A new beginning (complete)

Chapter 1

A strange new world

I had turned eighteen a few months ago. I was tall for my age at six feet. I had blond hair and green eyes. I moved with what seemed an unnatural grace, (the result of almost twelve years studying the martial arts). I was considered a genius, at the age of twelve I had finished high school. I had started learning martial arts at six, mostly to protect myself from older boys.

My master was unusual in that he did not teach just one of the arts like karate but many in a blend that seemed to work well together. I also thought he differed from others because he often used a form of what he called Zen. Like, “Learn to see the leaves in the forest.”

When I had corrected him by saying, “you mean see the trees.”

He had smiled at me and told me, “anyone can see a tree.”

There were others “Smell the rose while standing in a pile of manure.”

“Hear the sound of a heartbeat in a crowd.”

Or, “Feel the face of an unborn child.”

I had thought they were just Zen sayings but knew better now. I had been given an amulet only that morning, it was a small bronze one with the symbols of yin and yang and it had a serpent around the edge, eating its own tail

The story begins

As I woke up I was a little disorientated. The last thing I remembered was the explosion. My parents and several of my friends, teachers and my martial arts master had been in the house talking. I remembered the car driving past me as I came back from the store.

As it had passed me, two boys had leaned out with guns pointed at my neighbor who had been in the front yard with a couple of his friends. When they had started shooting I remembered the ball of fire that had engulfed the house and reached out for me but everything else was blank.

I slowly sat up and looked around. I was sitting in the burned out remains of a house. I stood and made my way out of the rubble. The street in front was just as confusing, it was not my street but was full of people and it was cobbled and not paved. There were horses and wagons on the street and the people were dressed differently.

While I was trying to orientate myself there was a commotion moving up the street toward me. When I looked I saw six men knocking people out of the way for two riders that were following. I stepped to the side for them to pass but when one of the six got to where I was he tried to knock me to the side.

This was a mistake on his part, I stepped to the side grasped his arm as it came down and let the his momentum do the work. The result was the man ending up on his back in the gutter. It also cleared the street as the other five started for me. They were carrying what looked like clubs and two had spear type weapons that I thought I recognized as pikes from the middle ages.

When the next two reached me they did not even try to speak. The one on the left swung the pike back to strike me as the other held the club back. I stepped forward and with a front kick to the pike welder’s chest, kicking him back. He went flying back across the street, hitting a wall and sliding down the wall to land in a heap.

As soon as I kicked the first man the other man had moved forward to strike me. I turned and grabbed the hand on the club as it was coming down. I twisted the arm and bent the wrist causing the man to drop the club and then I kick him in the stomach. Releasing the hand I brought my right hand down in a hammer fist to the back of his head, knocking him out.

The first man was up and rushing me. I stepped to the side and tossed him into one of the other men coming at me. Stepping up to the two men still standing I grabbed the pike as it was thrust at me and side kicked the other man sending him down vomiting in the street.

I pulled the pike out of the surprised the man’s hands only to return the butt into his stomach making him double over before I pulled it back and brought it down on the back of his head. I stepped up to the two trying to untangle themselves and struck one on the temple and kicking the other in the head.

When I looked around all the people had moved back and the two men on horseback were looking at me. The one on the left turned to the other man, “It seems this peasant might need a lesson from his betters.”

I looked at him, he was dressed in fancy clothing compared to the people on the street with a sword that had a jewel-encrusted hilt. I shook my head, “You are not worth the trouble.”

Turning, I dropped the pike and walked up the street. I turned at the first intersection and ended up in a large square that was packed with people. There were stalls and people everywhere. I knew I had to find out where I was and what had happened to me. I felt someone approach me and reach into my pocket.

I grabbed the hand and looked into the face of a girl of about sixteen, (If it had not been for my senses I would have thought it was a younger boy.) A larger boy about ten feet away said in a loud voice, “What are you doing with my brother?”

As he said this the girl pulled a slim knife from her boot. I had turned but felt her pull the knife. As I looked at the older boy I turned the hand and twisted. Her arm straightened out with the hand bent backwards. She let out a yell and dropped the knife as the boy turned and ran into the crowd. I looked back at the girl, “Well girl, what do I do with you?”

There was a large man in what looked like a uniform heading through the crowd. The girl saw him and turned white, “You can have anything you want mister, only do not turn me in please.”

I nodded, “Do not run.”

I released her as the guard reached us. He looked at me, “Is there a problem?”

I looked back at him, “no.”

The guard looked at the girl but she only shook her head. Turning away with a grunt he waded back into the crowd. Looking around I saw a spot that was clear; it was by a tall wall. Placing my hand on her shoulder I walked her over to it, “First what is your name?”

She looked back at me and I could see her trying to think up something so I shook her. Startled she said, “Sam.”

“Well Sam, I need information. What is this place called? Tell me about it and take your time.”

She looked at me like I was crazy but when all I did was look back she started talking. The name of the city was Westford. It was named for the west most ford of the river ebb. It was also a major city on the trade route, which meant that the large trading companies ran it. Though there were nobles here they did not have a say in the running of the city unless they were part of one of the trading companies.

There were three races in the city, humans, elves and dwarves. Well, four if you counted the wizards. Right now the trading was very good. The Orcs and goblins had started another one of their wars to the east and most of the trade goods came through here.

I had a photographic memory, which was probable why I had graduated collage at the age of sixteen. The names she was telling me seemed to be out of some book, Tolken or one of the others. I was seriously thinking I may have been hit on the head harder then I thought. It was several minutes before I stopped her.

Apparently there was no one I could appeal too. That left how to make money so I could eat. My major had been in medicine, with several minors, one in chemistry, another in engineering and an associates degree in metallurgy. My skill in the martial arts was probable my only quick way to earn a living, perhaps as a mercenary. I looked at Sam, “You can leave.”

She was been remembering my comment when I had caught her, “Well girl, what do I do with you?”

There would be no doubt that it would have been overheard. Those in the guild only sent girls to the cribs (Houses of prostitution) and there was no way she was going there. Sam looked around and then back at me, “What are you going to do?”

I thought about it and kept coming back to the fact that I had no money. When I looked at Sam it came to me, with my skills I would be a very good thief. I smiled, “Become a thief.”

She looked at me in disbelief. I looked around at the common marketplace and then back at Sam, “Where do the wealthy shop?”

She gestured and we set off. When we entered the other marketplace it was like night and day. There were four times the guards and it was not even half as crowded. I had Sam wait by the street leading into the square and calmly walked across. When I got to the other side I stopped at a food vendors stall and bought several rolls.

They were filled with sausage, cheese and cabbage. When I got back I smiled, “Where is a good place to stay?”

She thought about it, “It depends on how much you want to spend.”

I moved into a covered alley and handed her two of the rolls and started bringing out the small purses, twelve in all. Sam was shocked, she had not even seen them. I had her tell me the value of the coins. Copper was the cheapest then Bronze, Silver came next and Gold was last.

Remembering my encounter earlier I described the young noble to Sam. She nodded at my description, “Henry Shaffer. His father is part of a trade consortium.”

I nodded. “Do you know of somewhere close to where he lives that we could stay?”

Sam led the way and we ate the rolls as we walked. I could see the differences in the houses as we walked, there were walls around the houses now and a few guards walking the streets. When Sam stopped, it was in front of a large three-story house. The wall around it was twelve feet tall.

As we walked along the side of the estate I saw that the street along the side was only about fourteen feet wide. Along the side of the house and about half way down was a large tree inside the wall with limbs that reached toward the house. When Sam turned to the right she gestured, “That was the Shaffer house.”

Four houses down was an inn, it had a sign of a lion laying on it side, (The Fallen Lion.) A room and bath for the two of us cost two silvers, which I thought was expensive until Sam reminded me that you pay for where you sleep. Once we had seen the room, (it even had a lock.) I gestured at my clothes, “I needed clothing.”

Sam shrugged and led me back to the street. While we were walking I looked at her, “Nothing too fancy, they only needed to be clean, comfortable and serviceable.”

She nodded and a little later we came to a small shop. It was on a small side street but looked like it saw regular business. I bought three changes of clothing and bought Sam a couple of sets as well. I even bought a pair of good used boots that had been resoled.

We made another stop at a shop that looked to me like it sold miscellaneous items. Sam showed me the eating utensils that I would need. I also bought a rope and large hooks that I would need for later. On our return to the inn I looked at Sam, “Are all the houses around this area of the city occupied?”

Sam looked at me and then led me to a large house on the next street over from the inn. Its walls were maybe seven feet tall. She looked at the walls, “The owners are only here in the winter.”

I looked around and when I saw no one watching I jumped, grabbed the wall and swung over. Once on the other side of the wall I looked around and then crossed to the gate and unbarred it and wedged the bar so it would not lock. Back on the street I closed the gate and then we returned to the inn. I led Sam to the room and sniffed at her rank smell, “We need baths.”

At first Sam was nervous about the bath until I sank down onto the floor with my legs crossed and asked if she would mind taking her bath first. The bath was a luxury for Sam but she did not want to get back into her dirty clothing so she picked up one of the newer sets I had purchased. I looked up at her and told her she might want to wear the darker set.

When she came back into the room I was still sitting on the floor with my legs crossed. After a minute she told me it was my turn for a bath. Saying this seemed to rouse me and I stood up as if I had just sat down. When I came back from the bath I felt refreshed. I looked at Sam, “why are you staying with me?”

She shrugged, “It will be safer.”

When I looked at her she sighed, “Now that they know I am a girl they will try to put me in a Crib.”

I let this sink in, I knew from my history that there were cultures that believed that was all a female was good for. I smiled at Sam, “Tonight we are going to break into the Shaffer house. I will go over the roofs and you will stay in the shadow along the street. I will send anything I find out to you.”

We went down to eat and there was a change in the innkeeper when he saw us wearing better clothing. While we ate I glanced at Sam, “Do you know of a place we could rent? Or better yet, a place that is in disrepair that we could fix up?”

After a few minutes she nodded, “I know of a place. It will need a lot of work though. It burned down two weeks ago.”

After we had eaten we took a walk. The house was above the river on a small estate. There was a short granite cliff before the river reached the ford. It was twenty feet above a small sandy beach. It had been a moderately large house with a stone stable that had not burned. There was also a fairly large blacksmith shop to the side that was not to badly damaged.

The road in front curved so that it ran next to the drop into the river. On the other side of the estate was another granite cliff that reached up sixty feet to a long burned out stone keep. As I looked through the rubble I found a small stream that came out of the rock and poured into what looked like a small pool.

We saw steam rising off the water and when Sam saw that she grinned, “It must have cost a small fortune.”

I looked at the small pool of warm water, “why?”

She smiled, “A mage has to open a fissure for the water. The stones in the column in the center of the small pool have fire elementals trapped in them.”

I was skeptical until I felt the water. The spring water had been cold but this was a warm pool. I could smell no sulfur in the water either. Sam looked around, “You can probably buy it for maybe five hundred gold pieces.”

Back at the inn Sam laid down in the bed with me but seemed to be watching me to see if I was going to try something. I woke at midnight, at first I did not move. I was still in the bed at the inn, so much for a bad dream.

Moving off the bed I woke Sam and collected the things I would need. Taking the rope I opened the window and looked around and then lowered Sam to the ground. Once she was on the ground she untied the rope and faded into the shadows. I pulled it up and coiled it around my waist. I reached out and got a hold on an overhead beam at the edge of the roof. Once I was out I closed the window and then pulled myself up onto the roof.

I slowly made my way up to the crown of the roof. When I reached the edge of the roof there was a gap of about twelve feet to the next house. With three running steps I made a leap. I landed without a sound on the next roof. I knew Sam had been watching and was moving on. I repeated this until I came to the street where Shaffer lived. I bent over the edge of the roof and screwed the eye hook I had bought into the beam. I tied the rope to it and dropped it.

Standing, I looked down on the wall. Here and there was broken glass but the area I wanted was clear. This time when I made my leap I landed on the top of the wall. Sam appeared out of the shadows and grabbed the rope and crossed to the wall. She tossed it up to me in one throw and then disappeared back into shadows.

Leaving slack in the rope I made a small jump onto a large tree limb and then worked my way up to the edge of the house. I was at the level of the second floor, looking up I saw the vent going into the attic. Using the gaps in the stones I easily climbed up to the vent and after a minute I worked the vent open. Once it was open I climbed in and attached the second hook into the center beam of the attic.

After tying the rope to the hook I started looking around. I found several large piles of black velvet curtains and could think of another use for the material. I made a bundle and tied the knot on the rope. I looked out and after a minute heard Sam whisper, “Clear.”

She had been doubtful when I had explained this earlier but had agreed to try my way first. I released the curtains and they started sliding along the rope dropping as they went. I helped this even more after they cleared the wall by putting more slack in the rope. When they were almost touching the street Sam appeared to catch them. At first she just looked back up at me but when I waved her off she untied the bundle then disappeared.

Without waiting I tightened the rope and than moved to the access door leading down into the house. I listened and when I was sure it was clear, opened the door. The hallway was dark but I could faintly hear the sounds of sleeping people in the rooms on both sides of the hall. The rooms here were the servants rooms, what I wanted was on the next floor down.

When I found the hidden stairway for the servants, I went down. There were only a few rooms here and no guards. After three empty rooms I slowly opened the door into the forth room and found the young man from my encounter the day before. He was sleeping in a large bed and I moved to the side of the bed.

I picked up his sword with the gems in the pummel. I put the belt over my shoulder and moved to the table to the side of the room. The young man’s purse was there and it seemed to be very fat indeed. After putting it in my pocket I started to turn away. When I did I saw a small chest in what looked like an armoire.

I opened it and saw another small chest. The first chest I opened held jewelry. I opened the next and found it was half full of coins of all types, mostly gold and silver. Placing one on top of the other I left and made my way back up to the attic and wrapped it all in another curtain. When I looked out Sam whispered right away.

Tying the curtain to the rope I let it go. When Sam caught it this time she had to struggle a little to untie the knot. After she had left I went back downstairs to the last room. This room was larger and there was an older man in the bed with what looked like a young boy and I moved a little slower, (The man was restless.)

I took the purse that was on the table and quietly opened the wardrobe to find two more small chests. I picked them up, one was very heavy. Back upstairs I tied them up in another curtain and I waited until Sam returned. She had a hard time but managed to pick up the bundle and move off with it.

I moved down to the main floor. I decided that there were too many people still moving around on this floor and turned to leave. When I did I saw a set of servant stairs leading down into a basement. Moving quietly I reached the bottom and listened at the door. When it was clear I tried the door only to find it barred from the inside.

Using my senses I felt the door and found the bar, slowly I hardened my sense of touch and lifted the bar and opened the door. This hall was wider and it held mostly storerooms but by the main stairs I found a door heavily barred and locked with a type of paddle lock.

Again I used my abilities to unlock the locks and quietly opened the door. Inside the room was like something out of a pirate movie with two large chests and piles of treasure. Opening the chests I found the first one half full of gold coins. The second only held a small amount of jewelry. There was a small chest next to the larger ones almost hidden. In it were gold bars, probable seventy pounds worth.

Looking around I found several empty canvas bags about the size of medium sized backpacks. When I was finished I had six bags. I took four and went back to the attic. I could only move slowly because of the weight. In the attic I put two over the rope and stepped up so that Sam could see me.

Sam whispered right away and I let the bags slide down the rope. Sam had to struggle this time. When the bags were off the rope I put the next two on and let them go. All the packs were heavy and she would have to make several trips.

I watched as she moved the packs one at a time into hiding and then taking one, she started off down the street. I turned and made my way back to what I called the treasure room. Inside I looked at the pile of treasure and knew I could not take the whole pile but maybe the Gems in them? I saw what looked like a rack of weapons, which was strange for a treasure room.

When I reached it, none of the weapons were gem encrusted but when I checked they seemed to be made of a silver metal that I could feel was stronger then steel. I took three of the swords and several of the knives. When I turned to head back my foot hit the end of a bundle of something. It was a sword, long knife and a very slim dagger (almost a stiletto.)

The leather they were wrapped in was cracked and peeling but when I pulled the sword out it was a gold metal and like nothing I had ever felt before. It was like a katana but not. Putting the blade back in the sheath I put the bundle in my belt like a samurai sword.

Back at the pile I used the slim dagger to pry the gems out and put them into a bag. It took a half hour before I was done. I grabbed my own treasure of bags, swords and knives and then picked up the small chest of gold. I closed and locking the door behind myself. Back in the attic I put the bags over the rope and stepped to the vent. This time it was a minute before Sam whispered and I let the bags slide down the rope.

The next was the small chest wrapped in another curtain. Tying the weapons together with a strip of cloth cut from the curtains I slid them down the rope. Untying the rope I let it fall. When Sam saw the rope go slack like that she looked up and I gestured for her to pull the rope.

When the rope was back over the wall I removed the hook and moved back out onto the wall of the house. After closing the vent I made my way back down to the tree. I was getting ready the jump back onto the wall when I heard Sam whisper, “Wait.”

Listening I heard someone walking down the street, after several minutes I heard them turn the corner and Sam whisper, “It is clear.”

Jumping to the wall I looked around and then jumped to the street. I crossed to where the rope was hanging down in the shadow of the house and climbed up. At the top I climbed onto the roof and then I undid the rope after removing the eye hook. I made a loop in the rope and put my foot in the loop. Making sure the rope was over the beam I swung out and lowered myself to the street. Once there I pulled the rope off the beam and coiled it.

