Kyle Aarons

The Kandric Saga

Chapters 9-10

Chapter 9

Gablon

Gablon looked over his men. The attack against the Orc enclave had been a complete success and it showed in the eyes of all his hired guards. Although physically exhausted, a sense of pride and satisfaction could be seen in facial expressions, their attitudes, and their swagger. Those who stayed back to guard the wagons were in no way excluded, nor were those from the swamps who joined in the original defense of the caravan and their homes.

Gablon made it a point to have his Healthmen tend to every swamp slum dweller's wounds and do whatever they could to heal other injuries as well. This required him to send men back into Slome to buy more healing herbs, but for him it was worth it.

In addition, he allowed the slum residents to take whatever tools and weapons they wanted from the Orc supplies captured from fallen warriors and other equipment found inside the Orc's enclave.

His men were by no means left out. All coins captured were pooled together, counted up and awarded according to rank. The officers got three copper for every two the sergeants got, while the lowest members got one copper. When it was all said and done everyone ended up with over two months worth of extra pay. The finer quality weapons captured were added to a reserve weapons stockpile. The small amount of real valuables, such as gems and jewelry, Gablon took for himself, but not before spending about half of it to supply all the swamp slums residents with enough food for a full week.

Gablon walked over to the makeshift stockade the men had made to hold the captured Orcs. These were the ones too young, too old, or too scared to fight when his men pulled their surprise assault on their homes. Every single Orc making any attempt to fight had been killed regardless of age or sex.

The pair of guards stood up a little straighter as Gablon approached. He nodded to them, "Any trouble?"

The older guard answered, "Not since we chained them sir. The younger ones keep crying though."

Gablon shook his head. "Separate them into age groups. Any of them under like, oh eight, leave unchained. And make sure they are fed."

"They sure didn't care about those they captured sir, why should we care about them?"

Gablon glared at the guard, "Because we are not Orcs."

The man cringed, "Sorry sir, I'll get right on it."

Emroc came over followed closely by Darmoth and Rathiter. "Sir?"

Gablon cringed seeing the bandages holding Darmoth's broken arm. None of the boys were in good shape, and he cursed himself for allowing Emroc to go let alone the two small Elves. But their knowledge and skills had been instrumental in the attack. The two Elf brothers knew the Orcish tongue. They agreed to boldly go up to the Orcs' village acting like they were lost. Their innocent looks distracted the guards long enough for the Swordsmen to close in and eliminate them. Their bravery and slyness allowed the subsequent attack to be pulled off in complete surprise.

Unfortunately, one of the Orcs managed to injure both kids when it realized what was happening, but it didn't live long enough to raise an alarm. In addition to Darmoth's broken arm, his brother's nose got broken and now had a wrap over it with herbs sticking out of the nostrils to help with pain so the poor youngster had to breath through his mouth constantly.

Emroc took a viscous blow to his left leg as he helped the Swordsmen when they assaulted the central cave, so besides the blackened eye received during the fight at the Slums; he now walked with an awkward limp.

"Emroc," Gablon scolded, "all three of you are supposed to be on bed rest."

"I know sir, but everyone else is busy or too injured to walk at all so we figured we could at least run errand boy duties. Besides, it's stuffy in the infirmary hut."

Gablon shook his head, boys will be boys, he reminded himself, "OK, what do you need?"

"The men you sent to Slome are back. They brought the new men and the guy you wanted to talk to. He is in your hut."

"Thank you Emroc. Are you boys up to taking meals out to the guards on duty?"

Darmoth grinned holding up his one good arm, "I can carry the water in a bucket." Gablon gave the boy a squeeze on the shoulder, "I'm sure you can. OK boys, get to work then."

Gablon watched the trio head off to the hut he had rented for the cook to use. As he did so he made a mental note to check with a Healthman to see if Emroc should even be walking on his injured leg. He shrugged; at worst it would mean the youngster would have to get his leg fixed up all over again. He hurried off to his rented shack.

Two guards had six new hired swordsmen lined up for inspection. Gablon's heart sunk some when he saw all six were quite young and were all Primary Echelon step one's. "Who do we have here, sergeant Klorna?"

The Dwarvin Swordswoman saw Gablon's look and nodded understanding. Quickly she introduced each one by name before pulling him off to the side with a flip of her head. "We advertised with runners all day, but this is all we got to show up. Maybe it is the weather, but I think the fact we lost so many of our new hires in the last raid really cut into our chances here."

Gablon glanced over his shoulder; "Did you test them?"

"They are all brand new guild certified. Slome has a small school. We talked to their instructors and verified their standing with the guild. Three are Outdoorsmen, one a Metalworker, one a Healthman, and the youngest one over there is a Ruinseeker, he is also a Avgon Channeler."

"Channeler for the god of air? There is one I have never traveled with before!"

"Me neither sir."

"Interesting, What is he, sixteen?"

"Fifteen," Klorna answered, "The tall lanky Healthman is the oldest, and he is only seventeen. Sorry sir, it was the best we could do."

"So be it," Gablon took a deep breath, "You brought one of the town council?"

"Yea," Klorna was clearly not thrilled. Her voice alone spoke volumes as to her personal distaste of the person.

"Not a nice guy?"

"Total dirt ball, and has a real odor emanating from his mouth which is every bit as foul as his language."

"I see," Gablon smirked, "A bit of ye ole dragon breath?"

Klorna laughed, "More than a bit!"

Gablon patted the trusted Swordswoman on the shoulder as he moved toward his hut, "Then I shall endeavor to stay back a few paces!"

Klorna had to keep her back turned to the new hires for a few moments before she could force a sterner look into her facial features, "OK, stop standing around. You are getting paid to work not be statues. Take a look around and get to know the other guards. We captured five wagons from the Orcs so we have quite a caravan to protect! Those of you who know anything about woodworking, get your butts over to where the wagons are. Orcs don't know how to keep up a wagon so those we captured need work!"

Gablon made his way into the small hut. As the door opened he could already smell a faint hint of scented oils which meant the man probably didn't wash enough and chose to hide the fact with expensive oils. Instantly, he disliked the man.

The man stood at the far side of the room and made no attempt to approach. He wore expensive dyed baggy clothing typical of merchants, had a well sewn rabbit fur coat, and thick fur lined gloves, poked out of pockets on each side of the coat. His hands were currently exploring one of the girls Gablon had bought from a woman who was looking for a way to make as much silver as she could, even if it happened to be at the expense of her own kids.

Of all the purchases he had made over the past few days, the woman had been the only one to sell off all her kids. Because of this, Gablon had paid less than half what he had offered the other parents per each child. Still she had made out quite well selling three girls and two boys to him. Rumor had it the woman had taken the money and run.

Gablon almost said something, but stopped himself. Instead he put on his best friendly merchant look, "Thanks for coming out in such dismal weather. I would have sent a wagon, but alas, they will not move in such heavy snow."

The man didn't look impressed by Gablon's attempt pleasantries, "Good Merchant. I was told you wished to speak with a member of the council, and you would offer a just reward for me making my way out in such dreadful conditions."

"As I will. Please have a seat," Gablon motioned toward one of his two nice chairs he had brought into the hut for this meeting. He also held out a gold and onyx necklace to keep the man's interest.

The man eyed the chain for a second before grabbing it. He then took a seat and roughly pulled the girl over to him by her hair. He then grabbed the whimpering child and put her on his lap. "My name is Councilman Parad. What can I do for you."

"May I call you Parad?"

"If it will make this go any quicker, you may." His hand slid up under the girl's sackcloth dress as he continued to talk; "I ever so much dislike being out here."

Gablon would have loved to kill the man right where he sat. Parad's over inflated ego was already wearing thin. The fact he was taking liberties with a slave without even asking next to infuriated Gablon. If only he would be more gentle. The girl has no training and was only sold by her mother two days ago. But I cannot say a thing! Right now I need this pompous ass. Gablon forced another smile. The girl would just have to endure what was happening. "I agree, no one likes to be in slums, but a broken wagon forced the issue for us." If I continue being this phony I will need a second bath today!

"Such misfortune was probably due. You made a mint in my town by being the first caravan with good supplies to make it this winter!" The girl tried to squirm some as his hand continued to move around under her dress. He grabbed the girl's hair with his other hand and yanked. She yelped, but stopped trying to get away. Her eyes pleaded for Gablon to do something.

"Yes, so I understand. But it was not without cost," Gablon turned his attention to the girl for a moment felling like an evil demon as he did so, "You behave or I will forget to feed you the next few days!"

Not only the girl, but also all the slaves in the hut lowered their heads. More than one showed signs of wanting to cry.

"Not very subservient are they?"

"I just bought them from their parents," Gablon suddenly wondered if he had the mindset to be a slave trader. He had to fight his desire to give all the kids hugs. He had ordered around slaves after he started getting his secret Shaman training. He even owned a couple at his home, but they had been slaves and had known their place from the time he had purchased them. Until now he had never thought about what it must be like for a former free person to become a slave. To take his mind off the dilemma, he went back to matters at hand, "Anyway, I know you are a busy man so let me get straight to the point. We eliminated an entire tribe of Orcs yesterday."

"Yes, so I hear. You have dealt a major defeat to the nasty creatures around Slome. We have already agreed to pay full price for every head."

"I know, and I must say you were quite kind in doing so. I know your bounty coffers must have taken a real pounding."

"Indeed they did. So what else can the good Council of Slome do for you?"

"Well, there are two separate matters dealing with the destruction of the Orc village and one other matter as well I need to talk to you about."

Parad did something with his hidden hand causing the girl to bite her lip and softly begin to cry, "Let me guess. You need paperwork on these urchins?"

Gablon clenched his fist but kept his look casual, "Yes."

"If you have paper and wax, I can handle such matters for you right here. Let's say all the paperwork you need for this slave?"

Gablon nearly exploded, but again forced himself to look much calmer than he was, "You attach a major price. I was thinking more on line with five silver per slave."

Parad scowled then shrugged, "We can settle on a price I am sure. What else do you need?"

"We captured a great many Orc females, children and elders who could not or would not fight. Are they my property?"

"They attacked you first?"

"Absolutely Parad," Gablon stated emphatically, "Every being in the slums here would swear in a temple they attacked us. Then and only then did we strike back."

"Then they are yours. I can fill out those documents as well. They do not sell for much, but I am sure there are quite a few merchants who would be happy to buy Orc children to work in their shops. Any Halforc females could be of some use as pleasure items for those who like to be rough, but the others would only be good for manual labor. I am sure I could find buyers for almost all of your stock for a small commission."

This time Gablon nodded in earnest. He had no desire to take any of the Orcs with him. Some of the Halforc children would probably fetch a better price below the Silver Spine Mountains, but that was all he wanted to take along, "I am sure we can come to terms on a commission. The last matter is much more complicated though."

Parad's hand continued to grope the girl as he settled back a little. Tears openly rolled down her cheeks, but she made no more sounds other than an occasion yelp. "I am here, so we might as well cover all matters."

"Very well. My guards liberated quite a few beings being held as captives by the Orcs. The adults, what few of them there were, we allowed to go free with any family members. We gave them some food, weapons and a couple of silver to get restarted. We, however, are stuck with a number of youth."

"What do you want to do with them?"

"I really do not know. Some were being purposely fattened up for food, while others were reduced to being pets on a leash for the Orcs' entertainment. It seems they liked to make fun of the other races. We even have a pair of Hobgoblin boys who were being led around on a leash by one of the Orc warriors. His dead hand had to be pried off the chains."

Parad scratched his chin for a moment, "Are any of the children from Slome?"

"Those who are, we have sent word to their parents. Unfortunately, only two of the five want their children back. The others are afraid their children will be too uncivilized to be around brothers and sisters after spending such a long time with Orcs."

Parad nodded, "I must say I cannot blame them. I doubt I would want my boy or girl back unless they had been captured for only a short period of time. I also must respectfully refuse to take any of them into the orphanage. I do not want them hurting other children. Where are the others from?"

"Almost all of them were taken from merchant caravans. From what we have found out from captives we have taken the Orcs and Gnolls are working together to stop caravans from getting around this winter."

"We have suspected as much." Parad stated, "It seemed like Slome has been in a blockade of sorts for the last few months. Our city guard has managed to get enough supplies in to prevent the peasants from noticing, but it has not been easy and we have spent quite a bit of city funds to buy food and other goods. Your caravan made it to us just in time to prevent suspicions from getting to where we couldn't control them.

"As far as the other kids go, why don't you just give this one to me and pay me two silver a head. I'll sign over ownership on all of them to you."

Gablon couldn't believe the man could be so cold hearted. The poor kids have just been rescued. How can I turn them into slaves? Yet, he couldn't keep them with him for free. The cost of feeding them alone would be too great a burden. Nor could he send them to fend for themselves, to do so would be nothing less than murder, only much crueler. It also occurred to him; it would be next to impossible to find an orphanage willing to take them in. They were outcasts.

With a heavy heart Gablon looked at the girl one last time and nodded, "Very well. As soon as we are done, I will have a pair of guards escort you back to Slome."

Kandric and Vondum

Kandric glanced over his shoulder. Jamon knew the basics of how to ride, but lacked the skill to keep the War Steed moving through deep snow. Turning his animal yet again, he grabbed hold of the reins and guided the befuddled boy's mount over the latest hazard. "Let me keep the reins. Otherwise, we may never get there!"

Jamon hung his head, "Sorry master."

Vondum doubled back as well shaking his head, "Kandric, the steed knows the way home, put Jamon on with you like I have Conth, and lets get going!"

"Sir," Kandric stated, "We may very well need an extra mount when we get to the swamps. No trials are visible and it has not even stopped snowing yet. Riding out here is easy compared to what we face when we hit the swamp."

Vondum was clearly not used to having orders or suggestions questioned, but he looked at Kandric's face and his heart softened just a little. This allowed reason to take over, "I hadn't thought of swamp navigation. You are probably as good or better at it than I am," Vondum sighed wondering when the last time he admitted such a thing to anyone even when he knew it to be true, "OK, let me guide the steed out here, when we get to the swamps you get to take the lead."

The response surprised Kandric. He half expected a confrontation. Not getting one eased his mind some, while being told he would actually take the lead astounded the young Halfelf. "I am honored sir!"

Vondum gave Kandric a quick smile as he attached longer leads to the reins of Jamon's mount. "I am interested to see how good an Outdoorsman you really are!"

"I like challenges!" Kandric replied proudly as they once again moved forward.

For several hours Kandric remained virtually silent watching how Vondum used the land to pick and choose the best path. He avoided nearly all the deep drifts by using what nature had provided. This kept the animals from tiring too quickly. Although the actual distance traveled was more than quadruple what a strait line path would have been, Kandric realized Vondum had saved time because they only had to rest the animals once before they reached the swamps.

Vondum slid off his mount and pulled Conth down beside him, "We have about three hours of useful daylight left. Do you want to head into the swamp now or wait till morning?"

Kandric looked at the steeds and saw they were breathing hard, "My suggestion is to give the mounts an hour rest and then see how they are. I do not want to push them too hard, but I would like to get a little closer to Slome."

Vondum nodded, "Yea, we are still three or three and a half days out. I didn't realize just how much snow we received."

"Two, two and a half at most," Kandric stated with confidence.

"You are pushing it Kandric. I know you want to get home, but I do not want you pushing the animals."

"I would never risk a mount," Kandric's voice sounded a tad bit hurt.

"I know you wouldn't. At least not intentionally, But your need to get home might be pushing you to do things you would not normally consider thinking about."

"I have made those kinds of mistakes before when I trained with Glaster. I know better now," Kandric lowered his voice realizing he was starting to get upset. I guess what I should be telling you is, I could make this trip on foot in a day and a half normally."

Vondum's eyes went wide, "Including the swamp?"

"Sure!" Kandric smiled, "I grew up out here I can make my way through a swamp just as fast as a normal guy can travel in a forest."

"This I cannot wait to see!" Vondum turned his attention toward Conth, "Clear some snow from the ground so my steeds can find some food! "

Kandric nodded, "Jamon help him."

Vondum walked down the embankment where the real swamps began. He grabbed a long stick and started poking the ground looking for the firmest path.

Kandric followed. Once he was sure he was out of earshot of the two slave boys he pointed to a powdery ribbon of snow. "Over there."

Vondum looked back with a frown; "One of us should be watching them."

"Consider it a test. The only thing they could do would be to try to run. With their total lack of skills we could catch them on foot even it they took the mounts. Besides, Conth would fall off from exhaustion with as little sleep as he has had."

Vondum wrapped an arm around Kandric's shoulders he chuckled, "Very true. I found I kept having to shake him so he stayed awake. If I hadn't been holding on to him a couple of times he would have fallen."

"Mind if I ask why you are not letting him get more sleep?"

"Do you disapprove?"

Kandric fiercely shook his head to make up for the fact he knew his eyes said something totally different, "No. I am just very interested. I have always wanted to learn more about slave handling, and you seem to know exactly what you are doing."

"Your way of handling Jamon seems to be working quite well."

"Only because you got him to the point where anything would be better than having the stick tied to his back again."

Vondum smiled, "Only partially true. You knew exactly how to take charge when you first saw him. Yes, I bet he does see you as a bit of a rescuer. However, you still demand much of him. Only a couple of weeks ago he was probably a free boy, but you have made him accept his role in life as a slave. You have done very well.

"Conth is a different story. He submitted to being a slave very quickly because he is very intelligent. He knew he would get better treatment over all if he accepted his future. He has, as of yet, not broken. Somewhere inside him he still sees himself as free because he does everything willingly, for the most part. He has not asked for anything. Eventually he will have to beg me for more rest. When he does so, he is giving me control. When this happens, I will be able to give extra rest or deny it. I will sometimes grant his request, but most of the time I will not. In short order he will no longer be able to say he is in control of his life."

Kandric digested the information slowly. He could not be sure if it made sense or not. Some of it did, other parts didn't. The problem was he wasn't even sure which parts were which, he looked up and saw Vondum staring at him. He felt he would again have to tell a half-truth to keep the man from becoming suspicious. Little did he know he had already gained far more trust than Vondum himself knew he had to give. "I was wondering 3;"

Vondum squeezed Kandric's shoulders a little tighter. "What my friend," Vondum felt his own throat tense as he spoke the last word. For the first time in more years than he could easily remember, the word friend held real meaning. For Vondum, this was a true shock. The full extent of it would not fall on him for several hours.

"Can you teach me how to make a good slave."

"I would be happy to. You have mentioned your interest before, but mind if I ask why you want to learn such an unpleasant task?"

"I am not sure it would be all unpleasant. Having control over Jamon has been quite nice," Kandric begrudgingly had to admit this was indeed true, as was the second part, "Glaster usually paid to have a slave trained. We would drop the person off and pick them up a few weeks or even a month later."

The last part however was a half-truth at best, but it slid off his tongue with the rest making it sound totally convincing. "Besides, it feels good to be able to hold someone else's life in my hands. I feel more powerful and important with a slave."

Vondum nodded understanding completely Kandric's words, "I would be happy to teach you if Glaster will allow it. Let's not forget what we need to do now, however. What were you going to show me when you came down here?"

Kandric guided him over to the spot he had pointed to. "We'll go that way to start."

Vondum scowled, "The snow is deeper there."

"Yes, but not from drifting."

"So?"

"Snow takes longer to build on a muddy soil than dry ground. The water in the mud melts the snow at first so the dry ground ends up with more snow, but underneath it will be hard ground," Kandric nodded to the fluffy snow. "Go ahead try your stick."

Vondum pushed the branch into the whiteness. Much to his surprise he hit solid ground, "I cannot be more impressed Kandric. You have taught me something!"

Kandric giggled, "I thought you Expert Echelon guys knew it all!

Vondum playfully grabbed Kandric and started tickling him.

As laughter escaped Kandric's lips, Conth stopped clearing snow above. His Mindmaster abilities felt a release of love buried so deep in Vondum, it nearly exploded. In the brief instant when Vondum's natural barriers were totally down Conth saw into the huge man's heart. The pain, agony, and suffering from years of torment became clear. Natural barriers which came with becoming higher Echeloned snapped the door shut before Conth could learn more. Nevertheless, the few pictures plucked from Vondum's mind revealed a past of misery and agony. So powerful were the feelings and pictures Conth fell to the ground clutching his head.

Fortunately for Conth, Jamon came over and made his cousin get up and resume work before Vondum returned. "Don't lay there! If we aren't workin' when they get back we'll be in big trouble!"

Conth pulled himself up and wiped a thin trickle of blood from his nose. He knew this meant he had overextended his Mindmaster abilities and had done physical damage to himself but this time it hadn't been his fault. He just hoped he hadn't accidentally hurt Vondum as well. The last thing he wanted would be to have hurt the guy. He was mean enough as is. There would be no telling how nasty he would be with a headache.

Making matters even worse the expenditure of Mindmaster energy made him more tired than he already was. He knew he would not be able to keep going without more sleep. Ignoring the looks his cousin continued to give him he started clearing more snow on his hands and knees so the animals could eat.

Back below Kandric continued to squirm under Vondum's tickling hands.

Finally Vondum backed up and let him get some air.

Kandric grinned from ear to ear as he took in a few deep breaths, then he frowned, "Your nose is bleeding."

Vondum wiped at it with his hand and saw a small amount of blood, "No big deal, your head probably bumped this big snout of mine," he waved it off "that's what I get for tickling such a highly skilled Shaman!"

Kandric smiled, "Let me fix it at least!"

"If you insist."

Kandric hastily cast a healing spell. "I don't want this to be the last time we have fun."

