Page 31 (1/2)

Backlit by the rising sun, swathed in a veil of reat fortress of St-Mere-Abelle loo the clifftop overlooking All Saints Bay Only then, view-ing the sheer size and ancient strength of the place, did Elbryan, Pony, and Juraviel truly come to appreciate the power of their ene-mies and the scope of their task They had informed Jojonah of their course soon after he arrived at their campsite

And then he had told Pony of her brother&039;s deh she and Grady were never close friends, she had spent years beside hiht, but was more than ready for the road before the dawn, a road that had led thely inde-structible fortress that now served as prison to her parents and her centaur friend

The great gates were closed tight, the walls high and thick

"How many live here?" Pony asked Jojonah breathlessly

"The brothers alone number more than seven hundred," he replied "And even the newest class, brought in last spring, have been trained to fight You would not get into St-Mere-Abelle through use of force, if the King&039;s arht find your way in posing as peasants, or as workers, perhaps, but now, that is not possible"

"What do you plan?" the ranger asked, for it seeet the in the wood, Jojonah had pro them that he was no enemy, but a very valu-able ally The four of the, Jojonah leading the way to the east, to this place he had known as his home for many decades

"Any structure this size has less noticeable ways to enter," Jojo-nah replied "I know of one"

The monk led them to the north then, a circuitous route that took thereat structure, then doinding, rocky trail to the narrow beach The water was right up to the rocks, waves licking against the base of the stone, a dance that had continued for centuries untold Still, the beach was certainly passable, so the ranger plunked one foot in, testing the water

"Not now," the h we&039;ll get through before the water is too high, I doubt that we&039;ll find the time to return When the tide recedes later this day, ill be able tothe shore to the dock area of the abbey, a place little used and little guarded"

"Until then?" the elf asked

Jojonah motioned back up the trail, toward a hollow they had passed, and all agreed they could use the rest after their long day and night of hard travel They set a small camp, sheltered from the chill sea breeze, and Juraviel prepared a ht at this tierparts over and over again at Jojonah&039;s bidding It see on every little detail, probing the wos to her observations, to tell hiot to the point where she and Avelyn had er joined in with his own observations, and then Juraviel, too, found ainst theof the trip to the Barbacan

Jojonah shuddered when the elf described his encounter with Bestesbulzibar, and then again when Pony and Elbryan told him of the battle outside Mount Aida, of the fall of Tuntun and the final, brutal confrontation with the dactyl demon

Then it was Jojonah&039;s turn to speak - between bites, for the elf had prepared a wonderful meal He told of the discovery of Bradwarden, of the centaur&039;s pitiful condition, but one that healed re-markably under the influence of the elven armband

"Even I, even Lady Dasslerond, I suspect, did not know the true depth of the iteic, else ould all wear one"

"Like this?" Elbryan said, s his body so his left arht about his muscles

Juraviel only s which I have not yet seen," Jojonah inter-rupted, dropping his gaze over Pony "Avelyn befriended you?"

"As I have told you," she replied

"And at his deemstones?"

Pony shifted uncomfortably and looked at Elbryan

"I know that the stones were taken from Avelyn," the monk went on "When I searched his body - "

"You exhumed him?" Elbryan asked in horror

"Never that!" Jojonah answered "I searched with the soul stone, and with garnet"

"To detect his ic," Pony reasoned

"And there was little about hih I am certain - even more so from your descriptions of the journey - that he went to the place with a considerable cache I knohy his hand was extended upward, and I knoas first to find hiain Pony looked over at Elbryan, and his expression was no less unsure than her own

"I would like to see them," Jojonah stated flatly "Perhaps to wield theht, if there is to be one I have consid-erable talents with the geood use, I assure you"

"Not so good as Pony," Elbryan re a surprised look from the monk

Despite that, Pony reached to her pouch and took the s it wide

Jojonah&039;s eyes sparkled at the sight of the stones, the ruby, the graphite, garnet - taken from Brother Youseff - and serpentine,and all the others He extended his arm toward them, but Pony shifted her hand away, out of his reach

"Avelyn gave these to me, and so they are ht better use theht?"

