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The terrain becaht in the valley Master Jojonah tried to keep the spirits of his coood they had done, of the suf-fering they had prevented by intervening But all of the httiic, and, given the rough terrain,that neither Jojonah nor Brother Francis would coe Exhausted as they were, the uard, not in this wild region Master Jojonah did end the ride early, before the sun had set, and called for his brothers to sleep well and long, to gather their strength that they orously the next day

"We would have had the strength to travel much later," Brother Francis pointedly told thehi a wary eye on the older ed in an affair that was not our own"

"It seems to me that you enjoyed the rout of the monstrous force as much as any, brother," the Master responded "How can you doubt the wisdoarner in destroying eneh-browed proclamation raised Jojonah&039;s eyebrows

"Yet," Brother Francis went on before the portly monk could reply, "I knohat Father Abbot Markwart dictated"

"And that is all that roaned over the brother&039;s blind faith, a fault so prevalent in the Abellican Order these days, a fault that he, too, had been guilty of for so many years Master Jojonah, like all the masters and immaculates of St-Mere-Abelle, had known that the ship hired to carry the brothers to the isle of Pimaninicuit would never be allowed to leave the harbor at All Saints Bay, and that all aboard her would be killed Like all the others - all except for Avelyn Desbris - Jojonah had accepted that grim outcome as the lesser of two evils, for the e as the location of Pimaninicuit to sail away Similarly, Jojonah knew that Brother Pellimar had been al-lowed to die of an infection froh hard work by the older monks with a soul stone certainly could have saved hi that all-iain, at the time, Pellimar&039;s demise had see on his own decision, Master Jojonah could not fully blame the zealous Brother Francis now "We saved ht," he reminded "And for that, I cannot be sorry Our mis-sion has not been compromised"

"Your pardon, Master Jojonah," caon

Both er

"I have detected a presence in the area," Brother Delloblin, not athe sudden and frantic reaction "Aour every move"

Master Jojonah sat back, not too concerned, andout of his way toharder than any other in the caravan Jojonah liked the potential he saw there, in the young man&039;s eyes, in the idealistic attitude

"Athat Master Jojonah wasno e?" he snapped impatiently Francis, too, had noticed Dell monk&039;s motives "Who is it, and where has he come from?"

"Alpinadoran, obviously," Brother Dell flaxen hair"

"Froe, no doubt," Brother Francis said with a huff aimed directly at the master "Perhaps you spoke too soon, Master Jojonah," he added curtly

"He is ato find out e are and e saved his village We will send him away and that will be the end of it"

"And is he a precursor?" Brother Francis said "A spy sent to unveil our weaknesses? Never has Alpinador called itself an ally of the Abellican Church Need I reedy at Fuldebarrow?"

"You need re," Master Jojonah replied sternly, but Brother Francis&039; point ell-taken Fuldebarroas an Alpinadoran town, larger than the one froht, wherein the Church, the Abbey of St Precious of Palone well for nearly a year, but then, apparently, the Abellicanto offend the Alpinadoran barbarians, probably soure of the northern people None of the monks were ever found - physically at least St Precious had turned to St-Mere-Abelle for help in the investigation, and using their ical talents, soul stones to locate the spirits of the dead, the er abbey discovered that the missionaries had been brutally executed

But that incident was nearly a hundred years old, and sending erous course

"Let us be rid of this spy efficiently," Brother Francis said, rising to his feet "I will - "

"You will do nothing," Master Jojonah interrupted

Brother Francis straightened as if slapped "It is curious that I was not able to contact Father Abbot Markwart before the fight at the village," he reiven his sly look Jojonah&039;s way "Distance is supposed to be irrelevant where hematite is concerned"

"Perhaps you are not as powerful with the stones as you be-lieve," Master Jojonah said dryly Both h Both knew that Master Jojonah, who possessed a sic, had interfered with Brother Francis&039; atteainst the notion that they would defend the Alpinadoran village from the monsters