I grabbed the small chest and the bundle of weapons and started off after Sam. When I reached the house we were hiding everything at I opened the gate. Closing it after I was in I crossed to where Sam was waiting. I could see that she was very tired. After hiding everything but two bags of gold and keeping the set of swords in my belt I led her out the gate.

Closing the gate we quietly made our way back to the inn. I found our window and leaving the bags with Sam climbed the wall. Back in the room I lowered the rope and raised the bags and then Sam. I closed the window and then stripped my shirt off to help cool down. When Sam saw me take the shirt off she muttered something to herself.

I looked at her, “Take your shirt off.”

At first she looked at me as if I was crazy but when I did not do anything but look back at her she slowly took it off. She was standing there without a shirt when I gestured to the bed, “Relax and lie on your stomach.”

After she had lain down I moved to her side and slowly started massaging her arms and shoulders. It was only a couple of minutes before she was fast asleep. I lay down beside her and pulled a cover over us and drifted off myself. We were awakened a couple of hours later when a servant started banging on the doors.

After our breakfast I led Sam out. My first goal was the burned out estate. The runner returned to the house an hour after we had sent him with a portly man following behind. It took a half hour of haggling to finely settle on a price but when we did I paid him right then. Next on my list of things to do was to buy a horse and wagon. With the amount of debris we would need something to move the heavy stuff with.

At the stockyards I bought a horse that was only two years old and trained to pull a cart or wagon. The wagon I bought surprised me, it actually had two types of springs, a type of leaf spring and coil springs. I also bought six large bundles of hay that were tied with twine and arraigned for a couple of dozen to be delivered to the house.

We took a different way out of the stockyards so that we could pick up our loot. There was an area just outside the stockyard that drew my attention though. The buildings had high walls but open fronts with nice courtyards. I nodded to one of the buildings, “what do they do here?”

Sam looked at the one we were passing, “they are bond houses.”

When I looked at her with questioning eyes she sighed, “We have a bond system. Usually a child can be sold into bond service but a wage had to be paid to the servant upon the end of its bond. At the age of eighteen the bond becomes void unless both the bondservant and the bond owner petitioned a magistrate. In addition someone can be put into bond by a Liege or a court for payment of a dept or a lesser crime.”

I slowed at the last house, there were what looked like merchants going into and coming out of the building. I gestured, “What is happening here?”

Before Sam could say anything a passing merchant looked up at me, “They have a Mair.”

I looked at Sam to explain and she sighed, “A Mair is a creature that was created by a mage.”

I looked at her as if she where making it up so she gestured, “stop.”

Tying the wagon to a post we went inside. We were directed through an arch into the back. There were several large enclosures with people in them, mostly separated by sex or age. A portly man appeared at our side almost immediately asking what service he could provide. I looked at him, “We have been informed that there is a Mair here?”

The man sighed and muttered, “lookers, always lookers.”

I smiled, “I am also looking for workers and possibly a housekeeper.”

He brightened at this but I reminded him, “I would like to see the Mair.”

He nodded, “I will be right back.”

While he was gone we started looking around. I had not really been planning to buy a bond servant but the more I looked the more I was reminded of the history of slavery in the US. I stopped at the bars of an enclosure that only had one man in it. I looked at him, “why are you here?”

At first it did not look like he was going to answer. He finally looked at me, “I was a blacksmith and was unable to pay the fees for my shop. The merchant that owned the shop tried to take my daughter in payment and I fought for her. I was beaten and my shop taken, my wife (He pointed to a woman that was in another enclosure across from him) and my eight year old daughter were put in bond as well.” (His gesture took in a young girl in the enclosure next to her mother.)

The Bond Master returned with what I thought was a very beautiful girl. She was maybe sixteen with long blond hair and blue eyes. Her eyes were strange, the pupils were slits like a cat’s and her fingernails were retractable. She was probably 5’6” and she wore very little. She seemed to be completely covered with short soft hair like a cat.

The Bond Master gestured to her, “She was trained for pleasure but the mage died before completing the training.”

When I touched her I could feel something that was different in her but she was as human as I was. I looked at the Bond Master, “What will happen to her?”

He smiled oily, “Eventually someone will pay my price or she will be sent to one of the high-class crib houses.”

I did not like the sound of that and when I looked at Sam I could see she did not like that either. I sighed, “How much?”

The Bond Master looked at me and then shook his head. “You would not have enough.”

I only repeated, “How much?”

He told me and I started to bargain. First I brought up her age then the uncompleted training. We finally agreed on a price.”

I reminded him, “I was looking for workers too.”

The Bond Master was surprised, “I thought that had been a ploy to see the Mair.”

I looked around as if searching and then pointed out the man I had been speaking to earlier. “What about him?”

The merchant looked a little skeptical. I looked at him, “Does he have any skills?”

The Bond Master nodded, “He was a blacksmith.”

I gestured around, “I also needed a housekeeper and maybe someone to help with the chores.”

At first he pointed out an older woman that looked to be sixty. I shook my head, “no, she is too old.”

I pointed to the blacksmiths wife, “What about her?”

The Bond Master looked at me and then agreed. The Bond Master actually pointed out the blacksmith’s child and my only comment was, “looks scrawny but fine.”

After another round of bargaining, a price was agreed on. I went to the wagon where what was left of the two bags of gold coins were. (This would almost use it all.) When I returned and counted out the gold the merchant looked at me, “There was a robbery last night.”

I looked up at the merchant, “I only arrived in town yesterday afternoon. How did it happen?”

The Bond Master relaxed, “The thieves will be caught. The thieves guild has been paid to return what was stolen and give the thief up.”

After counting out all the money he looked at the Mair, “Go with him.”

I was told that it might be best if the others were kept in chains until I could be sure of them. I put the blacksmith’s wife and daughter on the seat of the wagon and let him walk beside them. Taking the lead for the horse I started down the street with Sam on the other side of the horse and the Mair beside me.

At the corner I stopped and walked back to the blacksmith. Reaching out I broke the chains holding him with an ease that surprised him. I gestured for the girl and after looking at her mother she moved over to me. Again I broke the chains and let them fall. I repeated this for the chains on the blacksmith’s wife.

I turned to him as he looked at me, “Do you have somewhere to go?”

He shook his head and I nodded, “I own a house that needs a lot of work. There was a smithy there. If you want you can stay with us.”

The blacksmith looked at me and then after looking at his wife, “But you own our bond.”

I looked back at him, “The bond is yours.”

He looked at me and then slowly held out his hand, “I will accept your offer. I am John and this is my wife Ann and our daughter Marie.”

I turned to the Mair, I did not really know what to do with her. Sam saved me, “What is your name?”

She smiled, “Cat and I am not leaving. You bought me and I will stay yours.”

Sam and I looked at one another and my shoulders slumped a little. She laughed, “No good deed goes unpunished.”

We stopped to retrieve our loot which barely fit in the wagon and was covered by the curtains and hay. Sam glanced at me, “The next stop should be for work clothes.”

The shop she took me to was different then the one we had gone to before. It had clothes but also pots and pans and blankets. John watched the wagon while I was in the shop. It was not long before I wished I were watching the wagon and John was in the shop. Finally I gave my purse to Sam and went outside.

I nodded to John, “go in and pick out some clothes.”

When they came out, it was a changed group. We started off again and reached the estate a half hour later. We unloaded the wagon and put the horse in the enclosure. The first thing I wanted to do was to get the bathroom cleaned and then the bathing pool. We would be getting dirty on a regular basis and it would be nice if we could clean up.

I was reassured to learn that there was a system in place for sanitation. Sam had explained that the merchants enforced this law very particularly, (they did not want an epidemic started because of some contamination.) When we finished I helped John shore up the roof in the smithy so they could sleep there. I gave Ann and little Marie several silver pieces to get something for dinner and maybe for breakfast.

With Sam and Cat’s help I started pulling out the large beams that I thought I might be able to salvage. While I was doing this I found a secret room. It took several minutes to realize what I had found and several more to find the entrance. When I finally opened it I found a set of stairs leading down.

At the bottom of the stairs was a large room. The water that drained from the bathing pool dropped down in a waterfall, only to land in the shallows of another heated pool with no outlet. There was a large fireplace in the wall beside the stairs. The room had stores, mostly potables. Roots that looked like a sweet potato, flour that type of thing.

There was also bolts of cloth. That was as far as I got before Sam and Cat started calling me. At the entrance I called them over to show them what I had found. Back in the room we looked around. Sam looked at me, “this was not something that is normal.”

I was checking the wall that was closest to the river when I found the second concealed door. When I opened it I found myself on the small sandy beach next to the river. Closing it quietly I was thinking that this had been a smuggler’s hideout. I looked at Sam and Cat, “This will make a nice room to sleeping in. Unless you want to sleep in the stables instead?”

They looked at each other and grinned. We brought four of the bundles of hay down into the room. It was not easy but we managed. Next was the curtains with our treasure. We had just finished this when we heard a commotion by the gate. It was the rest of the hay being delivered. We put most of it in the stable and I helped John put some in the smithy so they would have something to sleep on.

While I was doing this Sam and Cat dragged a couple more bundles of hay down the stairs. Ann and Marie returned and it looked like they had bought out the store. Sam looked at me, “how much did you give them?”

I replied, “Obviously more than they needed.”

She only shook her head. Cat gave a sudden laugh, which surprised us both because we had been getting used to her reserved way. When we looked at her, she only pointed at me, making Sam laugh. I showed them how to open and close the door into the smuggler’s room. I spent the rest of the day surveying the ruins.

I found Sam, “could you find me some paper and something to write with?”

Half an hour later she returned and handed me what looked like a blank book and a small bottle of ink with a metal pen. I sat and started sketching, when John showed up at my side to look at what I was drawing he looked at me, “that it will not work.”

I looked up at him, “why?”

John shook his head, “you can not build it that way.”

I looked at him and smiled, “John, you watch and I will teach you how to build something that will last.”

Turning I saw Sam and Cat sitting together. I gestured and called Sam. When she reached me I asked if she could put the word out to all the street kids. She smiled, “about what?”

I smiled, “To offer a bounty for building stones of a certain size to use on the building.”

She nodded and led Cat and Marie to the gate that was still standing open. Once in the street she stopped and looked around until she saw a boy about nine playing in the gutter down the street. She called him and he looked at her for a minute and then swaggered over. When he reached them she smiled, “think you could spread the word about something?”

He looked at her speculatively, “how much?”

She smiled and after haggling for a minute agreed to pay him a copper. He grinned, “Who pays for the stones?”

Sam looked at Cat and Marie, “either me, Cat or Marie.”

She gave him a copper to spread the news. That afternoon I relaxed in the open space by the stables and started my stretching exercises. Sam, Cat and even Marie were watching me and finally they prodded Sam to ask what I was doing. I smiled at the three girls, “I was stretching before doing my katas.”

They looked at each other and Sam looked at me again, “What is a kata?”

I relaxed. “A kata is like steps in a dance, like patterns of movements. The dance is a form of self-defense.”

They looked at each other and then rather hesitantly Sam asked, “Would you teach us?”

I looked at them and thought about the way things ran here. I motioned them to stand and started showing them how to stretch. When I was satisfied that they had stretched enough. I started on the basic forms. It was an hour before I stopped them and did a few slow stretches to relax them.

When they finished I looked at all three of them, “Do not to try to use what you have learned. It will only get you into trouble until you learn more.”

John had been dragging out the occasional pieces of lumber but had been watching. When we were finished he approached me, “Why are you teaching Marie?”

I looked into his face, “Don’t you want her to be able to protect herself?”

John nodded and then rather uncertainly, “Can you teach me?”

I looked at him and then remembered the way he looked at the Bond House. I sighed, “Be here tomorrow afternoon when I start.”

The dinner was what I would call a stir-fry, with a lot of greens and what I at first thought was chicken, (I was told later that it was pigeon.) When we turned in for the night I found that Sam and Cat had put all the bundles of hay together. They had covered them with several of the black curtains and put the blankets on top of that.

I got in and when I looked over at Cat she was removing all her clothing. I blushed, “You do not have to get undressed.”

She smiled, “It will be easier when we make love.”

I was not sure what to say, “You do not have to do that.”

Cat moved onto the bed, “It is not a matter of having to but of wanting to.”

When I looked at Sam she was also undressing and climbing into the bed. I cleared my throat, “what are you doing?”

Sam grinned, “how else am I going to learn.”

I muttered back, “I guess that makes two of us.”

It was several hours later that I slipped out of bed. I was tired and wanted to rest but I had plans that did not include sleeping for a while yet. The girls only rolled into each other as I quietly dressed in the dark clothing. I took the slim dagger and the long knife. I had rewrapped the hilts in a piece of black stained leather that I had found here in the basement. When I left I closed the hidden door and scaled the wall.

I made my way through the city almost like a moving shadow. When I stopped it was at the street of the Bond Houses. I stayed in the shadows and listened, when I was sure it was clear I moved. Crossing the street and I climbed up the wall then along the wall to the house itself. Once there I went up the wall of the house. This time I entered through a small window on the second floor.

It only took a few minutes to locate the strong room. I had come prepared, I had made several bags from the cloth found in the basement and now put them to good use. When I was finished I left the way I had come, closing the window behind me. I repeated this for each of the houses, hiding the full bags along the street.

When I was done I again crossed the city as quietly as I had come. Back in the estate I entered the basement undressed and climbed into bed. It was only a moment before I was asleep. Sam woke me before dawn by touching my shoulder, “where did you go?”

I stretched and caressed her face, “I paid a visit to the Bond Houses.”

She was upset, “It is not smart to steal from the Bond Houses, they are protected.”

I saw that Cat was awake and watching me and sighed, “It may not have been smart but they will be hurting for money now.”

We got up, dressed and ate a breakfast of bread and cheese. I told John that I had to go out and if he could to keep clearing the debris out. I took the golden sword in a harness over my shoulder along with the long knife and the small dagger. I harnessed the horse and when I started to leave both Sam and Cat climbed into the wagon.

My stops by the Bond Houses were brief, only long enough to make sure no one watched and to put the bags in. My next stop was for several bags of grain, the grain was put on top of the bags already in the wagon. I finally asked Sam, “Where can I find where the mercenaries gather?”

She smiled, “The practice field.”

When we arrived I saw it was a large open area. It had several rings in the ground, each ring was a practice ring where a fight took place. I watched for almost half an hour before making up my mind. I crossed to where a ring that had what I thought was a tall man. When I got closer I saw that it was not a man.

He had pointed ears and his eyes were on a slant and his sense of feel was different. I thought he looked young but there was a feeling of age about him. Sam whispered, “His name was Samil. He is an elf and the best fighter in the city.”

I grinned, “Wait here.”

I approached the practice ring, when I did I was ignored. After several minutes Samil gestured for a young man to attend to me. The youth attacked with a practice sword, I merely sidestepped, grasp a hand and struck. The young man dropped to the ground as if hit with a club.

I returned to my standing position, waiting. It was several more minutes before Samil again gestured for someone to attend to me. This time it was a competent looking man that stepped forward. He started making a small circle around me and when I did not turn to follow he attacked from the back.

I stepped back and with a back kick to his stomach, folded him neatly to the ground. I noticed that a crowd had started to gather. Again it was several minutes before Samil turned to face me. This time he gestured to two men standing by with staffs. They moved apart and attacked right away.

I grabbed one man’s staff and spun around it in a back kick sent the man flying. The second man struck but he missed when I spun away. When he moved in to attack again he was met suddenly by his partner’s staff. With three quick strikes his staff was falling and before he could move I struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

A minute after they started they were lying on the ground, one unconscious, the other with a dazed look on his face. This time there was a murmur from the crowd. Samil had watched and when I returned to my standing position he stepped forward. He looked at me calmly, “you have some skill.”

I nodded, “I was informed that you are the best. I needed someone to practice with.”

Samil look at me and then glanced at the sword on my back, “With the sword?”

I nodded again and Samil gestured to a rack that stood nearby. We stepped over to it to pick practice swords. After picking the swords we walked to the center of the nearest ring and everyone stopped what they were doing to watch. Once at the center of the ring I bowed and opened myself to my senses. Samil returned the bow with a polite nod.

One moment we were standing there and the next we were only a blur. For thirty minutes we danced, the end came as suddenly as the beginning. Samil lunged at what he thought was an opening only to have me grab his sword hand. With a pull and twist I turned my back to him with his arm over my own shoulder.

My sword hand had reversed the sword along the arm and brought it back along the arm in a strike that would end at the junction of Samil’s head and neck. It stopped with the tip almost touching. After a pause I stepped away, releasing him. When he was a couple of steps away I turned and again I bowed.

This time Samil looked at me and then bowed low with his arms crossed. There was a murmur from the crowd which Samil and I ignored. As we walked back to put the practice weapons away Samil asked if I would be there the next day. I nodded, “I planned to be here but with a different weapon.”

Samil smiled, “I will enjoy the experience. It as been a long time since anyone had beaten me with a weapon.”

With that we parted, I had Sam take us to where I would be able to buy a bow and possibly some light armor. When we reached the shops I found a good bow but the armor was too light or too heavy to wear. On the way home I thought of the metal my sword was made from, (Sam had told me it was made by magic and the metal was called admantium.)

I thought that if I combined the metal with the silvery metal, (Which I now knew was mythril. I believed that it was related to Titanium.) If I then combined them with a few others it would be stronger and lighter. I knew I could reproduce the admantium but the mythril was a natural ore and would have to be bought at a high price.

