wear your nightshirt while your clothes dry.

"I want you next to me the moment you finish. By the way, your brother will not get a bite to eat or drink until you are next to me washed and in your nightshirt."

Conth grabbed another ration roll out of Vondum's saddlebag and a water skin. He looked down at the knife thinking about the task at hand. Silently he ate and shuddered. The thought of cutting off any creature's clothing revolted him, add to that forcefully washing any being really disgusted him. If he could get through this, nothing the man wanted would be too horrible.

Had he tried to use his Mindmaster training and gotten lucky enough to read surface thoughts, he may have found out Vondum wanted him to think exactly what he was thinking.

As he finished his last bite, he stood and exhaled. There was no point in prolonging the task. Besides, Jamon wouldn't get to eat until he finished. He pulled off his shirt and nightshirt exposing his chest to the cold air causing him to shiver for a second. He then grabbed the knife and pulled the Orc's ropes toward the water trough.

Vondum watched from a distance. The sight of the boy's chest and back sent a tingling sensation down his spine. Conth's skin was perfect, pale, and smooth. Small hard bumps stood at attention on the boy's chest accenting beautiful button sized breasts. Before turning to enter the cabin he stole one last look while cracking his knuckles. It wouldn't be long before that treasure would be his. In the meantime he had Jamon to play with.

He grabbed the chain escorting the worn out boy into the beckoning abode.

Two men jumped to their feet. One grabbed a spear leaning against the table he had been eating breakfast at. The other snatched a flail from beneath his chair. A young teen took a step back behind the men, still holding a skillet of fried pork strips.

"Slow this morning gentlemen."

The man with the spear let out a long breath before lowering the point to the floor, "Vondum, that is a great way to loose your life!"

Vondum laughed loudly, "Yea, right. I could have killed you both before you could have gathered your thoughts!" A humorous smile played across his lips.

The other man chuckled, "Didn't expect ya till later ta-day."

"Change of plans." Vondum jerked on the chain forcing Jamon into the room. The wooden branch caught on both sides of the door causing the chains to cut into Jamon's wrists. Jamon let out a pained yelp before adjusting his stance so he could enter sideways through the door. A second jerk forced him all the way in.

Vondum shrugged at Jamon's painful whimpers then shifted his gaze to the young teen "Tyfod, hook this one up to a wall so he has to stand then go out to the cages and feed my Orc pets. You may have to force feed them, remember how?"

Tyfod lowered his head, "I remember master."

"As many as he went through, he better." The flail toting man grinned.

Vondum nodded, "True. Still, had to make sure. Tyfod, they stay in their arm-crosses until I say differently. That includes this one too. The other one you are not even to speak with."

"As you command."

"Very good. You are learning well," Vondum stated as he watched Tyfod hammer in a couple of hooks into the wall then pull Jamon's arm-cross over the hooks forcing the boy to stand.

Satisfied, Vondum rubbed his hands together and spoke a few arcane words. A mist of blackish brown spun through the air and entered Jamon's nose.

Jamon face contorted as he gagged a couple of times followed by a fierce coughing fit. When he resumed normal breathing, he looked up with bewildered eyes. His expression was a haggard mix of fear, self-pity, and confusion. His arms and neck hurt far worse than he thought possible and his feet and legs could barely support him. He tried to let the hooks and branch support his weight, but this only caused the rough wood to dig further into his neck.

Vondum walked over forcing Jamon's chin up so he could look into the tear-filled eyes. "The last time we stood this close, you tried to kick me. Care for another try?"

Jamon weakly shook his head.

Vondum forced the boy's head back even further causing extra pain to the back of his neck from the wooden arm bar. "I would like to hear an answer, not see one."

"I'm not gunna kick ya."

Vondum took off his gauntlets and slid his hand down Jamon's filthy dirt and tear-streaked face, "Ah, you do have a tongue, very good. Are you ready to listen?"

"Ya."

"OK, Because you did speak, and are not kicking, you will be fed as soon as your cousin comes in. You and him are now brothers. Do not forget that. From here on out, when I get what I want, your life will be easier. When you want something, I will demand something in return. Right now there are only a few things I will even consider giving you. First is food and water. You will be given enough to stay alive, but if you want more or better food you have to ask. Second is rest, a chance to sit for example. As you can see I can easily prevent you from taking a seat. Third is sleep.