Vondum wiggled his nose, realizing the magic had cured the nosebleed and a mild headache he hadn't even noticed before. "I look forward to it as much, if not more than, you do!" Vondum nodded his head in the direction of the Warsteeds. "We better get up there and make sure they stayed put and did their tasks."

Vondum crested the ridge half expecting to see at least one of the boys not working. What he found impressed him. All three steeds munched on some of the buried foliage Jamon and Conth had uncovered while the kids continued to work to make more available. "That is enough for now."

Conth took a deep breath, stood and walked over to Vondum. His place was next to his master the moment a duty ended. By now he was used to it.

Jamon started to move toward Kandric, but was waved off.

"Break out rations. We will eat while the mounts are resting," Kandric commanded.

"Can we have a fire master?" Conth asked with chattering teeth. "I am very cold"

Vondum shook his head, "No. We will not be here long enough. The food will help you warm up."

Kandric took the offered ration roll from Jamon before speaking; "It might be a good idea to let both of them change into dry clothing. They both got wet cleaning snow."

Vondum rubbed down Conth's britches for a moment briefly resting his had on the boy's crotch, "Normally I would let him deal with it, but we do not want them getting sick, do we?"

"Not only that, but the swamp will be colder. There is more moisture down there and the further we go the more cold and damp it will get."

"Good point. Conth change into the warmer clothing I had you pack."

Kandric nodded for Jamon to do the same. "Make sure you stand on a spot you cleared. I do not want your feet getting wet or snow getting inside your boots while you change."

Both boys knew better than to ask where they should change. Their masters' both liked to see them so there was no point asking. The both stripped out in the open and put on the dry warmer clothing they had been allowed to bring along. Once fully clothed they put their wet clothing into a previously empty saddlebag before going to sit with their respective masters.

Vondum pulled Conth onto his lap as he spoke, "Have you ever come this way before?"

"Not with mounts," Kandric answered while grabbing Jamon's food roll, "This area is pretty treacherous on foot. Riding through will not be easy." Looking down he shook his head, "Jamon what did I tell you about eating?"

"The master always eats first unless permission is given."

"So why did you start to untie your roll?"

Jamon bottom lip quivered, "I do not have a reason master."

"Why should I feed you then?"

Jamon felt trapped. Kandric didn't demand very much. One of the few things he did require, which seemed very demeaning, was not to eat until non-slaves were finished. He knew this single command was a throwback to Kandric's teacher. Kandric had told him Glaster had taught all his students from his first days around slaves not to allow servants or slaves to eat at the same table nor to let them dine at the same time as their owners. This was some sort of royal custom which allowed the masters to have the best food available while leaving whatever was left for servants then slaves. The very fact Kandric had taken time to explain why he had such a rule only made the present situation worse.

"I asked you a question Jamon."

Jamon knew his next words would leave him hungry and cold, but he didn't see a way out, "I guess I shouldn't be fed."

"Guess?"

"I should go hungry. I acted like a free person, master. I am sorry."

Kandric started to put the food roll in his pouch, "Will this ever happen again?"

Jamon's head sank as he saw the food disappearing from sight. Since breakfast they had been given nothing to eat and now it wouldn't be until morning before he got fed again. "Never again master."

Kandric pulled out one of his throwing knives, pulled the roll back out and cut it being careful not to spill any of the dry fruits or nuts wrapped inside. "Next time you will loose two meals Jamon, this time you only loose half of one," Kandric purposefully held out the larger portion for Jamon.

Jamon took it and held it with thankful eyes. This time he made no effort to eat. Instead he watched the others eat. He didn't understand why Conth got to eat while he couldn't but he concluded he was lucky to be holding on to any food at all and what Vondum did with Conth was not any of his concern.

Vondum looked over with approval, "So what is the best way to get to Slome without cutting around the whole swamp and adding six or seven days to our travel time?"

"Tough call. If we stick to the standard paths, we will be fighting mud and thin ice the whole way. What I would like to do is far quicker, because the deeper we get into the swamps the colder it will be and the more frozen the ground. It would also be easier for me to spot harder ground. I was thinking we may want to head straight for the interior and take the Splitrock Knolls we all know are there. I'm pretty sure the two of us could handle the danger, but I am not so enthused with the idea of having to protect Conth and Jamon."

Vondum glanced up to make sure Kandric was not teasing him, while Jamon and Conth looked at each other in horror.

"You are serious?" Vondum asked still not sure whether or not to believe the boy.

"Yea," Kandric stayed firm, "you are one of the best Warrior Adepts up here, and I am a better than average Shaman. We have Conth and Jamon to keep watch on our gear if we get into a fight, and I have healing spells.

"The Knolls are higher ground for the most part so we should be able to make it there and through before nightfall tomorrow. If not, we will certainly be close to getting out. Besides, the other options will add at lest a day to our travel time and I do not know the status of my mom and siblings."

Vondum warmed to the idea slowly, "I've never attempted the Knolls before. It sounds intriguing!"

"Master?" Jamon looked up still waiting to eat, his jaw trembling in fear

"What?" Kandric asked somewhat annoyed

"You aren't talking about the swamp highlands, are you?" Concern clearly could be seen in Jamon's face and eyes.

"Yes we are," Vondum confirmed.

"But that place is haunted!" Conth spoke up for the first time, "No one goes to the Knolls!"

Vondum laughed, "Very true, not even the Lizardmen or Illorcs will brave Splitrock. The poor Orcs, Kobalds, Goblins, and Hobgoblins will not even head into the swamp's interior because of the place. In many ways it may make the trip safer!"

"I have only seen them once," Vondum added while still smiling, "What about you Kandric?"

"Twice. One time Glaster and I camped on the outer edge of the knolls. My Outdoorsman side of me could have sworn we were being watched all night, but nothing happened. We both have magic weapons, Conth says he has a little Warrior Adept training, so he could clean up gear after any fights, and Jamon could tend to other minor duties, so we could rest. Besides, there is supposed to be hoards of treasure in them!"

"Very true," Vondum confirmed. "Sounds like we better get moving then. We want to be as close as possible to Splitrock as possible so we can make it through in a single day. Unless we find something too interesting to pass up, that is."

"Even if we do, we should map it them continue to move if at all possible. I need to make sure mom is all right."

Vondum agreed with a reassuring smile. "One thing is for sure, it probably will not go anywhere if we do find something. No one else goes through the Knolls so all we will have to do is go back through and check things out on the way back.

"Speaking of which, Kandric, when we are done here would you mind coming to Black Rapids with me so I can at lest check in. They do pay me to be the Captain of the Guard, after all."

"Sure!" Kandric nodded eagerly. Black Rapids was a place of wonder to Kandric even after all his travels. Cities in general with all their trade goods, ships and other places drew Kandric, but Black Rapids was really special. It had a library where he could pay a silver and spend a whole day with hundreds of books. Ever since his first visit with Glaster, He wanted to spend more time there. "How long would we be there?"

"Probably a week maybe two," Vondum saw the look in Kandric's eyes and chuckled, "and I could get you into the library for free and even let you browse through some other the archives below the palace."

"I don't know if two weeks would be enough!"

Vondum lowered his head and laughed, "How can you be a bookworm and an Outdoorsman? They just don't fit very well!"

"It does when I am in ruins," Kandric replied slyly getting Vondum to laugh even harder.

"Touché!" Vondum boomed as he stood, "We better get ready to move out!"

Kandric pointed to the food still in Jamon's hands, "Eat up. I will get our mounts ready."

"Master you aren't going to make us go into the swamp highlands, are you?"

"Yes, Jamon I am going to make you go. I will protect you with my life if I have to, but you are going. I do not want to hear another complaint. Am I clear?"

"But 3;"

"Jamon," Kandric shook his head as a warning interrupting before more could be said, "Not another word!"

Jamon ate the half roll of food with a knot in his gut. Every child in the Silver Spine Plateau was told terrible stories of the hills in the middle of the swamp. No one, not even the some of the legendary heroes of Kronar, entered the swamp highlands. The Kingdom back then had encompassed the entire continent. Hundreds of years ago the kingdom of Kronar fractured in a bloody civil war as the races each tried to stake their own claim to the thrown.

Since then, the mystique of Splitrock had grown even worse. While kingdoms rose and fell over the years, two things remained the same in the old Kronar kingdom. First was no one had ever charted more than one pass through the dreaded Deathland Range Mountains. Second, nothing good ever entered Splitrock and came back.

However, if he did make it through, Jamon realized he may well get to see Black Rapids' famed Library. As a Ruinseeker trainee, nothing would make him happier. The only problem with his interest would mean revealing he had some training to Kandric. At the moment though, he guessed his chances of having to worry about such a problem was slim. He figured he would be dead or worse in a day and a half give or take.

Aster

Aster finished going over the checklist with Pocet one last time. Everything was at last ready for the caravan to move out. He looked over the two new wagons Handri had added with a bemused grin. It would be up to Pocet, his three guards, Conner and himself to defend the three supply wagons plus Handri's personal wagon which also carried the food.

Each wagon now had a Dwarvin driver. They would add a little defense if pressed, but the other men Handri had hired were just men. They had no special training and would be slaughtered with relative ease. No matter how hard he tried, Aster could find no logic to having them along. He figured, correctly, he and his pets alone could take out all 10 Swords without getting more than a scratch or two. Heck, Dart could simply fly above toss down a few feathers, take out a few men, keep them busy while Shade went in and finished off the rest.

During all this Aster realized he could have his pets do all the work while he sat down and had a snack. A meal would be out of the question; the fight would be over before he could do more than finish a peach and down a few swallows of water. All he would have to do would be to clean up and maybe patch up Dart. Shade was immune to non-magical weapons and none of the men had them. However, his canine still hurt for a few minutes after being clobbered by a mace or sword so alone they could beat on him until he was forced to retreat if Dart was not giving some assistance.

Handri came in with Master Lannet. He didn't look at all pleased. "Aster!"

Aster finished checking the final knots before jumping down, "Sir?"

"Pocet just told me you two would be bringing your new slave! What do you think I am, some sort of traveling orphanage?"

"We can't leave him sir."

"Why not? There is a good slave auction block here in Junsac. He would get a good price for you and Pocet!"

"I can't sell him after all he as been through!" Aster next to shouted.

"He will not come with this caravan! Am I being 3;" Handri grabbed his temples for a moment and staggered.

Aster started to move forward only to see Master Lannet shake his head. Hiding a grin, Aster backed up and disappeared around the wagon. He had seen this before, yet it never ceased to amaze him how powerful Master Lannet actually was. His body may have grown old, but his mind was extremely sharp. Fact of the mater was, Master Lannet could kill a normal man through thought while only giving himself a slight headache.

Seconds later Handri's voice again echoed in the barn where the caravan wagons were being kept. "Aster!"

Aster came around the wagon, "Sir?"

"Pocet just told me you two would be bringing your new slave! What do you think I am, some sort of traveling orphanage?"

"But we cannot leave him sir!"

"I understand. But I will not pay for his food and gear unless he can be of use to the caravan."

Aster thought quickly, "He could be used to keep the horses groomed and feed the guards who are on watch."

"From what I have seen, he doesn't seem to be up to such tasks yet: He hasn't even spoken."

"Then I will pay for his food until he does start helping out. Take a copper a day of my pay if you like. I will also pay to equip him."

Handri softened some, "I will take half a copper a day in pay if you equip him. Once he starts working I will pay for his food."

"No problem sir," Aster smiled.

"You will also have to make room for him in your tent or buy him one of his own." Handri stated firmly, "I will not allow a slave to sleep in the big tent with free men."

"I understand. He can sleep in the big tent Pocet and I bought for Conner and us."

"Very well. Are the wagons all ready to roll?"

Aster nodded, "All checked and ready. The Warsteeds are all healthy and I got two more. One for Conner the other for me, thanks to the Watch."

Handri held up his hand," Oh yea. Speaking of the Watch, Master Lannet is here to see you. Make sure you get a good night's sleep. We leave at first light.

"Thanks. See you then."

Handri nodded and walked out with a puzzled expression.

Aster laughed, "How hard did you push him?"

"Not very. Sometime in the next week or so he will remember he came here to make it clear your little prize was to stay behind one way or the other. About then he will wonder what happened."

"Oh, by then it will be far too late."

Lannet grinned, "Indeed it will," he gave Aster a hug knowing it would be the last he would get from his favorite pupil for quite some time, "but my reason for this visit is not for this at all."

Aster looked into the Dwarf's eyes quizzically. "So why are you here Master?"

"The four slaves I turned in the arena belong to you and Pocet. What do you want to do with them?"

"You have to ask Pocet."

Lannet shook his finger with a grin, "Do not go there Aster."

"Let me guess," Aster giggled, "Pocet said to ask me?"

"Indeed he did." Lannet nodded.

"What can you tell me about them?"

"Why do you think I know anything?"

"Because, you had to dig around in their minds to get them to change them and I know you well enough to know you had the Watch do some checking long before you went to Pocet."

"You just have me all figured out!" Lannet smiled as he ruffled the boy's hair. "OK, you are most assuredly correct. Three of the four men were easy to tamper with. They didn't like the idea of fighting you. They saw you as a boy and they didn't have much desire to hurt a child.

"The fourth required considerably more effort to sway. He was the reason I didn't get a chance to work on the last guy, whom I doubted I could have done much with anyway. That jerk you took out thought the boy up in the cage should be left there to starve. He even wanted to watch and eat meals in front of him while he slowly wasted away."

"He was thinking those thoughts?"

"Yes. I knew I wouldn't stand much chance with him so I worked on the others first."

Aster shuddered, "I am even more glad I killed him then! Why was the other guy so hard to convince?"

"They had all been offered their freedom if they fought and survived. None of them knew exactly why they were going to fight at the arena, but the tall blond Swordsman didn't care. He wanted to kill and it didn't matter who as long as he would get his freedom."

Aster listened to Lannet's words not knowing what to think. If I was a slave I bet I would feel the same way. How can I fault a man who just wanted to be free so badly it didn't matter what he had to do to get there? Another question interrupted his thinking, "Master how did you make him betray his owner?"

"I convinced him it was all a trick. Made him think they were going to auction him off the second they finished in the arena. It was a hard fought battle because he kept trying to come up with reason this wouldn't be true, but I finally won out. He became angry as he came to the conclusion he would not be free and it was all a trick and the only way he could get back at his new owner would be not to fight for him."

"Very sneaky Master!" Aster gave Lannet another hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Lannet smiled, "If I knew I was going to get this type of reaction I would have tried a little harder on the last guy!"

Aster laughed hard, "You deserve more hugs than I can give you in my lifetime!"

Lannet brushed away a tear before turning serious; "I need to know what you want to do with them Aster. All the weapons and armor they bought belongs to you as well as the equipment on those killed. Pocet suggested I trade in the Druid's spell pages for ones Conner needed so I did so, and even got enough to make him a backup book. You gave the magical scimitar to Pocet, so he said the rest must belong to you, including the slaves."

"Is the blade safe?"

"Yes. We had the Mage guild research it. It is a Scimitar of attack and defense. Not all that uncommon, at least as magical weapons go."

"Now I understand how the guy was able to deflect one of Conner's dives! The blade did it for him!"

"I missed the fight," Lannet admitted a little sheepishly, "but if the blade got in the way of one of Conner's weapons than I am sure you are correct. I for one am glad Pocet has more than a magical dagger now. Only you and him have magical weapons, you know."

"Yea. I've got two magical daggers, though, so I figured I would let Conner use one. I almost never use them since I have the axe. There is no real reason for me to carry both of them."

"Well, we have a surprise for you anyway." Lannet beamed a wide smile, "but you will find out more about it tomorrow morning."

Aster tried to give his best puppy-dog eyes look to Lannet, but this time it didn't work. Knowing there was no chance of finding out more, he begrudgingly shrugged. "Well if I am going to have to spend the next twenty hours guessing I better find something else to do. Will you come with me to where the slaves are being held so I can talk to them?"

"Good idea. Lead the way!"

Quavis

Clear across the city a young boy was desperately trying to figure out how he was going to get out of a walled city with so many people looking to lock him up with his younger brother and sister. If Quavis had known less than a two dozen city guardsmen even knew he was wanted and of them only five had a clue as to what he looked like, his predicament wouldn't have looked nearly so dire.

Add in the fact the Watch had basically told the city guard to let him slip away if he was caught, he would have simply walked out one of the city gates. However, he was eleven years old, and had been brought up in a very sheltered world for the most part. To his way of thinking, every guard in the city was surely looking for him.

Since getting out of the house his 'father' had sent him to, Quavis wandered around ducking in back alley after back alley whenever he saw a patrol come near. Exhausted he finally found a couple of discarded crates in the back of a warehouse close to the docks to hide in and got some sleep. Teeth chattering and feeling hungrier than he had ever felt before, he woke well after sun up.

Hunger was a new sensation to the pampered lad. He always had three meals of good quality food and any snacks he wanted. Quavis could have sworn he was going to be sick his stomach hurt so badly. Yet, he figured there was nothing in his gut to get rid of. He knew he would never again look at a starving person with out feeling a little sorry for them. Maybe this was a message from Crystrall, goddess of fresh water, the goddess Quavis secretly worshipped.

Knowing he couldn't stay in his hiding place all day he peaked around. Seeing no one, he slipped from the crates and started to head down the alley. A voice from behind stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Young man, you are not doing very well trying to get out of the city are you?"

Quavis turned to see a Hawkling gazing at him. The creature's cloak held a Teaching Echelon step four Swordsman pin, an equal grade Outdoorsman pin and worst of all a the Jade dagger pin of the Watch adorned his left breast. For a brief instant he turned to run.

"Do not be foolish. Do you really think you can run from me?"

Quavis' shoulders slumped as he turned around. "Not really."

"Then come here. I do not want to have to hurt you."

"We didn't steal for the Watch! Honestly, we didn't!"

"I believe you," Sardan stated, "but there is little I can do. You must tell your story to the magistrate." The Hawkling paused for a moment, "Unless 3;"

"Unless what?"

"Well, maybe we can figure a way out of this for you. Tell me what happened."

Quavis hung his head and cried, "Our dad sent us there to pick something up. We had no way of knowing there was stolen stuff there!"

"Then how did your brother and sister manage to have items stolen from a Watch member on them?"

Quavis took some deep breaths and tried to control his tears. With his left arm he wiped his nose only to see a line of snot on his shirtsleeve. "I don't know," he whimpered.

Sardan knelt in front of the terrified boy; "If the Watch and I helped you get out of the city, is there somewhere you could go?"

Quavis frowned in puzzlement. "Why would you help me?"

"Because the young watch member who had most of the things taken from his shop, does not believe you are at fault. But we cannot go against the city guard directly. If I get you out of the city, I must have a place to take you."

"What about my sister and brother?"

"The city guards already have your brother and sister. We cannot do anything about them. You, on the other hand are still free, and the guards will loose interest in you as long as the person who had the stuff stolen does not press the issue."

"But you work for the Watch." Quavis pleaded, "There must be something you can do for my sister and brother, isn't there?"

"Did your father always do what we wanted him to do?" Sardan asked wondering how much the boy actually knew about his father.

Slowly Quavis shook his head, "No sir. Dad said he worked for the city so the Watch couldn't tell him to do nothing."

Sardan felt his blood boil. All he wanted to do was go rip the father apart, but he kept his voice soft, "You answered your own question. Your brother and sister will have to go through the day auction sales for six months then they will be owned by the person who is trying to help you. There is no chance they will make the money needed to be free."

Quavis looked at the ground and kicked at a stone, his mind spinning. I don't own them nothing, but I can't just let them become slaves. They are all I have. If I hadn't have messed up and said we should check out the house they would not be in the dungeons now. With a deep breath he raised his head enough to look the kneeling Hawkling in the eyes, "What if I turned myself in?"

Sardan cocked his head to his side, "Why?"

"I don't want my sister and brother to be slaves."

Sardan saw the sincerity in the boy's eyes and saw the youngster's hands begin to shake. His attitude about allowing this boy to go free changed from being displeased with Aster's decision, to liking it. "I am sorry son; all your actions would do would be to become a slave yourself. Three children could not hope to pay off the debt amassed from your father's operation. All I can tell you is they will be well treated once they are owned by the Watch member who had the most stolen."

"What about the while they are on the day slave block?" Quavis asked in a desperate voice.

"I will see what I can do. Maybe some of the Watch members will need a servant for a few days or can rent them to do chores. If so they will be treated well as long as they behave."

"You would do that?" Hope came into Quavis' eyes.

"I will. But there will be times when we will be outbid. When it happens they will be at the mercy of whoever was willing to pay." Sardan stopped for a moment, but continued as he saw the boy's head and shoulders sag, "I will, however guarantee most of the time a Watch member will have them. Unfortunate as this my sound, they will not find their duties even with Watch members to be like living at home. They will have to work hard, sleep little and will not get the best of food. They will be safe though and will not get punished unless they disobey."

Quavis wiped away his tears again and forced himself not to sob, "It will be better than nothing sir. Thank you."

Sardan stroked the boy's hair; "You are welcome. Now back to my original question. Who can I take you to outside of the city?"

Quavis cringed, "All my family lives in Junsac."

"What about friends?"

Quavis again looked desperate as he lifted his gaze, "There is a barge captain, but I don't know where he is. I sailed with him and his son once, but they only come here about two times a year."

Sardan scratched the feathers on his head for a minute, "Humm, Do you know the name of the captain or his ship?"

"Yea, His name is Captain Pontarious. He owns the barge Thunder Rapids."