"You cannot," Pony said calmly "I have been trained by Avelyn himself"

"I spent years - " Jojonah started to protest

"I saw your ith the merchant caravan," Pony reminded him "The wounds were minor, yet they took you treth, Master Jojonah, and I speak noith no intent to insult, or to brag But I aer with the stones, do not doubt, for Avelyn and I found a connection, a joining of our spirits, and in that bond I caic has saved ain," Elbryan added "She does not boast, but merely speaks the truth"

Jojonah looked fro

"I did not use theht for the merchant caravan because we knew that monks were in the area, and I feared ould be de-tected," Pony explained

Jojonah put his hand up in front of hinal that no further explanation was needed; he had heard this sa out the three "Very well," he agreed "But I do not believe that you should bring them into St-Mere-Abelle - not all of theed and then nodded, thinking that the uht be sound

"We do not knoill get back out," Juraviel reasoned "But is it better," he asked Jojonah, "that the stones be hidden out here instead of back in the hands of the monks of your abbey?"

Jojonah didn&039;t even have to think about that one "Yes," he said firmly "Better that the stones are cast into the sea than to be given into the hands of Father Abbot Markwart So I beg that you leave them out here, as ill leave these fine horses"

"We shall see" was all that Pony would promise

The discussion then turned towhat they uards at this seaside door

"I doubt that any will be down there," Jojonah replied with con-fidence He went on to describe the e portcullis, backed by yet another h that inner one was likely left open

"That sounds little like any entrance for us," Juraviel remarked

"There may be smaller entrances nearby," Jojonah replied "For that is a very ancient section of the abbey, and at one tireat doors are fairly new, no more than two centuries old, but there once were many other ways into the structure from the docks"

"And you hope to find one of these in the dark night," the elf said doubtfully

"It is possible that I could open the great doors with the ge at Pony as he spoke "St-Mere-Abelle takes few precautions againsta ship, the portcullis, the only obstacle against successful stone use, ht be open"

Pony didn&039;t reply

"Our bellies are full, our fire warer reht"

Jojonah looked up at Sheila, the brightthe tides He rose and bade the ranger to accoot down there, they saw that the water was much calmer and al-most back down to the base of the rocks

"Two hours," Jojonah reasoned "And then ill have the tiet into St-Mere-Abelle and complete our task"

He made it all sound so easy, Elbryan noted

"You should not come here," Markwart told Brother Francis when the man arrived at the Father Abbot&039;s private quarters, a place he had frequented often in the last feeeks "Not yet"

Brother Francis held his arms out wide, truly perplexed by the hostile attitude

"We e of Abbots," Markwart explained "You will be there, and so will the centaur, if we are successful"

Brother Francis&039; face screwed up even more with confusion

"I?" he asked "But I am not worthy, Father Abbot I am not even an i, when all of the abbots are back in their respective abbeys"

The grin that splayed across the Father Abbot&039;s wrinkled and withered face nearly took in his ears

"What is it?" Brother Francis asked, his tone edging on frantic

"You will be there," Markwart said again "Immaculate Brother Francis will stand beside me"

"But - But - " Francis stuttered, too overwhelmed "But I have not reached my ten years My preparations for promotion to im-maculate brother are in order, I assure you, but the rank cannot be attained by one who has not yet spent a full decade - "

"As Master De&039;Unnero becaest abbot in the est immaculate brother," Markwart said erous times, and sometimes the rules must be bent to accommodate the immediate needs of the Church"

"What of the others of my class?" Francis asked "What of Brother Viscenti?"

Markwart laughed at the notion "Many will attain their new rank in the spring, as scheduled As for Brother Viscenti " He paused and grinned even wider "Well, let us just say that the com-pany he keeps could well determine his future