When we got home we unloaded the wagon, hiding the money with the rest. We spent the rest of the afternoon helping to clear the debris. It was late afternoon when four men entered the gate. Three were large men and the fourth had a shifty look to him. As I went to greet them Cat handed me my sword which I swung over my shoulder.

When I started to greet them the shifty one broke in, “We are here to get the girl that is our property.”

I looked at them, “what girl?”

The shifty one belligerently pointed to Sam. I thought quickly, “If she is in fact your bondservant then the bargain I made with her is void.”

I looked towards the gate, “I think we need to call the guard.”

The man looked startled, “why?”

I looked at him, “I caught her stealing from me. If she is your bondservant than she is your responsibility and you are responsible for her actions.”

(I knew this would mean a public punishment for him). The man looked at me and then turned, “get the girl.”

He looked at me, “The guard is out. Just stay out of our way.”

The three men started to pass me, as they did one turned to strike me. I kicked him in the side of the knee and then spun around with a spinning back fist. As he went flying back I stepped towards the other two. The first I took out with a front kick to the groin and a hammer fist to the back of his head. A side kick under the third man’s chin lift him up and dropped him back to the ground unconscious.

I had just put the last one down when I felt the shifty one pull a knife and throw it. As Sam yelled a warning I leaned to the side and turned. I caught the knife as it reached me and just as quickly threw it back. With solid thud it struck him in the stomach. I relaxed and looked around, the three men were lying on the ground and the other had slumped down.

I thought about what I was going to do for a second and then walked to the gate and looked up and down the street. There were a couple of the city guards talking not to far down the street. I stepped out where they could see me, “Guard!”

When they walked up I escorted them in the gate. I nodded to the men on the ground, “I am the new owner and new to the city. I caught a girl stealing but I had made a deal with her. She was to stay bonded to me and learn a craft for five years.”

(Sam had told me that this was a common term for a bond.) I looked at the guards, “The man with the knife wound (they were trying hard to ignore him) showed up claiming she was bonded to him.”

I looked at the man, “the other men had attacked me and I (I pointed at the wounded man) threw a knife back at him.”

The larger of the two guards started to say something but the other one stopped him with a hand on his arm, “You were at the practice yards this morning?”

I admitted I had and the smaller guard turned to the other one, “He is the one I told you about, he is the one that beat Samil.”

The tall one looked back at me, “You fought Samil and won?”

I shrugged, “yes, I fought Samil.”

The three men I had fought were standing now but they were wary with the guards there. The other man had passed out. Sam came closer and the short guard turned to her with no warning, “you were caught stealing?”

Sam admitted it cautiously and then he looked a her closely, “Were you bonded to the wounded man.”

Sam looked at the man still on the ground, “No, I was in the guild…”

Before anything else was said the large guard turned on her quickly, “The Thieves Guild?”

Before she could answer the smaller guard again placed his hand on the other, “You know girls are not allowed in the Thieves Guild.”

The smaller Guard faced her, “You are willing to be bonded and forgo guard justice?”

Sam nodded and the shorter guard looked at the other, “Then these were trying to steal a bondservant and are guilty of theft.”

With those words the three standing started to panic. I stepped in, “They were obeying directions from the other.”

The larger guard turned to face them, “Is that right.”

The center man stepped forward, “We were told the girl was his property and had been stolen.”

The guard jerked his head towards the gate, “leave.”

As they were going out the gate the guards bent over the wounded man. The larger guard shook his head, “he does not look to good.”

I stepped up and examined him, “he is bleeding internally and probable will not last more then maybe three or four hours.”

They nodded and then grabbed his arms. Lifting him they started for the gate. I looked after them, “would you like to use my horse and wagon?”

They paused and then the smaller guard shook his head, “someone should be by in an hour or so.”

After they left I crossed to the gate and closed it. I turned to face Sam, “Are you all right with this?”

It was a moment before she walked to me. “What is the craft you are going to teach me?”

I smiled at her, “How about medicine?”

Sam looked at me with large eyes, “You know healing?”

I nodded and she smiled back at me, “and here I thought I would pay you with my body.”

I shook my head, “I would refuse.”

Sam stepped close to me, “I know. That is why I joined you last night.”

I looked up, John was standing with his wife and daughter. Cat was standing to the side, I saw her slide a knife back into a sheath. “It looks like I have a new family.”

I said it quietly and then louder, “Well that is over with. John when you have time I need a list of the tools you will need for the smithy.”

Turning I walked over to Cat smiling down at her; “We will talk about the knife later but thanks.”

Before we had been interrupted by our visitors I had been about to ask Sam how we could get some of the debris hauled away. The answer was simple, I would not let Sam do it though. I walked out the gate and waited for one of neighbor kids. It was ten minutes before a boy of about eleven or twelve showed up.

When he saw me just standing there he came over, “Is what the guards said true? Did you beat Samil?”

I smiled, “We fought.”

I looked around the street, “Do you know of anyone that could haul stuff away?”

The boy grinned, “I could find out. Can I see Cat?”

I smiled, “why?”

He grinned, “She is pretty.”

I laughed, “What is your name?”

He smiled, “Tom.”

I gestured back into the estate, “Well Tom, we could go watch her I guess.”

Walking back inside the gate I walked over to the horse paddock and we sat on some hay. While Tom was watching Cat, I was watching him. I had noticed the wet stains on his right calf and the smell of a wound gone bad. When a worried looking woman appeared at the gate I saw the way she relaxed when she saw Tom and guessed she was his mother.

I looked at Tom, “I will be right back.”

Signaling Sam I crossed to the gate. Cat had noticed but continued to work, picking up small things near Tom. (I knew from the way she moved that she was keeping an eye on Tom.) At the gate I smiled at the woman, “I am Michael, this is my estate and this is Sam.”

Tom’s mother nodded, “I am Margaret.”

She had been worried about Tom when she had not seen him on the street she had come to look for him. I looked at Tom, “When was he hurt?”

She looked at Tom, “A week ago and it just will not heal right.”

I thought about how to say it and finally just looked at her, “I have some skill with medicines. Would you like me to look at his injury?”

She looked uncomfortable, “I do not have money to pay you.”

I smiled at her, “You are my neighbor. It would be my pleasure to help.”

We walked back to Tom who looked up as we approached. He blushed when he saw his mother who was wringing her hands nervously. I sat down next to Tom, “Can I see your leg?”

Tom gave a quick look to his mother and then slowly started rolling up the pant leg that had been cut at the seam. I was not surprised when I saw the leg, it was red and swollen, there were red streaks going up the leg. There was also a yellow and green seepage from the three inch gash. I knew he did not have much time before it became gangrenous.

I turned to Sam, “Would you get Ann please.”

I took out a silver piece and looked at Margaret, “would you go buy some grain alcohol?”

At first she looked at me with frightened eyes and then she nodded. She took the silver piece and hurried off. When Ann arrived I looked at her, “boil as much water as you can and find me some salt.”

She looked at Tom’s leg then went to the smithy. John had been keeping a small fire going there and she started putting pots on it, filling them from a pitcher. Tom looked at me, “Am I going to be all right?”

I looked at him, “I will not lie to you. Your leg has gone a little septic. If it is not treated now it will become gangrenous. If that happens the leg will have to be cut off, if not it could kill you.”

Tom looked a little scared and I patted him on the shoulder, “Do not worry, I will help you.”

Sam and I walked Tom toward the bathing pool. Cat had disappeared but when we got to the bath she came walking back with several towels in her arms. I took Sam to the side, “Where can I purchase medical supplies?”

She looked at me, “I know of a place.”

I thought up a list of things I would need and told her. I handed her my purse, “Ask John if he would go get what I need.”

She started to argue and I stopped her, “Remember what happened earlier?”

After she had left I called Marie over, “Would you go down the stairs? There are several bolts of what I thought was light linen.”

I told her where to find it, “take it to your mother and have her cut a square piece off and boil it.”

When I came back to Tom, Cat was sitting with him talking. “Alright Tom, here is what we are going to do. First, I will have to clean the leg, which means a bath. I do not want to do that but you are very dirty.”

He looked at Cat as she spoke, “do not worry I will help.”

(I was reminded of what I had been told when we were cleaning the pool. There were no taboos about bathing.) “Next, I will have to drain the wound, that will hurt. After that we will clean around the cut with salt water and bandage it.”

Cat helped me undress Tom and get him into the water, (which immediately darkened as the dirt on him started washing off.) Cat quickly undressed and climbed in. Tom had flinched as he was getting into the water and it looked like he was still in pain. I stripped and joined them and reaching out I applied pressure to one of his pressure points and he relaxed with surprise as the pain disappeared.

Sitting in the shallow end of the pool we gentle washed Tom and then Cat got out and held a towel for him as I helped him out. His mother was there with Marie, Sam was holding a pot of water that had been boiled. Setting the water to the side to cool I took the bottle of clear alcohol from Margaret. She timidly offered up the coins that were my change.

Ann brought the clean linens and I poured a little alcohol over my hands and then carefully took the linens and twisted them to get the water out. I had Ann pour the water out and put the linens back in the empty pot. I glanced at Ann, “I need a small pot of water and the salt.”

She nodded and hurried back to the forge. Now we only had to wait for John to return, which was not that long. When he got back I found that he had most of what I would need, a medicine to fight infection. There was also a small yellow paper packet that had a single dose of pain medicine. When Ann came back I added the salt to the water and started cleaning around the wound.

When I finished Tom was unconscious but his leg looked better. His mother was a little worried but I assured her that he would be fine. I looked at John, “Would you carry him down into our room and lay him on the bed?”

Margaret followed them down the stairs and sat with him. I smiled at Ann, “cook a broth for Tom please.”

She nodded and later Cat took it to him, making sure that his mother ate the beef stir-fry Ann had made as well. When Tom woke up I checked him. Other than being a little shaky he was fine. Sam and I helped him to the bathroom and then back to bed where he immediately fell back to sleep.

My exercises that night had grown to five. I kept reminding myself of what my master had once told me, “One day you will have students to teach. Start with the basics and do not let them get ahead of themselves or you.”


Chapter 2

Guarding a dwarf and winning a wager

It had been two weeks since I had found myself here, besides my morning practice with Samil, I now found myself practicing medicine. (Many of the drugs I had to use, I had to learn to use or make the old ones myself, like penicillin. My evening martial arts classes now numbered around two dozen, mostly women and children, although there were a couple of men that came.

Gentle and Paul were the two guards that I had called when the men from the guild had come for Sam. They were among my students, not all could show up every day so some of the faces changed daily. Margaret and Tom were there everyday. Tom’s cut had healed up nicely. I tried not to turn anyone away if they needed medical help. To tell the truth I had not turned anyone away, whether it was for food, shelter or medical attention.

My evening class was just ending when the six guards came in the gate with a dwarf in the middle of them. I gave the class leave to start the cool down stretching and then to hit the bath and then I headed to the gate to greet the guest. I knew one of the guards was Samil when they had entered the gate and I recognized two others from the practice field.

When I reached them the dwarf stepped forward. He introduced himself, “my name is Garth. I have been informed that you might be for hire.”

I looked at the guards and then the dwarf, “it looks like you have enough guards.”

Garth shook his head, “not for what I have planned.”

I thought about it, “I have several questions.”

Garth looked surprised, “ask.”

I looked at him, “why? Why another guard and why me? When do you need me and for how long? What do you want me to do and where am I going to do it. Last is how much are you paying?”

Garth hesitated and I shook my head, “if you do not answer or lie I will not work for you.”

One of the guards closest to me suddenly lunged at me with a dagger. I was a blur as I stepped to the side, grabbed the wrist, twisted and took the dagger. With another step, the dagger went through the guard’s upper arm before I threw him back and down. I stepped away, slowly and carefully.

Samil had not moved, nor any of the other guards. I waited and Garth stepped forward and bowed low, “my apology, it was a test. I was told you were good but I had to be sure.”

With a wave the guards stepped away. The guard that had attacked me stood and I looked at him, “do not try to pull it out.”

Turning I saw both Sam and Cat standing nearby with the light crossbows I had made at the smithy. The crossbows were made with a skeleton stock, the stock cocked the bow when folded. I looked at Cat, “get the small trauma kit and Sam to get some sterile water and bandages.”

I had started keeping both on hand. I walked up to the guard, the dagger was still through the arm. He had been wearing a type of chain armor and the dagger had gone through both sides of the chain. I was looking at the arm when Sam came back, “this will hurt.”

With a quick pull the dagger was out. What I did next startled them all, reaching up and grasp the chain mail at the shoulder with both hands. Before anyone could ask what I was going to do I ripped the chain mail like it was a light cloth, tearing it around and down the arm. They all looked at me as if I had grown another head, even Samil.

The guard had gone pale, from the feel of him I knew it was shock from the wound. After cleaning and tending to the wound I stitched it up and had Sam bandage it while I watched. I gave the guard directions for taking care of the wound and then as an after thought, “do not ever try that again.”

When I turned back to Garth it was to a much subdued dwarf, even Samil looked more alert. Garth cleared his throat, “I expect serious… challenges and want the best. We will need you in three days, for three or four days. You will be paid one hundred gold pieces to protect the… site we are going to use.”

I knew this was not a standard amount, “I will do the job but I will be bringing Sam and Cat with me.”

He raised his eyebrows and I shrugged, “they are my apprentices.”

Garth nodded and looked at me, “I will not pay for them.”

I had two days before I would start to work for the dwarf and then I would be gone for up to four days. I found John and a willowy blond girl of maybe twenty named Jenny. They were in the baths with the rest of the students. I told them when I would be gone and for how long, I wanted them to go through the basic forms with the others while I was gone.

Taking John aside, “I will get with you before I leave to go over the house.”

We had pretty much cleaned everything up, we had stopped for three days while we built a large kitchen next to the smithy and added bunk beds in the stables. It seemed like I had as much help as I needed. The neighbor’s tended to just stop by and start helping with whatever needed doing. Probable because I made sure everyone was fed.

Before leaving two days later I gave a heavy purse to John and Ann just in case of emergencies. I also gave John what I called the budget purse. It was enough to cover the expenses while I was gone. The weapons that I had taken from the Shaffer’s had not been reported stolen so I had modified two of the swords and two daggers.

I had been right about the metal being stronger than steel. It had taken quite a bit to work them down to what I wanted. I had actually started teaching Sam and Cat about a week ago. They had the basics down, only needing to refine themselves.

We met Samil at the practice field in the late afternoon and he escorted us to an area I had not been to before. The building Samil led me to reminded me of skyscrapers. Only it was just four stories tall, even if it seemed to take up the entire block. When I greeted Garth he looked at Samil, “I want you to remain on my left.”

I remembered that had been where Samil had been when I had met Garth. I asked, “why?”

Garth shrugged, “Samil said you are better so you will replace Samil there.”

I shook my head, “no. Obviously you are expecting something and Samil is used to being there. I will take the right front where the injured guard was.”

It was several hours before we set out, there were another twenty guards, not to mention the dozen or so dwarfs that joined us. As we headed out I had Sam and Cat stay to the outside of the main group with their crossbows ready. The walk was only supposed to take ten minutes, we were halfway there when I heard someone on a roof.

I stopped the party with a simple hand signal, looking in the direction of the sound. I reached out with my sense of touch, I found them quickly. Without warning I stepped forward and to the side. The arrows appeared as if by magic, one I caught in my left hand and the other was struck down by a sword that no one had even seen me draw.

For a stunned moment no one moved and then there was a rush to hurry forward. I yelled, “STOP!”

The assassins on the roof were retreating after missing their shot. I could feel something else in front of us. At first I did not know what it was and then I realized the smell was not right and slowly walked forward reaching out as I did. I was twenty feet in front when the black veil dropped on me and I heard the cries from behind me.

I could feel that they were all right so I waited. I might not be able to see but I could still feel, smell and hear. They came with a rush from the alley that had been twenty feet in front of me and I met them with my sword. The first I took with a slash across his middle that cut through the leather armor as if it was not there and then almost cut the man in half.

The next two came together, blocking the descending sword on my left I lunged, putting the sword through the man’s heart that had been on my right. Then in a spin that ended with me cutting the throat of the man that had been on the left. The fourth man came at me with his sword low. I blocked that and then moved my sword to his right and up.

Then in a downward slash I cut into the man’s neck at the shoulder, the blade splitting him down to the belly as I stepped away to face the next man. With a downward slash I broke the next man’s sword and I kill him by a sudden lunge that ended with my sword in his left eye. In the middle of the fight I felt the other.

It must be the mage from the way he felt. I could feel that he was doing something else. Drawing my long knife I threw it in a tight arc that ended in the mage’s chest. Just as quickly as the veil had come it disappeared, revealing the five remaining fighters I faced. Even as I stepped forward to engage them two bolts raced past me.

They stopped suddenly in the chests of two of the men. With a rush that sent the last three running the other guards charged forward. It was over as quickly as it started, seven fighters lay on the ground around me and a mage lay in the street twenty feet away. I moved forward to check the mage.

I pulled my long knife out and wiped it off. After putting it away I checked the mage for anything that might give me information. I took two pouches off him, one small, the other large and heavy. There was also a very nice mythril dagger and a thin silver ring with a green catseye stone.