"Normally a boy your age would simply drop from over exertion and you would fall asleep regardless of your pain. You will not be so fortunate. The spell I just cast prevents sleep. No matter how tired you are, you cannot sleep. I will continue to cast this spell every six hours until you ask me to stop and you give me what I want. Should you ask and not agree to my terms, my price will go up a considerable amount the next time.

"Right at the moment, I only demand two things. When I ask you a question, you will answer and when you speak, you will address me as master. Refusing to do either one will result in severe punishment to you and your brother. The rest I can force you to do without resorting to such methods. Did I make myself clear?"

"Yes, master." Jamon's voice dripped with contempt as he spat out the word master.

"Oh, stubborn one huh Vondum?" The man with the flail noted as he headed out the door

"For the moment." Vondum glanced back at the table; "Food looks good. Who cooked?"

The other rested his spear against the table again, "Tyfod. He turned out to be quite the little house-boy."

"Not the brightest, but useful. A little over dressed though."

"He has outdoor chores, another moon cycle er two and it'll be warm enough to do away with much of that."

"I guess," Vondum muttered in some disappointment, "where'd Sy go?"

"Check on yer Orc's and to clear out one of the cages fer em."

"They full?"

"Not completely, but we managed to hit a pair of Hob patrols in the last few days. That's why there is no active watch. We're short of men. Sy had the ones who could walk taken to Black Rapids under yer colors so they'll think yer doin' yer job."

Vondum grabbed several strips of pork and slapped them on a hunk of bread, "Fantastic! How many?"

"Nine to Black Rapids seven here."

"That will buy me an extra two weeks easy. How many did we loose?"

"Squad one got hammered. They're down ta three men. The other patrols only took minor crap. Patrol Four is escorting, and Two is out. That leaves just Three and the three leftovers from One here at the moment. "

"That's plenty as long as four comes back more or less in one piece. Any merchants?"

"Nope. But we really made a killin' on the supplies the Hobgoblins had. More than enough to pay the men and buy food for a couple of months. Some had good weapons too."

"They must be getting supplies from somewhere. We need to find out and cut their lines. Monarch is getting tired of them."

"Monarch," the man snorted, "why do we follow his orders? Who does he think he is?"

"Because he is probably the most powerful sorcerer within 500 leagues of here if not further, and I, for one, am not about to go up against his Illorc forces. Besides, who else could force Goblins and Orcs to cooperate?"

"Maybe, but I'll never trust any Illorc."

"Me neither, not completely. As long as we watch our backs, and follow through we'll be fine. His plan is a good one." Vondum devoured his plate of food and walked back over to Jamon. "Do we have any clothing for this one?"

"I'm sure we do. What exactly you want him in?"

"I think you know the answer to that." Vondum snickered, "Until then, I just want him clean and in decent, non-blood stained, clothing. I'd prefer you to take care of it instead of one of the others though. I know you will handle him properly."

"No problem," the man grabbed his spear and stood, "I'll get right on it."

"Just get the clothing ready." Vondum checked the hooks holding the wood arm-cross to the wall while studying Jamon's slumping frame. Even as tired as he was, Jamon tightened up as Vondum stepped close.

Vondum smiled while looking down on the slender figure. The boy's black hair seemed very thick. It didn't take much to see it would be very soft and shinny when clean. Moving his eyes down he took in the long thin arms of a graceful boy ending in the hands of an artist, they moved up into well-shaped, yet somewhat skinny, shoulders and chest. The boy's slenderness was not hidden at all by the clothing, dirt and blood. Jamon's hips and legs were harder to get a feel for, being hidden by a shirt that was no longer tucked in and britches that hung in the fashion of a merchant, slightly baggy and loose. Mud caked boots hid the feet and ankles, but their small size gave away how diminutive and thin the feet in them must be.

It amazed Vondum that the boy had made it. Had he really looked before chaining the lad to the horse, he would have given zero chance of the boy making it. Inner-drive alone must have taken over somewhere. As much as he wanted to run his hands all over Jamon, he knew must hold off until all of the boy's stubbornness was extinguished. "He stays as he is until he asks for a rest."

Vondum growled as he stomped through a door leading deeper into the cabin.