Sardan shook his head not knowing either the captain or his ship, "I don't know anything about him, but I assure you, someone in the Watch will be able to find out. Let's get you out of the city and safe while the Watch finds him."

"How?"

"How do we find him, or how do we get you out of the city?"

Quavis grinned nervously, "Both."

Sardan laughed, liking the boy more and more, "Follow me. The city guard will not bother you as long as they see you are with me, and we are having a friendly conversation."

"What am I supposed to talk about? I don't even know you!"

"When you look at me, what interests you the most?"

"Your race and Swordsman pin." Quavis answered without hesitation.

"Then ask me questions about what you are interested in. They would never suspect you are wanted and we will simply walk out the eastern gate."

"Then what?"

"Well, I guess you will want to get some clothing, some food and some other basic gear. So we will go shopping in one of the outlying towns while a few of my friends starts tracking down the barge captain. It may take a little while, so you can either find an inn you can work at for a while or help me out as I try to find out some information the Watch has been needing."

Quavis stared is shock, "How could I ever help you?"

Sardan chirped out a laugh, "People will say things when a boy is around without thinking, whereas they would surely keep their beaks clamped tightly when I am close at hand." The pair continued to talk over what use Quavis could be to the watch, what types of foods Hawklings ate, and what it was like to be a Swordsman as they walked through town and right out of the east gate. Before he realized it, Quavis found himself half a kilometer down the road leading away from Junsac.

Aster

Aster ordered Shade and Dart to wait outside as he entered the arena dungeon with a shiver. Cries of pain and despair echoed down the damp rock walled corridors from somewhere below. Distant sounds of a whip striking flesh followed by agonizing shouts for mercy came from somewhere even deeper in the labyrinth of tunnels under the arena. All he could think about was if the overseer's two kids were in such a dismal place.

Lannet seemed preoccupied as he led the way and didn't seem to notice Aster's discomfort. By the elderly Dwarf's walk alone, those around him could tell the sights, sounds, feelings, and smells simply bounced off with no real effect. More than once guards parted at his approach well before he got close. After what seemed to be a very long trek, Lannet turned, "Be ready my boy. Some of the men down here would do much to get a hold of such a fine looking boy as you. They will have nothing to loose by shouting out vulgarities the likes of which would cause the demon lords to blush."

Aster laughed allowing some of the tension to flee his body.

"Remember, not to pay them any mind. If they see they are getting to you, it will only be worse."

Aster nodded understanding; "I am ready master."

Lannet pointed to a guard to open the heavy bronze bound door. He then motioned for Aster to take the lead. His wisdom in this became evident. The men hanging on chains attached to the chamber called out to Aster announcing vile intentions. Those who said the nastiest things received a staff upside the head or to a knee. By the time the pair had made it past the prisoners condemned to fight 25 death matches to earn their freedom, all of them had fallen silent. Some because they saw no effect on Aster, but most because they didn't have any desire to feel the well placed whack of a heavy stick.

Two more guarded doors opened before Aster found himself face to face with the men who had been bought for the sole purpose of killing Pocet and him the day before. Other men, women, and children also inhabited this dismal room lit by a pair of torches. Smoke from the torches seemed to be drawn out through a pair of holes over the women's cages, but the air was still very smoky. Within a few moments Aster felt his eyes burning.

Aster turned to Lannet, "What is this place?"

"This is where slaves are held when their exact status is unknown. Some are runaways, others are being held while estates of deceased masters are settled and the rest are here waiting to find out if their owners or parents can come up with funds to pay off debts. If they can raise the money their property will be given back. If not, they will be sold on the open market.

"These four are all you should concern yourself with Aster. There is nothing you can do for the others unless you wanted to make an offer. You have enough irons in the fire without having to worry about any more."

Aster nodded tearing his watering eyes away from a couple of boys who would clearly be cute if they were cleaned up. His heart went out to the pair, but Lannet was right, he had other matters to attend to. Advancing on the cage holding the three men, Aster took in their stance and demeanor. The one Lannet turned at the last second look completely opposite of the other three. His eyes looked mean and angry and he had his fists clenched.

The other three looked on in more of a hopeful pleading fashion. Their overall posture was nowhere near as ridged nor did they look on with hate and malice of their partner. The tallest of the three even knelt as Aster approached and kept his gaze down.

Aster addressed the knelling man first, "Please stand. You are a Swordsman and should act as such."

The sandy haired, brown-eyed man spoke with a soft voice. "You are my owner. You defeated the man who purchased us. I am only showing you proper respect."

"This is true, but please stand like the Swordsman I know you are," Aster waited for a moment as the man stood then got strait to the point, "Why did you not fight for him?"

"He did not tell me I would be facing children. I would prefer to be a slave than to hurt a child."

Aster glanced to Lannet. Once he got a nod, Aster pointed to one of the guards who had accompanied them into the room. "Release him and give him back the gear he came in here with. He will be coming with me."

Lannet detected a slight hesitation and barked, "Guardsman, he is this man's rightful owner. Unless you want to be his next victim in the arena you will do as he commands!"

All dawdling vanished as the guard looked down at Lannet and Aster. The man quickly opened the cage and escorted the man out. As the guard left, another entered the room to take his place.

Aster quickly focused on the second man, "What about you. Why did you not fight for your master?"

This was the youngest of the three, only in his mid to late teens. He also appeared to be far weaker over all than the others. He supported a nasty bruise below his left eye and both his wrists had hand marks on them. None of this had been present before the fight. "I can't kill animals unless they are for food."

This got a snort from the tall blond Swordsman, who merely twisted his mouth into a half-disgusted grin.

"Guard, Ready him as well," Aster stated. He watched as the teen tried to hide a limp as he followed the guard out of the cage.

Aster wanted to ask what had happened. Clearly at least one of the other Swordsmen had beaten on the teen, but he doubted he would ever find out unless he got the teen to talk about it. The others didn't seem to care all that much. This worried him, but he needed to finish this. The smoky room was really beginning to get to him. Looking at the third man Lannet had easily convinced, he spoke, "What about you?"

The third man looked smaller and more wiry in build then the first man, but far stronger then the teenager. His voice, however, held far more power and authority than either of the first two. "His orders was to make those we was to face suffer. If you had been an adult, I would have had no trouble choppin' you to pieces slowly in order to gain my freedom, but I ain't about to hurt no kid who happened to have an Archer Eagle on his side. I knew as soon as I saw yer bird, we was in over our head and hadn't been told the whole story. Besides, I ain't into beatin' down no kid. I would a gone after yer Swordsman friend, but that's where I would a had ta draw the line."

Aster again got a slight nod from Lannet, "OK, will you obey me?"

The man shrugged, "Yer my Owner. I guess I will unless you are asking me to do somethin' I know will get me dead."

Aster took a deep breath then realized this was not a good idea. He spent several seconds coughing. The more deep breaths he took, the more smoke entered his lungs. The man smirked and reached out so he could push Aster toward the ground were the air was a little fresher.

One of the guards advanced only to be stopped by a raised hand from Aster, "Get him out of here and get him the gear he had on!"

"But he touched you!"

Lannet glared at the guard. "He owns the man. If he allows him such liberties, what is it to you?"

The guard unlocked the cage and motioned for the man to follow with a whip in his hand.

Aster got his breath back, "Guard if there is a singe extra mark on him, I will come after you. Am I understood?"

The guard started to respond but was stopped by the sergeant, "Don't even think about it. He is a member of the Watch."

The guard's eyes went wide along with the Swordsman slave being escorted.

The Sergeant continued, "He could easily cut off your hands and feed them to you on his own, without the help of his pets, but he does have pets and every member in the Watch to help him. Do as you are told and let his slave take a bath while you are at it. He may just forget your face."

The stunned guard scurried out making sure not to so much as raise the whip in his hand.

Aster grinned, "Thanks sergeant."

"Not a problem young man. You saved my life when I was assigned to the Barony Patrol. You and your Hawkling friend of yours showed up just after we were ambushed by Harpies just outside of Paws about six months ago."

Aster nodded as he searched his memory, "Yea, your mount fell on your leg. How'd I do on fixing it?"

The man laughed and jumped up and down showing the leg had completely healed, "You did a fine job! Every bit as good a job as you did on the pair of Harpies trying to finish me off."

Aster grinned, "The ground did most of the work for me. They don't fly well with a broken wing do they?"

"Nope! Your axe snapped her wing and she bounced awfully nice until she hit the tree. The second one, you did on your own though. You still carry throwing daggers?"

"Oh yea. They are my favorite next to my axe."

Pointing at the last man, the sergeant changed the subject, "What about him?"

"Good question," Aster turned to the man who didn't look at all impressed by what he had just heard, "What is your reason for not fighting?"

"Let me out, and I'll be happy to pound your skinny little body into oblivion."

"You had the chance but didn't take it. Why?"

The man glared, "I don't fight for someone who tries to trick me. He wouldn't have set me free even if I had pounded you into a puddle."

Aster shook his head, handed his weapons to Lannet and looked at the sergeant, "Open the cage. He thinks he is tough, let's find out how tough he is."

Lannet raised his eyebrow then shrugged, "Go for it."

The man in the cage snorted, "After I pound you all I'll end up with is a beating from the guards. What do you think I am, Stupid?"

"Yea," Aster answered, "I do."

The man charged as the cage door opened, "I'll kill you."

Aster sidestepped and delivered a kick to the back of the man's right leg. As the man fell Aster spun delivering an elbow directly to the back of the man's head. The force of the blow shot his head forward into the bars of the cage holding the twins and several other younger boys. All of them jumped back with the impact. A couple even started to cry.

Aster didn't give the guy a chance to recover. He leapt to the side and slammed his left palm into the man's exposed throat. He then backed off listening to croaking sounds come out of the slave's mouth as he desperately tried to breath properly.

Aster looked at the man then turned to the sergeant, "Toss him back in the cage. I don't want this idiot. I wonder which guild office screwed up and awarded him a Primary Echelon rating."

"He is still yours, Aster." Lannet pointed out; "Do you want to have him auctioned off?"

Aster couldn't help it, he temporarily ignored Master Lannet and turned to look at the twins in the boys' cage, "Sergeant what are they doing in there?"

"Their owner was killed when his coach broke loose and went into a river. The tall lad over in the corner also belonged to him. We sent word to surrounding towns trying to find a relative to take possession."

"Do they know what he owned?"

The sergeant shrugged, "No. We cannot even guarantee we will find anyone related to him. All the messages we send say is we have property including slave or slaves. It is a form letter written in the magistrate's office. If answered, the person will pay a ten percent fee plus an additional five because we sent out runners. No one we talked to thinks the man has any family. Why?"

"What are they worth?" Aster asked clearly thinking over what he had heard.

Lannet could sense the direction of thought and shook his head. "Probably 600 to 700 a piece."

"What about him?" Aster pointed to the big Swordsman who had just started to recover.

The sergeant looked the man over, "He is highly spirited, but in prime condition. He would fetch 2500 easy if he was a little more obedient. As is, 2200 at most."

"So how about bending the rules some?" Aster put on his most charming smile and added in the kind of puppy dog eyes only a child could put on.

The Sergeant felt his heart almost melt under Aster's hopeful pleading stare, "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, all three boys are worth less than big tall and stupid over there. If I get the twins outright, we can sell the tall one on the auction stage today and split the money. I get fifty percent you get 25 and the other 25 can be split between all of your guard team. We all make money, I get rid of mister attitude, and we are all happy," Aster again let his eyes go into a pleading mode seeing the sergeant look around nervously.

Master Lannet almost spoke up, but decided to back away. Aster was quite capable of handling himself and making this sort of deal. It was a widely accepted fact such deals went on all the time, and the man knew the Watch would find ways to thank him for his 'kindness' if he agreed. If not, Aster would simply have to deal with the Swordsman.

The sergeant sighed after a long moment. "I owe you and our pay is by no means the greatest. Besides, you're correct. Everyone will make out for the most part. Unless you wanted to just sell this guy."

"No, I leave tomorrow and we would need to get word out to bring in people with money before a guilded slave was put up for sale. His price would be too low if I put him on the block today. Not to mention the fact all the people with money will remember him from the arena. As people forget, his price will go back up," Aster replied quickly making sure he did his best sales job.

Part of him hated selling the tall kid, but he needed the money to pay for food and equipment. Handri would be able to say very little if he paid for the food, equipment and had three extra Swordsmen to help with security. He also figured the extra money he made from betting almost every copper he owned on himself and Pocet could go to buy a wagon. The Watch would certainly find him a good one and help him fill it up with goods he could buy quickly such as wine, weapons, and even get enough equipment to make a traveling forge. He could make extra money and help Handri's caravan even more than he originally planned on.

Aster exited the arena dungeons gripping the ownership papers after only a half an hour. With a complete sense of relief, he took a deep breath of fresh air and looked back to Master Lannet, "You know what I want?"

"Yea, your mind has been spilling the thought to me. I will get on it. Are you sure you can handle these five?"

Aster grinned. "Yes Master. Shade and Dart are here if I need them."

Lannet reached down and scratched both Shade and Dart, "Indeed they are. I will see you before you leave.

"Thanks Master."

"You are very welcome, Aster." Lannet stated as he waved to he wall. Two of his winged panthers glided down to his side as a third took to the air.

The five slaves watched the display with a shudder. Making maters even worse, Shade checked each out by sniffing them.

Aster waited until he was sure Shade knew all of them. He then turned to the Swordsmen, "This is the deal, I will demand four years of servitude as guards and you will be free with whatever weapons you have with you at the time. I will also pay you two copper a week. Every six months of good service you will get an extra copper a week. However, should I die before your freedom comes; you will remain slaves and be handed over to the Watch.

"Are you serious?" The soft-spoken slave who had knelt in the cage asked in a tone barely more than a whisper.

"I am. The papers I filled out while you were all taking baths and getting dressed stated what I just told you. Master Lannet will deliver the paperwork to Protector's Keep today.

The smaller man looked on with astonishment, "Then I guess we keep you alive!"

The teen merely nodded.

"I hoped you would see it my way," Aster gave a huge smile. "So what are your names and Subfields?"

The shorter man spoke first, "My name is Elnar. I am a step two Swordsman and Lockmaster."

"There will be no stealing from anyone without my permission. Clear?"

"Totally," Elnar nodded.

"Excellent," Aster stated as he turned to look at the other man, "What about you?"

"My name is Foxtol. I am only a step one. My Subfield is Gemworker."

"I assume you also agree to my terms?"

"Of course I do! You are being far more than fair!"

Aster smiled then looked over to the teenager, "Your name?"

"Dabaff," the young man spoke only slightly above a whisper.

"OK, Dabaff what is your sub?" Aster scowled.

"I am a Vindayin Channeler."

Aster nodded slowly, "Now I know why you do not kill animals unless there is a clear need. I know for a fact all Vindayin Channelers have a second sub. You are either a Healthman or an Outdoorsman. Which is it?"

"I am a Healthman." Dabaff looked a little disappointed to have to give the information out. Many thought the combination of Channeler and Healthman showed a certain lack of intelligence. The Subfields duplicated each other in many ways.

However, Aster being a Healthman himself, understood the differences. A Channeler could heal by touch, which often meant a fast recovery; however, their deity only gave them limited healing ability a day so the Healthman side could then pick up when the other power left off. Also Channelers could make undead creatures flee, at least sometimes, but until they were more powerful, they couldn't do much to mend a broken bone or cure a sickness. Here again the two Subfields could work together without overlapping until they became very high Echelon.

"Nothing to be ashamed of. You will be useful. Do you agree to my terms?"

Dabaff managed a weak nod.

"Good, then the three of you remove your slave collars with your daggers there is no more need for them. You are warriors and guards. Not slaves."

All three Swordsmen exchanged amazed looks then drew daggers originally bought for them to kill the boy now telling them to act like free men.

Next Aster turned to the twins, "How old are you?"

Both boys knelt. The one Aster happened to be looking at answered, "We do not know master."

Aster could see they were very well trained and were used to being in a servant's role, "What are your names then?"

"Master," the same twin again answered, "we do not have names."

Aster glanced at the two older Swordsmen with a perplexed scowl. Receiving only a pair of shrugs and a shaking of a head from them, he scratched his nose for a moment before asking, "OK, How did your prior owner get the boy he wanted?"

"I always wore yellow master. My fellow slave always wore blue."

Aster walked up to the two knelling boys and examined each closely. "Is there any way to tell you apart?"

"No master. We have no scars."

Aster was getting frustrated. Making things even worse the only person to be mad at drowned in the river. "Let me try this a different way. What were your duties?"

"I cleaned the home, served meals and kept my former master's bed warm."

Aster nodded finally getting some sort of real answer. He turned his attention on the other twin, "What about you?"

"I cleaned the guest house, served as the guests' slave and when there was no guest also attend to my former master's personal cleanliness."

"Have either one of you been tested for Field potential?"

"Yes master. Our former owner only bought slaves with potential."

Aster shook his head, "Well, I cannot go around calling you yellow and blue, so I want you both to select a name for yourself."

For the first time since he focused on the pair they stopped behaving as slaves. They exchanged glances and looked up. Neither spoke. If anything, they looked terrified to do so. Choices were clearly not something they were used to. Aster knew he would change that very quickly.

"Give me a name!"

The first boy to speak trembled but spoke again, "Molic, master. If it would please you."

Aster smiled his best reassuring smile, "Molic is a fine name. Do you know which Field your potential is in?"

"We are both Sorcerer potential, master."

Aster raised an eyebrow. He may have made out better than he first thought. Sorcerers were rare, and they were the only ones who didn't need training to become Primary Echelon. Their magic was totally natural and built no matter what happened. Of course training would speed the process up, but unlike the other Field potential beings whose powers started diminishing without proper teaching once they hit adulthood, Sorcerers were all but guaranteed to be Primary Echelon by human equivalency of age twenty.

Shaking off these thoughts, he smiled at the second boy, "What about you? I still have not heard you give yourself a name."

The sandy haired, blue-eyed boy licked his lips nervously for a moment before finally speaking up; "I liked the name Olinday master. One of the boys I took care of had that name."

"Very well. From now on you will answer by your names. Have either of you received any training, formal or informal?"

Olinday spoke up, "Yes master. I had two hours a day of spell control training and two hours a day of Ferret Sect Warrior drills."

Aster took a step back. He knew what Conner could do as a Sect Warrior with his hands alone. Ferrets were even worse because unlike all the other styles they didn't have a special sect weapon; instead they used their hands alone. Aster noticed with a bemused grin, his actions were not the only ones. Both Elnar and Foxtol now rested their hands on their cheep bronze swords and Dabaff had his had on his dagger.

"What about you Molic?" Aster asked quickly to hide at least some of his surprise.

"Two hours of spell control and two hours of Panther Sect Warrior drills, master."

"Master?" Foxtol spoke up.

"Please call me Aster. Your days of being a slave are over as long as your fight to protect me and those around me."

"Sounds good to me. Mind if I ask a question at this point?"

"Be my guest," Aster motioned for him to continue.

"Molic, How many years have you been in training?"

"Five."

Foxtol looked over to Olinday, "What about you?"

"Five."

"They are very close to being fully trained." Elnar noted out loud. "But they look too young."

Aster thought the same thing, but had noticed something the men had not when they had left the arena, "You have Elvin blood don't you."

Both boys' heads lowered again, showing some guilt, but Olinday answered, "We were bonded as a blood brother to an Elf who tried to run away. He was then tortured and executed.

Aster shuddered. The practice of using a blood brother ritual for anything other than forging a true brotherhood was one of the most gruesome things done. What their master had done was an abomination of the blood brother rituals. He had used another being to extend the life of other slaves by giving humans an Elf's blood.

Worst of all, the death of the Elf they had been bonded with as brothers would have been felt by both of them. No wonder they were absolutely obedient. They knew what it was like to die a horrible death. Since both boys' aging had obviously been slowed the blood bonding must have been done correctly. This meant they would have known every blow their 'brother' had been dealt.

Aster shuddered. As a Healthman he knew how to do the rituals for a blood bonding, but had only done it under the guidance of his teacher a single time. He knew the process itself was so painful it sometimes killed full-grown adults. He had to wonder how kids so young could have lived through it let alone through the torture of their 'brother'. One question had to be asked, "What happened was not your fault. There is nothing to be ashamed about. But I need to know if you are linked to each other through the blood bonding?"

Molic shook his head for a moment then regained his composure and answered, "Not really master. We do have some weak links though. We know which direction the other is and can exchange some thoughts if we are close to each other. Nothing more."

Aster shook his head, every blood bonding was different, but this was not a normal ceremony. He had no idea how such a complex ceremony had been done, but he guessed it was probably very similar to the one the semi-retired Watch member, who was now in the capitol, and the king had undergone with their guard who had been mortally wounded. As a final gift he had a powerful Healthman give the two boys his blood in a Blood Brother ceremony before he died. It was widely know the king was around seventy-five and didn't look a day over thirty. The same held true for the man who was his friend or something when the boys were like ten.

"Very well, I now have names for all of you; let's head over to Protector's Keep. I want to have you all go through testing and get decent equipment."

Elnar couldn't stand it any longer, "Are you really a member of the Watch?"

"I am, but is a secret. Do not speak to anyone about this unless I clear you. Also remember Protector's Keep is the headquarters for the Watch so you must stay with me at all times. The Watch will not tolerate having someone they do not know walking around without escort. All the royalty of the kingdom is trained there and we protect them zealously. If you should happen to get separated from me. Stop right where you are and ask the first instructor you see to guide you. If he says no, stay put until you can ask someone else.