When I stood up I signaled for the others to move. When Cat and Sam caught up I handed the ring, dagger and pouches to Cat. It was only a few minutes later that we reached our destination and one of the dwarfs went forward to knock. A tall man answered the door and I immediately recognized him as an elf like Samil.

As we entered I saw that the new elf seemed to look down on Samil. Once in the entranceway the other guards were dismissed. The elf tried to dismiss me but I ignored him as if he were only a servant trying to direct his betters. When he flushed and his eyes squinted up I looked him coldly, “I will be staying with Garth.”

The elf started to say something when Garth spoke up, “Samil and the human will accompany me.”

As an after thought, “the two females also.”

As we were leaving through a large hallway the elf stopped me, “perhaps I should come to the practice field to teach you how your betters can use a blade.”

I looked at him and smiled, (from the time we had arrived the elf had not been centered nor did he move with any skill.) I shook my head, “I do not teach arrogant puppies.”

Turning I walked on to catch up, hearing Samil laugh from just in front of me. When we entered the large courtyard I saw that it held several large forges. I also saw that there were all different types of metals, in both bar and in sand like form. Garth seemed to be upset about something. I was told they would not be starting for another day.

Garth told me they would be staying in the courtyard the whole time. An area to the side had been set aside for pallets and a curtained corner for people to have privacy when they had to use the bathroom. There were only two doors into or out of the courtyard. Setting myself up by the double doors we had entered through, I let Samil take the other smaller door.

Sam and Cat dropped down by the wall and I told them to rest. As I was walking around the courtyard I noticed that there was several dwarf mastersmiths, more than the making of one or two swords. When I asked one of the masters told me that admantium had not been made since the mage wars, five hundred years ago.

I asked what was involved and the dwarf looked at me. When he described how it was made I responded that they made it too complicated. He looked at me and then asked sarcastically, “are you a mastersmith to think that?”

I shrugged, “the making of the admantium is easy. If you want something harder it will take much longer.”

The dwarf looked at me and got a gleam in his eye, “are you offering a wager?”

When I looked at him he gave me a very feral grin. I looked around, “well we have a day to wait. What do you propose for the wager?”

The dwarf stuck his hand out, “I am Garret. How about your fee?”

I laughed and then nodded, “I will need some help though.”

Garret looked around, “what do you need?”

I thought of the metals I would need. Once I had given Garret’s helper the list of metals. I went to the forge closes to my door and got it started. Garret did not watch me very close, I had told him that we did not have enough time for a sword so I would make a light chain instead. Mixing the metals took all day, Sam and Cat helped when they could as well as several of the other dwarfs.

I thought that they were just bored. It was the middle of the night when I was finally ready. The forge was extremely hot, I had used several metals in the fire to keep the temperatures as high as I needed them. When I was ready I had more help than I needed as the metal was poured and pulled.

I had told them everything would have to be done before the metal cooled because we would not be able to reheat it at a high enough temperature. The links they cut and twisted were even smaller than I expected. As each link was finished it was dropped onto a metal slide which dropped it into a large tub of water.

They worked at a speed that I thought was a blur. I had to step back to watch and center myself and then I stepped in, moving as they did. At first they were a little surprised but then they ignored me to continue with the work. When we finished a young dwarf (probable twelve or thirteen) reached into the tub.

Grabbing a large double handful he brought it out and moved to a bench at the side of the courtyard. When I looked around I saw that all the dwarfs were awake and watching what was happening. Two more dwarfs moved to the bench and it was half an hour before they moved aside to show their work.

Garret and I moved to the bench, the chain armor they were weaving was not very large, only a twelve inches squire and a gold color. I knew it was time to see if I was right and pulled my long knife and handed it to Garret.

At first Garret was more interested in the knife. Then suddenly he brought it down across the chain. The dwarfs knew the admantium blade on the knife should cut through the chain so it was a surprise when I stepped forward to pick the chain up. As I held it out to Garret to check there was a murmur around the room, the chain was not damaged.

There was a laugh from across the room, “you lost.”

Garret smiled and handed the knife back to me. I managed a couple of hours of sleep before I felt Samil approach. I looked up as he was squatting down holding out a cup of coffee or what I thought of as coffee here. As I sat up and took a sip he smiled, “the mage they have been waiting for will be here shortly.”

When I got up later I saw that Cat had fished all the metal links out and had started to put them together. I smiled, “use your spare shirt as a pattern.”

When the mage arrived I thought at first that he was young, maybe twenty but as I got closer I had a feeling of age about him. I stayed by the door as the room suddenly came alive. It was as if the dwarves were part of a hive and someone had hit it, the tempo kept up through the next three days. It was the dawn of the fourth day when the attack came.

I had been sitting, meditating when I felt them coming. I stood, drawing my sword as I stepped to the side of the door I guarded, “ATTACK”!”

It was a moment before the door burst open as if it had been exploded. The rush of men through the door was met by me welding my sword. I used the sword and my long knife, the only ones that passed me were the ones that fell and did not rise again. The first rushed right onto the sword, impaling himself.

Pulling the sword free and punched the man in the face. I spun away to block another man’s sword with the long knife while slicing another across the throat. Reversing the sword I blocked a descending blade as I stabbed a man through his mail shirt. I blocked a sword coming in from the side with the sword while catching another with the knife.

With a thrust I put the sword through one man’s throat while spinning and stabbing another in the temple. The next man stumbled as he approached, he never got a chance to stand again. With a lunge I put the sword into his neck and down into the chest. Pulling the sword free I blocked the next man’s sword and then stabbed him in the throat with my knife.

The next two came together, the one on my right I plunged the sword into his chest as he had raised his sword to strike. The other I stabbed in the groin and then with a jerk pulled the knife up into the chest, splitting the heart. Samil’s door had broken open as well and he was hard pressed at times.

Even though Sam and Cat could not get any shots at my opponents they did have shots at his which they took. The pile of bodies in front of me had started to rise rapidly. I twisted to the side and avoided what looked and felt like a bolt of lightning. Putting the sword through one man’s neck I sidestepped and reversing the long knife.

I threw it in a short arc that ended in the throat of a mage standing about fifteen feet away. I took the last two men as they were trying to make their way into the room. One by putting my sword through his heart and the other by a punch that crushed his throat. I vaulted the bodies, coming down by the surprised face of another mage that had slipped and was trying rise.

He never made it as my sword came down through his forehead. As quickly as it had started it was over. I could see Samil stepping back from the door. Looking around the hall I was in I bent and checked both mages. Again I took pouches and another mythril Dagger and several rings.

When I reentered the room the dwarfs did not even look as if they had moved or bothered to prepare for a fight. I handed everything to Sam. It was a couple of hours before anyone showed up. It was an elf with a bandage wrapped around his arm and another around his head. Once he saw everyone was alright he left and brought back others to help remove the bodies.

It was early evening when the dwarfs finished. The swords they had made would be escorted across the city tomorrow. Cat had finished putting the chain together. Rather than carry the chain she put it on as we were leaving. We were almost back to Garth’s when I felt the presence.

Stopping I looked around and with a cry turned and threw the slim dagger with a speed and power that many would not believe was possible. Even as it sped to its target Cat stumbled and fell forward. I passed her in an instant but kept going when I felt she was alive. When I reached the assassin I found that the dagger had struck true.

I was bending down when Samil came up. I took the crossbow and arrows as well as a small pouch. Standing I turned to Samil, “he looks like an elf.”

Samil shook his head, “he is a Drow.”

At my look he sighed, “he is a dark elf.”

When we returned to the group I checked Cat. She would have a large bruise on her back but besides that she was fine. The bolt she had been hit with had a Mythril tip with a greenish paste on it. I caressed her cheek, “I am glad you were wearing the chain mail.”

All the way to Garth’s we moved with care but nothing else happened. Once home Garth gave me a purse, “if I ever needed your services I will call.”

It was a long walk home, I carried Cat the last half of the way. At home I carefully peeled Cat out of her clothes and gave her a mild pain reliever. After a warm bath I put her to bed. I did not say anything but it worried me. The Drow had time to see his target, he had the ability to have gotten off a shot at Garth or one of the other dwarfs. Instead he had picked someone that was plainly female.


Chapter 3

Ruining a merchant, joining the dwarven merchants, Legate’s gift

The next two weeks went by with little to talk about, although I had several jobs only one required me to use my skills. One of the heads of a large consortium had needed to meet with a young rival that he did not trust, as it turned out he was right not to trust him. Samil had been there as well. I stood at Lord Henrys left, Samil on the right.

In the middle of the meeting and without warning the younger merchant Lord Jeffers had lurched forward with a long slender dagger. I had felt him move and stepped up to the table even as he moved. Grabbing his wrist in my left hand I pulled and twisted to his left. Drawing my own sword it arced around only to stop suddenly at young lord Jeffers throat.

Samil had drawn his sword and pulled Lord Henrys back in one motion. Lord Jeffers’s two guards had started to pull their swords but stopped when they saw him with my sword at his throat. While the young merchant cursed and threatened me. I waited for Lord Henrys to decide what he wanted done, he finally told me to let him go.

He looked at Lord Jeffers, “what happened here will be spread around to all the merchants and when it is you will be through.”

As the young merchant started to leave he looked at me, “you are dead.”

I looked at him and came to a quick decision myself. I smiled him, “that was a challenge.”

I looked at Samil who nodded and I looked back at the merchant, “fine, I accept. The weapons will be swords at dawn, middle ring of the practice field.”

Lord Jeffers looked at me and then snorted, “like I would face you in a dual.”

Lord Henrys replied, “you challenged him, if you do not show your life and property will be forfeit.”

I stood at the ring for three hours, the crowd had been incredible. When Jeffers had not shown the crowd had called for the guard. He had been found at home, trying to hide behind his own guards. He had been moaning about someone stealing all his money in the night. He was put in chains and given to one of the bond houses to be sold at a hard labor. His property had been seized and sold, the money to go to several charities.

This morning started as a very good morning, Sam and Cat both had beaten their practice opponents. I had spoken with Samil as they had fought and we both had agreed that they were shaping up. My match was just starting when I felt the presence. It was like the assassin from before. In the middle of my fight I leaped away, reaching out my practice sword falling to the ground with Samil’s.

I grabbed the bolt in mid flight as it sped through the air towards Cat standing at the edge of the ring. Landing I had rolled to my feet with my sword drawn facing this new assassin. Even as I stood, I watched the assassin flee with Samil following. It was a short time later when Samil reappeared.

He shook his head, “I lost him in the alleys.”

I accepted this and decided to call it a day. Without stopping to do any shopping we went home. Once in the gate I stopped the girls, “Cat? You are not to go out without me.”

As I crossed to the kitchens I saw four dwarfs by the stables, one was Garret. When they saw me they had headed towards me. Catching up with me in the kitchen as I was talking to Ann. There were three other women in the kitchen and they were baking bread, one of the women was Margaret.

I smiled at Ann, “how many are we feeding now?”

At first, she was a little evasive but when I insisted she sighed, “the numbers have grown to around one hundred and fifty.”

While the dwarfs stood nervously behind me I shrugged, “do you need to do any shopping?”

She nodded and I handed her my purse, “if you find any sheep skins buy them for me.”

I looked past her, “take Margaret and Tom if he is around. You can take the horse and wagon too.”

When I finished and turned to leave the dwarfs tried to get me to stop. Garret looked up at me, “we wish to talk to you about business.”

I looked at him, “my business or yours?”

Garret looked at me, “ours.”

I looked at the other dwarfs, “my mornings are set aside for me to practice medicine. If you want to talk with me than you will have to come with me and talk as I work.”

As I entered the bathing room I realized how much it had changed. It now had a roof and all the walls had been rebuilt. When I came in the door there was a little man writing something on a makeshift desk. His name was Jeremy and he had a ledger. He smiled and told me who was here to be seen with the worst cases first.

Marie was with him, he had been a find for me. He had been trying to hide behind the kitchen when I found him. I talked him into teaching the neighborhood children how to read and write as well as managing records for my patients. He had the older kids record the information when the patients were seen.

As I started I saw that both Sam and Cat were already checking the easier ones. Jeremy nodded to the two guards, “Gentle and Paul brought in two children to be seen.”

The two children had been orphaned in a fire. They had moderate burns on their hands and arms. The boy looked about five and had a bad cut across his back and the girl was probably three with burns on her feet as well. As I was checking them Paul told me, “the guard will start sweeps through the city for destitute people. They will be turning them over to the bond houses.”

When I looked up at him he shrugged, “you might start getting more people coming here for help.”

The city guard had started bringing me those that needed help and not always just those needing medical help. I nodded and called for Marie, when she got there I smiled at her, “would you tell your mother to double her shopping list?”

I looked at Paul, “there was a drow assassin at the practice field this morning.”

Gentle shifted, “can you take the two children?”

I thought about it, all the ones they had brought to me before had been able to take care of themselves. I knew John and Ann were thinking of more children. Turning I called over one of the neighbor boys named Mathew, “find John, look in the house. He is rebuilding walls in one of the rooms.”

As Mathew hurried off Garret impatiently cleared his throat. I did not even look around, “go ahead and talk, I am listening.”

I did notice that one of the other dwarfs had gone over to Cat and kept trying to look at the chain mail she wore. Garret cleared his throat, “would you give us the list of ingredients and the process for the metal you made?”

As I moved to another patient I thought about it. As I worked at setting a broken wrist I shook my head, “I do not think so.”

I glanced at him, “perhaps we could work something else out.”

Garret countered, “you already made it in front of me. I could just make it without your consent.”

I had been listening and heard the change in his voice. More, I remembered that Garret had not been paying attention when I mixed the metals to make the composite. I smiled to myself, “fine you do that.”

There was a long pause as I moved to yet another patient. The pause was broken by Cat slapping the dwarf as he felt somewhere he should not have. John appeared with Mathew in tow, I looked at him and explained about the children, “can you and Ann take care of them until I can find someplace for them?”

He looked at the children then nodded and called to Marie, “Marie? Keep the children with you until I am finished.”

Sam appeared to tell me about the patient she had been helping and I agreed with her treatment. The patient I was working on had just come in, three of the fingers on his right hand had severe damage. The only thing I could do was to remove them, which would not have helped him.

I turned to the young girl that was taking notes, “would you run an errand to the temple?”

As I reached for my purse I explained to her, “I need one of the healers. You are to tell them that I will pay their price.”

When Sam handed me her purse I smiled at her and then took out a gold piece. I held it up for the girl to see and then handed it to her, “that is an earnest.”

I took a silver piece out and handed the purse back to Sam. I showed the girl the silver, “it is yours when you returned.”

I had Sam stay with me and I moved to the next patient. The next couple of patients went quickly. I was stitching a long gash in the leg of an elderly woman when Cat brought the dwarf back by his ear. After she had released him she looked at me, “I have another family suffering from malnutrition.”

Garret again approached, “I will buy the process.”

I glanced at him, “how much?”

He sighed with a tone of much suffering, “one hundred gold pieces.”

I laughed, “you still owed me that much. I will not sell it that cheap.”

Finally he looked at the other dwarfs and then back at me, “what do you want?”

I thought about it, “I want a percentage of every item made from the process.”

Garret and the other dwarfs exploded, “impossible, out of the question!”

I waited patiently as I gathered the equipment and moved to the next patient. As they calmed down they countered my offer, “one thousand gold pieces.”

I shook my head, “thirty percent of every item made.”

They cried out, “you are trying to impoverish us or drive us out of business!”

I moved from patient to patient as they bargained back and forth. Finally we settled on twenty percent with a couple of exceptions. I wanted two more suits of chain mail and the opportunity to make some swords myself. I sent them to Jeremy to draw up a contract. It took three drafts before they stopped trying to add things into the contract.

Once they finished and it was signed I reminded them to pay Jeremy. They left with my promise to write the process and have it delivered it the next the morning. The Priest had shown up and was working on the patient with the injured hand, as he finished I joined them. I was always amazed by the healings and the workings of magic.

After checking the hand I again borrowed Sam’s purse, the priest smiled at this, “gave your purse away again?”

I looked up with a grin, “shopping this time.”

I gave the priest four more gold pieces and he bowed, “it is always a pleasure.”

I had another visit in the middle of the afternoon. I was in the middle of dealing with an emergency. A building had collapsed injuring over two dozen people. The injured were mostly those with broken bones. As I was setting a broken leg I felt them approach. I knew one of the men approaching was Gentle but the other was a stranger.

When he cleared his throat I glanced at him. He was well dressed and from the way he stood and wore his sword I knew he was probably someone of importance. I went back to setting the leg, “what can I do for you?”

The man again cleared his throat again and when I did not even look up he spoke, “my name is Legate Abrams.”

When I did not respond to his name he continued, “I am the Legate for the city guards.”

I nodded and then directed the woman who was helping me to move the bowl of plaster. “Well Legate Abrams it is my pleasure to meet you. I would introduce myself better but as you can see I am a little busy. How can I help you?”

With a sigh he knelt down taking the injured man’s leg that I was trying to wrap plaster on one handed, “I thought it time that we met since my guards have started using you as a resource to help people.”

I smiled, “I do not mind, it gives me a chance to help and usually it is only a meal or a bed for a few nights.”

The Legate looked around, “and this?”

I finished the wrapping and placed the leg down. Looking around I saw most of my neighbors helping. The large courtyard looked like chaos, “those you help have a tendency to help others.”