Aster

Dawn brought the sights and sounds of an early spring blizzard to Junsac. Aster woke up early to light the forge and get things organized for his temporary replacement only to find well over twenty centimeters [8 inch] of snow covering the wood pile and carpeting the ground. Huge snowflakes battered his face as he made his way to the apprentice barracks. Snow meant extra work. Walks had to be cleaned, wet wood brought in to dry, clean clothing brought in off the lines, and a whole host of other annoyances.

Such storms almost always traveled to the northeast which would mean Dark Ridge Pass would be getting dumped on shortly, if it wasn't already. Aster wondered if this would delay the trip. He doubted it would. Pocet had told him they had tried all winter to get up the pass. Rain, snow, sleet or sun made no difference. Handri had detoured a few times to make other trade runs, but he knew food, cloth, and other basics would fetch a handsome price above the Silver Spine Mountains. One successful run would surly make enough to offset all the failures and leave enough extra to justify continuing to try.

Aster banged the wake-up bell in the barracks hard, knowing none of the apprentices would want to get out of bed a single second before they had to. A few years ago, he thought the same way. Getting a small percentage of the profits after he made primary echelon changed his outlook. People would go out of their way to find a shop with swept walks and clean a coral. It showed the owner's pride in all aspects of his shop. "Snow Duties!" he shouted as he exited.

Aster turned the corner around the barn only to find an elderly dwarf holding a gnarled staff. Instantly he stopped and knelt, "Master Lannet, how can I be of service?"

The wrinkles on the dwarf's face tightened into a smile as he motioned for Aster to stand. "You have always served us well my former apprentice. Are you still set on this journey?"

"I am master. The merchant has officially hired me. His lead guard, Pocet, took me around to get equipment and supplies for the trip. I really like Pocet. He does not seem uncomfortable around me at all. Is there a problem?"

"Other than my concern for your safety, no." Master Lannet reached up and patted Aster's shoulder. "I can still remember when I could reach down to tussle your hair. Now I must reach up to touch your shoulder. You were my youngest apprentice, and you have made me the proudest of all the children I have taught. I just wanted you to hear that from me before you left."

"Master, even if I take a full time position with Handri, I will come see you now and again. Without you speaking up for me the Animal Adept Guild would have never authorized my training. I owe you more than I could ever hope to repay."

"You are so wrong Aster. You repaid me one hundred fold. How many times have you put your young life on the line for a member of The Watch?"

"That makes no difference master. The happiest day of my life was when you approached me to help The Watch. Without you I would be an orphan, probably working here and at the Healthman's shop, nothing more."

"Your inner drive got you to where you are Aster. I feel privileged to have assisted. I gave a small hand up, not a hand out. You grabbed and have never looked back. I am very proud of you. Still, the thing you gave me that I will treasure the most is your love." Slowly the ancient dwarf turned to head off.

"Master, Please do not leave. Stay for breakfast. It is too cold and nasty for you to have to walk on an empty stomach. Besides, you know Caldon adores you. He would be very hurt if you did not at least say hello."

Master Lannet again smiled, "A very kind offer. Are you sure I will not hold things up?"

"Never. You are always welcome here," Aster wrapped his arm around his teacher and led him into the warmth of the kitchen area behind the forge.

Lannet shook off the snow and cold heading straight for the fire, "When do you leave?"

"Hopefully tomorrow. The Metalworker's Guild sent us a Teaching Echelon female to take over for me. Thanks for your help on that."

"Not a problem." Lannet continued to rub his hands together close to the open flames while watching Aster gather breakfast and start cooking. "Is there anything you need?"

"No, I can take care of breakfast. Would you care for a glass of juice or a Dwarvin ale with your eggs and Frost Elk steak?

"Frost Elk?" Lannet's gray eyebrows shot up.

Aster chuckled, "Yea. Shade and Dart brought it down last night. Shade came back and got me. You should have seen the look on Pocet's face when he came up on it. He still doesn't know exactly what Shade and Dart are, but he is absolutely convinced they are deadly!"

"He sure has that right. Very few things can kill a Frost Elk. Did either get hurt?"

"Dart got a little frost bite, but I took care of it with no problem."

"Good! Well, I think you know how I feel about eating such fine food without an ale!"

Aster nodded, already pouring the thick brew out of a small keg. "Yep."

Lannet let out a cackling laugh as he took the offered mug. "Why even ask if you were already pouring?"

"Just because," Aster whispered as he gave Lannet a light kiss on the forehead. "I will always love you as if you were my father."