"What are we to do with this troublesome shadow, then?" Francis demanded

"What indeed?" was all Master Jojonah could answer

"He knows of us, and thus he looms as a threat," Brother Francis pressed "If he is a spy, as I believe, then he will likely send a pow-erful force against us, and letting hiht of the dozens of ener-osity with their lives" He paused, and it seemed to Jojonah that he was almost pleased by that prospect, as if he had just convinced himself that it would be better to let the ht for Brother Francis, though "Or even if he is not a spy," the fiery monk went on, "he remains a threat Sup-pose he is captured by the powries Do you doubt that he will di-vulge information about us to the monsters in the false hope of erstartled expressions at the increasingly heated exchange "Perhaps it would be better if you left us now," the master bade theeht watch our unin-vited guest more closely"

"Uninvited and unwanted," Brother Francis said under his breath as the three youngerto join Francis and Jojonah

"Do not underestimate this Alpinadoran," Brother Braumin re-marked as he neared "Were it not for the soul stone, ould never have known he was shadowing our every h even as we speak he is less than fifty yards from our encampment"

"Spies are practiced at such tactics," Brother Francis re a sour expression from both Jojonah and Braumin

"What do you believe?" Master Jojonah asked of Brauuess," the ih I place less sinister value on that notion than does my brother"

"Our uard," Francis argued

"Indeed it is," Master Jojonah agreed He eyed Brother Braumin directly "Possess the one, or, if that should fail, use your power to walk his physical body far, far froain his physical con-sciousness back in the deep Timberlands, too exhausted to return anytime soon"

Brother Braumin bowed and started away, not thrilled by the prospect of possession, but relieved that Brother Francis did not get his way He had not journeyed all these miles to play a role in the murder of a human

Brother Braumin went to Dellman first, and bade the man to pass the word that all activity with quartz should cease, and that Dell with the soul stone - possession was tricky enough without the prospect of another dis-eon and prepared himself

Andacanavar crouched low in the brush, confident that he was too well concealed for any of the nearby er had no experience with ic, other than that of the Touel&039;alfar, and did not know the potential of the ring stones

But Andacanavar was sensitive to his environment, extremely so, and he did indeed sense the presence about hi watched

How strong that sensation becaht up to the ranger, when Brother Brauht into theto every shadow, to every conceivable hiding place He kneas not alone, and yet all of his physical senses showed hier alment That near outburst surprised hi and inescapable conclusion that so itself over his of the Touel&039;alfar, the joining of the entire elven co, a ain the ranger al that the intruding will likely wanted hier searched inside hi identifiable He recalled the co, a hundred voices joined as one, a hundred spirits blended in harer fell low to the ground, growling softly, fighting back in the only e, a red barrier, denying all action Andacanavar was completely in control of his will, on every level He used the discipline ofbi&039;nelle dasada, the sword-dance, used in his years of training in Caer&039;alfar And through that grier identified his spiritual ene will A picture forht process, and he mentally placed an enemy marker when-ever a trail on that map was accessed

The enemy, the will of Brother Braumin, soon showed clear to the , an open battle of wills, with the advantage of surprise no more Brother Brauht well, but the ranger was the stronger by far, and the monk was soon expelled, and soon in retreat

Andacanavar was truly frightened by this strange experience, this unknown e, he would not let the opportunity pass He felt a channel, a pathway left by the de-parting spirit, and he sent his thoughts along it, soaring free of his body

Soon he was in the ons There sat the source of the intrusion, a ed, deep inthe ht back into the round was more difficult, a ter-rain far er pressed on, focused his will Only one thought slowed him, and that only tem-porarily: if he dominated this body, would it leave his own open to intrusion?