Saying this I moved to the next patient in line. It was a woman with a broken arm. Cat had given her the pain medicine already and it seemed to be working. I felt the arm, it was only a fracture. I showed Cat how it was to be set then moved again. The Legate kept up with me, “this does not match up with your reputation as a mercenary.”

I looked up at him as I knelt next to a woman that looked like her pelvis had been crushed. There was a small boy maybe six years old holding Sam’s hand as they sat with her. I started examining her to see the extent of her injuries. She exhaled and stopped breathing, Gentle who had followed calmly said, “she is gone.”

I was not listening, “Sam get the healer.”

I had called for a healer as soon as the inured had started arriving. I started CPR and it was only a few seconds before Sam was back. The voice behind me sighed sadly, “she is beyond my help.”

I showed Sam how to do the breathing and then continued with the chest compressions. “Samuel you should be ashamed to give up without a fight.”

No sooner had I said this than the woman started breathing again. Turning I moved out of the way, “if you would Samuel I believe you may be able to help her more than I now.”

He was looking at me with his mouth open. I reminded him a second time and he moved forward and laid his hand on her. I could feel the magic from the healing in my bones. Before our eyes the injury slowly disappeared. Smiling at the boy I winked and then looked at Sam, “how many beds remain in the stables?”

I had converted it almost two week earlier into a bunkhouse with four tear bunk beds. Sam glanced around, “I will need to check with Ann and get back to you.”

I sighed, “find her a lower bunk.”

I looked at the boy, “the father?”

Sam only shook her head and I nodded, “make sure the bed is wide enough for two.”

As I started to stand and the Legate reached out and helped me up, “that was the most amazing thing I have seen in a long time.”

Samuel agreed, “the healing was free.”

He looked at me, “could you show me how to do it?”

I nodded to him, “it will have to wait until we are done here.”

Turning I moved to the next patient, “in answer to your question Legate. I do that so that I can do this, help people that really need it and I decide who I work for and why.”

As I knelt down the young woman that was attending the young man looked up, “I think the knee cap is broken as well as the arm.”

I nodded and reached out to feel through his body. Sure enough the left knee was broken along with a fracture in the right arm above the elbow. Turning I called Samuel over, “how selective is your healing?”

I did not want to burn him out, he might be needed later. In the end he healed the kneecap and left the arm to be put in a cast. As the woman went to get the plaster and bandages they watched her limping away. The Legate watched her, “she might need attention herself.”

I looked up at the Legate, “her name is Sarah and her injury is old. She has been helping me off and on for the past two weeks. She was homeless, the master she was apprenticed to was an herbalist. While they were gathering herbs a horse kicked her, breaking the pelvic bone. The master refused to pay for a healing and it had healed incorrectly so her master turned her out.”

I looked after Sarah, “it is a shame because she is a natural and could be a great healer.”

The Legate looked at me, “will you teach her?”

I glanced at him, “there are problems. First she has to learn to trust someone again. Second, one of your guards has taken it into his head that she is his property.”

He frowned, “who.”

I shrugged, “she would not say.”

When Sarah returned I told her how I wanted the cast put on. When I was finished and stood up. The Legate spoke up, “young woman I have been told you have the potential to be a great healer.”

She only looked at him with a haunted look and he spoke again, “do you know who I am? I am the Legate for the guard. I have been told that you have no home. This man (he pointed at me) can teach you what you need to know to be a healer. I could put you in bond but I will not, instead I ask you to apprentice yourself. If he will accept you I will pay the apprentice fee.”

Sarah looked at him and then at me, as if asking. I nodded and she looked back to the Legate and then she looked down, “but I am a cripple.”

I smiled at her, “Sarah the damage is not irreversible yet. I could treat you, it would mean several weeks of healing but you would be walking again and without the pain.”

Samuel spoke up, “If you do this I will offer the healing for free.”

With tears in her eyes she looked back to the Legate and nodded. He nodded, “then done.”

I reminded Sarah how I wanted the arm cast and then moved off. When we were out of earshot the Legate remarked, “you are contagious. How much do you want for the apprentice fee?”

I laughed, “it is free.”

The legate insisted, “I should give you something.”

I stopped and looked at him, “I will not take money for helping someone.”

I remembered all the scholarships and gifts that had paid for my own schooling. The Legate looked at me and then smiled, it was not a smile I expected to see. “You seem to be having a problem with your housing, perhaps I can help.”

He nodded toward to cliff on the other side of the corral, “the old Keep up on top, it used to belong to a necromancer. It belongs to the city now and is an eye sore, it is yours.”

I looked up the cliff, “great, just what I need, another project.”

This only made the him laugh. With a look around I realized that the injured had all been cared for. When he realized this as well he smiled, “now that I have your attention. There are a couple of things I wanted to speak to you about. First, was your report this morning of a drow in the city?”

I explained what had happened and who could vouch for the report. The Legate nodded, “keep your… apprentice close. Next thing I wanted to discuss was a report from the dwarf community that you are part of their consortium now. The dwarf community is one of the larger consortiums and as a part of it you will have to attend some of the court dates as a judge.”

I was a little startled but nodded, “do you know which ones?”

He smiled, “I will go over the schedule but right now I see a conflict of interest on your part concerning the poor.”

A lieutenant showed up to stand next to them waiting. The Legate excused himself and after speaking with the lieutenant, “I will send the dates and times for the court.”

He turned to leave and then stopped and turned back, “I will have the deed for the Keep recorded and sent over.”

The rest of the afternoon went quickly, mostly finding room for everyone. The runner from the Legate arrived late in the afternoon and gave me a packet of documents. He told me that the Legate had already filed the papers with the city and the normal transfer fee had been waved. After the runner left I started thinking about the cliff, it had never felt right to me.

As I was standing in the corral examining the cliff Cat came up behind me, “is it true that Sarah is apprenticed to you now?”

I was preoccupied with my exam but answered, “yes it is true.”

I moved along the wall toward the river and she followed me, “where is she going to sleep?”

I felt something in the wall and replied distractedly, “in the stable.”

Again I moved further along the wall, this time looking at the cracks in the wall. In exasperation Cat followed me again, “all the bunks are taken. What are you looking for?”

I replied, “something is bothering me about this wall.”

She looked at the wall for a minute and then, “it reminds me of the wall by the river.”

I looked at her and then back and fourth along the wall. When I saw the split rock I moved to it and pressed the bottom. With an audible click a seven foot square section of the wall opened. I looked at Cat, “call Sam.”

Sam had been talking with John and Ann. When she was called all three came over. I looked at them, “I had found a passage in the cliff.”

Sam looked up with a frown, “the mage that lived there was publicly executed. He was reported to be a necromancer and trafficked with the drow to destroy the city. The Keep was burned when they tried to enter after he was caught. They were attacked by the undead that guarded the Keep as well as drow warriors.”

I thought about it and looked at Cat and Sam, “stay by the door. I will call if I needed you.”

I opened the door wider to reveal a dark hallway. There were white globes spaced down the hall and a crumpled form just a few feet inside the door. Cat stopped me, stepping up to the opening, “Elora!”

The white globes lit up showing the entire hall. I looked at her and raised my eyebrow and she smiled, “it means turn on.”

I nodded, “how do I turn them off?”

She shrugged, “Anon.”

Drawing my sword I spread my senses out and stepped inside. As I approached the corpse it started to come to life. It felt like it was surrounded with electricity. It was almost like a web and I could almost hear a buzzing sound coming from a clay pendent around its neck. Reaching out quickly while it was trying to get to its feet I cut the leather cord holding the pendent with my sword.

As the pendent fell away it crumbled to dust. The corpse sighed and then it too crumbled. Reaching down I picked up the sword it had been carrying. When I pulled it out of the sheath I saw it was made of admantium. Returning to the door I gave the sword to Sam. She nodded, “John went to get some men to help if we needed it.”

I started down the hall, clearing the rooms as I went. As I started to enter the second room I heard the sound of movement and a sword being drawn. As I stepped forward there was a sudden movement. I stepped back as a sword came down from the side of the doorway. Lunging forward I stabbed the dead guard through the neck and cut up, separating the leather holding the pendent.

The guard froze and then dropped to the floor turning to dust. I picked the sword up and put it back in the sheath before I slung it over my shoulder. The next attack came at the end of the hall. A dead guard rushed me from the last room. I blocked his sword and then slashed across its upper chest cutting the leather cord. I retrieved the sword and slung it with the other.

There were six rooms that faced the river. They each had slits that faced out over the river and a large fireplace that burned without anything in them. Each room also had a bath, probable eight feet square. They had wardrobes that lined the wall next to the door and large comfortable beds.

Everything I saw looked new and nothing looked as if it was twenty years old. On the inside wall of the hallway were six smaller rooms but there were supplies in them. There were also two bathrooms (one at each end of the hall) and another set of stairs leading up and down in the middle of the hall.

I returned to the door, giving one of the swords to Cat and the other to John. I noticed that the four men with them looked very nervous. Leaving two of them to guard the door I took the rest to the stairs. I had John and the other man stay there with Sam and Cat. Slowly I made my way up the stairs. At the landing before the next floor I was attacked again.

I blocked and as I cut back at him, the guard stepped back and then thrust his sword. I blocked as I drew my knife and stabbed him at the junction of the neck, cutting the cord. It dropped and turned to dust along with the dead guard. I could feel magic on the landing. It was like an electric web across the wall with a buzzing that seemed just at the edge of my hearing.

I made sure the stairs were clear past the landing and up to the next floor. I collected the sword and called Sam and Cat up to the landing. Next, I went back down to what I considered the main floor and started down the stairs. I had not even reached the landing between floors when I was attacked.

I blocked a swing and stepped in to stab the guard in the chest, breaking the clay pendent. The guard was turning to dust as it fell. Checking the landing I could feel another web of magic across the face of the wall. I returned to where the dead guard had been and picked up the sword. I handed both swords to John on my way past.

Taking a breath I turned to the wall of the landing by Sam and Cat. I could see nothing so I closed my eyes and listened. At first it sounded like the buzzing of bees and then as I listened close I realized it was voices. After awhile I knew my hearing would not help so I reached out. My master had explained once that my sense of touch away from my body came from my chi or my life force.

Feeling the wall it was almost as if I could see the web of what I now knew to be magic, it felt both slick and sticky. It was a moment before I felt the knot and another before I found what I could only call the lose end. It was almost like a bowknot, a simple pull and the knot would come undone. When I pulled there was a shimmer.

I opened my eyes and was looking at a door. I could hear a rustling sound coming from the room beyond. I pulled my sword and then pushed on the door. Even before it had fully opened a sword was thrust through at me. I blocked with the sword and drew my knife. There were three undead guards trying to get through the door at the same time.

Again I parried, this time with the knife and then I brought the sword down on the center guard’s neck. Its attempt to block the sword was upset by the guard next to him trying to block it as well. The result was neither was able to block and I struck the guard in the neck cutting the cord.

As it fell, turning to dust another was taking its place. The guard on the left lunged and again I blocked with my knife. The guard that had stepped into the center position tried to step forward and bring his sword into the fight. I punched him in the face knocking him back into the ones behind, causing them all to fall.

I blocked the guard on the right with my sword and quickly lunged in to cut the cord with the knife. As it fell I was blocking the guard on the left and then with another lunge stabbed my sword through the next guard that was trying to get through the door. The sword went through the pendent and six inches into its chest.

Again the guard on the left struck. I blocked the blow and countered with an overhand blow that it raised its sword to block. I reached in with the knife to stab him in the chest and breaking the pendent. Countering the two guards that rushed in with swords raised I swept their blades to the side with my sword.

As the one on the left continued forward as if to run into me I cut the cord around its neck in a quick slash. The other guard tried to take advantage by stabbing through the guard but the body pulled the sword down allowing me to cut downward into its neck and shoulder cutting the cord on his pendent.

The other guards had sorted themselves out and were coming at me with a vengeance. Two struck together, the one on the right lunged straight at me and I blocked outwards with my sword. While the guard on the left cut down towards my head and I blocked it to my left with my knife. A cut across the guard’s chest on the left resulted in him stepping back.

The guard that was behind him put his sword through its back and it came out the chest. As the sword was pulled free it cut the cord. With a surprised look the guard turned into dust while it was still standing. The guard on the right struck again, this time overhand. I caught the sword with my knife, deflecting it into the new guard that had rushed forward.

The blow cut through the arm holding its sword. I countered the guard on the right by a thrust through the upper chest and the pendent. The other guard tried to grab me with its only hand and I stabbed the hand and twisted it. As the arm straightened I cut across the chest separating the cord.

The last three came together, one stayed behind the other two. He was not like the others and he wore a chain mail shirt made of what looked like mythril. He was taller and I thought he looked like an elf. The other two came more cautiously, the first lunged and when I blocked the other struck. I blocked again and stepped back.

When I did they tried to come through the door and I attacked. A faint at the guard on the right brought the other guard striking at me. I blocked and then put my sword through its throat and twisted, causing it to stumble into the other guard. I pulled the sword free and cut the cord at its neck. Stepping back I blocked and struck only to have the blow blocked by the dead elf.

As the guard on my left struck I stepped to the side and blocked the blade causing it to swing toward the elf. As the elf was starting to lunge it twisted aside and blocked the sword. I did not wait. I struck in a lunge that pierced, not just the guard on the left but went through its neck and coming out its shoulder and then striking the elf in the chest.

Pulling the sword free, I twisted it and jerked it through muscle, cutting the cord around its neck. The guard on the left turned to dust but the elf only changed its stance. I could see a silver chain at its neck so obviously something was different. The elf started to feel me out in small thrusts and swings.

It was several minutes before I had an opening. Parrying a lunge I lunged in return and followed it up as it was blocked by stabbing my knife through the hand and twisting. As its sword fell I was already striking at its neck. When it raised its hand as if to block I cut through the chain and the arm and then into its neck, separating the chain around its neck.

With a scream it exploded in a shower of dust. As suddenly as it had started it was over. I cautiously entered the room. It was maybe a hundred feet square with twelve stone slabs by the door. The floor in the center of the room was sunken with a pit that burned hotly. I could feel the heat from it when I was twenty feet away.

There were partially dissected bodies and body parts scattered about the room, some on tables, some in intricate diagrams and some were even in jars on shelves. There were three bodies hung up along one wall in chains. This was obviously a workroom for the necromancer. As I moved around the room Cat went with me, finally I stopped by the pit.

I could feel the web of magic around the pit and when I looked in I could imagine why. Curled up at the bottom ten feet down was what looked like a large lizard sleeping. Only this lizard was red and sheathed in flame, it was also semi transparent. Cat whispered, “it is a salamander. The spells around the pit must hold it asleep otherwise the whole room would be in flames.”

I assured myself after a quick check that there were no other doors into the room. Back on the landing I called John up to watch the stairwell leading to the upper floors and then went to the landing below what I thought of as the ground floor. Setting Sam and Cat to watch the stairs leading down I faced the wall of the landing.

Reaching out as I had done before I traced the web of magic until I found what I could only describe as a knot. As the shimmer faded and the door appeared I moved carefully to it. After listen at the door I opened it. It looked like a small empty room. It was ten feet square with blank walls and I thought about it for a minute.

Why would anyone hide an empty room with magic? Walking into the room I extended my senses. The back wall felt different than the other two. I could feel no magic from the wall so I started looking along the wall until I found an irregular bump. When I pushed it there was a click and wall split in two and slid aside.

The opening inside the wall was only a few feet deep and it was lined with rack after rack of swords and not ordinary swords. Back on the landing I moved down to the next floor and called Sam and Cat down to watch the stairwell leading down. As I moved through the rooms everything seemed quiet and peaceful.

While I was at the end of the hall finishing my search Sam and Cat were attacked. The guard had come up the stairs slowly and they gave a yell to warn me. Sam attacked on the left with a downward slice that it blocked and Cat stabbed it through the body. As it turned to attack Cat Sam struck again, cutting deeply into its shoulder.

When it swung at her Cat struck it in the back of the neck. As the cord parted it froze in mid lunge and then dropped to the floor. After hitting the floor it was a moment before it turned to dust and quiet returned. When I got there it was over, Sam and Cat were still a little excited and it was a couple of minutes before they calmed down.

I finished checking the floor but there were no other guards. Moving down the stairs I again stopped at the landing. There was another web of magic on the wall of the landing. Removing the magic came a little easier this time. Again I was looking into what seemed an empty room. Moving into the room I quickly found the switch to open the secret panel and was looking at more racks of admantium swords. Exiting the room I moved down the stairs.

The stairs ended on that floor. With Sam and Cat to watch I went through every room with no sign of guards. Back up the stairs I stopped at the landing with John. There had been no sign of the dead guards. With John and the girls in tow I moved up to the next floor where I had them wait while I checked the landing above.

Calling John up to watch the stairs I started checking the floor. I encountered one guard that did not even try to rise, it only moaned. At the other end of the hall were two more webs of magic. One at the end of the hall and the other along the wall where the last storeroom should have been.

After checking all the rooms I moved to end of the hall where the last storeroom should be. Reaching out I found that the web of magic was different. The knot was different as well, it was a moment before I found the trick of it and with a twist to the knot the wall shimmered. With a suddenness the blank wall was replaced with another door, this one with a lock.

After feeling the door and the door jam I unlocked the door. As I stepped in a dead guard stepped from the shadows, drawing his sword as he moved. Without pause I reached out and cut the cord on the pendent. That causing the guard to turn to dust before it could so much as swing the sword. I stood in a short hallway that ended twenty feet in.