Lannet hugged Aster, "Thank you. You know how to make an old man very happy. But getting back to my earlier question about needing anything. I was referring to your trip, not breakfast."

"Oh. No, I think we'll be fine," Aster answered too quickly.

"Aster, I sense you are hiding something from me. I may be old, but I am still a Master Echelon Mindmaster. Your feelings of unease stand out whether or not I am actively trying to read you."

Aster took a deep breath. "I have never seen The Watch send a group into the wild lands, let alone into and above the Silver Spine Mountains without a spell caster."

"What type of merchant would go outside the kingdom without a spell caster?" Concern clouded Lannet's eyes.

"From what Pocet told me, he has hired casters in the past, but they always wanted too much money to stay on in dangerous areas."

"Spell casters are rare enough out here to demand premium rates, but the cost is worth it."

Aster flipped the steaks before getting up the courage to speak his mind, "Master, could I ask a slight favor?"

"Name it."

Aster spoke quickly before he lost his nerve, "I want Conner released to me."

Master Lannet's eyes grew wide with surprise; "You cannot be serious Aster!"

"Master, I am. I will pay off his debt."

"He is nothing more than a thief!"

"A trained thief and Mage, Master," Aster took a deep breath, "He has the skills we need, and he is still my friend."

"I know he was your friend Aster, but he stole out of this very shop. How can you trust him?"

"Master, you once said that a true friend sticks by through thick and thin. We were in the orphanage together; he was the only one who would even talk to me when I first got sent there. I owe him a second chance."

"He betrayed your trust in him, you owe him nothing."

Aster winced as he remembered his friend asking if he could stay in the forge one night only to wake up the next morning to find two weapons missing off the wall and Conner nowhere to be seen.

The city watch found Conner four hours later hiding in an ally under some trash, but no sign of the weapons had ever turned up. Conner had been sentenced to day auction every four days until the price of the weapons times three had been earned. The city day auction stage was basically a place to find a slave for seventy-two hours. The highest bidder won. The only requirements the winning bidder had to follow were enough food and water to keep strength up and no permanent marks. Family and known friends were not allowed to bid either. This prevented a quick and easy stint on the day auction block.

Half the money went to the owner of the stolen items, the other half to the city. It was a punishment that kept thievery down within the Barony of Junsac and earned a great deal of money for the city at the same time.

The fourth day Conner got to rest in the city jail, but Aster knew an eleven year old equivalent elf would not find any rest in a cell with a bunch of men. The guards would not care what happened as long as no one's life was in eminent danger, that was for sure.

Master Lannet could see Aster was not persuaded by his argument, so he took a long swig of ale before speaking again. "You realize he still owes over eighty silver."

"Eighty-seven. I can pay that fine now, but I need him to get his spell book back to be of any real help to us. I cannot afford the price of all his spell pages."

"His book is forfeit Aster, He will get it back but will have to remove all the pages."

"I know. But I also know that rule can be bent. Please Master."

Master Lannet downed the last of the mug before speaking; "He is only a first echelon step two mage. That is not much magical firepower."

Aster finished seasoning the steaks then refilled Master Lannet's mug, "It is a hundred fold more than we have now." Aster's voice sounded matter of fact and resigned.

"You were always good at debates!" Master Lannet chuckled. "As usual, you are correct. What would your new employer say to having another child with his caravan?"

"I asked Pocet last night. He assured me, Handri would take any spell caster I could find. I was going to go to the guild to find someone, I know I could find some kid who would love to go, but I cannot abandon Conner. I still do not know what happened exactly, but those two Elvin Silver Steel daggers had to go somewhere."

"He scanned as guilty. I know. I scanned him. It was your request, remember?"

"Yes, but you told me there was some gray areas that he wouldn't explain."

"True. He was hiding something. I am sure, but I am only allowed to go so far when I force scan. If I had pried I would have done real damage and as stubborn as he was acting I would have had to seriously hurt him, besides I got what I needed to find him guilty. He is guilty."

"I know Master. I would never doubt you. Forget it. I should not have asked at all, except when you offered to help I got the idea. Sorry."

Master Lannet stood and walked over to Aster and gently put his arm around the boy, "You have nothing to be sorry for. If you are really willing to pay that much silver, than I know this is important to you."

"I am Master. I will pay a hundred if it will help." Hope entered his voice.

"Save your money Aster. I will take care of it. He will be your responsibility though Aster."