Four hours later Aster pulled his own wagon into the barn holding Handri's equipment. Accompanied by his five newest acquisitions. He introduced Pocet to everyone before pulling the twins off to the side.

Aster looked at them for a moment. "You both tested very high. You have all the skills you need to get yourselves into Primary Echelon. The Mystic I had look you over says you are human equivalent of nine and his magical testing gives your real age to be seventeen. Basically you are half Elvin, right down to and including an iron allergy. But I saw how you avoid the iron gates on the way out of the dungeon, so you obviously knew of your acquired weakness

"You will spend a great deal of time working out with Conner to hone both your Sect Warrior skills and spell casting capabilities. He is not a Sorcerer, but he is a Mage and the only spell caster we have. He is also a Griffin Sect Warrior, so learn from him as best you can.

"Your other duties will be to groom my animals and do most of the camp chores. Lastly, I want you to do everything and I do mean everything in your power to get close to my little friend over there. He has gone through a great deal and is very afraid. He needs friends. As his owner, I cannot get very close and the two of you are much closer to his age in both looks and in truth. Are your duties clear enough?"

"Yes master." Both boys spoke almost as one.

"From now on I am Aster. Do not call me master," Aster paused to make sure they understood then pointed at the wagon, "Get to work making sure my wagon is ready and do what you can to get my other friend to open up."

Aster walked up to Pocet, "OK it looks like things are handled here. Now how do I explain this to Handri?"

"Simple," Pocet smiled giving Aster a hug, "We go in and explain how this will make him more money!"

Kandric and Vondum

Vondum watched in some admiration as Kandric led Jamon's steed deeper into the swamp. The boy's abilities were incredible. They had traveled now for almost two and a half hours without once having to backtrack. Kandric seemed to have the uncanny knack of being able to pick the best of the solid ground. Once it looked like they were at a dead end, but Kandric jumped down grabbed a few stones and tossed them. By the sounds they made when they hit the snow and mud underneath he was able to determine a path which got the animal's hooves only slightly muddy before once again finding a fairly solid path.

The more Vondum watched the small boy, the more he felt his heart strain to keep his hated he had for people in general fully alive. From the day he set off on his own; hatred had given him the power to survive. Now, however, he knew his vow to never love anyone again had been shattered. Kandric's boyish needs coupled with his man-like abilities had burrowed in over the past week. The final straw had been him actually playing with the boy at the swamp's edge. His desire to once again wrestle with you cute boy and hear his laughter troubled him deeply, yet to back away would no longer be possible. As this first barrier broke down, others started to slip as well.

Looking down at Conth, whose exhausted body started to slump once more, Vondum did something completely out of his nature, "Conth."

Conth forced his eyes open and sat back up, "Sorry master."

"It is OK," Vondum found himself saying, surprising himself as much as it did Conth. Gently he pulled the boy back against he stomach and chest. "Lean back against me and get some sleep. It looks like Kandric is planning on pushing it into the night, and I see no reason to stop him."

Conth could barely believe the words, but knew better than to argue. Part of him wondered if this was some sort of trick, but Vondum's touch felt different this time. His arm wrapped around Conth more to protect than to hurt. As he snuggled in a bit to keep the late evening cold away the best he could, he felt Vondum caress his hair and wrap his cloak over him. For the first time since the awful night his caravan had been attacked, he smiled. Within minutes the grateful boy was fast asleep using Vondum as a makeshift pillow.

Kandric found himself equally astonished when he turned around. He saw Conth wrapped up inside Vondum's cloak as the big Warrior Adept held him to make sure he didn't fall. His plan of stopping for the night ended as he saw this. Instead he quickly scanned the area and found a good path continuing onward, "Vondum, I can use my heat vision to guide us for a couple of more hours. My mount seems to be doing OK. How about yours?"

"They got a good rest," Vondum spoke softly while giving Conth a reassuring squeeze as the youngster started to stir. "Don't push too hard, but if you think you have an extra couple of hours let's do it."

Kandric pulled on Jamon's reigns to guide the animal over to the next path. "How are you doing?"

"Getting cold master."

"Grab my cloak out of your saddle bag. It'll be a while before we stop."

Jamon reached over and almost fell off his mount. Luckily Kandric's reflexes were fast enough to snag and arm and steady Jamon. "Watch yourself. I will not always be so close."

Jamon took a deep breath, "I know master thank you." Quickly he put on the heavy garment.

"You'll find the other part of your meal in the inside pocket. You may eat it."

Relieved, Jamon reached into the pocket and pulled out a hunk of dried jerky. "I appreciate it master."

"I know Jamon," Kandric replied as he pushed forward. "I know."

Luck or at least Vindayin, goddess of the forest and healing, smiled heavily on Kandric. The new path he selected turned out to be a solid easy to navigate passage. He really had to do very little concentrating so his mind began to wander. Slowly but surely his thoughts drifted back to the night he had spent on the outskirts of the Spiltrock Knolls.

***

Glaster had taken Kandric on his first long trade run of over a week. They had done a great deal of traveling and they were on their way back after a particularly lucrative trade run. Unfortunately, word had spread and Glaster noticed signs they were being followed. Instead of cutting around the swamps and leading them back to the slums, Glaster had decided to loose them or if necessary take them out. The best place to do so, he decided was in the bogs were Kandric could give him the most help.

By mid afternoon of the scorching hot day it became clear their pursuers had every intention to continue the hunt no matter where it took them. Glaster looked down at the then nine year old equivalent Kandric and spoke with a bit of disgust, "I didn't what you to have to use your skills so early in your life my boy, but combat cannot always be avoided. You are going to be my distraction, but if you feel you have to, go ahead and cast. The men following us will not be leaving this swamp."

The battle quickly turned into a cat and mouse set of skirmishes. Glaster picked the bandits off one by one, sometimes on his own other times using Kandric as bait, by evening the few remaining bandits realized they had been outmatched from the start and started to retreat into the inner swamps.

True to his word, Glaster did not stop. Once they attacked, he figured their desire to live had ceased to exist. By evening only a pair of the original dozen were breathing. Glaster cut one off and impaled the man on his scimitar, the other realizing it was do or die charged.

Kandric reacted. He spotted a half rotten floating branch in the muddy pool the man was charging across and cast a Sink spell hoping the branch would trip the man up. What he hadn't realized was rotten waterlogged wood tended to sink so only a small portion of the huge branch was actually floating on the surface. As it sank out of sight, the part under the water snagged on the man's leg. He twisted his ankle so badly it audibly snapped. As he fell his garments got tangled in the rest of the branch and he was dragged under.

Glaster pulled Kandric back from trying to help the man as he sputtered trying desperately to take in air, "He lived as a bandit let him die as one."

Kandric had never seen a man die before, but continued to watch as the man clawed at his weapon belt trying to free himself. Slowly he lost the battle of trying to hold his head above the water. His body tried taking one last breath, but all it got was a mixture of muddy swamp water and other debris. The man twitched a few more times then the weight of the branch pulled him under. As this happened it dawned on Kandric he had killed a man. He started to cry.

Glaster picked up Kandric and walked a considerable way. The next thing Kandric knew he was on solid ground looking down on the swamps. Glaster took the upset boy over to a fresh running stream, stripped him and cleaned the mud and grime off. He then took his time as he heated a dagger with a spell and popped off the few leaches which had found their way onto his flesh. Glaster did the same for himself and washed all their clothing, allowing Kandric to think over his situation.

Kandric looked around and saw some of the nastiest bit of swamps he had ever seen below him. Mosquitoes swarmed by the thousands, yet none advanced up the slope toward them. He was mad at Glaster. He felt terrible about watching a man die a slow death. Making things even worse, it had been his spell which had ultimately lead to the man's doom. He wanted to yell at Glaster, blame him, but part of him knew the bandit's demise could prevent others from getting hurt. As he struggled with this, He finally made the connection with where he was at. He ran back to Glaster almost screaming.

Glaster lifted the naked boy up and held him, "What is wrong my little Shaman?"

"We are in the Knolls! We have to leave!"

"Relax and get control of yourself," Glaster stroked Kandric's back all the way down to his bottom over and over. "You spent almost twenty minutes walking around here and nothing happened. Why do you come running to me now?"

"But no one comes here!"

Glaster Kissed Kandric on the lips, "Am I a no one?"

"No sir!" Kandric furled his brow in confusion.

"Are you a no one?"

"NO!" Kandric shouted.

"Let me see, if I am someone and you are someone then it clearly shows no one coming here isn't quite true." Glaster's eyes twinkled with merriment.

Kandric still wanted to be made at Glaster for letting the man drown but he just couldn't. Before he knew it he found himself giggling.

After a playful hour or so of running around nude, Glaster finally pulled out some food to make dinner. But first he turned serious. "Now I know you are mad at me still, but I think you know why I let the man die."

"I do, but we didn't have to let him suffer."

"This is where we disagree," Glaster stated firmly as he broke up dry sticks to start a campfire.

"How can it be right to let him suffer like an animal?"

"What if he had managed to get free?" Glaster asked as he tossed some larger sticks over the kindling.

"You would have killed him," Kandric's answer sounded certain,

"No, then I would have given him the chance to change his ways."

"HUH?"

"Kandric, what changed your life?" Glaster asked still not lighting the fire.

"When you offered to teach me."

"Why did you agree?"

Kandric thought over his answer carefully, "I guess because I was afraid not to. You had me somewhere far away overlooking some strange place. You also proved to me you have a great deal of money and were willing to buy me. I went with the better of the choices."

"If we had rescued the bandit from your spell, what lesson would he have been taught?" Glaster asked with an approving nod.

"I don't know."

Glaster frowned for a moment as he tried to figure out a way to get Kandric to see where he was trying to go. A new approach came to him "What lesson would it have taught you?"

"Maybe people are nice and I shouldn't attack them," Kandric knew this was more of a hope than a real answer and his voice inflection told the same thing to Glaster.

"What about the next time you are hungry and broke?"

Kandric scrunched up his nose in deep thought. The answer came to him but it took a few seconds for him to admit it, "I guess I would figure I got lucky once so maybe I could get lucky again."

Glaster smiled, "What if you pulled yourself loose while two people watched on?"

"I'd know I barely got out alive and others would be just as happy to see me dead as to live."

"You have the answer. I would have told him he could go if he had managed to get loose, but warned him his luck was now gone. He would have then had to find his own way out of the swamps with no food, weapons or gear unless he managed to go fishing for his equipment. If I had saved him, it would have pretty much fallen on me to make sure he got back to civilization. Besides, if he hurt someone else, we would basically be to blame."

"But it was my spell," Kandric cried, "I killed him."

Glaster shook his head, "No you didn't. He came after us. You defended yourself. It is not your fault his ankle broke, nor was it your fault his weapon belt got caught in the sinking wood. If either one of those two things had not happened he would not have drowned in a pool of water only a meter deep. Kandric taking a life should never become easy. The moment it does, you have stopped being a good person."

Kandric found some comfort in Glaster's words. As he wiped away the tears from his face, he realized he could feel the evening chill of the swamp below starting to have some effect, problem was all his clothing was still drenched from being washed in the stream. The sun didn't have enough time to dry them before it sank over the horizon. "Why didn't you start a fire yet sir?"

Glaster grinned, "Because it is time to learn a new Shaman lesson. Come here and sit on my lap."

Kandric could see his teacher was very hard. There was no question where his long thin pole would be going when Kandric sat down. He still had not gotten used to the feeling. At first he knew it would hurt and burn, but then it would settle inside and excite him.

Glaster took Kandric while the boy spread his cheeks. Glaster let out a groan as he ever so slowly lowered the boy onto his manhood. "Open up to me, you can do it."

Kandric first forced his whole body to relax then let Glaster do all the work. It had taken him months to learn how to properly control his body without letting fear to get in the way, but now it seemed almost natural, until the first bit of pain hit. As always, he clenched up.

And as always Glaster was ready. He held Kandric up not letting his manhood go any further. "Calm thoughts. No fear. You know I will not hurt you."

"I know sir," Kandric swallowed hard. He forced the tension out of his body again.

Glaster felt the muscles of Kandric's small buns unclench and he again let Kandric sink down further onto him.

Kandric counted. Four times Glaster held him with his single arm perfectly still until he could loosen up. Finally he felt his butt settle on Glaster and sighed. Within a few minutes all discomfort would be gone. Glaster's caress and kisses helped. He felt loved and knew he was showing love for Glaster as well.

Glaster had no problem waiting for Kandric to get comfortable. Part of him felt very guilty causing the small bundle of joy any discomfort, but he knew Kandric craved the hugs and kisses that followed enough to almost find pleasure in the act. It took a while for both to settle. Once this happened Glaster looked at the pile of wood sitting in the ring of rocks he had put together.

"Kandric, how does the magic here feel?"

Up till now Kandric had not been calm enough to really take notice. As he did so he felt magic dance around him in wild ways, "It is everywhere!"

Glaster smiled keeping his mind on teaching. He wanted to move his manhood so he could feel more of Kandric's tight warmth, but he held off. "Where does our power come from Kandric?"

"From nature and life. Mother earth is the base of our magic."

"True, but what about the spirit realms?"

Kandric smiled knowing the answer, "All our spells come from the spirit realms. They are the focus for our power."

"Touch the ground, feel its power and channel a fire start spell from the mother earth through the spirit realm instead of just casting the spell."

Kandric tried to do as he was told. He could feel the spell wanting to work, but it just wouldn't burst into being. Over and over he tried to make the magic work with no success. "I need to use my own magic sir. It won't work."

"Could you feel it wanting to?"

Kandric nodded, "Yea, but there was nothing to join the magic unless I do."

"Nothing?" Glaster kept his face neutral.

Kandric gritted his teeth and tried yet again. This time he experimented knowing from Glaster's tone; he had missed something, the something to start the spell. Ten minutes past with no success when he heard Glaster whisper "Think in reverse my lovely boy, just like the Swordsman taught you at Protector's Keep. Spell casting can be like fighting an enemy; you get so used to charging in head on, you forget there are other methods to handle the wall you now face.

Kandric thought over the lessons he had received only days before at the massive keep on the isle just west of Junsac. The elderly man had told the small class of young students to look for a solution to a superior force, not the problem. The words came back to him as he felt Glaster moving him up and down in a slow and careful way. It took only a moment for the new discomfort to subside. "You do not keep pounding your head into a brick wall hoping to get through it. You look for a door, a way around or even a way over." The old Swordsman teacher told the gathered class of youngsters, "So why would you fight an enemy you know to be stronger head on?" Kandric, along with many of the other kids laughed as the old man then picked up a brick and started lightly hitting his head against it, "Not very smart, is it?" The man asked with a wink and a grin.

Looking at things in this light changed his whole perspective. He didn't want to make fire; he wanted the wood to burn. All this time he had been trying to combine the extra magic around him but it didn't want to work. Why? Because he was trying to make a spell like he did when he cast. He didn't need to make the spell; he needed the wood to burn. With this new realization, he combined the magic of Earth and Spirit realm of fire at the wood. Instantly the magic merged and the campfire burst to life. As his exuberance calmed, he realized he had not used any of his own magical force yet had basically cast a spell!

Glaster kissed Kandric, "You have opened up a door only a very few spell casters know about. There are areas where you can cast spells without using your own force. They are called Focal points. Some are not as strong as this place, so you will have to spend a little of your own magical force to make the spell happen, but there are also stronger ones. They will multiply your spell effects and can cause backlash damage. You will know them because your skin will actually tingle.

"On the other hand there are areas of less magic, they are known as disbursement points. When you find yourself in one of them, you can gain the extra magic to cast a spell by being in direct contact with mother earth and casting from the spirit realm where the magic comes from. This way you will be able to cast normally instead of draining extra force just to cast a simple spell.

"Tomorrow I want you to cast to your heart's content before we leave. I want you to lean how to use extra energies when at all possible. Focal points are too rare to pass up this opportunity to learn my sweet boy."

Kandric thought about Glaster's words as the man continued to move him up and down. After quite some time Kandric felt an extra burst of warmth up inside him followed by three more. The hugs, kisses, and cuddling following made it all worth while. The Outdoorsman side of him continued to be plagued by the feelings of being watched even as Glaster withdrew and told Kandric to get cleaned up. Night past by with Kandric tucked up safely against Glaster in Glaster's bedroll, but he didn't sleep well at all.

***

Kandric let the memory slide away as he spotted a place perfect for camping. There was a slight rise, which the wind had basically swept clear, and there was exposed foliage for the mounts. Off to the side a natural hot spring tricked down over small rock formation and pooled into a steaming clear pool. The only thing disconcerting about the place was a circle of stones marking an old campfire. "Stay put," he ordered Jamon as he slid down the side of his steed.

Vondum came up still cradling a sound asleep Conth; "We are awfully deep in the swamps to find a regular campsite."

"I know," Kandric glanced around suspiciously, "The rocks around it are cold though and I do not see any signs of recent activity."

"Not since the storm," Vondum nodded agreement. "We could all use a warm bath in the morning. The heat from the spring will make the cold a little more bearable as well if we sleep close to it."

"It sure will. Lets get some sleep and give the place a once over in the morning."

"Sounds good," Vondum smiled, "Could I borrow Jamon for a few minutes so I can have a bedroll set up without having to wake Conth?"

"Sure, I'll have him set yours up first." Still Kandric gave the big man a questioning look.

"I know what I said," Vondum blushed, "But I figured I could give him a bit of a break. If I need to I can always start from scratch."

"Has he slept with you yet?"

"No, tonight will be his first," Vondum smiled, "I'd prefer you though."

Kandric smiled a warm smile knowing he would enjoy the closeness of the man while at the same time Conth would be given a full night's sleep. Glaster would still be far preferable, but Vondum seemed to be more loving all the time. Maybe he could get the big man to soften up even more. "So would I. How about we let the brothers sleep together tonight?"

Vondum's heart jumped with joy. "Get Jamon to set up their bed then. We will make our own!"

Glaster

Almost the same instant Jamon unrolled the bedroll he and Conth would be using, Glaster sat up in his bed in the palace and let out a curse as pain shot through his side. His shaking hands held a scroll made of some sort of animal skin he had never seen before, which in and of itself was a little disconcerting.

The Shaman scroll, dating back from the time before the kingdom of Kronar fractured into small feuding kingdoms and city-states, contained several spell variants, most of which Glaster already knew. However, there were a few new ones. Most fairly useless in the grand scheme of things, but one never knew when a slight breeze could cool things down, so the Fan spell would make a nice addition to his collection of strange spells. On the other hand, he didn't quite understand why someone would develop a magical spell to stop up a bottle or water. Well, the more he thought about it, stopping up a bottle of wine with a magic spell would pretty much eliminate the chance of a cork going bad. Since the spell was permanent until canceled, there actually could be a use for it. Wine did taste better with aging after all.

His curiosity and general hunger for new spells caused him to memorize the Water Stopper spell and a few others. His attention really was caught by accident though. As he rolled up the scroll to move on to the next one, he noticed marks of the edges. As he played around with it he found they were Shamanistic Runes painstaking caved into the scroll's edge. It took almost three hours for him to get the exact size of the scroll down so all the marks lined up.

What he found himself looking at was a spell he had never heard of before. The name, however, is what really took his breath away. A simple translation would be Total Healing. This is what caused him to sit up.

Mylan came rushing, "Master are you OK?"

Glaster bit back the pain in his side, "Yes young one. I just moved too quickly. But I need your help with something else."

Mylan walked up, "Name it master."

Glaster ruffled the boy's hair; "Do you remember when I told you I would not be able to teach you some spells like most teachers do?"

"Yes. You said there are some spells you cannot cast because you only have one hand."

"I also told you and your father I have found ways to teach you the two handed spells in a different way. Remember?"

Mylan nodded, "You said they would hurt me some, but not kill me."

"Correct. You and your father agreed to this so you knew it would happen. I would like to show you how this is done now, but the power of this spell is massive. You will feel as if you are on fire. I will not make you do this, but I am asking you to."

Mylan didn't like the sound of feeling burned, but he figured it must be very important. "I will do as you ask Master."

"Thank you Mylan. I promise I will make this up to you," Glaster took a deep breath, "Let me first warn you, this spell is a very old spell I have never before seen. It is a Master Echelon spell and I can only guess at its power or what it will do."

"I get to learn a Mater Echelon spell?" Mylan's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Yes. You will be my hands. So the spell will flow through you and it will be up to you to direct it."

"How?"

"It is no different than directing an Autospell because it will be my magic. All you have to do is follow my directions and let the spell go."

"Oh, I think I can point it properly then. Where do I point it at?"

"Me."

"You?" Mylan stepped back shaking his head. "I cannot Master. If you do not know what it will do I could kill you!"

"Mylan," Glaster motioned for the boy to come back over to the bed, "The spell is a healing spell, but nothing like I have ever seen before. It will not kill me, but it may look like it is hurting me. You have seen an Expert Echelon Shaman fix a broken bone with a spell before?"

Mylan nodded with a worried expression, "Yes master. When Lylan fell out of a tree our Father took us to a Shaman to get it fixed. He cried in pain for several minutes as the bone mended."

"This spell may do the same thing, I do not yet know, just be ready for it, and summon the new Royal Healthman if you feel you must."

Mylan took pair of breaths, "So how does this work?"

Glaster squeezed Mylan's shoulder happy to see determination return to the small face, "Now I know I am training a future powerful Shaman!" He praised. He then paused as he got Mylan's help sitting up. "First off take off your shirt."

