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Late in the afternoon of his tenth day with the refugee band, Elbryan sought out Oracle for the first ti of the monkish caravan had unnerved him, but so had a new de-tail that was presented that very ee caulne The youngthat the prisoners had been moved from Caer Tinella to Landsdown, took the opportunity to slip into the less defended town and bring the men out

Still, despite the powrie leader&039;s error inthe prisoners to the weaker coer in the woods, for another Craggoth hound remained with the prisoners and was hot on his trail, and only the arrival of Juraviel had allowed Roger and the fleeing prisoners to get away into safety

That was a detail Roger was quick to oht to an excited and thrilled gathering of refugees

The ranger saw a new proble probles out

It is as I feared, Uncle Mather,he began when the ilooer Lockless heads toward disaster Just thishe came into the camp at the head of fifteen people, prisoners of the powries whoht Of course we all rejoiced at their appearance, but in speaking with theer had taken, with his life and with theirs, in going after theh we all desire to re-lieve the powries of their every prisoner, there see need for such a desperate act at this tih, by all indications, for theplan that would have facilitated not only their escape, but the downfall of Kos- kosio Be-gulne and his evil brethren, as well

But I understand what drove Roger into the town last night, and so does Pony By his erroneous thinking, he has lost his rank a his people Where they used to look to hier paused and conteer had first returned He considered the er puffed out his chest when he spoke, the way he looked, particularly at Pony, when he recounted his daring efforts "Pony," Elbryan said with a great sigh

He looked back to the esPony, he repeatedRoger has taken a fancy to her Or perhaps he reatest indi-cator of his worth Pony is my partner, as all knoell, and if he can win her approval, then perhaps he believes they all will rank hier&039;s "crush" on Pony, the ranger saw just how dangerous the situation er, with his obvious talents, could be an incredibly valuable addition to their group, but with his i disaster upon them all

"He and I will fight," Elbryan said quietly, aloud "I fear it will coer left the rooht had cohtly not far away He approached at once, and was accosted by loud voices before he drew near

"We should strike at theued "And hard! Drive them from our lands and back to their dark ht to see ree to the side of Tomas, a distressed look on her face

All the talk paused then, in deference to the ranger, all eyes turning his way, as if awaiting his judgment As soon as Elbryan and Tomas locked stares, they both understood that they would be on opposite sides of the debate

"They are without prisoners," Tomas said "The ti while, truly sys, that desperate need for re-venge when his horound "I understand - " he started to say

"Then put the warriors in line," Torowled back at hiroup

"Yet I fear that you underestier went on calmly "How many of us, of our friends, will die in such a raid?"

"Worth it," cried one man, "if Caer Tinella is freed!"

"And Landsdown!" cried another, a woman from that er calhtered on the field?"

"What then for those who cannot fight?" Pony added, and that sier responsibility, defeated ureeh, for no battle plans were yet being drawn They were all excited now, the ranger realized, about the arrival of three neerful allies, the victory in the forest fight, the safe return of Roger Lockless, and Roger&039;s subsequent stealing of the rest of Kos-kosio&039;s prisoners Now, in the security of these new develop- their ho the murderous thieves who had cos settled down once reed with the rationale, and so she was quite surprised later on, when she and Elbryan rove soer announced, "The tiued against such a course," the woanized," Elbryan went on, "and a furious attack upon theriht cost us many of our warriors"

"Our entire existence is a risk," the ranger replied

"Perhaps we should consider sending those too infirht to the south, to Palmaris, before we plan an attack on Caer Tinella and Landsdown," the elf reasoned "We ht even find allies in the southern cities"

"We have allies in the southern cities," said Elbryan "But they are concerned for their own borders, and rightly so No, if we can hit Kos- kosio Begulne hard now and drive hiht hold theht of their ragtag band holding a defensible position was ludicrous