"I understand. Can you let him use Watch equipment so I do not have to outfit him?"

"Get me a list."

"I will get on it as soon as morning duties are done Master."

Master Lannet nodded. "Very well. I will deliver him to you outside the city. Contact me the moment you clear the gate."

Aster lightly rubbed his Watch dagger pin. "I will, and thank you."

"I am very proud of you for standing by your friend, just be careful. I do not want you to get bit for offering your hand to him."

Aster smiled in gratitude but couldn't answer because the others were coming in for breakfast and all the youngsters wanted to talk to Master Lannet. It amazed Aster as he watched the elderly dwarf suddenly come alive and become playful, just like the kids he was playing with. It seemed 200 years evaporated when kids started giving him hugs and attention. Wrinkles even appeared to diminish the more the apprentices from the forge paid attention to the old Animal Adept.

Morning quickly gave way to afternoon. Business was terrible. The snow showed no signs of slowing, if anything it was getting harder as Aster closed shop early and made his way down to the inn Handri and his men were staying in. Shade stuck close by his side keeping a wary eye on the few out on the streets. Trouble would be easy to find on such deserted avenues. This time, however, the trouble came to Aster.

Only the brave, desperate, greedy or foolish would want anything to do with such a storm. Of the four categories a combination of the last two were what the huge canine caught scent of upon turning onto a small side street.

No one with a gram of common sense would trifle with a boy commanding a wolf, but the gleam of offered silver sometimes pushed reasonable thinking to the side.

Aster noticed Shade tense before he saw the figures come out of the ally. Already warned, the lead man's feeble attempt at a surprise blow to his back passed harmlessly over his head.

Shade needed no order to attack. The canine pounced with extended claws with such speed the second man hadn't even gotten all the way out of the ally before his partner was on the ground mortally wounded.

Aster spun throwing a pair of daggers at the second man who came out with a short sword pointed toward Shade. Both daggers found homes in the man's flesh. The first buried its razor sharp blade to the hilt in the man's left thigh the other struck the right shoulder sinking in all the way to the bone. Screaming in pain, the man fell hard in the snow which slowly took on a crimson tinge.

A third fell in the ally before he could even get off a shot with his crossbow. Several feather tipped quills protruded from his face and upper chest. An airborne cry told Aster Dart was also on the job without the need for commands.

A fourth person stopped advancing then started to bolt back down the ally.

"Shade, I want him alive!" Aster yelled as he advanced on the man thrashing around with two of his daggers still sticking out of bloody wounds. "Dart, I know you're up there! Cover Shade!"

A piercing shriek answered Aster's commands as Shade shot off in pursuit faster than any arrow could hope to fly.

Aster wasted no time pulling one of his four remaining daggers out of his chest bandoleer. With a disgusted look at the would-be attacker he used the back of the dagger to render the man unconscious. A series of terrified pleas down the ally told him Shade and Dart had the situation firmly under control so he fingered his Watch pin. Any Watch member this is Aster. I need assistance in front of the Black Stallion pub. I was attacked and have captives!

Instantly his thoughts were answered Aster this is Lannet are you safe?

— I do not seem to be in jeopardy at the moment Master, but my situation is very unclear. Two attackers are dead two injured. I saw no one else but cannot be sure.

— Put your back to a wall. I will be there in under two minutes! another voice answered. Three others voices followed saying they were on the way as well. Aster only recognized two of the four.

Carefully Aster maneuvered down the ally to where Shade had a teenaged human pushed firmly into a snowdrift. The young woman held a bloody hand to her stomach and a shod staff lay just out of her reach. She carried a large book pouch, but it was empty. A hole in a drift to her right showed where the contents of the pouch now lay. Two other teens circled menacingly but stayed away from Shades snapping jaws. Both wore poorly made leather armor and had short swords. They started to step forward the second they saw Aster but backed off when Shade let out a nasty snarl.

"Dart!" Aster shouted, "Some help please!"

Another shriek split the snow-quieted streets followed by a half dozen barbed feathers four of which tore into the bigger of the two remaining teens. The young man collapsed without a sound.

The final kid turned to run only to find a black robed being blocking the ally to the right and a scimitar toting Hawkling covering the entrance. The blue and gold feathers of the Hawkling's head showed ruffling. A clear sign it was ready, and maybe even hoping, for a fight. There was no where to run.