When I opened the other door it was into another large room, maybe one hundred and fifty feet by one hundred. There were more than a dozen beds on the left wall. On the right side were two large fireplaces that burned brightly and in the far corner was a very large bath. What made this room strange were the six young girls kneeling just inside the door.

They were Mair and were five or six years old and they did not move. I felt each one and they were surrounded with that electric feel of magic I had become used to. After checking the room I decided to leave the girls for now and relocked the door. At the end of the hall I felt the web of magic.

This one was different from the others to, it was a lot more intricate. It was several minutes before I was able to remove the illusion. The wall seemed to melt into the floor. The door that now stood in place of the wall also had a feeling of magic about it. This time it only took a minute before the magic was disarmed and the door was opened.

Stepping into the room I got an impression of a large room before two guards struck without warning. It was several moments before I could do more than block. Both guards had been Drow when they were alive. They still moved with a skill that was difficult to counter. The fight was like a dance my old master would put me through. It was ten minutes before the break came.

With a swing that was deflected the guard on my right had a silver chain around his neck and the chain came out of his mail. I blocked left and then right. After blocking the last time I stepped in and grabbed the silver pendent that was on the chain. With a sharp pull I broke it loose from the chain.

Even as I did that I automatically blocked to my left. As a sword struck my long knife the guard on the right screamed and seemed to explode into dust. The guard on my left froze, looking towards the other guard. I did not hesitate, lunging with the knife I stabbed through the chain mail and cut the silver chain above the pendent.

A surprised look crossed the its face and he exploded like the other guard. As the quiet returned I looked into another room that was maybe a hundred by a hundred and fifty feet. From the door I could see different areas. In one corner was a large forge with barrels of metals stacked along the wall.

In another area there were beakers, tubes and burners like in a lab. There was lumber in one corner with what looked like a lathe. On a bench not to far from the door was what looked like gems with equipment to hold them, one was in a clamp ready to be cut. As I moved into the room it was like walking into a room full of webs.

As I stopped in an area where someone had been doing woodwork I heard a voice speak to me, “Master, how may I serve?”

The voice came from the air. This happened every time I stopped in one of the other areas. There was only one other door in the room and when I unlocked and opened it I found myself looking at a treasure. There were a dozen large chests and racks with probably two hundred of the golden admantium swords.

Several of the chests were split open, gold and bright colored gems spilled out. Returning to the stairs where a worried John waited I called the girls up. I moved up the stairs and found that the roof had collapsed blocking half the landing and the stairs leading up. I could still feel the web of magic on the landing wall.

Unraveling it caused some of the rocks to shift but I thought I would be able to squeeze through into the room. Opening the hidden door I found it was one of the storage areas for swords like before. I saw that there was a narrow opening to the side leading up the stairs. As I moved to the opening I heard movement.

Moving to the side of the opening I waited. It was only a minute before the undead guard tried to squeeze through. I reached out with my sword and cut the cord at the back of its neck. Staying where I was I waited. There were four more guards that tried to get through. They all came through the opening knowing the ones before had not made it.

I waited several minutes after last guard had tried to come through and then called the girls into the room. After squeezing through the opening I found myself climbing the stairs through the collapsed stones. At the next floor I found the lights on and the stairs going up were blocked by more debris.

I called the girls up to the landing at that floor. Just inside the doorway to the hall I found three bodies. From the look they were either Elf or Drow. They had all been dressed nicely with jewelry on fingers and necks. I felt a web of magic nearby and noticed what looked like a green lacquered cane.

It had mythril bands and what looked like a brass cap with three silver bands at the bottom of the stick. When I picked it up I knew that it was a straight Katana sword cane or something similar. Pulling it from the sheath I was surprised. The blade was a silver/white and had been folded like a Japanese sword.

The weight of the sword was less than half of what a steel blade would weight. From the feel the density was probably ten times that of steel. It was at least as twice as dense as admantium. It also had tracings up and down the blade in a fluid script with the webs of magic tied to them and going into the metal.

Putting the sword back into the sheath I turned to Cat just inside the doorway. With her green eyes and the green catseye ring she wore this was a perfect match. I almost felt that she was meant for the sword. I smiled and handed my sword to Sam and then placing the sword on my palms and bowed to Cat presenting it to her.

She looked at me wide eyed, all the times before I had just handed her a sword. slowly she reached out and took the blade. Standing up I took my sword back from Sam. Moving down the hall to the right I started checking the floor. The layout for this floor was different. Where there had been smaller rooms on the inside wall I found only four large bedrooms.

Two had remains of what I thought were Mair. Where there had been six bedrooms on the outer wall I only found four bedrooms. Each with its own bathroom in addition to a large fireplace and bathing pool. There was one last one at the end of the hall that was almost twice the size of the others.

In the first large room along the wall I found a Mair. Like the girls I had found she was surrounded by a web of magic and seemed suspended. She looked like she was maybe eighteen and pregnant. The last inside room held another Mair, this one was also pregnant but she looked like she was only sixteen and had been whipped. There were bloody strips on her back.

The last door in the hall was a hallway with a narrow set of stairs. Calling the girls I went up. It came out beside what had once been a stable. The whole area was overgrown with a type of ice plant. The property here was walled and they were still intact and twenty feet tall. The area inside the walls covered an area of maybe twenty acres.

Moving around the stable I saw the gate area. It looked like there had been a gatehouse built over the gate but it had burnt and collapsed, blocking the gate. The main house looked huge, even burnt out. It had probably been four or five stories tall. Moving through the ruins I found no surprises only an occasional burnt skeleton.

It looked like the first two floors were burnt out with the stairs leading up just a pile of ash. It was possible that the top two floors were intact but there was no way up or down without a tall ladder. On the way back down I closed the entrance to the stairs by raising a lever that was near the hall door.

It closed with seemingly no problems, only the squishing of ice plants marked its closing. Down the stairs I collected John and we all went down to what I still thought of as the ground floor. As we came down we met the man that I had left there. He was accompanied by two city guards. One of the guards I had met before with Paul, “it looks like you found company.”

I started shooing them toward the door leading out. At first the two guards tried to tell me that they had to stay but I ignored them as I walked them out. At the door I let everyone precede me and then stepped out. There was a small crowd of guards probable twenty strong crowded into the corral.

I turned and started closing the door and a tall skinny guard spoke up, “leave it.”

I ignored him and finished closing the door. When the guard stepped forward to grab me a quiet voice spoke, “I would not do that.”

With a click the door closed and I turned to see Gentle behind the guard. When I raised my eyebrow he shrugged, “I owed him a favor.”

As I watched the group of guards broke up and Legate Abrams walked towards me with what looked like a lieutenant and sergeant. As I watched Ann came running around them with Marie and the two orphans in tow. When she reached us she ran into John’s arms. When Marie and the two orphans arrived (I had learned their names were David and Mary) they stopped not to far from John and Ann.

When the Legate arrived I turned to him, “Legate, I am very disappointed in you.”

He looked at me, “alright I will bite. Disappointed how?”

I smiled, “well, you do not tell me the property you are giving me had secret passages or that there were still mage traps or that there were still undead guards. Not to mention that they all carried Admantium swords and that some wore armor.”

The Legate blinked and replied, “I thought you could use the challenge.”

With a group of guards all around Marie broke in, “is it true? Is there an army of dead coming to get us?”

I looked down at her and held my smile, “well, lets see. First we fought through an army of undead in the hall, destroying them all. Then there were legions of orcs and goblins. Your dad was throwing them left and right. Then the troll attacked us on the stairs.”

I could see I had her attention as well as several guards, “your dad fought the troll. Finally he got the upper hand and beat it. Next came the dozen drow that came at us from secret rooms. We were fighting left and right until we beat them.”

Sam chimed in, “you forgot the dragon.”

With only a pause I continued, “oh yes the dragon. Well, we entered the wizard’s lair and there it was so we attacked it. It swung its tail at Sam and she cut the end right off. We hacked at the legs and when it fell we jumped on it and took it prisoner.”

Marie looked at me with big eyes, “really?”

I broke and smiled, ruffling her hair, “no. There were only a few dusty old dead guards.”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see several of the guards faces turning red. Turning to Ann, “can I talk you into making something to eat?”

The Legate had the lieutenant send the guards back to their posts. As the various groups were breaking up Sarah appeared beside me, “would you speak to the injured? They are under the impression that they will be killed in their sleep.”

I nodded and looked at the Legate, “would you mind waiting?”

I made a quick set of rounds, reassuring the injured. When I finished I found him in the kitchen. Ann and several helpers were fixing a hasty meal and not just for him but also for the injured. As I sat down at the small corner table the Legate appeared to be enjoying a nice dinner and John was eating at a nearby counter.

I glanced at him, “where did Sam, Cat and the other men go?”

John smiled, “the men went home. Sam and Cat took their dinner out.”

Ann brought me a plate and as I ate I told the Legate what I had found, leaving out the part about treasure. I did say that I would probable have a mage check the one work area with all the bodies. He listened and nodded, “a drow was killed earlier when it walked into a group of guards heading here.”

After the Legate left I found Sam and Cat in our room with Sarah. She seemed nervous as I came in, “Sam, see if you can find someone to help bring more hay down. We will need enough for eight people.”

Turning to Sarah, “I will go over classes with you tomorrow. Unfortunately we are not done for the night.”

I looked at Cat, “There are Mair in there. They are in a suspended state. If I can I am going to wake them.”

She looked at me and nodded. On our way out I sent Sarah to Ann. They would need food, maybe a nice soup and Sam went to find John to get help with the hay. When I reached the entrance I found Gentle sitting on a bale of hay next to the door. I smiled, “what are you doing here?”

He grinned, “the guard sergeant said I could take my break here.”

With a sigh I opened the door, no surprises jumped out and everything was quiet. I looked at Cat, “we will start at the top.”

Sarah and Sam caught up and with Gentle following and we made our way up to the collapsed area. Gentle did not like having to squeeze through the rubble but managed. At the last room I went in. Cat, Sam, Sarah and Gentle looked around. Cat touched my shoulder, “sometimes the mages set spells like this to a spot on the floor.”

Looking at the suspended girl I saw a light colored tile in front of her. When I pointed it out to Cat and she nodded, “that might be the trigger.”

I moved forward and taking a breath stepped onto the tile. With a shimmer the Mair started to breath then it was as if she woke up suddenly. She looked up at me and I could see the fear in her eyes. I knelt down in front of her and with Cat’s help I calmed her, “the mage is dead.”

She kept her eyes down as if afraid of angering me. With her in tow we went to the other room. This time I found the tile quickly and triggered the spell. Once we had reassured her we went down to where the young girls had been. It went quickly as Sam, Cat, Sarah, Gentle and I all triggered the spell.

At first the girls did not seem to understand and Cat sighed in exasperation, “you belong to this man now.”

With big eyes they looked at me. I looked at Cat and she only shrugged. Leading them down the stairs we came out the doorway. The girls all stopped, looking around in fear. Cat touched my arm, “many Mair are not allowed out of their master’s house.”

I nodded and then closed the door. I quietly led them across to the kitchen, while Sam headed for my medical kit. When we entered the kitchen Ann was there with her children, washing hands and faces for bed. Margaret and Tom were there as well, cleaning the pots and pans. I asked Ann quietly if the soup was ready.

She nodded and moved towards a large pot on a stove. There was bread next to the pot and she put a large piece on a small plate and gave each girl a plate and bowl of soup. Marie poured juice for each and brought it to them. Because of the teenager’s unborn child I could not give her the painkiller I wanted.

After searching I found one that would do and mixed the powder in with her juice. Once they were finished eating I helped wash the dishes and then led them down into our room. Together we covered some more hay and made a place for them to sleep next to us. Cat, Sam and I showed them where the bathrooms were.

When they were back and settled I checked the sixteen year old. She shyly said her name was Jen. I smiled and gently worked on her back. The others sat or lay and watched. When I was finished I lightly wrapped a linen cloth around her, “try to sleep on your stomach.”

I handed Sarah the rest of the bandages, “remind me to send for a healer tomorrow.”

When I asked the older Mair her name she told me it was Cassy. The girls were Serene, Krystal, Melody, Rose and Samantha. As everyone settled I could not help thinking that a month ago I had arrived here with nothing and no one. Now not only did I have money but quite a large family.

As I drifted off to sleep I felt Jen climb into the bed with us and snuggle up next to Cat. Then quietly one after another the girls climbed in as well to be held. Last was Cassy, squeezing in to curl up around Sam.


Chapter 4

Day one

A traitor, an injured elf and a visit from the council

It was a busy week, the mages showed up the day after I had opened the secret passages. It was early in the morning and I had climbed out of my crowded bed and started making rounds of the injured from the day before. As I was leaving the bunkhouse slash stables I saw them enter the gate. There were four of them and they walked as if they owned the world.

As they came up to me they were abrupt, “boy, where is this entrance to the Keep passages?”

I looked them up and down slowly which made a young looking one snort and start muttering a spell. Unfortunately for him I could feel the beginnings and reached out from five feet away to grab his throat. When he started to gesture a pinch at a nerve juncture stopped it. The other three were alert now and looking at me.

When the young one had stopped struggling I released him. Quietly I faced them, “lets try this again. My name is Michael and this is my home. How may I help you?”

One of the older mages stepped forward, “that was very interesting. How did you do it?”

When I only looked back another mage, taller and skinny cleared his throat, “we are here to take possession of the necromancer’s property.”

I looked back at him, “I did not know I had put it up for sale.”

The mage flushed and started to reply when the older mage put his hand up, “we were told that there was a situation. That there was left over magic from the necromancer.”

I looked at him carefully, “the work area had magic but it seems to be warded. So no I do not need a mage.”

When the young one started to reply hotly the older one only held his hand up, “what is it that you want?”

I smiled, “that is not the question. The question is, what do you what?”

As I said this I felt the mage that had remained silent start to weave a spell. Quietly I looked at him, “I have already warned you.”

Reaching out I touched him at a point in his brain making a shield with my chi. It was a point that I noticed was most active in a mage and seemed to affect their ability to do magic. As he started to pull something from under his cloak I again reached out, this time to touch him at a point in his spine at his neck.

As the mage froze I stepped up to him. His cloak pin had the same glyph that had been on the silver pendants that the three dead drow guards had around their necks, “tell me mage, how did your glyph end up on a pendent around the neck of a dead drow?”

Saying that I brought out the silver pendent I had pulled from the drow in the workroom. As I held it out on the palm of my hand the glyph seemed to glow. Without warning the older mage stepped forward. With a gesture a web of magic sprang up around the mage, cutting off my touch.

Darkness seemed to envelope the pendent and the old mage looked at my hand that held it and then at the mage, “Pendar, you have questions to answer.”

Holding out his hand out to me, “may I.”

When I put the pendent in his hand he turned to the skinny mage. The other mage stepped forward and looked at the pendent and then at the mage being held by magic. With a nod he stepped back and gestured to the younger mage. The young mage stepped forward, looking long at the pendent before glaring at the mage held in the web of magic.

The old mage looked at me, “we will be taking the mage Pendar. He will face a quorum of his peers. If they determined he was involved with the necromancer he will be put to death and his property sold off.”

After they had left I sent out two runners. One to Garret with the process for admantium, heat shielding for a forge and the suggestion that the first thing he made was the tools for the smithy. The second runner was to see if Samuel was available for a healing. I told the runner to make sure he knew it was not an emergency.

I found John, “could you find some men to work for a few days? I want bunks made for the rooms on the bottom two floors of the passageways. In addition I want the stairwell cleared to the Keep and the whole thing cleaned up, including the gate to the Keep up above.”

With his help and two long ladders hauled up the cliff on a rope I went back to the ruins. Using the ladders together I managed to get to the third floor of the Keep. There was some smoke damage but there was a lot that could be salvaged. The fourth floor was the same with one addition.

I found an elf or drow, (I could never tell them apart) he had been beaten and there were signs of cuts or stabs. He was also in a suspended state. I called down to John, “send a runner to bring Samil!”

I checked the attic while I waited. Although the things I found might be out of date many we would still be able to use. I climbed down the ladder when Samil arrived and explained what I had found. When we went back to look at the elf/drow and Samil nodded, “he is an elf.”

Stepping on a light colored square of flooring the elf seemed to wake. With a look around, “I still will not talk!”

I smiled, “well if you do not talk how will I find out your name?”

The elf looked at us closely and I could see the pain he was holding back. It was the way he clinched his teeth and held his body, “Elvan.”

I knelt down, “we are here to help. I am a doctor.”

After saying that I started checking him. In addition to bruises, (and he had plenty) there were three deep stab wounds and five other deep cuts. On top of that the right arm, left leg and three ribs were broken. We rigged a sling to help us lower him down the ladder. Once we were on the ground John brought a litter so that we could bring him down the stairs.

It was not fun getting him through the collapsed part on the stairs but after that it was easy. Once out of the passages I had them take him in to the large bath so that he could be cleaned up. I found Sarah, Cassy and Jen in the bath. Sarah was trying to get them to relax. Jen was sitting at the edge of the water so she would not get her back wet.

I smiled, “is there any word from Samuel?”

Sarah nodded, “the runner returned to say he would be here at noon.”

I gestured to the elf, “would you help clean him? His name is Elvan.”

Samil had said he would take the news to those that represented the elves here. I told Sarah what to watch out for and went to find Sam. Walking out the door I almost got ran over by a crowd of children following Jeremy for lessons. I found Cat and Sam in the kitchen with Ann. They were talking about the rooms and how to decorate them.