Elbryan put his head down and sighed deeply He knew that Ju-raviel was playing a vital advocate role here,ideas and work out the finer points than to discourage hi at the world was always a bit discouraging to one who saw the world through human eyes Juraviel didn&039;t understand the level of frustration in Toerous that frustration ulne and his powries froan slowly, deliberately, "it is possible, even likely, that erous powries, perhaps even abandon the war altogether Neither goblins nor gi-ants have any love for powries - they hate the dwarves at least as th of the powrie leader, I believe, that is now binding theoblins have been known to ally in the past, there has never been a great fondness between theoblins on occasion So let us discredit this powrie leader, this binding force, and see what h "Always are you looking for the greatest possible advantage," he said quietly, his tone edged with resignation "Always pushing yourself and those around you to the very limits"

A wounded Elbryan looked at the elf curiously, surprised that Juraviel would criticize hi up and a sly sular face, "that is exactly what the Touel&039;alfar taught you to do!"

"We are agreed, then?" Elbryan asked anxiously

"I did not say that," Juraviel replied

Elbryan gave a frustrated growl "If we do not hit at thee - and it will prove a fleeting thing, I believe - then ill likely find ourselves in ex-actly the saled our way out of Kos-kosio Begulne will regroup and reinforce and coht in the forest, and sooner or later one of those battles will turn against us The powrie leader is outraged, no doubt, by the defeat in the forest and the loss of his prisoners"

"He ion," Pony added, drawing curious looks froer

"I reh to think about it," Pony explained "Kos-kosio Begulne re the a a pine vale that the ranger dearly loved to draw hiainst the er and his cunning and powerful friends

"It is even possible that thefro," Elbryan went on

"We could use our tee to slip around the towns and flee to the south," Juraviel reasoned He did not miss the look, almost one of alarm, that passed between Pony and Elbryan at that notion

"What else?" the elf asked bluntly

"Anything that would ic, flee so, must be a considerable force," Pony put in, but she was far fro to the perceptive elf

"Still more rationale that we should simply flee to the south, as did the ain the look between his co htbird"

Elbryan laughed in concession to that point "Pony and I cannot reo south"

"Brother Avelyn&039;s stones," Juraviel said

"Itfor us," said Pony "Or at least looking for the stones that I hold infor Avelyn, he used this stone," she explained, fishing a red garnet out of her pouch and holding it up for Juraviel to see "This stone detects the use ofpowers led Brother Justice right to hiic has put the monks on your trail," Juraviel reasoned

Pony nodded "It is possible, and too important for us to take any chances"

"The last act of Brother Avelyn&039;s life was to entrust us with the sacred stones," Elbryan put in determinedly "We will not fail him in this"

"Then perhaps the three of us should be on our way now," Juraviel said "Are these stones, then, eeslead?"

Elbryan looked to Pony, but she had no answers for hier said

A noise froht all three on their guard Juravielhis bow as he dis-appeared into the flora, then returning a er Lockless beside hi rocks asman fumed As he spoke he moved far-ther from Juraviel, obviously not comfortable near the diminutive creature

"You need not fear hier would act so skittish around one of the tho had rescued hinized that the young ht of more than fear "Belli&039;mar Juraviel, indeed all the Touel&039;alfar, are allies"

"So I&039;ve coer snapped at her

Pony started to respond, but Elbryan stepped in front of her "As I was explaining," he said evenly, staring hard at the young man, "these stones are as vital - "

"More vital, you said," Roger interrupted

"Do not underestiht back in his face The ranger noted Juraviel&039;s disapproving expres-sion then and calmed hireat power stored within them," Elbryan went on, his voice controlled and even "They may well be more impor-tant than my life, or Pony&039;s, or yours, or the lives of all the people of our band"

"Those are your foolish thoughts - " Roger started to yell back, but Elbryan cut him short with an upraised hand, ale

"However," the ranger went on cal it, I cannot leave this situation as I have found it I et these people to the safety of the southland, or at least make certain that the road there is clear ahead of theer accused