Mylan pulled off his silk nightshirt leaving him naked. "Now what?"

Glaster took a brief second to gaze over the beautiful sight before him. Part of him instantly longed for his favorite redheaded Halfelf. His mind hoped Kandric had found someone who would love him and give him an occasional hug. This in no why meant he wanted to share Kandric, but he had been gone a very long time and they boy craved attention badly. If it meant Kandric would be happy, he would even thank the man doing so.

Shaking off these thoughts looked over Mylan again then he placed his hand in the middle of Mylan's chest. "I will talk you through the hand motions over and over until you get them correct. The second you do I will speak the phrase which sparks the magic. You will then be directly linked through my hand to my magical force. The spell will spill into you. It will burn like crazy so the sooner you get through the hand motions again the faster you can get it out of you. Understand?"

Mylan nodded with wide eyes. "Let's do this, Master, before I get too scared." Glaster chuckled, "You will do fine," he then guided the young boy through several elaborate hand motions over and over. After the tenth time Mylan had gotten them correct Glaster spoke a long arcane phrase.

Pain the likes of which Mylan couldn't have ever imagined tore through him. He really thought he was on fire from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. The energies swirled as he forced himself to repeat the gestures one more time. Crackling energies burst forth in a multi-colored sparkling form from his fingers as the spell jumped into Glaster's body. Mylan collapsed to the floor as his brain found a way to shut off the pain.

Glaster gasped in agony for a brief second as the wound on his side disappeared. He then blacked out as the stump of his arm seemed to explode.

Mylan woke up thrashing.

Glaster held the boy and spoke softly, "Calm down my brave young apprentice. You are safe."

Mylan jerked his head around and looked over his body. There were no burns. As he became more aware of his surrounding he realized he was being held in Glaster's arms on Glaster's bed. His eyes suddenly went wide as he again looked at the man holding him. "Master you have two Arms!"

Glaster hugged Mylan fiercely, "Yes I do, complete with hands and fingers. Thanks to the brave boy in my lap I again have two arms!" Glaster kept his grip tight, but part of him wished his restored arm would have first touched Kandric.

Glaster

The King rushed into Glaster's chamber. He spoke as soon as he saw his friend holding Mylan, "Are you all right?"

"Have not been this good in many decades my Highness," Glaster smiled raising one hand then the other. Making sure to keep one arm cradling Mylan who was still recovering for the spell he had completed for Glaster

The King took a step back in shock, "The pain I felt was a healing then?"

"Yes," Glaster lowered his head, "I am sorry. I should have warned you Highness."

The King waved off the apology, "I would have done the same had it been me Glaster. The pain was only momentary so I will be fine. I was much more concerned about you," he paused for a moment looking over Mylan's nude body, "Is there a problem with my great nephew?"

"He finished the spell for me Highness. He is drained and exhausted. I have never before allowed an apprentice only in the Training Echelon to perform the hand motions for a spell above Secondary Echelon before. It took more out of him than I expected."

"Will he recover?"

"Absolutely," Glaster stated with total confidence. "He will also be stronger in the long run. Not many boys his age get to feel the effects of a Master Echelon spell. Now he has cast the spell he will never forget it, so the first spell this tike learned above Primary Echelon happens to be a very powerful Master Echelon spell."

The King's eyebrows arched. "Was this spell on one of the scrolls?"

"Indeed it was," Glaster handed the strange animal skin over to the man he had served as a whipping boy over 60 years before. "I have not looked at the fourth scroll yet, but this was the only one which had new spells on it," Glaster stopped then grinned, "At least they were new spells from my way of looking at things."

The King laughed at Glaster's remark, "You know more Shaman spells than anyone else I have ever known."

Glaster nodded but remained silent. Such words from a king meant a great deal. A king as powerful as Wyhrem got to see some of the most powerful men and women in the guilds. King Wyhrem's perspective was far deeper than most kings because the man had set about making a royal court of the best from each Field and Subfield he could find. His court contained more Expert and Master Echelon beings than any other known. Of course the Watch helped in this endeavor, however, King Wyhrem knew how to persuade those the Watch found to stay on.

King Wyhrem scratched at his arm, "You know there are times I wish our guard had not given us his blood."

"You could have kept it to yourself Highness, but you ordered me to partake of the Blood Bonding as well. Had you not done so, you would not have felt my arm get taken off in the first place nor get replaced by the spell you found for me," Glaster did his best to hold a straight face.

Wyhrem shook his head with a smile, "I can only take some of this blame Glaster. Granted I didn't want my best friend to grow old and die while I still looked young, but you were the one who lost his arm, not me."

Glaster couldn't hide his grin anymore, "Very true. The youngster I saved has paid me back ten fold though Highness. He is now a Teaching Echelon, almost Expert, Shaman himself. He carries goods for me off and on still to this day."

"He should!" Wyhrem declared, "He was nothing more than a peasant boy."

"As was I when your father first took me in."

Wyhrem cringed realizing he had accidentally insulted his lifelong friend, "Yes you were. Now you are one of the best Shamen known. Only seven others hold a guild rank higher than you and none know as many spells, at least I do not believe they do. When will you be ready for Legendary Echelon?"

"Not for many many years."

"But you are already a step four. Surely close to step five by now."

Glaster barely nodded, "I could pass the Master step five test if I wanted to, but going from Master to Legendary is no small feat. This latest spell tells me there is much more to learn. I had to use around four times the normal magical force it takes to cast a Master Echelon spell to cast this single spell tonight. My magic reserves are very low and I have not cast a single other spell today. Clearly there is much more for me to learn before I become one of the truly elite. I would not have made it this far without your help and the Blood Bonding we went through."

"I still do not understand why my guard wanted me to blood bond with him. It made no sense then and it makes none now."

Glaster adjusted Mylan in his lap and stroked the boy's hair, "I cringe every time I remember the pain of not only the ceremony, but also the feelings of Captain Jonell's struggles to survive. I still think he felt he had failed you when you got hit by the crossbow bolt and wanted to pass on something of his."

"What an awful feeling it was as he finally died." King Wyhrem shuddered. "I was amazed my father agreed to let me honor the Elf who had protected me from the day I had been born. Asking you to join in though almost caused my father to say no."

Glaster nodded, "I know. I can still recall the look on your father's face and the poor Healthman who had to figure out how to do a three way Blood Bonding with a dying man when you demanded I become a part of the ceremony. You will never know how honored I was when you asked me."

"I didn't really ask."

Glaster snorted and smiled, "No, come to think about it, you never did ask. You basically told everyone what was going to happen. Yet, you did tell me just before we got started I didn't have to do it though. I think your father was hoping I would bow out.

"No question. Looking back I do not think I would have allowed it to happen had you said no."

"Really?" This really took Glaster by surprise.

"You were my only friend." King Wyhrem took a breath, "Are my only friend." When my wife died I lost the only other friend I had."

"Highness, you were a very popular boy."

"Because I was a prince. You, however, have always treated me as a true friend and with utmost of concern. You took the second crossbow bolt meant for me the day Captain Jonell fell mortally wounded protecting us. You may still try denying it, but I saw you step in front of me.

Glaster finally nodded, "I did, you are correct. The assassin would have killed you and I couldn't stand seeing you hurt, let alone die."

"You know we never have been able to track down the Illorc who ordered the attack." King Wyhrem stated, "Do you think the same one could somehow be trying to kill my son now?"

"Their life spans are certainly long enough," Glaster agreed, "But there is no proof. As you yourself said the conspiracy is all but dead. The ringleaders didn't say they were working for anyone and they were all put to the test by Mindmasters, so I really do not see how there could be someone higher up."

"I know, but there are ways to trick people so the truth cannot come out and you know it." King Wyhrem countered, "I have done it myself a few times when the need has come up. So have you."

"True," Glaster conceded the point. "I must admit this whole plot against your boy does not add up. Mylan and Lylan's father would never harm you and the boys do not want the Prince harmed even if he does act like a spoiled merchant brat.

"Besides, if one looks at it from your enemy's perspective, The Prince's death would not necessarily end your lineage's rein, because you are still young enough to have another child. If anything, with your wife's death, the chance of you having another child has increased because if you remarry, your new wife could have children while your prior wife could not.

"I know the way I speak must sound very cold hearted. I assure you it is not, however. Instead I say this because things still do not seem clear with the assassination attempts.

"I have had other problems with the attacks on your boy which up till now I have purposefully neglected to inform anyone about because I was not sure."

"Such as?" King Wyhrem asked as he pulled up a chair from the new desk which had replaced the old one Glaster had blasted to ash only a day before.

Glaster looked down to make sure Mylan was indeed still sleeping before he turned his attention back on the King, "Each attack on your son has killed enough guards to prove your boy could have been killed if they had taken the time to do so. This is especially true before I got here. Two of the first attacks eliminated all the spell casters protecting the Prince. In at least one of those attacks the other group had a caster still capable of throwing spells but didn't target your boy.

"One good spell could have killed him or at least seriously wounded him, yet he has yet to receive a single scratch. Certainly a spell caster could have launched off a fire dart, elemental burst or other offensive spell in an attempt to drop the Prince. Let us not forget at least once the guards fought for their lives with three to one odds against them. The last of your son's guards had to kill three attacking Swordsmen each. Three on one yet none of them concentrated on their intended target?"

"You know," King Wyhrem interrupted, "I had almost the same thought about the attack you are talking about. I figured they wanted to kidnap my son, hold him for ransom, but then he was attacked in the palace shortly after. They would never have been able to get my son out of the palace alive. My standing orders are quite plain. Any attempt at kidnapping royalty is to be met with deadly force even if it means killing the hostage. The policy was instituted to prevent someone for thinking holding a royal figure as a shield would give him or her a way to gain safe passage. This is clearly known by all. It was only after I really thought it all over when I came to the conclusion it was time to call for the Watch because it became clear to me there was a traitor in the palace."

"Agreed, the last attack on the palace was more of an assault. They would never have gotten the Prince out alive. The only problems with the attacks are the Dire Wolf and giant scorpion had the best chances to attack your son but the scorpion made straight for Mylan and Lylan and the Dire Wolf made a pounce for the Marquis' boy. Granted, Mylan and Lylan may have contributed to themselves being targeted because they purposefully stood between the attack and your boy, but things just do not add up."

"I am glad it is basically over. I lost almost every guard originally assigned to protect him. Those the sickness on our ship didn't claim, the attacks did. My own most trusted guards are all I have left from the ship and many of them got ill. Until you returned, I was beginning to feel cursed!"

Glaster scowled as he listened, "Highness this only reinforces my opinion. Your son is not safe here. Whatever the reason, someone wants you and your boy to pay along with all those around him. Maybe striking at your son is some sort of extended plan to get to you, but I do not see it yet. I will give it more thought though.

"I firmly believe whatever is going on started long before you realized. I think it would be best if you took a trip to Protector's Keep for a while. I will then be able to take your son with me and no one will be the wiser. The Duke is more than capable of running the Kingdom for a few months and on the very remote chance he wants to try something, his boys will be with me. He would not dare endanger them by doing anything so foolish."

King Wyhrem listened in silence for a few minutes. "Your over all plan is a good one, but I will not hide in Protector's Keep while there are so many threats to my kingdom. Instead I will travel with my Royal Knights to give the dragon and its forces some real opposition. You get my boy to safety, train him properly, and get him back to the boy I had once been so proud of."

Glaster saw a new look of determination in his friend he had not seen since his return to the capitol. He smiled. "Highness I look forward to seeing you after the dragon's head is propped up on a pike! Rest assured your boy will be well cared for."

Wyhrem nodded, "Thank you my friend. I guess you will travel by caravan?"

"There is no other way for me Highness, unless I do so by magic, but Mylan, Lylan and the Prince would not learn much if I simply gated them to wherever I wanted to go!"

"Very true. I will order some wagons readied with good trade goods. I suppose you will want to do the hiring on your own though."

"Actually the boys will be doing the interviews while I watch on, but yes, I do not want more then a Healthman teacher for Mylan and Lylan, a Swordsman instructor for Lylan, and a Mage teacher for your son. The rest I can teach or find others to fill in. What interests does your son's whipping boy have?"

"I do not know. He is Druid gifted though."

"Very well. I guess I need a Druid teacher as well."

"I will give my own if you wish."

"No!" Glaster nearly commanded, "Your Royal Knights will need all the magical backup you can find! You would be a fool to not have your best Druid with the threat of facing a dragon!"

King Wyhrem agreed with slumped shoulders. "You are as usual correct. I will have a guard find a suitable teacher from the guild for your Druidic needs."

Mylan woke as Glaster next to called his great uncle a fool. He couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone else in the kingdom who could have gotten away with such words. He seriously doubted it. Deciding it was best if it appeared as if he didn't see the exchange he closed his eyes and kept his breathing natural. He knew for a fact his great uncle trusted very few people, so basically what little he had heard told him Glaster held far more sway within the kingdom than most would ever know. He half wondered if his own father could advise his great uncle with such reckless abandon. He seriously doubted it.

Aster

Aster moved along side his new wagon as he ordered Dabaff to move it up behind the others in Handri's caravan. The youngest Swordsman was an easy choice to drive the wagon. He had skills to heal the others in case of attack and was by far the weakest of the lot. Fact of the matter was Aster had bested the swordsman five out of five times in arm wrestling and had not even really tired. Working in a forge for even a few minutes took more energy. Aster found himself worrying about the kid who was his elder in equivalency terms by more than two years. The kid had obviously been beaten while in the cell with the others and had made no attempt to right the injustice. Even when Aster went out of his way to talk with Dabaff about the incident, the young Swordsman said it was no big deal.

The back wagon was one of the least preferred positions in any caravan. It was often the first to be targeted by bandits because it was relatively hard to turn the lead wagons to help protect it. Making matters even worse the back wagon got all the dust from the other wagons on dry trails and wet trails meant mud. The further back a wagon was the deeper the mud tended to become because the leading wagons with their animal teams turned normal muddy roads into quagmires.

Aster had to give his youngest guard some credit. Dabaff moved the wagon up and handled the somewhat spirited team of Dragon Steeds well. Dragon Steeds were in and of themselves very impressive animals, six legged, forked tongues and intelligence somewhere between animal and Shade's. They were stronger, faster, and far more impressive in combat then even Warsteeds.

The Watch surprised everyone in the caravan by equipping all of Handri's guards with the beasts along with Aster and his own guards. The Warsteeds he had been given only the day before had been a nothing more than a way of keeping secret these magnificent animals!

In addition to this impressive gift, every swordsman was given a Dagger of Light. These magical blades could be adjusted to glow from a minor shimmering to a full torchlight and made the group capable of doing damage to creatures of a mystical nature, such as Shade. Because Aster already had magical daggers he was given a set of throwing daggers which would return to their bandoleer seconds after thrown. Their magical nature insured extra damage as well as range.

Master Lannet accepted a final hug from Aster. As the young Elf tried to say the Watch had spent too much on him, the elderly Dwarf gripped the boy tighter. "You are so wrong Aster. We feel guilty about not being able to get a team ready. We may not have been able to get you a Watch team, but we can damn sure guarantee those who travel with you are well equipped!"

A last set of waves were exchanged before Lannet bowed his head and wiped away tears. "Aster I know you cannot hear me, but if anyone harms you I will spend every Watch marker I have to eliminate the entire extended family of whomever or whatever does the harming!"

"You would have to beat me to it my friend. I do not know thisssss lad well. However, he hassss impressssssed me far more thhhhan any othhhher in a far sssssshorter time." Falk's rough scaly hands rippled with energy for a moment. "He is our future and I shhhhhare your consssscern."

"Thank you." Lannet stated sincerely. "What is the soonest we can get some support up to him?"

"Help isssssss already on the way." Falk seemed to hiss more than normal, "Glasssster is to leave the capitol tomorrow morn. I informed him of the new problemssssss. He sssseemed very anxiousssss to make good time for sssssome reassssson."

"He may not be enough. What about a full team?" Falk snorted with a small burst of smoke and flame coming out from under his hood, "Lannet he isssss a team all to himssssself! He sssssingle handedly dealt with the asssssassssssinsssss where our firssssst team could do little more then keep the battle even. I doubt I could have done a better job and I have almost a full Echelon on the man. However, I feel we will have a team assss ssssoon assss Sssssardan and hissss group getssss usssss the informasssstion we need on thosssse who attacked Asssster and Pocet."

"You seem to speak very highly of Glaster, so why do you not trust him?"

"Trusssst isssss the wrong word Lannet. Like would be the proper word. Hissss word issss more valuable than gold. My problem with him revolvesssss around hissss temper. He isssss capable of putting to ssssshame a hoard of demon lordssssss in cruelty when he getssssss angry. Fortunately, it alwaysssss sssssseemsssssss to be well directed. I also do not like him nor the way he usssssesssss young onesssss."

"He is not the only Watch member with a taste for young flesh Falk."

"True. He happenssssss to be willing to go further than mosssssst to get a hold of what he lussssstsssss after, however. On the good sssssside, he takessssss good care of thosssse who are unlucky enoughffff to firssssst attract hisssss attensssstion unlessssss they are sssssslavesssss, then it really matterssssss not. I would like him more if he sssstuck to sssssslavessss alone."

"I am not sure I agree." Master Lannet countered, "Aster was truly pleased when he first thought of getting some help from Glaster. Granted, he would destroy whole towns to get to someone who had hurt one of his boys, but the kids who I have talked to really respect him. It has been a few years ago since I last saw the little redheaded Halfelf he had taken in, but I must say my head turned as he walked by. Reminded me so much of Aster it was eerie!"

"A red-haired Halfelf?" Falk turned to stare at Master Lannet, "I have lived for over 350 yearsssss and have not onssssce ssssssseen a Halfelf with red hair!"

"It was a first for me as well. You can check the Shaman guild records at Protector's keep though. He is younger than Aster and is higher rated."

"Not posssssible!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. Tested Secondary step two over a year and a half ago and was clearly holding back. I felt him holding back, then watched him cast a pair of spells after he left the testing chamber to heal a couple young students who had hurt each other in training."

"Bruissssse damage?"

"On one, but the other was bleeding and he healed it. So he cast at least one Secondary and one Primary Echelon spell after leaving testing."

"Ssssso he wassssss at leassssst a sssssstep four then!" Falk exclaimed in total amazement. Doesssss the guild know?"

"Not a chance. They were reluctant to give him his Step Two."

"What isssss this boy'sssss name and where issss he now?"

"I do not know where he is at, Glaster didn't take him to the capitol, but his name is Kandric."

Falk cocked his head to the side, "I have heard the name sssspoken at Protector'ssssss Keep right along with Asssster'ssssss. There are many debatesssss within the guildssss about what to do if either of them becomes Teaching Echelon before they reach sssstandard age of assssscenssssion. Sssssome feel it would not be good to have a child being able to legitimately take on an apprentisssce. Others dissssssagree. Until very resssscently I have sssstood on neutral ground."

"Why have I not been told!" Lannet asked in an angry voice.

"Becausssse there isssss no question where your vote would fall Lannet. Assssster is your sssstudent! Only thosssse of Master and Legendary Echelonsssss will be able to vote if it happensssss, which I am sssure it will after ssssseeing Assssster in acssssstion. More were pulled toward your sssstansssce after sssseeing Asssster fight in the Arena, but there are plenty of holdoutsssss."

"What do the guilds plan to do? Tell them they can't advance until they are older?" Master Lannet could feel his blood boiling. There was no question in his mind Aster would make Teaching Echelon before the human equivalency of 13. There was even an outside chance the boy would be Expert Echelon before reaching equivalency age of 16, also known as age of ascension. For Aster this would not be until he was 60 true years. 15 years was a long time for a boy who went from training to high Secondary Echelon in the just under 13 tears.

Falk's hood moved with a scratchy sound as he shook his head. "When it originally came up, yesssss, but I and all the other Legendary membersssss flatly vetoed ssssuch a harssssssh ssssstansssce. It would not be fair and the guildssss would never be able to keep their reputationssss intact. The talk now ssscentersssss on giving them rank, but making a rule asssss to an age of apprenticsssse taking."

"So we will have teachers who cannot teach when there is not enough teachers to take on students now? What insanity is this! How does this help the guilds' reputations?" "It doessss not. You have my vote and all but four other Legendary Echelon beingsssss, two will vote against ussss, the other two are assss neutral asss I onsssce wassss."

"I will fight any such ruling!" Master Lannet stated firmly.

"You will not be alone. I expect the vote to be clossse but now I have a good idea where Glassster'sss vote will fall and he hasss friendssss and our King'sss ear. Not many in the kingdom will go againsssst Wyhrem, and he will sssurly vote with Glassster!"

"His enemies will not though."

"They need teachersssss far worssssse then our kingdom. For it isss but a ssssmple fact, the landssss under Wyhrem'ssss control are far better stocked with teachers than any other within striking distance. If anything the ssssurrounding rulerssss will be sssurprisssed to find him in ssssuport of making more beingsss teacher eligible!"

Lannet turned to look at Falk, "Sometimes I long for the days when I didn't have such power within the guilds. Politics has never been my strong suit."

"Wait until you make Legendary." Falk seemed to chuckle. As he patted the Dwarf on the back

"No thanks!"

Beneath the hood Falk's sapphire colored eyes glinted with a combination of power and humor.

Bandurlok

Deep in the swamps only a hundred leagues from the city of Everone a roar of pure anger shook a cave tucked into a small rocky hill. "What do you mean the storm is dead?"

"My lord, Syria killed it." A quivering gray robed figure spoke from a kneeling position. "There was nothing I could do!"