I cleared my throat, “Sam? Would you get the trauma kit? Cat, I need the plaster and bandages for a cast. Also the stronger linens to tape ribs.”

After they had left I looked at Ann, “could you find someone to do a little shopping for clothing for Cassy, Jen and the girls?”

Back at the pool I checked Elvan and then I mixed several drugs. One was a strong narcotic that was extremely addictive. After he was sedated I began. I cleaned the wounds with a saline solution I had mixed up and then carefully stitched his wounds closed. I set the leg and had Sam wrap it.

When she was finished I made sure the arm was set and had Sarah hold the position while Cat wrapped it. The ribs were only fractured and I had Sarah tape them tightly. As they were finishing I could see that the injured or sick were starting to arrive for this mornings rounds. I looked at Cat, “find someone to take him to the first room inside the passage. Have someone stay with him until I can check him again.”

As I started checking what I termed my sick a group of three showed up. They told me that they were representatives from the city council and that the property was being taken back by the city. I looked up at them, one was a dwarf and the other two looked like fat cat merchants, “well gentlemen, if the city is taking back the property I will remove my plunder, reset the traps and of course send you the bill.”

With a start the short, fat one asked, “what bill?”

I looked at all three of them, “since I have not had the property for twenty-four hours I would have to assume that it was a ruse to get me to destroy the undead guards in the tunnels. This means you are libel for any bills by me.”

I glanced at my patients, “I was thinking of charging one hundred gold pieces for every undead guard I had to destroy.”

They started to argue but I stopped them, “you will also undoubtedly be receiving a complaint from the dwarf merchants.”

They looked at me then at the dwarf, “why?”

I looked at them, “I am a partner with a dwarf named Garret. There is a forge in the passages. I was going to use it to make and refine new metals.”

They looked at each other and the dwarf cleared his throat, “what proof do you have of the partnership?”

I shrugged, “The dwarf’s merchant guild has already appointed me to a position as a Judge.”

That seemed to be the magic word, the dwarf immediately started backing me up. They eventually told me that they would ratify my deed. My sick that day was light, I had finished and was sitting with Sarah, Sam and Cat. We were eating a light meal and I was going over the cases with them when three elves walked in the gate.

Two were richly dressed, the other was wearing well fitting comfortable clothes and carrying a small leather case. I met them outside the kitchen, one of the well dressed elves, (he walked with a balance that I recognized from Samil) held out his hand, “I am Teral. Samil told me a wild tell of an elf under a spell and injured.”

The other elf was looking around distractedly but the one in the comfortable clothes held out his hand, “I am Aretha.”

Then he surprised me, “I have heard of you.”

As I was leading the way to the passageway I glanced at him, “what have you heard?”

I heard him chuckle, “I heard you were giving healers a bad name.”

I looked at him again, “oh?”

He grinned, “you seem to be actually helping people.”

As we entered the room I saw that Jen was sitting beside the bed. She was singing a lullaby softly. As we entered the room she stood and backed away quickly. I could see the fear on her face as she looked at the elves. I smiled, “has he awakened?”

She nodded timidly, “I gave him the powder and he drank two glasses of water.”

As I was checking him Aretha asked what I had given him. I told him and he remarked that the drug was addictive. I looked up at him and agreed, “that was why I only used it once and in combination with a drug to reduce the swelling.”

Aretha only nodded, “how bad are the injuries?”

I described the wounds and the broken bones and then said he looked worse than he was. Elvan opened his eyes and whispered, “it feels worse on the inside.”

The other well dressed elf stepped up to the bed, “we thought you were dead. What happened?”

With an effort he tried to sit up only to be stopped by me, “lie still until the healer arrives.”

Lying back he told his story about an ambush at somewhere called Killgore Pass and a sudden blow to his head from magic. He told of the drow trying to get information about someone called the prince and a place called Willow Grove. Finally I called a halt to his talking, “he needs to rest.”

Aretha agreed and they said they would return the next day. Showing them out I saw Samuel talking with Ann, when she saw the elves leaving she sent him over to me. When we entered the room again Jen was back beside the bed giving Elvan sips of water. She started to move away but I stopped her and had her lie on the other side of the bed.

The bed was large, larger than what I remembered a king size bed being. I stripped her shirt off and gently removed the bandages. The lacerations were red and there was a little seepage from one. Elvan turned his head and was watching what I was doing. Samuel stepped up and looked at the wounds while shaking his head, “who did this?”

I looked at his face and saw anger. “I found her under a suspension spell like the elf. From what I know they were both held under the spell for at least twenty years. Would being under a spell like that for so long would harm the unborn child?”

Jen looked back in alarm but Samuel shook his head, “No. It should not affect the child.”

Laying his hand on her shoulder he started the healing without even setting a price. As the healing glow surrounded them I knew that something was different. The glow was brighter and the magic seemed to reach out to me as well as Elvan. When Samuel finished and the glow faded there was a beautiful smile on his face.

When Jen looked up at me I could see a look of wonder on her face. Samuel looked at me, “she is a healer. How could someone do that to a healer?”

I had her stay where she was and we went around to Elvan. As I started unwrapping the bandages I saw that the laceration seemed to be half healed. Samuel only gave a half smile and explained, “she reached out when she felt the healing magic.”

He continued as I helped unwrap the elf, “when a healer first experiences the healing magic they respond in kind with a magnifying effect. The magic reaches out for any and all that might be near.”

Once Elvan was unwrapped Samuel looked at me, “would you mind letting the Mair help me?”

When I looked at her to ask I saw the look of yearning and went to helped her up. Samuel put her hand on top of his and explained what he was going to do. As the glow rose up around them it was almost as if I could hear a soft lullaby. When they finished the look of pain in Elvan’s eyes was gone but it was the sigh from Samuel that drew my attention.

When he saw me looking he smiled, “healers seldom work together. The feeling of working with another healer is something we savor.”

I nodded as I cut the cast off. I looked at Elvan, “a nights rest and I will let you go.”

I smiled at Jen, “have you eaten?”

She nodded but was still a little distracted from the healing magic. As I walked Samuel out he glanced at me, “she needs to be trained.”

I looked at him, “where and how much?”

That was a beginning. I had agreed to let him train Jen on the condition that he takes her condition into account. In addition he was to either come and get her himself or send someone to escort her to and from all teachings.

The afternoon was spent in cleaning the halls and removing the bodies that were found. With the exception of the necromancer’s workroom or you could call it the torture room. I had spent some time in what I called the craft hall, learning what was there and thinking of ways to use it. I sat at a bench and made several detailed sketches of surgical instruments and of weapons that I remembered.

I found a set of short Wakizashi cane swords on a bench with a larger katana sword. All the sheaths were a midnight blue. The blades were all the white/silver color of Cat’s sword and they all had the weaving of magic in and through them. The young girls had spent the day with Marie, David and Mary.

Wherever that had been they all looked like they had rolled in the dirt. That afternoon for my exercises it looked like I had an army training with me. At the end I sat everyone down, “I see a lot of new faces. Let me say this so you will all know, this is not an art for fighting but for defending yourself.”

I looked at each of them, “my sensei told me many things that I did not understand until later. I will give the first lesson and it is a major part of this style. You must learn to see the leaves in the forest.”

I could see several of my students shuffle around, “I think what that means is that you relearn how you see the world around you. You walk down the street but do you see the lamplighter. Do you notice the way people carry themselves. What about when you talk to someone, can you tell if they lie?”

Pointing to a new guard in the front row, “which way do peoples eyes look when they are creating a story? What does their body language tell you?”

Pointing to a young apprentice mage that had shown up for this evening’s class, “which way do people look when remembering an event? How do they hold themselves?”

I gestured towards the gate, “looking out onto the street, who sets a regular pattern? The baker setting out the morning bread? The blacksmith opening his shop? You must teach yourselves to see not just those patterns but those little things that do not normally fit.”

I straightened, “enough, class dismissed.”

I had spoken with Sarah about the things I would be teaching her. I also went over what exactly I would have to do to heal her. It was an interesting evening with everyone splashing in the pool in our room and the quiet exchanges between the girls.

Before bed I called them all together, “I would like all of you to learn to do things for yourselves. You should learn to read and write, to do arithmetic but mostly to find something you liked doing. Like Jen and her healing or Cat who is learning medicine.”

That night was a repeat of the night before, even though it did not seem as urgent. I had moved some of the hay over so there was more room in our bed and all the girls crowded on.


Chapter 5

Day Two

An arrogant puppy, a lesson, a deal for a ghost and the farm

The next morning was overcast as I stretched by one of the practice rings. Sam and Cat had decided to try and sleep in. I thought about some of the things I had done before coming here. One of the things I missed was the weekend trips to the gun range. My dad had started me on them when I was ten.

I shot everything from pistols to hunting rifles. I had even designed modified rifles and pistols last year chambered for caseless ammo I had also designed. I had even competed in a long range rifle match and won.

As I picked two short practice swords I saw Samil talking to an elf I remembered from my first employment with Garth. I could see that Samil was angry and saw Teral step out of the crowd that always seemed to gather for any practice that I did. Samil seemed to hold himself very still.

When Teral stepped up to them the arrogant one said something that he found funny. He waved Samil aside and the arrogant elf turned and walked to me, “I told you I would teach you how your betters fight.”

I only shook my head, “I still do not teach arrogant puppies.”

Turning I started away, the attack came when my back was turned, not that it made any difference. I stepped out of line of attack and then with a spin my right hand sword struck the head of the elf. As the he staggered I walked in, striking left and right in a blur. It only lasted a moment and then the elf was falling.

Both arms broken at the forearms, several broken ribs and a light concussion. I turned away as three elves rushed to the fallen ones side. I stopped in front of Samil and Teral. Teral shook his head, “you know he will try to send someone after you.”

I looked back at the scene in the ring, “if he does I will give him a final lesson, there is always a challenge.”

Teral looked at me and then murmured, “I will speak to his father.”

Samil shook himself, “do you still want to practice?”

I nodded and Teral cleared his throat, “would you consent to a bout with me?”

I nodded and we moved to another ring. The fight was a reminder of my first fight with Samil, it lasted over forty minutes and ended just as quickly as it began. When Teral struck at a faint and then only blocked partially he got caught by a second blow he did not see coming. I had stopped the strike before it hit his neck. There was a pause and then I stepped away and bowed.

When I returned home I was met with a sight, Legate Abrams sat at a small kitchen table that had been moved outside the kitchen door. There was a mug on the table and he was telling a story to what looked like every child in the neighborhood. The guard that stood nearby looked a little red in the face.

As I listened to the end of the story I found out why the guard was red in the face. It was a story about him and a slippery girl. She had apparently beaten him at everything they did and he had ended up marrying her. As the crowd broke up I clapped and the Legate bowed. As Sam and Cat approached I smiled, “were you able to sleep in?”

The only answer was a mutter about children and their unnatural sleep habits. This earned a laugh from all. I laughed, “did anyone show up from the healers to escort Jen?”

Sam shook her head, “no but a message arrived saying Samuel would be here at noon to speak to you.”

I nodded and gestured for the Legate to accompany me, “I have rounds to make.”

I noticed that someone had fenced part of the corral off and built a fence to the Keep’s passageway. As I entered the passageway Jeremy greeted me, “four elves came in a short time ago and are in with your patient, the elf.”

He gave a brief description of the patients waiting to see me and where they were. When I entered Elvan’s room I was greeted with silence. Cheerfully I gave Elvan a greeting, “good morning.”

He looked at me and quietly asked, “is it true? You assaulted an elf noble?”

I stepped to the bed and started checking him as I answered, “no. An elf attacked me from behind after I had refused to practice with him.”

One of the well-dressed elves snorted, “James is a noble. It would have been an honor for anyone to practice with him.”

I looked at him, “I am not anyone.”

The elf replied, “even here you do not show the proper respect.”

Looking down at Elvan, “would excuse me for a moment?”

Walking around the bed I felt more elves at the door but I continued to walk up to the elf, “respect? Why should I respect you? What have you done to deserve my respect? Should I respect you because you are an elf and live forever? I have looked and asked, where are the great learning centers for your people to teach others music or art? Where are the schools of medicine or science?”

I shook my head, “why should I respect you for living if you waste it? Should I respect you because you are a noble? That is an accident of birth. A true noble does not let himself come before his people but instead puts his people before himself. His rule should be one to promote the health and prosperity of his people.”

I glanced back before looking at him, “should I respect you out of fear? Elves once practiced great and terrible magic’s and had vast armies. That is what the one that once ruled these halls did is it not? That is what your cousins the drow do is it not?”

He exclaimed, “but I am an elf!”

I snorted, “like they are not? Respect is something one earns. I have a simple rule, I treat everyone with common courtesy until they prove that they do not deserve it. You act polite to me and I will be polite to you. You act arrogant to me, I will be arrogant to you.”

Turning I walked back to Elvan who had been watching and finished examining him. Without turning I asked Tom, (who had been sitting by the wardrobe next to a standing Legate) “would you hand me the small scissors, gauze and the shallow bowl of water?”

I had asked to have these ready for this morning. As Tom handed the supplies to me a new voice spoke from the door, “what about those that attack another unprovoked?”

Without looking up from cutting and removing the stitches in Elvan I answered, “you would be the father. Well, attacking someone from behind that has refused to practice with you would be provocation.”

The elf responded, “that is not the story my son tells.”

I continued removing stitches, “as to his story I would not be able to help you. As for what happened, there were more than a hundred witness, including Teral standing beside you. Obviously you do not believe him so you would not believe them. That is why you brought the four armored guards in the hall, to teach me a lesson.”

The elf was a little flustered and I continued, “if you will give me a few moments to finish I will be right out.”

I half felt the wave that sent the guards back down the passage. When I finished with Elvan he whispered a warning, “be careful.”

I smiled down at him, “I usually am. Now I do not want you doing too much for the next day, after that you can start exercising more. You will tire quickly at first so go slowly.”

Handing everything back to Tom, “see that everything is burned or sterilized.”

With a wave to the elf lord to proceed me we went down the hallway and out the doorway. The four elves were waiting for me in the corral. As I stepped into the corral I asked the elf lord, “how far do you want to take this?”

His answer was that they would take this as far as it needed to go. Reaching out with all my senses I walked to the center of the four. As they attacked I drew the two short swords that I had across my back. The handles had been by my waist and as they swept up blocking I kicked the one in front of me.

Spinning, I let myself go. It was not a minute later that I yelled for them to stop. There I stood, one of the swords at the throat of an elf. The others hesitated and I stepped back lowering my sword, “I am sorry, you have skill but you should not be facing me. You are not that good.”

All the elves looked at me but the one that had been at my swords point spoke up, “why? What am I doing wrong?”

I looked at him and then turned my head, “would you grant me a moment?”

When they nodded and stepped back and I faced the other, “you fight with skill but you only use your eyes and you let the others distract you. You must learn to use all your senses, hearing, smell, touch as well as sight and move with the flow around you.”

When the elf looked at me uncertain I made a decision. In a smooth motion I replaced the two swords in their sheaths, “Teral, would you assist me?”

To the elf, “would you lend me the black kerchief in your breast pocket?”

I rolled the kerchief up and wrapped it around my eyes. Holding my hand out to the elf, “may I borrow your sword.”

With the sword in hand I spun it around my hand weighting it. Turning to face Teral I reached out with all my senses, “when you are ready.”

Teral’s attack seemed to hold nothing back, the fight lasted only a minute before I stood with my borrowed sword at his chest. Stepping back I removed the kerchief and bowed to Teral, “you were too much in a hurry this time.”

He bowed back and stepped out of the corral. Returning the sword to the elf, “learn to use your other senses and learning to understand what you see will help with the distraction when fighting with others.”

He sheathed his sword and bowed with his head lowered and his arms crossed, “thank you Master.”

As he left the corral I turned to face the three elves, “gentlemen you have my apology, if you are ready to continue?”

The three looked at one another and then bowed to me. The one in the center stepped forward, “Master we yield to your skill and compassion.”

Saying this they put their swords away and left the corral, walking out the gate without looking at the elf lord. I climbed out of the corral and walked up to the noble and waited. It was a minute before he sighed, “you show compassion and honor. The skill you demonstrate is not common. I do not know what to do.”

I sighed too, “teach him. Not just how to fight but how to treat people. Teach him honor and compassion.”

The noble bent his head in thought, “who? Who would teach him?”

I gestured, “Teral could or Samil, both have skill.”

The noble looked up, “what about you?”

I thought about this for a minute, “the problem I see with that is that he does not respect me.”

I thought about it and what I came up with was not something he would like doing. I looked him in the eye, “give him to Samil in bond.”

The noble looked at me, “I can not put him in bond against his will.”

With a clearing of his throat the Legate spoke up, “actually you can. As his liege you can put him in bond.”

The noble looked at the Legate and then back at me, “will Samil accept him?”

I shrugged, “ask Samil for his help. If he agrees I will try to teach him as well.”

As he was leaving two Mages came in the gate. It was the older one and the skinny one. With their arrival the Legate seemed to relax a little. As they walked up to me I greeted them, “good morning gentlemen. To what do I owe the honor of your presence this fine morning?”

The older mage looked at me and then glanced at the Legate, “we would like to look into the necromancer’s workrooms.”

I looked from them to the Legate and back, “you gentlemen seem to have me at a disadvantage. I gave you my name yesterday but I am afraid I did not get your names?”