"Thus you wish to strike, and strike hard, against Kos-kosio Be-gulne," Juraviel reasoned, ignoring the petty turn of Roger&039;s argu-ment "If we hit them hard in the tns and scatter them to the forest, the whole of this band can flee south in relative safety, without Nightbird guiding theo," said Pony "And yet," she added, looking squarely at her lover, "you just argued against that very course"

"I did," Elbryan agreed "And I still do argue against a fight that will send all of the warriors, even the ainst the towns"

Pony started to ask what he ht on Elbryan had just gone into Caer Tinella to rescue Roger, and so noas thinking of going back, with just histhe balance of power

Juraviel, also catching on, nodded "I will go into Caer Tinella this night and gather inforer

"Juraviel is better suited to the task," Elbryan was quick to respond

"Have you forgotten that I was in Caer Tinella just two nights ago?" Roger protested "That I returned with the prisoners?"

The other three watched hi how he emphasized that personal pronoun

"If the prisoners were still in there, you could not even think of attacking the town!" Roger finished

Elbryan nodded, conceding the point Roger&039;s action had indeed set the stage for this possible strike But still, especially after speaking with the freed prisoners and hearing of their desperate run through the dark forest, Elbryan remained convinced that Bel-li&039;mar Juraviel was better suited for the task Juraviel had told hiht still be alive, and if that creature had coer nor the prisoners, would have likely returned "Juraviel is the choice," the ranger said cal man&039;s expression and realized that Elbryan had just further co and hurt his inflated pride

"Can you fly from treetop to treetop when the hounds sniff your trail?" Elbryan asked bluntly before Roger could begin to protest

Roger chewed his bottoht he would strike out at the ranger He only stah, and turned to leave

"Stop!" Pony cried, surprising all three She was coer, and while she did not dislike hi and too full of pride and self-ier spun about, eyes wide and blazing with anger

Pony took out a ge it in her hand so he could not see it clearly, and walked up before him "What you have overheard is private," she explained

"Now you deign to order er asked incredulously "Are you h, even at your age and with your lack of experience, to recognize friend fro bare to Roger his short-co their relationship, but she realized that such lessons must be truly learned, and not explained, to be fully appre-ciated "Yet I see that you cannot, that for some reason you have decided that we are not your friends So be it"

The woer backed off a step Not far enough, though, for Pony&039;s hand came out and up fast, and with a yellow-hued weed she er&039;s forehead Then she lifted her hand with the gem before him and spoke a series of phrases that sounded very much like soer de over as he continued his retreat

"I have done nothing to you unless you betray us," Pony replied caler&039;s face screwed up with confusion "I owe you nothing," he said

"As I owe you nothing," Pony replied sternly "Thus I have just evened our relationship once again In your eavesdropping, you heard things which do not concern you, and as such, it is your re-sponsibility to forget theer had no answer, other than to shake his head

"Or to remain silent on the issue, at the very least," Pony went on "However, if you cannot, you will find aabout?" Roger asked, and when Pony s man looked past her to speak to Elbryan "What has she done to me?" he de was sincere

"Tell er yelled in Pony&039;s face

Elbryan closed his eyes as Roger started to reach up for Pony, fully expecting that his love would knock the foolish little h with the movement, and simply stood before Pony, fists clenched in frustration

"I have put a curse on you," Pony said quietly "But a curse with a contingency"

"What do youa hint of fear

"Iand re ill will befall you," the worew dark and oer and rose up tall and terrible on her toes, towering over the srave that it raised the hairs on the back of Elbryan&039;s neck, and sent shivers through Roger&039;s body, "and the ic I have put on you will melt the brains in your head so that they will flow out of your ears"

Roger&039;s eyes widened He knew little of ic, but those dis-plays he had seen were certainly ih for hi out her threat He stumbled backward, nearly fell over, turned and ran away