Before he could make up his mind the being in the black raised his left hand. Purplish red magical power rippled around the dark rough skinned hand for an instant before leaping with a crackling sound into the held short sword. The metal sparked for an instant before literally melting in the young man's grasp. Molten metal poured over his hand and down his pant leg igniting the leather as if it were paper. Screams of agony followed by the hissing sounds of snow being melted and turned to steam echoed off the surrounding buildings.

Fortunately the lad fell in the snow putting out the flames. The damage had already done however. Pain overwhelmed his senses as he blacked out.

The Hawkling advanced keeping its scimitar ready. His beak like mouth made his voice sound somewhat parrot like, "Aster, are you alright?"

"Yea, not a scratch. Thanks for the help Sardan."

The dark robed figure approached, "Ssssix on one. You did well little one." Its voice sounded deep and almost snake like.

"Thank you sir. I have not met you. I am Aster."

"Your kind callsssss me Falk. Humanoid like toungesss have a very hard time sssssaying my given name. I have heard much about you. Glad I wassss near."

Aster grinned, "So am I. I have never seen a spell like that before. May I ask what that was?"

The black hood moved up and down, "Heat metal."

"I've never seen a Sorcerer be able to heat metal that much!" Aster proclaimed in somewhat disbelief.

"Not many can put the amount of force into a heat metal spell as I can. Besidesssss it was only bronzzzze. A harder metal would have ssssimply glowed red."

"Gee, that would be great in a forge," Aster remarked.

A couple of hisses, which Aster took to be laughter, proceeded Falk's next words; "A true metal worker at heart!"

"Yea, cannot help myself. Anyway, thanks again."

Sardan looked around, "Aster, this was a major attack. Pocet was also challenged earlier. Until we know what or who is behind this you should not be out alone."

Falk spoke up; "I concur little one. Allow Ssssardan to take you to where you were going. I will clean up here and take the live onessss to Master Lannet. We will get an explanation be certain of that."

"Pocet? Is he alright?"

"Fine," Sardan chirped out a laugh, "lucky for his attackers the city guard heard the sounds of battle. He dropped three. The other three are in the jail, all wounded."

"Good," Aster breathed, "We have a trip to go on."

"I have been told." Falk answered, "Worry not. We will get back to you quickly. The weather will not break for a couple of dayssss according to our people anyway. Not even your new employer would be foolhardy enough to go out in the middle of a blizzzzzard."

Aster frowned, "You do not think highly of Handri?"

"Let me just put it thissss way little one, I think he knowsssss how to make money, but hasssss not learned to care about other beingsssss yet. Now be off. We will get back to you before nightfall."

Aster nodded consent, "I look forward to finding out what this was about. Any chance you can talk with the survivors of Pocet's fight?"

"Count on it little one." Falk replied. "Count on it."

Sardan kept his blade out while motioning for Aster to hurry, "Come on. Let the Watch handle cleanup." Already the other two watch members who had promised assistance were busy cleaning up the mess on the street.

Aster called Shade and Dart to follow before joining Sardan; "It seems like someone does not want this trip to happen."

"I tend to agree my young colleague. I just wish I could go with you. This has now officially become Watch business."

"There is little chance they knew I am a volunteer of the Watch."

"Matters not. They attacked you in the city of Junsac. If whoever is behind these attacks can get people into the city to kill someone it means the people of the whole barony are at risk. We will try to round up a team, but that will take time."

Aster shook his head; "The first one didn't try to strike a killing blow. I think they wanted to injure me or take me hostage."

Sardan's eyes narrowed, "Really? Are you sure?"

"I know a non-killing blow when I see one. He was going for a waylay with the back of his mace."

"I will inform Master Lannet of this after we get you around friends. You going to meet with Handri?"

"Pocet actually, but they are in the same inn."

"Fine. Stay there. I'll get a member of the Watch to keep an eye on the place."

"Don't waste Watch resources Sardan. We can take care of ourselves."

Sardan hawk-like face seemed to grin for a moment as he stopped in front of the inn, "I know, but you are one of us. Let us help you out. Do you need anything?"

Aster's brown furled in thought for a moment, "Actually, yes."

"What?"

"My daggers back."

Sardan laughed so hard he had a hard time speaking, "Done! Have 'em to you by nightfall." His laughter continued until his beak-faced form turned down a side street and disappeared from view in the blowing snow.

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