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The ranger carefully marked the walls at every intersection, and there were many in this maze of ancient and unused corridors The four wandered for h a door and dis upon an area that seemed familiar to Jojonah

"We are near the center of the abbey," the monk explained "To the south is the quarry, and the ancient crypts and libraries; to the north, the corridors that used to serve as living quarters for the brothers, but now serve Markwart as dungeon cells" Without any pro carefully and quietly

Soon after, Elbryan doused the torch, for the flickering of fire-light could be seen up ahead

"Some of the cells are there," Jojonah explained

"Guarded?" asked the ranger

"Possibly," the monk replied "And it could be that the Father Abbot hiating the prisoners"

Elbryan motioned for Juraviel to take up the point The elfa fewht

"They are not wary," Juraviel explained

"They would expect no trouble down here," Master Jojonah said with confidence

"You stay here," Elbryan said to the monk "It would not be wise for you to be seen Pony and I will clear the way"

Jojonah dropped an anxious hand on the ranger&039;s forearm

"We&039;ll not kill thehters," Jojonah warned, but the ranger hardly see ahead, Pony and Juraviel by his side

As they neared the area, Elbryanaround an earthen bend

There stood the two youngheavily against the wall, half asleep

Suddenly the ranger was between the him hard into the wall Up snapped Elbryan&039;s backhand the other way, dropping the yawning monk even as he opened wide his eyes and started to protest The ranger turned back to the one now slu hi him facedown to the floor, while Pony and Juraviel came in on the other, as too dazed fro fine elven twine, they bound thetheir own ed thee

By the tiroup, and Pony was standing outside a wooden door, staring hard at it As soon as Jojonah had identified it as Pettibwa&039;s cell, Pony started toward it as if she ht in But now she could not

The stench told her the truth, the same smell she had known in sacked Dundalis those many years before

Elbryan was beside her in an instant, steadying her as she finally lifted the latch and pushed open the door

The torchlight splayed into the filthy room, and there, amidst her oaste, lay Pettibwa, the skin on her thick arely bloated Pony stumbled to her, fell to her knees beside the woman and moved to cradle Pet-tibwa&039;s head, but the body would not bend, and so the woman low-ered her head to Pettibwa instead, her shoulders bobbing with sobs

She had known nothing but love for this foster mother, the woht her so enerosity, for in those years long past, Pettibwa had no practical reason to take in the orphaned Pony Yet she had accepted Pony into her faave to her own son, and that was considerable indeed

And now she was dead, and in no senerosity Pettibas dead because she had been kind to an orphaned child, because she had served as mother to the woman who became an outlaw of the Church

Elbryan held Pony close and tried to hold together her erief, sheer sadness and a great emptiness

"I need to talk to her," Pony said repeatedly, her words coasps "I need - "

Elbryan tried to corabbed her arone too long," the ranger said

"I can find her spirit and say good-bye," Pony reasoned

"Not here, not now," Elbryan softly replied

Pony started to protest, but finally, with treh she kept her hand close to it

"I need to talk to her," she said more firmly, and turned fro low and whispering fare-wells to her second mother

Jojonah and Juraviel watched froh surely not surprised that the woman had not survived the wrath of Markwart He was embarrassed as well that one of his Order, indeed the very leader of his Order, had done this to the in-nocent woman

"Where is the other human?" Juraviel asked

Jojonah nodded to the next cell in line, and they both went quickly - only to find Graevis hanging dead, the chain still wrapped about his neck

"He escaped the only way he could," Jojonah said so it out of the chain choker Graevis&039; stiff forle shackle, but better for Pony to see him like that, the elf reasoned, than in his death pose

"She needs to be alone," Elbryan said to the Jojonah in the doorway

"A bitter blow," Juraviel agreed

"Where is Bradwarden?" the ranger asked Jojonah, his tone stern, forcing the guilt-ridden nized Jojonah&039;s horror at once, though, and so he put a co hand on the monk&039;s broad shoulder "It is a difficult ti the corridor," Jojonah explained

"If he lives," Juraviel put in

"We will go to hi for Jojonah to lead on "You stay close to Pony Protect her from ene-mies and from her own turmoil"

Juraviel nodded and came out of the cell as Elbryan and Jojonahthe corridor Juraviel went back to Pony then, telling her gently that Graevis, too, was dead, then erief washed over her

Jojonah followed the ranger farther down the low corridor, guiding Elbryan past intersections with soft whispers They moved around a final bend into another shadowy, torchlit area, where they sao doors, one on the left-hand wall and another at the very end of the corridor

"You think this is ended, but it has only begun!" they heard a man cry, followed closely by the crack of a whip and a low, feral growl

"Brother Francis," Jojonah explained "A lackey of the Father Abbot"

The ranger started ahead, but stopped fast, and Jojonah faded into the shadows, as the door began to open

The monk, a man of about the same years as Elbryan, stepped out, whip in hand and a very sour expression on his face He froze in place, eyes going wide as he took note of Elbryan, this stranger standing iuards?" the monk asked "And who are you?"