"Pony!" Elbryan scolded "How could you do such - "

"I did nothing except mark his forehead with dandelion," the woman replied "I&039;ve done as ame we played as children"

"Then - " Elbryan stopped and chuckled, somewhat surprised by his companion

"Was that really necessary?" Belli&039;mar Juraviel asked dryly

Pony&039;s expression was dead serious as she nodded in response "He would have betrayed us to the others," she explained "And I do not wish it to becoe that o are outlaws in the eyes of the Abellican Church"

"And is our secret so terrible?" Elbryan put in "I learned long ago to trust these people"

"Like Tol Yuganick?" Pony retorted, referring to a man who had betrayed her and Elbryan and all the folk of Dundalis before the journey to Aida

Elbryan had no answer to that, but Pony, recognizing that her cynicis her lover, continued "I, too, trust Belster and Toer would have told the story in a way to bolster hiht have put us in an unfavorable light Who knohat tales ht then be spun when the folk are safely in Paler Lockless, couldn&039;t disagree with that

"You did well," Juraviel decided "The tier ht course, but I think that you painted for hinpost"

Elbryan snorted "And here I was for allthat morality was somehow tied to conscience"

"And so it is," Pony replied

"Ideally," Juraviel added "But do not underestimate the power of fear Your own Church has used the threat of an afterlife in fiery briation in line for more than a thousand years"

"Not my Church," Elbryan replied "Not the Church that Avelyn espoused"

"No, the Church that pursued the renegade monk, as emstones, do not doubt," Juraviel replied without hesitation

Elbryan looked to Pony, to find her nodding her assent with the elf&039;s every word He gave a chuckle, unable to argue the point "The Church that pursues Pony andsouth - and quickly, so Roger said," Pony put in "I have used the garnet, but can detect no uess about their speed was correct"

"I hope that they continued right past Palmaris," Elbryan added

"But in any case, our time here is limited I hope to make the most of it"

"Caer Tinella and Landsdown," Belli&039;mar Juraviel said

Elbryan&039;s face was dead serious, even griave his reply "We will meet with you back here at dusk, perhaps to attack before the next dawn"

"As you wish, my friend," the elf said "I am off to scout out the towns, then Prepare the attack - and do reconcile, a bit at least, with Roger Lockless He has done great things for these people, to hear Belster O&039;Cos ahead of him, if he does not let his pride hinder hier," Pony answered

"Paint the signpost clearly," Juraviel said with a laugh and a snap of his fingers, and then he was gone, disappearing into the underbrush so co if they had deceived her Elbryan, though, eable in the ways of the forest, was not surprised

"It is hiulne insisted "I&039;m knowin&039; &039;is ways, the bastard!"

Maiyer Dek pondered the words for a long ti even ree fomorian was quite impressive for one of his race, both physically and h not as sharp-witted as his powrie peer, not even as wise as Gothra, who had ruled the goblins, Maiyer Dek understood his shortco slowly and deliberately

The giant&039;s silence did little for the anxious Kos-kosio Begulne&039;s already foulhis nose with one hand, the other slapping repeatedly against his hip

"There iant offered

Kos-kosio Begulne snorted at the notion "If that&039;s so, then we&039;d&039;ve been kicked all the way back to Aida by this tiiant replied

"I&039;m hopin&039; not," the powrie answered "And I&039;m thinkin&039; not This one be hihtbird coive ain Maiyer Dek went into a long, drawn-out consideration

He and the other three giants who had accompanied hied a huge battle against the Kingsiants had died in the fight, andcohorts had taken a host of iant leader called them, and indeed, ten of the two-score men they had taken were eaten by the tiulne wanted the rehtbird, and in truth, Maiyer Dek wasn&039;t overly fond of huiant remembered vividly the disastrous battle in the pine vale the last tihtbird Did Kos- kosio Begulne really want to bring hiulne said suddenly "We got to settle with Nightbird now, afore half the force leaves us Already the goblins&039;re ru for the Weathered Isles"