"How dare a goddess interfere with my creation! She had no right!" A massive black foot with enormous claws slammed into a stone table shattering it, as a man's boot would crush a fine crystal glass. "What of the Demon Lords? Surely they would not allow a mortal's creation to fall to a goddess!"

"My lord," the gray robed figure squeaked looking up at the black dragon for the first time since bringing the news, "Igaxia, demoness of ice, suffered a major defeat from a mortal of unknown origin. Because she had sent some of her own forces in it then opened the door for Syria to become involved."

Bandurlok, lead prince of all black dragons, shook with rage, "Involved yes, but you said she killed the storm!"

The messenger grimaced, "Not just the storm My Lord, her minions killed the Storm Lord you allied yourself with for this task." Bandurlok roared in outrage. "How could a goddess get away with killing such a major figure? Surely Syria's enemies must be doing something to retaliate."

"My Lord, they have been put in a hard position. A mortal dealt the first blow so there is little they can do or say without Syria's allies joining in."

Bandurlok exhaled with enough force to make the messenger clutch his robes, "So my storm did not reach the Deathland Range. Was it at least enough to disrupt Monarch's plans?"

"We believe so my lord."

"Believe so?" Irritation could be heard in the great dragon's tone.

The robed figure realized he better come up with some sort of good news before he found himself being selected for a snack. To calm his master the being chose his strongest card. "The massive snow forced the Lizardmen army to back off and seek shelter. Their operations have been pushed back at least a full month giving us valuable time to strike a surprise blow and your nephew's Hobgoblin legions will be ready to move well before the cool blooded lizards will be back to full combat capability."

"At least my efforts were not completely in vane. What about above the Silver Spine Mountains?"

"My lord, our patrols have vanished." The figure cowered but managed to add in, "But there is some good news from the Silver Spine Plateau as well."

"What you are really telling me is the patrols, including the ones I sent up with magic out of my own treasure hoard are dead."

"My Lord, I cannot disprove your words, nor can I prove them. Our agents in Black Rapids say at least one of the patrols was destroyed, but managed to inflict heavy losses. As for the other four, I really do not know."

Bandurlok seemed to sigh. "I cannot continue to toss resources to the winds. All the magic I augmented them with may well reside in the hands of Monarch's forces. This is not acceptable. I will try this one more time, but I want each team to be stalked by one of your agents. They can then report directly to me what happened to the patrols instead of just guessing.

"Let me hear the good news from above the mountains. Anything even slightly resembling good news from up there may make my whole day."

Somewhat relived the messenger looked up, "My Lord, a major caravan has managed to reach Slome and break the blockade. The same caravan then drove off an attack from Orcs, tracked them back to their settlement and wiped them out.

"Furthermore, a second caravan is now on the way up heading out of Junsac. The Watch seems to be supporting this one. Already Monarch's top agent in Junsac has fallen as a direct result of members of this caravan. Monarch's control of the lower passes seems to be slipping away without our own forces interfering."

"Tell me more about these Caravans."

"My Lord, I do not have much more information to give you. Monarch ordered the first caravan destroyed and lost a whole clan of Orcs: He will have to think long and hard before trying anything else. Such a defeat will surely strain his ability to hold his coalition together."

For the first time since the meeting began Bandurlok showed his 148 teeth without snarling, a sure sign of a smile, "Excellent!" The massive black scaled reptile's eyes suddenly narrowed in a truly evil look as its scheming mind found a way to exploit what little good news there was. He came up with a new plan in only seconds. "Let us change our objectives slightly."

The messenger cocked his head to the side in a very awkward fashion revealing himself not to be of a normal humanoid nature to the pair of Dragonling guards flanking the Prince of Black Dragons. "What are your plans my Lord?"

Bandurlok's scaly lips twisted upwards into a depraved grin, "Disrupting Monarch above the mountains has only lead to failure thus far. Maybe we have been approaching this from the wrong direction. Let's send some patrols out to clear the way for the two caravans and help them complete their runs."

"My Lord, your orders would be assisting the Watch!"

"Yes it would." Bandurlok let his cryptic reply hang in the air as he again smiled, "See to it those caravans are successful and your past failures will be forgotten." Bandurlok turned and exited the chamber disappearing deeper into its lair leaving the messenger and the two guards looking at each other in total bewilderment.

Quavis

Quavis glanced down at his new outfit and traveling equipment one last time. He smiled as he again rubbed the reinforced leather armored shirt and britches. In some ways he felt like a warrior, something he had dreamed of since he first started venturing down to the docks on his own.

Since slipping out of the great walled city of Junsac, things had certainly started to look up. Sardan had taken him to a small village, fed him, let him get a bath in a bathhouse and even bought all his equipment.

Quavis showed his new Hawkling friend the money given to him from 'his father's' messenger, but Sardan told him he may need it latter. Thus, Quavis had not had to spend a single copper, even though he had many gold coins each worth 500 copper coins.

Quavis took a deep breath of respect as he again watched Sardan's every move. Clearly they were close to their target judging from the intensity of the Hawkling's eyes.

Sardan stood in a back alley. For the first time since entering the village of Macar he started bracing for trouble. Less than a block away stood the infamous Ghoul Drool Tavern. After a few moments of study, he glanced down at Quavis. "This is your last chance to bow out young one. Of all the nasty places in this area, Ghoul Drool has to be toward the very top of the list."

"I can handle it Teacher." Quavis replied with a boyish grin. I have been to more than a few Sailor bars before."

"This is no Sailor's bar my young companion. This is a haven for thieves, cutthroats, murderers, and down-on-their-luck willing-to-do-anything mercenaries. Stick to the plan and let your ears do most of the work. Whatever you do don't act too interested!"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Sardan patted the boy on the back then boldly walked into the bar.

Quavis crouched down and waited. Just as Sardan had told him, it only took a few minutes for the sounds of a fight to erupt from inside the tavern.

Using this as his cue he darted across the street and peered in. His first goal was to appear to be a boy interested in the sounds of a fight. Truth be told, for this he didn't have to act at all. By the time he looked in, two men and one woman were already on the floor while Sardan backhanded yet another woman hard enough to crunch her nose. Quavis couldn't help but cringe at the sickening sound of the impact.

Sardan glared at another figure somewhere deep inside the gloomy smoke filled room, "You pull your blade and I will no longer hold back! I want to know who has been hiring people to attack the people in Junsac and I will walk over every one of you single handily if I have to until someone talks!"

Quavis nearly let his cover slip as he saw the big burly Halforc barkeep move in behind Sardan. Every centimeter of his being wanted to throw one of his daggers, but at the last second he remembered Sardan's instructions not to get involved no matter what happened.

Quavis cringed as the barkeep smashed a thick wooden mug over the back of Sardan's head. Sardan surprised everyone in the bar as he merely took a couple of steps wiped blood off the back of his head and punched one of the Orc bouncers who thought the tables had finally turned in its favor. The advancing brute saw too late its unfortunate misjudgment. Before it could step back Sardan was already attacking.

The Orc doubled up as air whooshed out of its lungs. Sardan didn't waste a single second. His foot lashed out catching the stunned Orc square under the chin. The poor beast's lower jaw slammed upwards and would have probably chipped a tooth or two, but its tongue got in the way. The force of Sardan's kick nearly caused the Orc to bite its tongue off. The creature fell to the ground clutching its mouth.

Sardan then picked up a heavy wooden barstool and swung it like a club. The Halforc barkeep almost got out of the way, but almost was not good enough. The stool smacked into the barkeep's heavy brow and shattered.

Quavis swallowed hard as he saw the Halforc stagger back half a step then its eyes rolled up. Less than a second later it fell out of sight behind the bar, but the sounds of the fall told Quavis the Barkeep's fall had broken something. It was a good bet judging by the sounds of glass shattering and wood cracking and at least one keg of liquid breaking open, the back of the bar was now a complete mess.

Sardan looked around the bar for a moment with complete disgust. Wherever his head turned the patrons of the bar would jump back as if expecting Sardan's wrath to be directed to them. "You better find a way to tell me what I want to know or I will come back!"

Sardan stormed out, saw Quavis, gave him a wink, then grabbed the boy, "This is no place for a child! Find somewhere to play!"

"You ain't my dad!" Quavis replied, "You ain't even human! Take yer Hawkling feathers and go sit on an egg somewhere!"

Sardan picked up Quavis by his leather armored shirt, "I ought to beat your butt!"

"So? My old man does it all the time. What would I care?"

Sardan put all his effort into making it look like he slammed Quavis into the ground hard all the while cushioning the blow with a quick reach around of his wing and using his impressive strength to stop the boy's forward momentum with his arms at the last second. The effects still left Quavis a little rattled, but otherwise unharmed.

Before anyone could see he hadn't really smashed the boy to the ground he let go of Quavis' shirt and wiped the back of his head again. In a voice just loud enough for Quavis to hear he added, "I'll be at the Healthman's shop at the south end of the village. Meet me in the woods in a couple of hours. If you aren't there I will come back for you."

Quavis slowly sat up and shook his head. He then made a show of wiping his eyes like he was getting rid of tears. As he started to stand, he picked up a rock and made to throw it at Sardan knowing full well it would fall short. One of the Ghoul Drool patrons stepped out of the bar and stopped him by grabbing the stone, "Don't be stupid young'an. He just tore through this place like a giant in a straw hut. You don't want any more of him."

"Says who?" Quavis snapped back in anger.

"OK, maybe you are stupid enough to want another round with him, but I am not so knock it off!"

Quavis glared for a moment, but saw the man had a Secondary Echelon Swordsman pin on and decided to cool down. "How could you just let him tear up the place? He ain't even Human!"

"He has me beat by an Echelon and three steps son. I am not stupid! Besides Hawklings have talons as a natural weapon. You may not like other races, but you best learn something about them before you go mouthing off or throwing a rock."

Quavis made a bit of a show of stubbornness before finally shaking his head. "I guess yer right. Why was he so mad anyway?"

"There have been some attacks in Junsac and the Watch wants to know who is behind them." The man looked down, "Where is your folks?"

"Down at the stable." Quavis stuck with the story line planned out with Sardan on the road to Macar, "One of our horses took on a limp this morning so we came here. I heard the fight so I wanted to see what was goin' on," he dug into a little pouch Sardan had bought for him and pulled out a pair of copper, "Do they serve food in there?"

The man scratched his dark brown beard "Young'an there are much better eateries around than this one."

"Yea, maybe, but I looked around and this is the only one with a knife throwing board in it."

The man grinned, "So you know how to use those knives you carry?"

"Some. Always wanting to practice but my old man says I need to stay out of these places."

"You should listen to him. Yer a good looking boy. Some of the men in there might just want to hurt you."

"I know." Sailors had often warned Quavis about being careful when he went into some of the bars in Junsac, but there he was fairly safe because the city guard was always close and the sailors tended to watch over him. This time would be a little different and it scared him some. "But I can't learn unless someone teaches me, I throw at logs and junk at home, but when I find a place with a board there is usually someone there to point out how to do it better."

The man nodded a knowing smile, "Bet there is a bit of Swordsman in yer blood. You can't train yourself, but it sounds like you've found a way to get trained."

This insight caused Quavis' eyes to go a little wide. His father had not allowed him, his brother or his sister to get tested. Even when he had asked his father had refused saying he would be a merchant and didn't need to do real labor. The fact this Swordsman thought he might have potential really surprised him. "You really think I could be a Swordsman?"

"You never been tested?"

"My old man says it is a waste of money."

"Most of the time it is," the man nodded toward the tavern, "Let's see what you can do then I'll have a better idea."

Quavis entered the tavern seeing the full extent of the mess Sardan had caused. Both bouncers were still on the floor while a pair of Orc slave girls worked furiously to clean up the mess. The barkeep was standing but held a bloody rag up to his face where the barstool had slammed into his brow. Four of the nine tables showed damage and all told five other patrons showed injuries of one kind or another.

A Dwarf over in the corner glanced up, "Klent who is your little friend?"

The man glanced down, "Don't rightly know Vahlag, but he was on the receiving end of our visitor after he mouthed off. Says he can throw knives so I figured we should see how good he is."

Vahlag stood up from the table, grabbed his mug of ale, and walked over, "What's yer name cutie?"

"Quavis, and I don't like being called cute."

Several of the patrons chortled out mild obscenities. Even the barkeep managed to chuckle.

Vahlag snorted, "Boy's got some girt, I must say. You got money boy?"

"None of your business." Quavis shot back knowing full well he had to act a great deal tougher then he currently felt. Klent shook his head in amusement, "I'll cover his first couple of games."

"Fine." Vahlag slapped down a silver. "Let's see yours."

Klent flipped over a silver of his own as he walked over to the board and pulled out the six knives. "OK Quavis the point values are marked as to their killing values. Anything outside the scratched in figure of the man is worth nothing. You take turns. You want to go first or second?"

Quavis glanced at the six knives and selected the three best looking ones. One of the first things he had been taught was look for quality and take the best if given the chance. "I'll go first. I like to put the pressure on."

Several grunts and chortles sounded in the tavern as people were allowing the thrashing they had received slip away. The female with the broken nose even laughed, "Looks like you found yerself a tough one Klent!"

Quavis looked around, "Where is the throwing line?"

"The red stained board." Vahlag pointed to a spot almost on the other side of the room, but I'll give you two paces."

"I don't need them."

This got another round of cheers as people warmed to the competition. "You tell 'em youngster," the barkeep stated as he pressed a fresh rag up to his head with a wince.

Quavis stepped behind the line and flipped the knife into the air a few times getting a feel for it. More than one on looker was impressed by the ease at which the blade was flipped and caught. Not once did Quavis come close to cutting himself. Grabbing the blade he made a couple of throwing motions before letting the blade sail thought the air. It hit just below the shoulder for five points.

Vahlag raised an eyebrow, "Nice toss. Them goons shoulda hired you instead of them other kiddies. Maybe they woulda taken the Elf kid with talent like yer showin'." As he spoke he tossed his dagger. Partially because of its poorer quality and the nick in the blade it slid off to the left and stuck in the right arm of the figure scratched onto the board for three points.

"I wish dad would let me do stuff to make money." Quavis stated as he stepped up to the line for his second throw. "He'd kill me if he knew I was here," he added as he tossed the second blade. This time he got a great throw as the blade stuck into the heart scratched into the wood.

"Twenty points!" Klent shouted. "Only a head or a neck shot can beat a heart shot!"

"Luck!" Vahlag snarled as he readied his knife, "Still shows some real skill in them bones though! Maybe you ought ta take him to Gambra. She needs some new people in Junsac," he grunted heavily as he tossed his second knife. This time the blade struck dead center in the chest area giving him 15 points.

"Eighteen to twenty-five Quavis." Klent stated with satisfaction, "You almost have him beat. Just don't get greedy."

Quavis smiled. He saved the best blade for last and he now had a good idea of range. Most of the targets in Junsac were considerably smaller and more than one further away than this one. "Greedy? You mean like this?" With practiced ease he flipped the dagger at the target. It stuck dead center in the middle of the neck for 50 points. There was no chance the Dwarf could beat him and everyone in the establishment knew it even if they didn't know how to add.

Vahlag felt his jaw drop as the dagger slipped out of his hand and clattered to the floor. "Was you playin' with me boy?"

"Not really. I just knew I could do it."

"He's got the gift," the woman with the broken nose stated, "No question. He's damned near as good as me and I am guilded. Let's put him up against some of us who can give him a real game of it!"

Vahlag shook his head and handed both coins over to Klent, "I'm good for a mundane, and can hold my own against most low echelon non-Swordsman, but this little bugger is no mundane and certainly has all but mastered the throwing knife."

Klent handed the silver coin won from Vahlag to Quavis with a wink. "I'll get us some grub while you have some fun. You just took ole Vahlag down a good notch or two. Bet he won't be tellin' none of those big tales of his for a long time!"

"I hope he isn't mad at me."

"Na, not really. But he'll never admit it. Break the silver down to copper though. Most games are two copper a piece. Have some fun and let some of the Swords give you some pointers if they see anything. I know I didn't see much to change except on your first throw you held the blade a little too far down."

Quavis thought about it for a few seconds, "Holding the blade low makes it go high?"

Klent nodded, "Or you have to release later, but your release is just about perfect, so I would work on the hold more."

"Thanks I will." Quavis suddenly remembered why he was here, "Who is Gambra?"

"She is a Halfling who is a very nasty being. She hires people for jobs for someone up above the Silver Spine Mountains. Don't go asking around or you may well get her attention though and she hates when questions get asked about her."

"Does she hire kids?"

Klent knelt and grabbed Quavis, "Listen to me. You have a father, go with him and forget about her. She uses people, including kids and will kill people who do not do as she wishes. Word has it she already hired someone to kill some people in the Junsac prison because they were unsuccessful in doing what she wanted. At least one of them was a boy not much older than you who found out about her through this bar. Have fun, throw some knives, and learn, then go with yer old man."

Quavis swallowed hard, "OK Sorry I asked."

"It's OK to be curious, just make sure you don't ask for something you don't really want to know about. OK?"

Quavis nodded and grinned, "OK," he then looked around "Who's next?"

An hour-and-a-half later Quavis made his way out of the bar with an extra fifteen copper and the silver coin he had won in the first game against the Dwarf. After checking to make sure he was not followed he headed off into the woods. It took another half an hour to find Sardan.

Sardan smiled, "I was beginning to get worried. How did things go?"

"Good." Quavis jingled his small pouch, "I won a lot more than I lost!"

Sardan chirped out a chuckle, "Good for you! Any interesting gossip?" Quavis turned serious, "Lots. There is a woman around here who hired people right out of Ghoul's Drool to attack people in Junsac. She hired more people to kill them because they failed."

Sardan's eyes lit up with worry, "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. The guy I talked to said so like he knew first hand."

Sardan thumbed his watch pin and passed on the news to Master Lannet and a few others in Junsac before continuing to question Quavis. "What else did you find out?"

"The woman is a Halfling and her name is Gambra. I heard a few others talk about her when I was tossing daggers. It seems she works for someone by the name of Monarch. Whoever he is he is very angry about loosing the arena match and wants the slave boy back. One guy even said Gambra was offering a 100 gold reward for the slave's return, but the way Monarch's name was spoken made it very clear I shouldn't ask questions. So I didn't."

"You mean 100 silver, right?"

"No teacher, Gold. The number varies depending on who is talking, but it is always gold and the smallest figure I heard was seventy-five."

"Such a figure could get men to kill kings." Sardan inadvertently glanced to the north knowing Aster's life was probably in grave danger. He thumbed his watch pin again passing on the information to Aster before returning his attention back to the boy in front of him.

Sardan clapped Quavis on the back, "Young man you have learned more for us in half a day than the Watch has been able to find out in months. I will pass on all of this to the Watch, but I also have some news for you."

"Really?" Quavis looked up questioningly.

"Do you know a young man by the name of Chresh?"

"Yes sir!" Quavis almost shouted, "He is one of the sailors on the Thunder Rapids! He always went with us when we looked around the towns we docked at so we had a Swordsman with us in case of trouble. None of the others wanted to baby-sit."

"So I have been told. He remembers you quite fondly. He told one of our people Thunder Rapids is to dock at Lennic next week. We should be able to make it there in four to five days if we hustle."

"Will they take me aboard?"

Sardan smiled, "Well my friend also talked to the captain and his son. He explained what happened and the fact the Watch does not believe you were involved. They are looking forward to us joining their crew."

"Us?"

"Yea. My team is going to meet in Lennic and use the Thunder Rapids for travel. Chresh has agreed to help us out, as has Captain Pontarious. He is going to take us up The Slash River all the way to Dark Rapids. My team has some work to do up there."

"Is Benam OK?"

"Is he the captain's son?"

"Yea. And my friend."

"He is just fine. My friend says he is very excited about you joining the crew."

Quavis gave Sardan a huge hug, "Thank you!"

"You are very welcome." Sardan put a wing around Quavis, "Let's get a little distance from here so no one sees us together. We wouldn't want anyone from Ghoul's Drool to see us being friends now would we?"

"Nope. They would not be happy with me at all."

"Nor me."

Quavis remained quite for a while as he walked down the path next to Sardan. Finally he looked up, "Sardan Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure you can."

"The guy in the tavern said I was certainly Swordsman gifted. Could he be right?"

"You have not been tested?"

"No. Dad would not let us test. He said he didn't need to waste money getting us trained."

Sardan shook his head sadly, "I am sorry to hear of any father who has money saying such a thing. You throw knives well enough to make good money though so I bet you do have the gift. I will be happy to test you tomorrow if you like."

"I thought only spell casters could check."

"Even Swordsmen have some magic Quavis." Sardan looked down seriously, "When a Swordsman gets to be Teaching Echelon the magic has been honed enough to allow us to use our primary weapon as if it were magical. The same magic allows us to test others. Spell casters can cheat and simply cast a spell, but our way will give us the same information just takes longer and requires you to do some real work. You up for it?"

"I think so." Quavis shrugged. "I don't mind hard work. It is actually kind of fun on board the barges, but my elbow kind of hurts after throwing all those knives."

Sardan smiled, "We will work on your throwing as well then. You do not have to stress your elbow or your shoulder to throw properly unless you need power." "Huh?"

"Let your elbow rest today my young friend. We will test you and work on your knife work in the morning!"