"A friend of Avelyn Desbris," Elbryan replied griods, good show!" came a cry froood to hear the booain "Oh, but ye&039;re to get yer due, Francis the fool!"

"Silence!" Francis coether and eased the whip out to its length as Elbryan ad-vanced a step - though the ranger still did not bother to draw his sword

Francis lifted the whip threateningly "Your friendships alone show you to be an outlaw," he said, a nervous edge to his voice de-spite his best efforts to appear calnized those efforts, but hardly cared whether this man was confident or not Bradwarden&039;s voice and the realiza-tion that this man had just used that whip on his centaur friend as-saulted the ranger&039;s sensibilities, sent hi into that warrior mentality He continued his advance

Francis pumped his arm but didn&039;t snap the whip He shifted un-colanced over his shoulder as often as forward

On cahtbird, Te Francis did try to snap the whip, but Nightbird quick- stepped forward, inside its rolling length, and pushed it aside The monk threw the weapon at him, turned and sprinted for the door at the end of the corridor He grabbed at the handle and yanked hard, and the door opened about a foot before Nightbird&039;s hand was against it, stopping its er slaer&039;s defenses, Francis spun about and launched a straight right punch for the ht hand pushed the door, Nightbird stiffened his left hand, holding it fingers up and perpendicular to his body, a foot in front of hiht shift, perfectly timed, brushed Francis&039; hand out wide, and then Francis&039; successive left was turned harht arer picked it off, brushing it out ith the sa the back of his fingers in contact with Francis&039; arm It all seemed too slow to Francis, and too easy, but suddenly the te his hand fast over Francis&039; forearht Francis&039; fist, covering it with his right hand and pulling hard, again with the frightful, undeniable strength

Francis lurched to the side, his arht across his body and down, and his breath was blasted away by a short, straight left jab to his side, a punch incredibly jarring, given the er&039;s fist traveled Francis bounced hard against the door and tried to recover, but Nightbird, holding fast the monk&039;s fist, drove his arm up and under Francis&039;, and the suddenpop from Francis&039; elbow Waves of pain washed over hih as he fell back squarely against the door, and the large ranger waded in, hitting hiht to the stomach that doubled him over, followed by a left uppercut to the chest that lifted his feet right off the ground

A devastating flurry followed, left and right in rapid succession, haainst the door or up into the air

It ended as abruptly as it had started, with NightbirdFrancis bent forward fro lier just in tiht him on the side of the jaw, snapped his head violently to the side, and flipped hiht over to land on his back on the hard floor

All the world was spinning into blackness for Francis as the large form moved over hihtbird hushed Jojonah inized He relaxed when he looked closer at his victi quickly, the ranger dropped a sack over the ing into Bradwarden&039;s cell

"Taked ye long enough to find me," the centaur said cheerily

Elbryan was overcoht, and thrilled, for Bradwarden was indeed very er could ever have hoped

"The aric!"

Elbryan ran over and e that tie shackles and chains

"I&039;m hopin&039; ye found a key," the centaur re them!"

Elbryan reached into his pouch and produced the packet of red gel, the saoblins He unfolded the packet, then s the centaur

"Ah, but ye got more o&039; the sahtedly

"Weinto the rooht of him put Bradwarden into a fit, but Elbryan was quick to explain that this was no enemy

"He ith them that took me from Aida," Bradwarden ex-plained "With theet you out of these chains," the ranger was quick to add

Bradwarden&039;s visage softened "Ah, true enough," he surren-dered "And he did giveroad"

"I am no enemy of yours, noble Bradwarden," Jojonah said with a bow

The centaur nodded, then turned his head and blinked curiously as his right arm came down fro to strike at the chain that held the cen-taur&039;s right hind leg

"Good sword," Bradwarden re, too, was free

"Go see to Elbryan," Pony said She was still kneeling beside the body of Pettibwa, but she resolutely straightened her back

"I doubt that he needs any assistance," the elf replied

Pony took a deep breath "Nor do I," she said, and Juraviel understood that she wanted to be alone He noted that her hand was again clutched about a stone in the pouch, and that was surely alar, but in the end he knew that he had to trust in Pony He kissed her gently on the top of the head, then moved back fro quiet guard in the torchlit corridor

Pony tried hard to hold control She put her hand to Pettibwa&039;s bloated cheek and stroked it gently, lovingly, and it seemed to her as if the dead woman settled easier, as if the pallid color of death was not so obvious