"So go, all of us," replied the giant, who had never been too keen on co south to Honce-the-Bear in the first place Before the dactyl had awakened, Maiyer Dek had enjoyed a comfortable exis-tence in the iants - including twenty feood hunting and better eating

"Not yet," the powrie retorted sharply "Not until the dahtbird&039;s paid for our troubles"

"You never even liked Ulg Tik&039;narn," the giant said without even his custoulne shot back, "He was a powrie leader, and a good one! Nightbird killed &039;io?"

"Then we go," the powrie agreed "And once we&039;re past the huoblin scum from yer belly"

That was all Maiyer Dek needed to hear

By the time Juraviel returned froreeiven the success of the fight in the woods and the re-turn of Roger and the other prisoners All of the folk were eager to be done with this adventure, to be sitting in a co their fireside tales, and if going through Caer Tinella and Landsdown ht soon be in the safety of Palht

Pony was still with the out details should the attack on Caer Tinella or Landsdown corove

As soon as the ranger saw Juraviel co

"They have fortified," the ranger reasoned

"Indeed," Juraviel answered with a nod of his head "There are three new scout towers about the edge of the town, north, south-west, and southeast, and an impromptu barricade has been erected about the whole of the place, a barrier of barrels, torn walls, any-thing they could find It seeht of a e," the ranger said

"Perhaps a bit," Juraviel adh he was not too con-cerned or impressed with the fortification "Still, with the new ally that has arrived, I doubt that they feel the need to fortify"

"Another group of powries?" Elbryan asked

"Giants," Juraviel replied "Including the biggest and ugliest of those big and ugly brutes I have ever seen Maiyer Dek, he is called, and even the powries, even Kos-kosio Begulne hireat respect His arical, for it seems almost to have an inner fire"

Elbryan nodded; he had battled with giants similarly outfitted - and he remembered the name of Maiyer Dek froed by the demon dactyl for its elite soldiers

"We cannot allow these people to go against Caer Tinella," the elf went on "We ht hit at Landsdohose garrison does not seem as forainst gi-ants, particularly this new monstrosity, would be folly Even your own plans to do battle pose a great risk"

Elbryan had no arguiants to understand the possibility for complete ca-tastrophe "If we flee around the towns, they will likely catch our trail," he reasoned "We would never get all the way to Palmaris ahead of them"

"A wider berth, then?" the elf asked, but he suspected that the ranger wouldn&039;t be easy to convince

"We can send theo to the town and wage your fight," Juraviel reasoned

"If this giant, Maiyer Dek, is as powerful and as revered as you indicate, perhaps he and I should speak," the ranger explained

"Speak?" Juraviel echoed doubtfully

"With weapons," Elbryan clarified "How great a blow do you suppose it will prove to our eneulne are both slain?"

"Great indeed," the elf adether with each other and evenleadership of those two But still, think wisely, iant and powrie leaders, and even if you can, even if you so over you, you may find yourself overees do without Nightbird to lead thehtbird to lead theer reminded "And they will have Juraviel"

"Whose business this is not!"

"Who chose to corin

"Who chose to follow his protege, Nightbird, towidely; and Elbryan knew from that smile that he had Juraviel on his side "I have too- and you carry an elven sword and a bow et yourself killed"

"Soer said

"Or perhaps they are one and the same," Juraviel put in

Elbryan clapped the elf on the shoulder, and both were still laughing when Pony rove to join theood, then?" she reasoned

"No," both Elbryan and Juraviel said in unison

Pony rocked back on her heels, caught by surprise, given their jovial attitudes

"We were just discussing the folly of your Elbryan&039;s intentions," Juraviel explained "To walk into the middle of an eneh one is a powrie, as tough and stubborn a creature as ever lived, and the other a huge and ?" Pony asked Elbryan

"Of course"