Kandric

While sharing Vondum's bedroll deep within the swamps, Kandric waited until the big Warrior Adept fell into a deep slumber before venturing out into the outer spirit realms. Because of this he woke later than he originally planned, but didn't mind too much. The time he had spent in the Realms of Water and Air had again proven fruitful. Many of the beings there had started to accept him and the young Fog Spirit was becoming more and more friendly. The only problem with the late night spirit walks was he didn't get sleep. His body got rest, but his mind didn't. Truth be told, he was grateful Vondum had not decided to wake early. This at least gave him a little time to sleep properly.

As Kandric looked, he realized the storm had still not stopped, although the only remnants left were a few rogue snowflakes fluttering down out of the sky. As he glanced around he saw Jamon pulling double duties letting Conth rest every second he possibly could. Not wanting to let Vondum see his boy not doing anything he pointed at the sleeping figure.

Jamon looked over with a pleading stare, but quickly changed his stance when he saw Kandric point to Vondum's still sleeping form. It didn't take much thought to realize his kindness could get Conth and himself in an extra measure of trouble. Quickly he woke his cousin while speaking too softy for Kandric to hear.

Satisfied Kandric gave Conth a few minutes to get up and get busy before he stretched. As expected this woke Vondum.

Vondum glanced around. As soon as he saw both Conth and Jamon tending to the mounts he smiled and gave Kandric a hug and a kiss. "Last night was wonderful. Glaster is one very lucky man!"

"Actually I feel I am the lucky one. Thanks for sharing my bed last night."

"My privilege. Part of me is going to be very sorry to see Glaster come back."

Kandric nodded, "You don't mind me missing him then?"

"No," Vondum paused feeling a little disappointment at knowing he came in second to Glaster, "Well a little I guess. I just hope we can still be friends after he gets back."

Kandric hugged Vondum and returned the kiss. "I am sure we will! Maybe we can set up times where I can work for you when he is gone."

Vondum felt his heart swell again, "You will always be welcome at my camp Kandric. From what I know about Glaster he is a very reasonable man. I am sure we will be able to figure out something."

"He will be very grateful for all your help Vondum. Since I hate ships and he does a lot of over seas trips there are lots of times when I will be alone."

"Sounds like a good thing for me!"

Kandric giggled as Vondum tickled his ribs, "Good for me too! I used to hate it when he would go away now I have you too!"

"Yes you do," Vondum sighed, "We better get dressed and check out the clearing before we go."

"Yea, I don't want to get only half way though the Knolls today."

"Me neither, although I would deny ever saying it."

"You don't have to worry about me. I feel like a baby being told about trolls under the bridges for the first time when I think about the Knolls. I have been there and still cringe at the thought of journeying through them. But Glaster always said fear was the worst of enemies and never should I let it alone control me."

"Sound advice," Vondum agreed as he finally pulled on his loincloth. Suddenly he scowled, "Jamon what are you coming over here for?"

Jamon felt his lower lip quiver with fear as he pointed back to where the mounts were.

Kandric jumped up while grabbing his blade in one smooth motion, "What is it?"

"There's a skull over there!"

Vondum snorted, "Well if it only be a skull, then it ain't going to hurt ya is it!"

Kandric couldn't help but giggle, "Sounds like it is dead to me."

"Go ahead and finish dressing Kandric," Vondum smiled, "I'll go see what all the fuss is about." Turning to Jamon, he shook his head, "Go on, lead the way."

Kandric watched with some amusement as Vondum shooed the mounts away so he could get a good look. The task was easier said than done, however. All three mounts seemed to like the uncovered grasses in the area where Jamon was pointing so each time Vondum managed to get one of the animals away the other two were already back munching.

Finally Kandric decided to lend a hand. After he slipped on his boots he shouted, "Jamon, Conth, Get the steeds over to the water and pull up some of what they are eating to lead them."

Vondum nodded some thanks to Kandric as he at last got a chance to kneel down and take a good look. "Kandric, you might want to take a look at this."

Kandric glanced over to make sure the steeds were indeed being watered before joining Vondum, "What did Jamon find?"

"Take a look and tell me what you see."

Kandric knelt as looked at the skull. Around it he noticed several other bones poking up at odd angles. Swiftly he brushed away more snow and dirt revealing several smashed skeletons. Frowning he picked up one of the skulls for a moment. "Hobgoblin."

"Yep."

"My guess is at least six maybe as many as a dozen. All the meat is gone, but there are no signs of belongings so someone must have taken what they had. Looks like whoever did this beat them down hard and then piled them on top of each other."

"Your thoughts are right along the same lines as mine, but it wasn't just belongings. There isn't a single scrap of clothing on them either."

Kandric picked up a broken bone, "Take a look at this. It was broken open and the insides taken out. They were eaten!"

"Trolls?" Vondum asked not quite believing it himself.

"At a glance yes, but the bones have been snapped like twigs with no tooth marks. Forest trolls are all we get in the swamps and they chew bones."

Reluctantly Vondum nodded agreement, "Besides they wouldn't bother with taking smaller weapons let alone every scrap of clothing. What else do you have out here capable of doing this kind of damage?"

Kandric shook his head after a full minute of thought. "Everything I come up with would leave tooth or claw marks or would not be resourceful enough to take all the belongings unless it happened to be Lizardmen, but they are not active in this territory. And there is nothing to indicate they were here. Lizardmen leave a Clan Standard at a major victory such as this."

"We better keep our eyes peeled then. Let's do a quick sweep of this area then head out."

***

On the far side of the clearing two pairs of eyes watched over Kandric and Vondum. The smaller being spoke, "We could take them out right now."

"Yes, maybe we could, but to do so would tip the balance of power," the other answered.

"But never before have we had such a chance to deal such a major blow to Monarch and his followers."

"As nice as it would be to do so, killing Vondum would not be in our best interest right now. Monarch is the leading rival of Bandurlok. Without him and his forces we would be forced to confront Bandurlok directly and our liege has no desire to do so. Besides I detect quite a bit of power over there. I doubt taking out Vondum and his friend would be quite as easy as the Hobs were."

"Oh you must be joking. He is escorting three kids!"

The bigger being shook his head, "Nephew, relying on how a situation looks will get you killed. Already I am using extra magic to prevent us from being detected and the main force behind the intrusion does not seem to be Vondum. Take me at my word, fighting them would not be an easy victory."

"Great, so we sit here with our tails getting cold while they enjoy the hot springs."

"So be it. They will move on and we can then warm up. I just hope they do not find the stone."

"What if they do Uncle?"

"Then they do. It is not likely they would know what it is anyway, but if they do, we still do nothing. Our current mission is to prevent either side from gaining too much ground on the other. When evil fights evil we get to stay out of the way, thus conserve resources which may be needed later. Already Monarch's iron clad grip on the Plateau is crumbling without our interference. A caravan has gotten through and the Orcs' Clan Raven is destroyed. Surely Bandurlok will try helping others do even more damage. We must be alert to these attempts and stop Bandurlok's agents from helping just as we have been doing for the past year. Any more damage to Monarch' forces will open up the door for Bandurlok to finish the job. If they are to fight we want both sides to lose as much as possible."

"Uncle, we could assist and destroy the blockade. People up here are suffering!"

"You have a good heart my boy, but sometimes we must let evil run its course. The battle between good and evil is much less bloody if evil also has to fight evil. Rest assured, our King will not let the people get to the point were they are crushed under Monarch's boot. Good will overcome in the long run, but we must play the hand dealt us or we my find ourselves fighting both Bandurlok's and Monarch's forces. Such a battle we cannot win."

"But we have done so little to help."

"I know. However, sometimes doing nothing is for the best. Look at what happened when we didn't fight the storm?"

"I still do not know what happened Uncle."

"Nor do I completely, all I do know for sure is a young mortal intervened destroying one of Igaxia's lead demons.

"Making matters worse for Igaxia, her forces have been decimated because she decided to fight Syria's intrusion into the storm. Syria's minions already had the upper hand do to the destruction of one of Igaxia's lieutenants. They pushed their advantage to the fullest, all but wiping out Igaxia's forces. Demon forces have been handed the most severe defeat ever known. Igaxia has been pushed down from a Demon Lordess to a simple demon in stature. Now there are wars breaking out in the lower plans as major demons attempt to rise to power to claim the realms of Ice.

"This infighting has further weakened demon influence in the mortal spheres and has allowed other gods and goddesses to take out their own frustrations on their own demon enemies. Somewhere there is a mortal who has flipped the current balance of power and no one seems to know who or what pulled it off.

"Had we used our magical resources to weaken the storm none of these things would have happened and demons would still hold the upper hand in the Old Kingdom of Kronar! There is now a chance Kronar can once again rise up to be a symbol of goodness in this land, but we still need a few more miracles for such a thing to happen."

"Or a few more beings like the one who destroyed Igaxia's minion!"

"Hats off to whoever or whatever did us such a favor. Let us hope the battle in the lower plains continues to weaken their evil schemes here."

***

Conth took a brush to the Vondum's War Steed. The animal had a few tangles and was just tame enough to allow the boy to pull the course brush through its mane. Conth was wary of the steed, but knew his only chance of further good night sleeps would hinge upon how diligent he was toward his duties. Kandric had given him the break he needed, but Conth realized Kandric would only go so far to help him. The rest would be up to him.

To this end he pushed his fear of the horned mounts to the side as he pulled the brush yet one more time through the thick tufts of hair. Without warning the animal jumped sending Conth flipping into the air. His cries of astonishment and fear ended with a splash as he landed in the middle of the hot springs pool.

Kandric turned his attention away from the bones, "Jamon, does he know how to swim?"

"I don't know master," Jamon answered as he watched his cousin flailing away in the fairly deep pool. "It don't look like it though."

Kandric threw off his shirt as he kicked off his boots only to be grabbed by Vondum.

"Let him learn. If he starts to drown, then you can go get him."

Kandric glared at Vondum for a moment before he realized he was almost to the point of actually challenging Vondum's authority. He looked away as he shucked his britches but his voice told of his displeasure, "So be it, he is your slave!"

Vondum glanced up and saw Conth was still flailing about but managing to keep his head above water. He turned his attention back to Kandric with a frown. "Kandric, why are you angry at me?"

Trembling, Kandric turned sharply to face Vondum, "The very first person I killed other than a Goblin died because the spell I cast made him drown! I don't ever want to see someone drowning again!"

Vondum pulled Kandric to his chest as he glanced over to Jamon, "Can you get your brother?"

"Yes master," Jamon nodded eagerly as he spoke.

"Get him out of there then."

Still clutching Kandric, Vondum watched as Jamon dove in and pulled at a struggling Conth. As he watched he saw Conth grip his cousin in a bear hug of desperation.

Jamon struggled to free his arms so he would not drown himself, but Conth refused to let go in his panicked state. The more Jamon fought the more Conth pulled him down. Conth's frantic state allowed him to momentarily gain the upper hand as he grabbed onto Jamon's neck and took both under.

For a second Vondum though he would have to dive in, but Jamon surprised him with some calm thinking. The resilient lad dove deeper.

Petrified of the idea of going down instead of up, Conth let go.

Jamon then used his swimming ability to slip up under Conth. Before his cousin knew what had happened, Jamon slammed his fist into his Conth's jaw stunning him enough to drag him back to the surface. As the terrified child regained his senses, Jamon again reacted, pushing Conth head down below the water. As Conth lost strength Jamon grabbed him by his hair and tried to swim to the shore. Finally he gave up trying to drag him to the edge and pushed him toward a small stone isle in the middle of the pool.

Vondum nodded approval as Jamon hauled first himself out then Conth. "Stay there and catch you breath. Get your brother out of his clothing so he can learn to swim without the garments dragging him down."

"Master what about our wet cloths?"

"I will dry them with a spell or two. Bring his things with you when you swim back over."

Jamon nodded as he tried to regain his breath.

Vondum turned his attention away from the slaves and back toward Kandric, "I did not know of your fear."

Kandric relaxed some as he saw both boys recovering. He clutched Vondum's thick coat crying, "I am sorry I yelled at you."

"You need not apologize. " Vondum rubbed Kandric's bare back wishing he was back in the bedroll with the beautiful boy holding him. "Your first day at my camp you said you got seasick on boats that is not quite true is it."

"I do get seasick," Kandric wiped the tears from his eyes feeling very foolish, "But not just because of the motion of the boat. Although I don't like the ground moving on me all the time."

Vondum grinned, "Sea legs are seldom a gift given by the gods, they have to be earned."

Kandric nodded as he glanced over to where Conth was still coughing because of water he had swallowed. "I am a very good swimmer, but every time I see someone having trouble swimming or doing something dangerous in the water I get the picture of the guy I killed. I can still see him as he arched his neck and his hands clawed at the branch holding him under until they bled, all in a desperate attempt to get one more breath of air. I saw his eyes as they silently pleaded for help then switched to terror as he understood he was doomed. I just cannot escape it."

"If I had known, I would not have stopped you," Vondum hugged Kandric with a mighty squeeze. "Rest assured I will not get in between you and someone drowning ever again. This still leaves me with a bit of a problem though."

"What?" Kandric asked as he at last regained some of his composure.

Vondum used his hand to wipe away some of the tears and snot off Kandric's tear-streaked face. "How am I supposed to teach him how to swim? A slave boy who cannot swim is not worth much to someone like me who goes on ships once and a while."

Kandric took a deep breath as he looked over to where Conth was laying on the rock still coughing and breathing hard. "Let me teach him. I will do it as soon as he gets his strength back."

"We will lose valuable time Kandric."

"I will still get us to the Slums in two days time. Trust me."

"Very well. We will do this your way then," Vondum patted Kandric on the back as he smiled, "as long as I can sleep with you again tonight."

Kandric grinned and kissed Vondum, "I win twice!"

Vondum smiled warmly as Kandric took a long run and dove into the warm water of the pool. Gazing at Kandric's perfect body gracefully swimming in the pool another piece of his heart lost some hardness.

Conth groaned as Vondum once again let his guard down. Refusing to let this opportunity slip away Conth concentrated pushing past the happy thoughts of what was currently going on in Vondum's head. He forced his way deeper into Vondum's mind, digging into past memories. This time Conth managed to get a look at Vondum's real past. For an instant he saw images of a dimly lit forge where swords were being made by several Metalworkers. All around were boys with metal neck collars on, chains from the collars led to massive rings on the walls. Some of the boys pumped billows while others fed the fires keeping them hot. A pair of beasts clad in black walked around with whips. Their faces covered with a mask made their race hard to tell, but their hairy bodies told of their monster origins.

Conth shook as his mind watched a boy fall from exhaustion behind one of the huge billows. Blow after blow from whips fell on the boy until he spasmed and stopped moving altogether. One of the figures growled, went to the far side of the room and emerged with another boy who was forced to replace the boy lying on the floor of the forge.

For a moment everything seemed to return to normal until the other beast came over to the fallen boy. With a truly evil grin the beast looked down with no remorse whatsoever. Drawing a black two pronged knife out of a sheath with skulls down the sides, it took another step forward and bent down.

Desperately Conth tried to back out of the memories, but the snaking smack of a whip caught his attention. His mind reeled as he realized the blow had fallen on Vondum who was none other than the fallen boy's billow mate. Being so deep in Vondum's mind he actually felt the blow land.

"No," Conth heard Vondum shout in the memory, "I will pull his duty and share my food!"

One of the Metalworkers turned with a glare, "You would be too weak to work."

"I can do it!"

The Metalworker shook his head, "He has never been of much use to us. He works too little and eats food better given to ones like you who does work."

Conth felt strain as Vondum's filthy boyish arms pumped harder on the billow meant to be handled by two not one, the other boy was still being chained so he was not in a position to help "Master, I will do anything. Please do not kill my little brother!"

The Metalworker held up his hand to stop the beast from slicing the unconscious boy's throat with the readied knife. "Including being a trainer for new recruits?"

Conth didn't know what exactly this meant but knew from the shuddering this was one of the least pleasant tasks a boy in the forge could do. The eyes of the replacement boy also spoke volumes as to the nastiness of the task. So deep was Conth into the memory he even felt tears rolling down his cheeks, actually Vondum's cheeks. Finally Vondum answered, "Yes. I will train the new recruits Master. As long as you let my brother live."

The replacement boy shook his head trying to prevent Vondum from making the decision only to get the flat of a glowing blade pressed against the bottom of his foot by a nearby Metalworker. The scream seemed to last for hours. Once it finally died down, Conth saw the man still staring at him. 3;No, this was Vondum, he again had to remind himself.

"Unchain him," the Metalworker commanded. The moment Vondum's metal collar fell away the man looked at the boy who had been burned with the blade, "He is your first."

Conth felt Vondum cringe but quickly steadied himself. He approached the bawling boy, picked up a piece of wood off the fuel pile and borrowed a knife from one of the junior Metalworkers. He then pointed to one of the masked beasts. "Hold out his other foot."

The beast complied yanking the boy clear into the air by his foot.

Vondum glanced down at the unmoving figure of his brother and took a quick breath. He then shaved a few silvers off the log. Refusing to let his brother die he walked up to the boy being held in the air, placed one of the silvers of wood between the boys big toe and toe nail and shoved. Screams stood as testimony to the youngster's agony. "Who is your master, slave?"

"I am an indentured servant not a slave!" The boy cried.

Vondum readied the next silver of wood, "You are a slave here. Say it!"

"NO!"

Vondum pushed in the second silver while biting his own lip hard enough to get a mouthful of blood. He knew he must make the boy agree or his brother would die.

The boy thrashed about crying. "Please stop!"

"Who are you?" Vondum asked again as he showed the boy the third little chunk of wood.

The boy shook his head quivering, "I am a slave!"

"Who am I?"

"You are the trainer." Tears dripped to the ground

"Who are they" Conth felt Vondum grit his teeth in disgust over what he was doing as he pointed to the Metalworkers.

"My masters." The boy managed to spurt out through sobs.

"You learn fast," Vondum spoke as harshly as he could force himself to do, spitting some of his own blood in the tortured child's face. "Hopefully you will learn how to give the masters some enjoyment as quickly," Vondum turned back to the beast holding the boy. "Replace him and tend to his feet. He is to be strapped to the board until they heal and every servant is to finger him before each shift. Food and water are to be cut in half until his feet enable him to return to work.

The Metalworker next to the billows smiled, "Take this boy and the weak one upstairs and clean them up. The young one can be a pleasure boy for our clients. As for him," Conth shuddered as he saw the man point at him. "He gets clothing and a red belt. Make sure to start him on his Field training schedule." As he listened and watched Conth again had to remind himself the finger was pointed at Vondum not himself.

Not being able to take much more Conth backed out Vondum's memories. This time however he took enough time to close the mental doors so the mind reading would not injure Vondum. Conth still didn't have all the information, but he now had a good idea as to why Vondum was so mean. His Mindmaster instructor once told him knowledge of a person's past could be used for control. All he had to do is figure out how to do it. Of course he also half wondered if his teacher had just been trying to impress him.

Jamon recovered quickly from pushing Conth over to the stone in the middle of the warm pool. He glanced over noticing Conth had gone into one of his trances again. He knew this had something to do with his cousin's training, but nothing else. Taking their combined clothing he swam over to where Vondum sat watching Kandric swim, "Master did you want these?"

Vondum nodded, "Toss them over here and play for a while. It is not often you get such a chance so make the best of it."

Jamon looked over to Kandric. Getting a nod he pulled himself out of the water. "May I get some clothing on so I can look around some more, master?"

Vondum glanced over, "Kandric your slave wishes to get dressed."

Kandric thought it over as he splashed around, "I do not mind Jamon, but I think Vondum would like to do the dressing."

Vondum smiled, "Yes I believe I would."

"Do not shy away from him Jamon. Once he finishes you may look around and explore, but stay within eyesight of us. We do not know what is out here."

Jamon bowed as Kandric had taught him and walked up to Vondum trembling slightly.

Vondum pulled Jamon onto his lap and placed his huge hand over the boy's balls, "I am not going to do hurt you. Kandric just gave you to me to dress and enjoy for a few moments. You are one very lucky slave, you know. I had every intention of breaking you in and selling you to the brothel catering to the guards of Black Rapids. You owe your owner a great deal of loyalty."

"I know master," Jamon answered truthfully. He could tell by the way Vondum's hands moved and caressed him he was not going to be hurt. He also knew full well had Kandric not come along he would be being brutalized right now.

Vondum pulled Jamon's clothing out of the pile wrung them out and cast a couple of Dry Autospells on the garments. "There you are, nice and dry." Slowly he dressed the boy in his lap before patting him on the bottom, "How about a kiss before you go explore?"

Jamon's nose wrinkled for a moment, but he forced himself to push his lips to Vondum's. The intrusion of the man's tongue was not a welcome one, but he dealt with it until he was at last released.

Happy to be free from the man, Jamon quickly moved to the far side of the hot springs. Behind him he could hear Kandric teaching his cousin how to swim. From the sounds, things were going fairly well. Once he was sure Vondum could no longer see him he knelt and spat repeatedly to get not only the taste of the man's tongue out of his mouth, but also the feeling.

At last satisfied he started to stand again when something strange caught his eye. Sliding over a little he looked at a strange bluish green rock barely sticking up out of the snow. It glimmered with an inner power. Glancing around he saw no one paying him any attention so he brushed the snow away.

The stone turned out to be a small perfect triangle with strange writing on the sides. Looking more closely at the inscriptions he realized he was looking at none other than the Mythling tongue in written form. His limited teachings as a Ruinseeker allowed him to remember the Mythling race was supposed to be nothing more than a fable. According to legend, each being had different powers over nature such as fire, water, animals, earth, weather, wind, smoke or other natural things. Eventually this race became the gods and moved to their respective planes allowing the lower races such as Alphar and Garm to take over the earth. In turn these races moved on letting Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Halflings and the other races fend for themselves.