The ranger had no way of knowing, and the hesitation al the sah all these years and all these trials of the unforgiving land of Alpinador, Andacanavar pressed on tenfold, driving hard into thetheevery pathway, every corner, every hope and every fear

It was not a good feeling, was too strange and too out of place, and, for the noble ranger, was si Despite any rational-ization that he had been protecting his very soul, or any that re-minded him of his duty to his fellow Alpinadorans, Andacanavar could not rid hi another&039;s body, whatever the reasons, assaulted the ranger&039;s sense of right and wrong profoundly

But he persevered, and took soray stone he held in his unfanized, the pathway between the spirits, and with it in his possession, both physical and spiritual, he felt confident that the portal to his own corporeal body was closed to any others Acclied hi out into the enca conversations He rereeted by and returned the salutation of lad that the elves had bothered to teach hi confidence, he dared to exit the wagon, walking openly in the ners

He didn&039;t have a difficult tiroup, it was apparently based on age, and Andacanavar had always been good at deter a man&039;s years Between these ireeted him, he confirh stature a theman of-fered and another later confir who this ht be So he continued to wander about the enca what infor followed - not by any corporeal being, but by the displaced spirit Again and again the diseh Andacanavar repelled the assaults, the ranger under-stood that he was groeary and would not be able to hold out for long

He spotted a roup, perhaps the one the others had spoken of Beside the ry expression, was another e as the one he had possessed

"Finished already?" Master Jojonah asked, co over to him

"Yes, Master Jojonah," Andacanavar answered respectfully, hoping that his tone, and his guess about the man&039;s identity, were correct

"And are we rid of the spy?" the other e to punch the surlyand hard, purposefully ignoring the question in the hope that the pair would further elaborate

"Brother Brauone?"

"What would you havehis ire at the younger of the two, for it seemed obvious to hiood terms

"What I would have you do is irrelevant," Brother Francis an-swered, casting a telltale sidelong glance at Master Jojonah

"Since you have had no time to walk the Alpinadoran far away froestion that he should depart," Master Jojonah said calmly

"Perhaps we should have invited him in," Andacanavar dared to respond "He knows the lay of the land, no doubt, and er eyed Brother Francis as he spoke, and recognized a budding suspicion there, for the man wore an expression now of total surprise and even of horror

"I considered that course," Master Jojonah ade "But we must adhere to the Father Abbot&039;s decree"

Brother Francis snorted

"If we brought hinoring Francis so co-nized that the oldermonk&039;s impertinence

"Questions we cannot afford to answer," Jojonah continued "We will pass through Alpinador quickly, and better not to involve any of the northmen in our quest Better not to open any old wounds between our Church and the barbarians"

Andacanavar didn&039;t press the issue, though he was indeed relieved to learn that this powerful contingent was not in the northland for any reasons hostile to Alpinador

"Go back and look over our scouting friend," Master Jojonah in-structed, "and see that your suggestion is being followed"

"I will do it," Brother Francis interrupted

The ranger wisely held back his initial reaction, for that reply would have been too sharp and insistent, even desperate He had no desire to battle yet another spirit this day "I aned to me, Master," he said to the er his slip; that title was reserved, he realized now, for the older ry to suspicious to incredulous, staring hard through narrowed eyes at the ranger in the monk&039;s body Andacanavar tried to cover hisquickly to the oldera siive me the stone, brother," Master Jojonah said

Andacanavar hesitated, considering the iet back to his own body without that stone? Would the h it sensed the ranger&039;s sudden hesitance, the disem-bodied spirit took that opportunity to attack once er kneas time to leave

Master Jojonah and Brother Francis leaped forward to grab the body of faltering Brother Braus buckled Brother Francis went right for the he it free of the man&039;s hand

But Andacanavar&039;s spirit had no trouble locating the ranger&039;s body, or in reentering He was up and ht hide fro spiritual eyes

Back in the camp, Brother Brau for his breath

"What happened?" Master Jojonah asked

"How did you fail against one who is not even trained - " Brother Francis started to de," Brother Brauasps "That one, that Alpinadoran, is strong of will and quick of thought"

"You would have to say that," Brother Francis said dryly

"Go out yourself with the soul stone," Brother Braumin snapped at hih of this!" Master Jojonah demanded He lowered his voice as he noticed thatabout "What were you able to learn?" he asked Braued "He learned from me, I fear, not the other way around"

"Wonderful," remarked a sarcastic Francis

"What did he learn?" Master Jojonah de

"Ready the teams," Master Jojonah instructed "We must be far from this place"

"I will find the spy," Brother Francis offered

"We will search for hiether," Master Jojonah corrected "If this man defeated Brother Braumin, hold no illusions that you are ato find some retort He turned away, as if to depart

"Shall you join in the search?" Master Jojonah asked bluntly

"I a voice, and all thecon-fidently into their caons without so uard "I a this day Let us speak openly and plainly, as ed incredulous looks with Brother Francis, but when they turned to Brother Brauer, they found that he was not surprised Nor did he look overly pleased

"He is a man of honor," Master Jojonah said with soree?"

Brother Braumin was too preoccupied to reply He had locked stares with the Alpinadoran, the two sharing an almost primal ha-tred They had battled intimately, seen each other&039;s soul bared in hatred For Andacanavar, this man had tried to violate hier in a way so personal that it brought him shame

So they stood and stared at each other, and all the others around the the need for it

Then Brother Brau hi hiave a slight nod "My atteized "For you iants less threatening than what you tried to do togesture, and turned his attention to Master Jojonah

"My name is Andacanavar," he said "And my land is beneath your boots Many areof hty title," Brother Francis reer let the co monk was the one who had tried to steal his body, he liked that man, and certainly respected hian, "for there is nothing sinister in my motives I followed you froth and cannot be letting you walk the land free Such power as you have shown could rain disaster on my people"

"We are not enemies of Alpinador," Master Jojonah replied

"So I have learned," said Andacanavar "And so I have co into your camp as a friend, perhaps an ally, with my weapon on my back"

"We have asked for no help," Brother Francis relare from Master Jojonah

"I a to shut up the troublesome Francis, "of St-Mere-Abelle"

"Your horeat fortress, by all the tales"

"The tales do not lie," Brother Francis said grimly "And each of us here is well-versed in the artshis focus to Master Jojonah, who see you, using his body," he explained "And in so doing, I learned that youyou on that matter None knows the way better than Andacanavar"

"Andacanavar the humble?" Brother Francis remarked "Do you name that as one of your titles?"

"You know that you are offering insults a bit too freely," the ranger replied "Perhaps you should be careful, else those lips get ripped off"

Too proud to stand for such a threat, Brother Francis steeled his gaze and took a bold stride forward

The ranger exploded into motion, too quickly for any of the monks to even cry out He pulled a small axe from his belt, then lurched to the side so he could throw it in an underhand ht between the legs of startled Brother Francis, then soared on, eon some twenty feet behind Francis

The stunned ard the throw, then turned back to Andacanavar, every one of theht have thrown it a bit higher," the ranger said with a wink "And then your voice&039;d be sounding a bit higher"

Brother Francis did well to prevent hie and fear His face hite, though, revealing his true emotions

"Move back, Brother Francis," Master Jojonah scolded in no uncertain terms

Francis looked at the older ry stare Then he did h in truth - and everyone knew it - he was glad that Master Jojonah had intervened

"You see, I have also had a bit of training in what you call the artsto keep iants and the like Your Church andno reason to change that now - but if your ene your allies If you wantthe safest and swiftest path If you do not want ave Brother Braumin a sly look, and chuckled as he finished, "And know that I can walk myself far, far away, and a monk blushed deeply

Master Jojonah looked to his two coes co that ultimately this was his own decision to make "I am not at liberty to tell you our destina-tion," he explained

"Who&039;s asking?" replied a grinning Andacanavar "You are going north and west, and intending to leaveto hold that course, I can show you the swiftest and easi-est way"

"And if we do not lared at Master Jojonah as he spoke, er

"Oh, but you do," the ranger replied, holding fir for the Barbacan, for Mount Aida, by uess"