The Mythling language was the first to find a written form and all the other languages drew from it. Because it was the base language, at least in legend, Ruinseekers strove to learn it. Unfortunately very little of it survived so over time it became an art known to those Teaching Echelon and above. Jamon studied the markings for several minutes only making out a couple of words, "down" and "door" or at least words very close to the Elvish equivalent to them. Giving up after making yet another attempt and getting nowhere, he tossed some snow over it in frustration. For a moment Jamon considered covering it back up altogether and not telling anyone. However, he knew Kandric was a high Secondary Echelon Ruinseeker so there was a chance Kandric could read some of it. His own lust for knowledge in the arts of a Ruinseeker finally got the best of him. Wondering if this was a good idea he took in a deep breath and called out in a loud voice, "Master, you better take a look at this."

Vondum came into view first, "What did you find Jamon?"

Jamon hesitated; normally Vondum took every chance he could to reminding him of his status as master by simply calling him slave. Hearing his name spoken in a friendly way momentarily made him forget the stone, but seeing impatience flickering in Vondum's eyes caused Jamon to turn his attention back to the stone, "Master I do not know what this is but it has runes of the Mythlings on it," he pointed at the tip on the greenish blue pyramid.

Walking over, Vondum eyed Jamon for a moment before kneeling down to look at the strange find. His own knowledge of magic languages allowed him to read some of the more basic markings, but much like Jamon he could not put enough pieces together to make sense out of it.

Kandric, having heard some of the discussion, moved up from the side, "Conth will not drown in calm water but needs much more practice."

"Thank you Kandric," Vondum spoke without looking up, "Maybe you would be willing to teach him more on the waterfront of Black Rapids?"

"I would be happy to," Kandric quickly changed the topic, "What did he find Vondum?"

"I'm not sure; it has a combination of magical and non magical runes on it. Jamon says it is Mythling. How he could know this is just as interesting to me as the stone is."

Kandric raised an eyebrow as he looked questioningly at Jamon, "Little bit of Ruinseeker training?"

"Very little master. My mother sent me to classes when my father didn't take me on a trip."

"Field training?" Vondum asked while still studying the stone.

"No master. Even though I have Animal Adept potential Mom could not pay for me to get training without father noticing the missing money. I used to practice with squirrels, raccoons, birds and other small creatures though because father allowed me to attempt to train myself."

Kandric barely listened to the interchange as he realized what he was looking at. Still he had to make sure and it sounded like he might be able to teach Jamon something.

"I knew you had a great deal of inner drive when I really took a look at you Jamon," Vondum praised the astonished boy.

"Why didn't your father pay for your training?" Kandric asked as he knelt down next to Vondum.

"I was not a spell thrower so he said it was a waste of his hard earned money. Only my oldest brother got sent to school because he had the Mage gift."

Kandric shook his head in bewilderment over a father willing to pay for training in one field but not another. His discomfort disappeared and a smile crept into his features as Vondum put an arm around him, "You learned something well. The stone is covered with Mythling runes."

Vondum motioned for Jamon to come closer to the stone, "I noticed this is the rune for a Mage Light spell and the other two sides are darkness and glow, but they have an additional set of squiggly lines. What to you recognize Jamon?"

Jamon pointed, "This is close to Elvish for down, and other than the extra border this is door."

Kandric giggled, "You are both very close. Vondum the wavy lines represent the sky. This is daylight; this in nighttime and the last is dawn or dusk. They used the same symbol for both. Jamon, you are using Elvish, do you know any Alphar?"

"A little master."

"OK, use what you know and rethink your answers" Kandric gave Jamon a reassuring smile.

Vondum slid back and whispered into Kandric's ear, "Something tells me you were not totally truthful with your Echelon."

"Why?" Kandric looked up nervously.

"I have learned enough to know you probably just showed you could pass the Teaching Echelon Ruinseeker test and you have developed a teaching style. I do not know what the guilds would think but you are a Teacher, aren't you?"

"I made it at your camp Vondum, the night I defeated the demon. It must have had quite a magical power for the victory to impart so much power and knowledge to me."

"You fed on its magic, no doubt, but you had to be closer than you let on."

"I was. I just knew you would not believe me if I said so."

Vondum chuckled, "You made the proper choice. I didn't even believe you were Secondary so saying you were a step five probably would not have been very wise. You know the guilds only show ninety-seven Teaching Echelon and above beings above the Silver Spine Mountains. No wonder you do not fear the Knolls."

Kandric shook his head, "Oh I fear them, but Glaster taught me to face fear," he pause as he checked to make sure Jamon was still studying the stone, "All except drowning."

"Everyone has a fear too powerful to get passed. At least you admit yours and know it is there. Most do not. Even more impressive you have found a way to not only get around it, but to also defeat it." Vondum's eyes twinkled, "You simply will not let anyone around you drown. The goddesses Crytrall and Jolan must be very wary of you."

"They get revenge in their own ways, "Kandric again giggled, "The goddesses of fresh water and the Oceans give me wobbly legs when I ride on their surfaces."

Vondum laughed a hearty laugh, "Indeed they do my young friend, indeed they do!"

Jamon tried to concentrate over all the noise being made by the people who now owned him. His mind just couldn't stay focused on his limited training with all the merriment going on behind him. He wished they would just go back down the hill to the hot springs and let him study some more. He stopped and smacked his head, go down, like on a map, the word was not down it was south! Looking over the stone again he picked up all the other directions out of the runes, "Master they are directions but I don't understand what they mean. The other symbol still looks like a door though."

Kandric returned his attention to Jamon, "How much legend and lore did your teacher have you study?"

"Almost every time I saw him half the class centered on tales and fables."

"Anything about green pyramids?"

Jamon scrunched his nose up as he thought over the question. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure there was some tale about green pyramids. It was an old story from the time when the Mythlings walked the earth. Slowly it came back to him; the Mythlings set up magical gateways throughout the lands so beings could travel faster and move trade goods around. Each gate had a magic control stone, a green pyramid! When the Mythling wars broke out thousands of years ago most of the stones were destroyed because each Mythling used the gateways to get armies from one area to the next quickly. Those Mythlings who didn't have armies were forced to destroy many of the gates rather then be caught up in the wars.

The legends went on to tell of how this didn't work because the most powerful of the Mythlings simply started teleporting their armies with magic spells of their own. This left only a few extremely powerful Mythlings to fight the last of the Mythling Wars. Their armies eventually, at least according to the legend, became their followers. Very few Mythlings survived the wars, but those who did became the gods, goddesses, demon princes, and princesses of the outer plains while their followers became the spirits.

Looking at the glowing green stone again he wondered if maybe there was more to the stories than he originally thought! "Master I think it is a gate stone!"

"As do I," Kandric replied

Conth's eyes went wide as he walked up trying to dry off from learning to swim, "Master does it still work?"

Kandric took a deep breath, "I am sure it does. But it will take me a while to translate enough of the runes to use it," he faced Vondum, "I know I can figure out how to transport us extremely close to the Slums if I take a few hours to figure this out."

"Why not just take it with us?" Vondum asked somewhat impatiently.

"There have been attempts to take similar stones," Kandric replied quickly, "They are set in an exact position. Any movement of the stone throws off its power balance. Each time a being or beings have tried in recorded history they vanished along with the stone never to be seen again."

Vondum swallowed hard, "Good reason!"

"Yea, but finding this stone makes me wonder about your Hobgoblin problem."

"How so?"

"The stones were supposed to be able to link with other stones. If the Hobgoblins found this one, they would be able to send as many of their warriors as they wanted to wherever the gate was set to know. You said they had to be getting supplies from somewhere."

"Why not send them to different places?"

"Maybe they don't know how. Hobs are smart, but reading Mythling is something very few can do, let alone knowing enough about magic to understand what the writing actually means. If by some chance they came across this gate stone already set to another one then they have a free doorway to supplies, allies or even comrades of their own kind. Or even worse, they may have found friends to supply them from some far away land. Unless I figure out how to back track the gate, we may never know."

"What about your family?" Vondum asked in an almost concerned tone.

"If I manage to translate enough I might be able to open up a doorway to the Slums from here and we could simply step through!"

"Then we miss out on the Knolls," Vondum sounded somewhat disappointed.

"Only if we don't check them out on the way back!" Kandric grinned mischievously, "Then we could even spend a night or two there exploring!"

Vondum nodded with a growing smile, "Sounds like a plan. Get to work on the stone. I'll take another look around. Something had to kill those Hobs."

***

"They found the stone!"

"Yes and it sounds like the youngster knows how to use it. Maybe this is a good thing 3;" The older being's voice drifted off in thought.

For a second the younger being started to say something but stopped himself. He had seen his uncle get an inspiration before, so he knew the look. Part of him wanted to react but he held back watching as his uncle's expression as it changed from careful thought, to a wide grin.

The older being stood up, "I think it is time we introduce ourselves Anax."

"What!"

"Just follow my lead nephew. The more befuddled you act the better!"

"No problem there! I'm totally confused!"

***

Conth pulled on Vondum's coat and pointed. "Master what are those?"

Vondum turned sharply to look in the direction Conth's arm suggested. His eyes quickly focused on a pair of leather clad black beasts, "Kandric, we have company!"

Kandric jumped up from his sitting position with his sword in hand. "Jamon, stay down until we know what they want."

Jamon's eyes betrayed his fear as he looked at the furry beasts with green eyes and catlike faces, "Master, what are they?"

"Pantherlings," Kandric stated calmly as he sheathed his sword. He moved up along side of Vondum while motioning for Conth to get behind them.

"I think we just found out what ate the Hobs," Vondum spoke softly.

Before Kandric could do more than nod, the bigger of the two Pantherlings licked its lips, "Indeed you have. They are not as good as deer or rabbit but with the lack of good game this winter, it was better than nothing."

"Good ears," Vondum growled while moving his hand off the hilt of his battlesword.

"We tend to hear and see better than most," the bigger Pantherling confirmed, "My name is Wek and this is my nephew, Anax. We were just out doing some hunting. Don't often see people in these parts."

Vondum nodded, "We are cutting cross swamp to get to the outskirts of Slome. Is this area your home?"

"Part of my clan's hunting lands actually."

"We had no way of knowing. Sorry to intrude."

"No problem at all. Feel free to use this camp and the springs all you like. Just be warned the Hobs try to use the magic gate to get patrols and equipment here once and a while."

Kandric felt his eyes widen, "You know of the Mythling gate?"

"Sure do." Wek responded, "My clan uses it quite often. You know, we were thinking about going through to help the Lizard Folk, but we just do not have enough resources to support them. It seems rather unfair what the storm has done to their plans."

"What Lizardmen?" Vondum blurted out in obvious concern.

Kandric glanced back and forth wondering what was going on. Fortunately he could see he was not alone. Anax looked even far confused, almost to the point of being shocked.

Wek continued to speak as if he was simply making small talk, "Oh, they are not around here. Several months ago a hoard of Lizard Folk moved down below the Silver Spine Mountains to the Everone Barony. They camped over the winter but a big dragon cast a spell before the effects of the winter could wear off. Now they are slowed down once again and the dragon is getting ready to attack them with the help of a bunch of Hobgoblins. Our people believe in honor above all, so to summon such a storm just does not seem like a way to win a battle such as this. If we had more forces we would help just because it is not an honorable way to fight."

Vondum couldn't hide his concern, "I have a friend who could help, but I would have to get word to him!"

"Do you know where he is at?"

"Yes, on the far side of the swamp, in the hills overlooking Slome."

"We could set the gate to get you there, but we would need a spellcaster capable of casting an enchant spell to keep it open long enough to allow your friend to get his forces organized and here. We could then send them to help the Lizard Folk."

Kandric could see Vondum's pleading look. Something told him if he pulled this off the man would be in his debt for a very long time. "I can and will if you show me how the stone works."

Wek growled, "You are too young for such a spell child. Our kind do not like liars."

Kandric hardened. He switched into the Pantherling tongue to give the two standing before him a little demonstration of his own abilities "How dare you! If you do not believe me ask for proof before accusing me of deceit!"

Wek held up his hands, "My apologies little one. Let us see a demonstration."

Vondum didn't know exactly what Kandric had said, but hearing Wek he had a good idea. "He has promised his teacher to keep his training a secret. Will you swear on your clan not to speak a word of this?"

Wek nodded, "I swear I will not utter a word of this if it proves to be true."

Kandric, still speaking in Pantherling, stared down Anax, "What about you?"

Anax glanced to his uncle. Getting a stern glare he hastily spoke, "I also swear on my clan's honor not to breath a word of your abilities."

"Fine," Kandric's voice betrayed his fierce anger. He tried to contain his inner rage as he thought back to the two boys who had tormented him with the rusty iron dagger in Slome. Part of him knew if he had not been weak from days of no food this same anger might have caused him to kill the pair of want-a-be Swordsmen. For a moment he wondered what the people in Slome who had refused to hire him would have thought. Part of him really wanted to find out. Fortunately, however, he had kept enough control then. One day he would see the two boys again, and then they would not be so lucky. Letting these thoughts slide away, he refocused his anger for a more constructive purpose. He called up a spell taught to him by the quasi water spirits. "See those trees behind you?" Kandric grunted under the strain of controlling such a demanding spell.

Wek glanced behind him seeing a trio of trees only 50 meters behind him and his nephew. Each one was over 12 meters tall. "I believe so."

"Look at them while you can!" Kandric gritted his teeth as he spun his hand and arm fiercely. A single word caused winds to swirl the snow in three spots for a moment; three disks of swirling snow lifted off the ground. Each one zipped through the air with a crunching ice sound. One hit each tree right at the base slicing clean through. All three trees fell to the ground within moments of each other. The disks then burst apart into a cloud of ice and snow before settling back to the ground.

Wek gasped at the power and viciousness of the displayed magic, "By the gods I have never seen such a spell!"

Kandric caught his breath after only a brief pause, "I can enchant the gate to stay open! In return you teach me how to use the stone!"

"Calm thoughts little one." Wek implored with a downward motion of his black furry arms. "I will not doubt you ever again! Follow me and I will show you everything I know about the Gate Stone!"

Vondum stayed back looking at the trees. Like Wek, he had never fathomed such a spell could exist, let alone be cast by a boy. Glaster was clearly not a man to be trifled with if he had such a student. The man must be made into an ally at all costs. Yet something told him Glaster was only part of Kandric's success story. Kandric was destined for something far more than most no matter who taught him!

An hour later Kandric activated the gate with Vondum's guidance as to where he wanted to go. With a simple arcane phrase he enchanted the gate to stay open until it was magically canceled.

Kandric and Vondum took the Warsteeds, Conth and Jamon through the shimmering portal, much to the Warsteeds displeasure. Seconds later they emerged on a ridge line overlooking the town of Slome.

***

Anax watched the small group disappear, "Uncle, what did you just do?"

Wek snarled, "Making sure Bandurlok suffers a major defeat in his territory and with any luck weakening his own nephew's hold on the land enough to where King Wyhrem has a chance at bringing his head back on a pike!"

"Bandurlok will go nuts!"

"Indeed he will. He will blindly strike at anything and everything to maintain his position as Prince of the Black Dragons. To do anything less would be to risk the thrown upon his father's foreseeable death from old age.

"In turn this will force all the somewhat reasonable kingdoms currently at war to band together to fight him off. Better yet it will look like Monarch was the one behind it all so Bandurlok will be forced to send forces up here to challenge our nasty little Illorc problem here. Both sides will lose on this because the Lizard Folk will still lose much because they will be in no shape to fight. Monarch's reinforcements will wipe out most of the Hobs while suffering serious losses and we get to watch and smile!"

"Sometime I wonder if you don't enjoy this too much Uncle."

"So do I Anax."

Anax shook his head as he walked over to the fallen trees, "We should cut this up for firewood."

"Agreed." Wek glanced back towards the gate, "We need to find someone to watch the one who cast this spell. He is a great unknown."

"But we promised not to tell anyone."

"And we will not. Still, we must figure out some way to keep track of him. He is far too powerful to simply ignore." Wek frowned as he felt the smooth cut around the stump. "Bet you are now glad we didn't attack them, huh?"

"Extremely!" Anax sighed, "Even if my magic defiance had blocked some of the spell the swirling ice would have surely torn me to shreds."

"Me as well, and think about this, he split his spell three ways, he would have only had to cut it in half against us. I might have lived, but doubt I would have been able to put up much of a fight and then we would have had Vondum to deal with. There is no question this Kandric is the most dangerous and skilled child I have ever seen and his temper makes him even more dangerous than he would otherwise be. When you think it over, we really didn't do much to aid him either. He would have figured out the stone without our help."

"I noticed Uncle. He could read Mythling and Shaman. Not even our liege can do so!"

Wek grabbed an axe and tossed a second to his nephew, "He is destined for power no question. The question is will it be for good or evil."

"He is with Vondum. I think the question is already answered."

"I disagree." Wek stated firmly, "Kandric had a strange effect on Vondum. Monarch would be appalled if he knew Vondum was actually being kind to the two slave boys with them."

"I noticed." Anax begrudgingly admitted, "I have watched Vondum for quite some time and have never seen him act so kind and friendly. Things are sure getting confusing!"

"Welcome to the game, nephew. Now you know why trying to do good is often a great deal harder than it sounds."

Gablon

Gablon made his rounds one last time. With the end of the storm it was time once again to move out. The only concern he currently had was how many of his guards were still injured. He would have loved to give them time to heal, but the price of feeding them and the slaves would seriously cut into profits and the longer he stayed in the Slums the worse he personally felt about buying the children from people who were so desperate.

The only thing keeping him at a respectable profit margin at the moment was the sale of all the Orcs to the merchants of Slome. Klorna broke off this thought chain as she stepped up to the wagon, "Everything is ready. But I do not expect to make good time at all with the heavy snow still covering the roads. Not to mention a road up here is not even a good goat path below the mountains."

Gablon glanced down at the Dwarf, "I know. The animals will tire quickly so we must be prepared to switch off on which wagon will be breaking the trail and which ones will be in the back. I do not want any animals getting so tired they are injured."

"I already set a rotation; the only problem will be road width. We may have to fudge some. If so, I will rotate sooner than the schedule calls for whenever possible."

"Klorna, what would I ever do without you?"

The Dwarvish Swordswoman grinned, "Probably be sitting at home getting fat instead of earning a real living."

Gablon burst into laughter, "You are probably correct! Did you take care of Rathiter and Darmoth's friends?"

"As requested. Both tested to be Swordsman potential, so we offered them jobs if they agreed to pay off the money you spent to buy them as indentured servants. They agreed without any hesitation. I will work with them to begin training, but neither know a lick about reading, writing or mathematics."

"No real surprise. They will be grown men by the time they pay off their indentured servitude, so they have plenty of time to learn. Put them in some classes with Rathiter. I will teach classes every night and their attendance will be mandatory until they all know how to read Universal and Northman up to basic standards. Have any of them chosen a Subfield yet?"

Klorna nodded, "As expected, Darmoth wants to be a Ruinseeker. Rathiter, on the other had has already started working with Larkist."

"Viper Sect Warrior?"

"Yea. Surprised me when I saw him with her, but he seems to have a bit of a knack for it. Both him and his brother show remarkable talent with their magic. To tell you the truth, it scares me some."

"Really? Why?"

"Because," Klorna glanced around to make sure no one else was close, "I have never in my life seen children take to their respective Fields the way these two are. Rathiter has already learned how to summon enough magic to cast Autospells and is already using Fangs in his Subfield lessons."

Gablon grabbed the wagon in astonishment, "Those wavy daggers are very dangerous! He is not doing anything fancy is he?"

"Larkist has him twirling and dual attacking already. It is as if he was born with the darned things. Darmoth is not too far behind, he has already learned to control three of the more dangerous Autospells, and is learning to cast the others at a rate of one a day."

Gablon shook his head, "Klorna, they are very special boys. I hope to be able to tell you some day, but let me just say this, they are not simple Elves."

"And their brother?"

"I do not know for sure, but he is very special too. After hearing his description, there is a chance I know of this boy."

"How?"

"Someone saved my life and took me in long ago. I still have contact with him and he teaches a boy who is, and I quote: "the most amazing child I have ever taught." If it is the same child then he is already high Secondary Echelon and has not achieved human equivalent of 12."

"Impossible!"

"Impossible or not it is true. You can check the Shaman guilds if you like."

"There is one in the next town. I just might."

Gablon shrugged, "Klorna, how long have you known me?"

"Over 10 years now," the dwarf answered, "Why?"

Gablon glanced around the flipped over his belt buckle, "The same man taught me."

Klorna looked at the guild pins in total astonishment, "I knew you were guilded, because I have seen you cast secretly in combat before to help us, but I had no idea. You are very well connected with the guild then!"

"Yes. It is no joke. Darmoth's brother may be Secondary step five by now. Magic and ability runs very deep in this family."

"I will keep it in mind. All I have to do is figure out a way to warn the teachers."

"They will find out soon enough," Gablon suddenly spun looking to the northeast.

Klorna's hand shot to her spiked mace, "What is it?"

"I am not sure. I felt a sudden blast of magic. It seemed to pass right through me and head toward Slome."

"I don't believe in coincidences. These last few days have not been good at all."

"Agreed," Gablon firmly stated, "Lets get this caravan moving! The more distance we put between ourselves and this place the better."

Klorna nodded, "We'll be on the move in fifteen minutes!"

NEXT PART