Supre before the ranger offered any hint concerning his blunt assumption, but the opener monks surely confiruess?" Master Jojonah asked cal the man must have heard as much while in Brother Brau-erous person, the old ht have to let Brother Francis have his way and kill this noble ," Andacanavar clarified "If you areto strike at the backs of theyour home-land, then you are too far to the north and east You should have gone back to the west before you ever set foot in Alpinador But you would not have uide And so you are heading for the Barbacan, it seems plain to reat cloud of gray smoke that covered the land for more than a week and even put some of its ash on my homeland"

Jojonah&039;s fears fast shifted to curiosity "Then there truly was an explosion?" he asked bluntly, despite his fears of giving away too much information

Beside hiest explosion the world has known since I have been in it!" the ranger confir hundreds of miles away And a moun-tain of clouds rolled up, debris froested the confirmation, then found himself in a truly terrible dilemma Father Abbot Markwart&039;s edicts on this h, but Jojonah knew in his heart that this reat assis-tance The e - for all thehis gaze on Brother Francis, who, of course, would likely prove the most troublesome

"I have seen into his heart," Brother Brau, uncoer re a weak s aside his inner turical, said, "Let hih Alpinador"

"He knows too ued

"More than we know!" Brother Brauan in threatening tones

"The Father Abbot could not have foreseen this," Brother Brauood man is Andacanavar, a powerful ally, and one who knows the way A e could easily lose in this jagged terrain," he added, speaking loudly so all could hear "One errant turn in a mountain pass could defeat us, or cost us a week of backtracking"

Brother Francis started to respond, but Master Jojonah held up his hand, indicating he had heard enough Thevery old indeed, rubbed his hands over his face, then looked at his two coer "Dine with us, Andacanavar of Alpinador," he bade the man "I&039;ll not confirm our destination, but will tell you that we must indeed be out of your land to the north and west, and as soon as is possible"

"A week of hard driving," the ranger said

Master Jojonah nodded, though he knew that with their ic they could cut that time by more than half

By noon of the next day, Master Jojonah no longer held any doubts about the wisdo Andacanavar lead the caravan The road re place, a land of ice- broken stones and jagged er knew his ell, knew every trail and every obstacle The ht-ening wagons with levitational htning, and of course they continued to bring in the wild animals

It took Andacanavar a while to catch on to this subtle trick At first he wondered what trickery the ame, but when the caravan left a pair of deer behind them on the trail, both anier was truly perplexed - and far from happy He went back to the deer and examined them

"What do you call this?" he asked of Brother Braumin when the er on the trail

"We use the energy of the wild animals," the monk explained honestly "Like food for our horses"

"And then you leave theed helplessly "What are we to do?"

The ranger gave a great sigh, trying hard to sublie and thick knife from a sheath on the back of his belt and methodically and efficiently killed both deer, then knelt in the dirt and offered a prayer for their spirits

"Take that one," he instructed Brother Brau it over his shoulder

The two caught up to the wagons soon after, Andacanavar drop-ping his carcass right in front of Jojonah&039;s team The master called for a halt and went out to the y and leave theer accused

"An unpleasant necessity," Master Jojonah ader came back "If you have to kill the the aniave a sidelong glance as Brother Francis moved up to join them

"I will show you how to skin and dress them," Andacanavar offered

"We have no time for that!" Brother Francis protested

Master Jojonah bit his lip, not knowing how to proceed He wanted to berate Francis - they could not afford to lose this very valuable guide - but feared that the dae was already done

"Either you find the tier replied

"These are your animals?" asked a doubtful Brother Francis

"You are on er replied "And so I auardianship on the animals" He turned to face Jojonah squarely "Now, I&039;ll not stop you fro; I have done as much myself But if you are to take the animal, you cannot let it waste to death on the road That&039;s an insult, and cruel by any measure of decency"

"Lectured on cruelty by a barbarian," Brother Francis remarked with a snort

"If you need the lesson, take it where you find it," Andacanavar replied withouta beat

"We need no food, or skins," Master Jojonah said caly is vital to our teaet us to our destination and back again, then we are stranded"

"And is it necessary for you to take so h left to live?" the ranger asked

"How are we to knohen to stop?"

"Suppose I can show your men that?"

Master Jojonah s of innocent animals "My friend, Andacanavar," he said, "if you could instruct us on hoe le anirateful"

"So would er replied "And as for these you have already killed, know that you will be eating well tonight, and you will find a use for the skins when you get ht wind blows a bit chill up there"

Andacanavar then showed the monks how to skin and dress the deer carcasses A short while later the caravan was on the er moni-tored each aniy, and as soon as he saw the creature going into distress, he called a halt to the process, and then the animal, weary but very much alive, was allowed to wander back into the forest

Only Brother Francis showed any signs of dissent, and it see Francis was a bit relieved to be rid of the unpleasant practice

"A fine trick if you do it right," Andacanavar said to Master Jojonah as they rode along "But finer it would be if you brought in a !"

"A er explained with a wry s - " Master Jojonah stared to say, but Andacanavar cut hion and ran off into the brush

"He is an active old er returned to the wagons nearly an hour later "You tell your spirit-walking friends to go and look down that way," he said, indicating a shallow dell west of the trail "Tell the and dark, with a rack of antlers twice as wide as a ave doubtful looks

"Just you tell the"

A short while later, when a huge bull moose wandered onto the trail under the control of the soul stones, both ies for their doubts

And how the horses ran when they left the tiredand hard, and by night all of the er&039;s tales of the north Andacanavar&039;s jovial manner and spirited stories won them all over, even Brother Francis, who did not even bother to carry through with his threat to contact the Father Abbot to lodge a complaint

And so it was on the fourth day of their travels together, when the ranger announced that he would leave as they set their camp, that a pall ca," Andacanavar told them "I will show you a road to the Barba - " He stopped and caught hi, I mean," he added slyly

"I cannot confir He had full confidence in Andacanavar now, had seen the man&039;s heart and knew it to be akin to his beliefs Of course the- where else would soht and sure," the ranger went on, "and, if you are not finding any powries or giants blocking the way, you will get there, and soon enough"

"By my maps, our destination is many, many miles from Alpina-dor&039;s western border," Brother Francis reerroad ahead of us, I fear"

Andacanavar held out his hand, and Brother Francis turned over the parcher lifted an eyebrow as he considered it, for it was quite detailed and fairly accurate

"Your reed "But we put Alpinador&039;s western border behind us before we set caht before the last So take heart, my friends, for you are al into the place where the deer then, and with his blood drew another line on theit with an X to mark their present location

He handed the map back to Francis, and with that, and a final bow, Andacanavar left the all the while

"Were it not for his stature, I&039;d think him an elf," Brother Braumin remarked "If there were such a creature as an elf"

Andacanavar&039;s last words concerning their present position ca theirprayers and slept well, then were on the road again, anxiously, before the next dawn

The land reed - lessthe blood line on the uide, the monks soon came upon a wide and clear road, not just a narrow trail All wagons stopped there, with the caravan&039;s leaders going out to investigate

"This sas cut by the monstrous army on their march to the south," Master Jojonah reasoned

"Then backtracking it should get us right to the source of the erous course," re all about "We are in the open"

"But a swift course, no doubt," Brother Brauht about it for only a short while, consid-ering most of all that Andacanavar had put them on this trail "Have the spirit scouts out far and wide," he instructed "Both our wagons and our horses could use the reprieve of a smooth road"

Brother Francis put every quartz and he ht into an enemy encale h they had put a hundred miles anded the Bar-bacan, and all the etting the wagons through those barriers

But the road continued on, to the base of the h a wide pass Setting a caain no e them, and those monks with the quartz stones discovered that there weren&039;t ely dead, and eerily silent Byof the next day the end of thetheir view beyond Master Jojonah called for a halt, then motioned for Brothers Brauo in spiritually," Brother Francis noted

It was a good suggestion, a prudent suggestion, but Master Jo-jonah shook his head anyway He had a feeling that what lay ahead was incredibly important, and he felt that it should be viewed physically, both body and soul He motioned the pair to his side, asked the other ier roup, not so far behind