The older looking mage turned a little pink, “my apologies. I was a little preoccupied yesterday. My name is Artimus and this is Nathen.”

I smiled, “and your other friend?”

Artimus looked at me and then turned to look around before finally looking down at the grey spotted cat that sat at his feet, “Simon, what are you doing here? I asked you to remain at home.”

The cat only stared back at him with unflinching eyes, “no I do not need you to watch my back. Yes I know I get distracted, but… what?”

Turning back to me he frowned, “sorry. Simon has reminded me of my manners. This is my familiar Simon.”

I had a little trouble hiding my smile but with an effort I managed. With a slight bow I acknowledged the cat, “now. How can I help you?”

Artimus again looked at the Legate and then repeated that they would like to look at the necromancer’s workrooms. I looked at Legate Abrams, “I take it you are not here by accident to tell stories to the children.”

Legate Abrams smiled, “no. Late last night a drow interrupted the mages quorum. Pendar escaped and two mages were killed, another three were injured. The council representatives asked me to see if I could persuade you to let the mages look through the workrooms. They remembered the last time someone tried to enter a mages domain without his permission.”

I thought for a minute, there were things that bothered me. Turning back to Artimus, “perhaps, if you could do something for me.”

Artimus raised his eyebrow, “such as?”

I thought about it and replied, “I want to speak to my great grandfather. The problem is he died four years ago and on another world.”

Nathen seemed to take an interest, “it might be possible to summon the spirit. I do not know if his dying on another world will make a difference. You only want to speak to him?”

I nodded and Nathen and Artimus put their heads together for several minutes. When they broke up Nathen directed me to a clear area in the corral. After drawing two symbols on the ground he gestured, “stand in one and think of your grandfather.”

He sat outside of the other and when everything was ready began a chant. I could feel the web of magic that slowly reached out to me and then seemed to fade into thin air. I could see that Nathen was straining, as if he were struggling with something. I saw a wavy white form start to appear inside the other symbol but it looked like Nathen was still having trouble.

I called out, “grandfather I need your help!”

Nathen was suddenly rocking back. It was as if he had been pulling against a resistance and suddenly the resistance was gone. Inside the other symbol a form appeared of an Indian in his early twenties with long black hair, “Grandson why have you done this? There is little help I can provide from here.”

I took a breath, “grandfather I need advice. I am on this strange world and am not sure what to do. Should I try to find my way back home or stay and make my way here?”

Nathen sat forward as if he were ready to react to a threat. I was the only one that heard the voice of my grandfather, “grandson the way one travels must be their own choice. You have said you wanted to be a doctor to help people. In which place would you be the most help?”

I bent my head acknowledging what my grandfather had said, “thank you grandfather.”

As the form of my grandfather faded his voice sounded again, “White Hawk, your answers are in your heart, you will be a great warrior. Good hunting and do not do this again.”

That time everyone heard his last words. When he was gone and the magic had faded Nathen stood, “that must have been an amazing person when he was alive.”

I nodded agreement as I helped erase the symbols. I walked the two mages and the Legate into the passageways. I stopped at the door going into what I thought of as the necromancer’s torture room, “one thing. If there are spells that will affect the whole complex please let me know before you do anything. When you are finished have someone find me and I will take you up to his crafting room.”

With that I opened the door. The mages slowly stepped into the room. I could see their fists held tightly at their sides. Simon seemed to be trying to walk as close to Artimus as possible. The Legate looked in and his face turned a little grey. He stepped back, “I do not think they will need me anymore. We will be trying to enter Pendar’s manor tomorrow morning. If you are available to help with any injured I would consider it a favor.”

I nodded, “I will be there.”

I escorted the Legate out and then returned to my sick and injured. I spent the rest of the morning after my sick call in helping John place beams in two of the rooms and in helping to remove rubble from the top landing. I had just sat down outside of the kitchen when a man and woman, (both looked to be in their twenties) came through the gate.

They were followed by a little boy three or four years old and the woman carried another baby maybe a year old. They approached me and asked to speak to Michael. They were surprised when I told them that I was him. I was finally able to convince them that I was probably the one they were looking for.

The man looked at his wife, “my name is Peter and this is my wife Eleanor and the two children are Tomas and Harry.”

He took a breath, “I was told you helped people… my eldest son Adam has been picked up by the guards as a homeless vagrant.”

I looked at him and his wife, “are you homeless?”

Peter looked down at his feet, “Yes. The Saur ate the crops and we were let out.”

I raised my eyebrow, “the Saur?”

Peter looked at me in surprise. The voice of John spoke from the door to the kitchen, “the Saur are lizards. They get pretty large, maybe twenty to twenty five feet.”

I looked back at him, “do they attack people?”

John nodded, “yes, if you get too close. Mostly they eat leafy things but they will attack anything they think is in their territory… except each other.”

I looked at Peter, “how hard is it to kill them?”

Peter shrugged, “it usually takes several men because arrows will not penetrate far enough and by the time you get close enough for anything else it is already attacking you.”

Another voice spoke from the corner of the kitchen wall, (it was Jeremy) “it is believed that the Saur were brought in by Dragons as a source of food. All we know for fact is that they were first seen after the dragon attacked and made the dwarven mines home.”

I looked back at Peter, “So these Saur ate your crops and the landowner let you go rather than try to kill the Saur?”

When Peter nodded I sat there for a minute thinking and then after making up my mind, “John, could you send someone to find out who owns the land on the other side of the river and see if they would be willing to sell? Do you know where Sam is?”

John laughed, “teaching what looked like the whole neighborhood how to swim.”

I smiled, “is there anyone else that knows how to swim there?”

John nodded, “Gentle and Paul, that is what is so funny. They keep dunking each other.”

When I saw Samuel coming through the gate and head for me I turned to Peter, “I will help. Take your family into the kitchen. Ann will fix something for them. When you are done come back and we can talk about a job.”

After John had shown them into the kitchen I turned to Samuel as he approached, “good afternoon Samuel, how are you today?”

He gave me a rueful smile, “tired. I was up most of the night with injured mages.”

As he said this, Cassy and Jen came out of the kitchen, “the reason I needed to talk to you was that I was told by my superiors that the order could not be seen as teachers of a Mair. I was not happy with this. The abbot said that as long as I taught her outside the temple it would be okay. What this means is any teaching will have to be here or whenever I get a call and have time to send for her.”

I thought about this, “that actually sounds better. Will you be doing anything today?”

Samuel gave a tired smile and nodded, “I wanted to go over some of the basics and when to use wards. That type of thing.”

I turned to Jen, “Go with Samuel, he will explain some things to you. Cassy can go with you if she likes and does not get in the way.”

Turning back to Samuel, “you can use one of the lower rooms in the Keep passages. If you need to. I am sure you could find someone for her to practice on.”

As they left I saw one of the neighborhood boys running out the gate and John came back out of the kitchen, “you do realize that there are Saur on the other side of the river?”

I smiled, “we will cross that bridge after it is built. Speaking of building, do we have anyone clearing the rubble on the stairs?”

John nodded, “there are three men up there now and I had Tom and another boy move all the swords to the last room on this level. They said that with luck it would be clear by the end of the day. Also if you plan to fix that Keep up you will need more workers, some skilled and that costs. Speaking of cost…”

He ended with a smile I had come to know and I smiled back, “I will be right back.”

As I was walking back to the bedroom I thought about all the work we were doing and were going to do. In the bedroom the door leading out to the river was open and I could hear squealing and splashing. Moving to the corner that we had set aside and covered with the black curtains I uncovered part of it.

I emptied a small chest then refilled it with gold pieces before filling my purse. Covering everything back up I went to the river door and caught Cat’s attention. She had Paul take over holding a small girl up as she was learning to paddle. When she got to the door I told her that I would be going out and why.

I also told her that it might be time to move into better quarters like maybe one of the upper bedrooms. She nodded and felt her back, “I agree, someone kicks in their sleep.”

I laughed, “We can put them in the next bedroom, just to save your back. You or Sam can take a look at that large bedroom on the top floor. And maybe a room for Sarah on the lower floor?”

I went back up the stairs carrying the small chest. Back in front of the kitchen Peter and his wife were waiting with John. I told them I would be with them in a minute and had John walk with me into the smithy. I set the small chest down on a work bench in back out of sight.

When I opened it John looked stunned, “John, you and Ann have helped me without complaining. This is not all I have but for right now it is your working budget. You can have Jeremy show you or Ann how to keep track of it. If you need money for something use it. It is also time for you to stop being just a worker or blacksmith.”

I smiled, “you have a skill for getting things done, it is time you used it. If you see something that needs a worker than hire one. You can even do that from here in the smithy where you are more comfortable. You will need to check on the work every now and then to be sure it gets done the way it should. We can sit down later and go over things or discuss what should be done about something if you are not sure.”

I took a breath, “I do not need a servant, I need a partner. Would you consider it?”

He sat down on the stool by the bench with a stunned look. Then after a minute he looked me in the eyes, “when you bought our bond I did not know what to think. Then you set us free and gave us a place to stay, even sharing food with us. You never treat anyone bad and always help without being asked. You are always asking our opinion about this or that before making up your mind. I think you have already been treating us as partners so can I do any less? The answer is yes.”

He stood, “now that that is done, what are you planning for the land on the other side of the river?”

I smiled, “a farm of course. With all these mouths to feed it will come in handy.”

John shook his head, “what about the Saur, don’t you think they will be a problem?”

I thought back to my long distance shooting, “no. I do not think that will be the problem. Among other things that I did before I came here was to design weapons that are very powerful.”

He looked doubtful but nodded, “and the farmer? What job? Building the farm across the river?”

I nodded, “I am moving my misfits up into the keep. To the top floor, the two bedrooms on the other end, the large one and the one next to it. Maybe you should do the same and take the two on this end, put the kids in one by themselves and give you and Ann some privacy.”

I turned and went back out to the kitchen. After talking to Peter and his wife for several minutes they agreed to try to build the farm as I asked. I asked if Eleanor would mind helping in the kitchen and had Peter come with me. Before I could go anywhere the two mages came out of the passageway trailed by the cat Simon.

They came up to me looking a little pale and Artimus murmured, “Simon reminded us that it was past time for his lunch.”

I looked down at Simon, “well if he says its time then it must be so. If you would like you might ask in the kitchen. I am sure they would be able to find something. Even someone as knowledgeable a person as Simon might find something.”

Artimus and Nathen nodded their thanks and started into the kitchen, “I will be back shortly, maybe in an hour.”

Artimus stopped and turned before nodding. After they had gone inside Simon was still sitting there looking at me with his head tilted a little and I could feel a tingling in my head. Then it stopped and Simon got up and trotted to the door as Artimus opened it looking out. Shrugging my shoulders I led Peter off and out the gate.

Twenty minutes later we were standing in front of the Guard headquarter for this part of the city. Peter had said they had brought his son here. I nodded to him, “let me do the talking.”

As we entered I recognized several of the guards but went up to the bench where a sergeant sat. When the sergeant acknowledged me I explained, “one of my worker’s children was picked up by mistake and I am here to collect him.”

The sergeant looked at Peter, “we only pick up vagrants.”

I shrugged, “there must be a mistake. The boy’s father is a farmer and the boy is not of age.”

The sergeant looked at me for a long moment, “what is the boy’s name?”

I smiled, “Adam.”

He wrote something down and then folded it, “have a seat against the wall.”

A few minutes later a lieutenant came out leading a boy about six. By the way Peter reacted I knew this was his son. I recognized the lieutenant as the one that had been speaking with the legate the other day. When the lieutenant arrived he looked at me, “is this Adam?”

I nodded, “yes.”

The lieutenant frowned, “I did not know you owned a farm.”

I explained, “I am buying the land across the river.”

With Adam in tow we left and once we were outside Peter swung him up into a hug. Back at home I found the two mages sitting on the stoop of the kitchen, both looked in much better shape. There was a portly looking man with John by the side of the house. When I asked Artimus told me it was some city official.

Ann came out the door and when she saw me she smiled, “the property has been foreclosed and the city owns it.”

I shook my head, I did not understand the people here sometimes. With the mages in tow (Simon had disappeared somewhere) I led them up to the crafting room as I called it. When we entered I could see that something was different. It was a moment before I knew what it was. No longer was there a feeling of waiting, there was activity at several benches which at first worried me until I saw the sketches I had left here.

They were making what I had sketched! Turning to the mages I saw that they had warded themselves. I explained, “I left some sketches up here and apparently they are crafting them.”

They relaxed and I asked something that had worried me, “are these whatever they are… are they ghosts or spirits of someone?”

I could feel the tendril of magic spreading out from Nathen. After a few minutes Nathen spoke, “no, these are animated copies. They are only spells but very complicated ones.”

I watched as they wandered around the craftroom. A voice spoke quietly, “Master, could you explain this.”

When I looked down it was to see the paper with a formula and a sketch of the .45 Magnum ammunition that I had drawn. It was floating waist high beside me, “what needs explaining?”

The section of the paper that held the formula started glowing. So as the mages wandered around I sat and explained the formula and then I was examining work that was brought to me. By the time the mages were finished I had a complete set of the surgical instruments.

As I was closing the door behind me Artimus spoke up, “that is a very valuable workroom. The spells that control it have no taint of the necromancer on them.”

They were quiet all the way out. Back outside they turned to me and Artimus spoke again, “the necromancer’s work room, that ghastly place, the spells there need to be broken. The only spell in the room that was not bad was the one on the salamander. If you want, we could do it for a price.”

I looked at him, “what price?”

He shrugged, “the use occasionally of the craft room.”

I continued to look at him, “and who provides the materials for your work?”

Artimus blushed, “we will provide them.”

A mumbled, “I told you so”, from Nathen confirmed that I would have been stuck providing the materials if I had not asked. After a moment I agreed and we shook on it. After they had left it seemed that things had settled down. John told me that he had purchased the land and it was larger than we thought.

We went over constructing a temporary rope bridge. Then it was time for the afternoon class. Again my class was full and I had to break it in two. Those just starting and those that were practicing. After class I got with Sarah, Cat and Sam. I wanted Sarah to handle the morning sick that came in and Cat and Sam would go with me to help the Guard.

When I went to wash and change for the night I found everything gone. I went outside as Sam was just coming out of the kitchen and I stopped her, “where did everything go?”

She smiled and led me up into the passageways. When we came out onto the fifth floor I could hear the shouting and laughter of the children. Sam led me to the left past the first bedroom, Serene, Rose and Samantha came rushing out right into me. At first there was fear on their faces and then as I released them (ensuring that they would not fall down) they started talking fast.

It seemed that they just had to show me “their” room. Sam told me quietly, “it took us a while to convince them that it is their room and they were not going to be locked up again.”

When I left they were splashing in the bath. Our bedroom was almost across the hall from the exit leading up behind the stables. When I entered I saw Cassy and Jen sitting by the fireplace. It looked like they had already bathed and Jen was brushing Cassy’s hair. Cat was putting chests that I recognized into one of the armoires.

I quietly told her and Sam about the treasure room behind the crafting room. Each of us took a chest or package, Jen and Cassy had come over to help us. Going back out and down to the crafting room I had to reassure Jen and Cassy that it was alright for them to enter. The necromancer had forbidden it on pain of death.

I led them across the room to the other door. When they saw what was inside (especially the gems) it seemed that it was time for them to examine it themselves. While I was waiting a package seemed to float up to me. The package had a slight feel of magic about it, “Master, is this acceptable?”

The package was made of tooled leather about 18 inches long. When I opened it I saw that it was one of the pistols I had sketched. It almost looked like a Desert Eagle with something engraved down the slide. I had designed it with caseless ammunition in mind but chambered for a .45 Magnum.

It was made from mythril and it felt as if it belonged in my hand. The barrel was long at 7 ½ inches. The handle was a wood that had a greenish tint to it. I had labeled it my White Hawk. There was a small box as well and when I opened it there were thirty rounds, each in their own slot and another row of ten that seemed different.

When I pulled one out to see it, I saw that they had made them solid and more pointed. Along the side of the case were ten magazines. When I looked up, (of course there was no one to see) “has the chamber been tested to be sure it will not explode?”

“It will hold Master.”

“And the spell?”

“I am sorry Master, it was very loud. A spell of silence was engraved. A Mage will have to activate it.”

I nodded as the girls came out and I could see several gems in their hands. They told me that they wanted to examine them more closely. The night was more relaxed, though Cat did get up once to go next door and tell the girls to quiet down.


Chapter 6

Day Three – Part 1

Pendar’s Keep

The morning started off cool with just a hint of rain in the air. Jen told me that Samuel would be there soon to pick her and Cassy up (Cassy seemed to have a talent for knowing what Samuel needed or wanted. Jen had told me that Samuel said she would be a good assistant.)

Breakfast in the kitchen was quiet but everyone seemed to be in a good mood. All the kids seemed a little tired, (probably from staying up the night before.) I went over things with John and Ann, including talking about clearing the gateway for the Keep above. Ann said she would keep an eye on the girls while I was gone.

When Jeremy came in I explained that Sarah would be here for the sick and if there was anything to bad to send someone to the healers. While I sat listening to the quiet morning talk I spread a piece of leather out and cut out a pattern. The leather was soft and easy to handle. Sewing it together I made a shoulder holster.

I put it in place and then tied it across my chest. I removed the pistol from its leather package. I loaded half the magazines, one with solid ball ammo and inserted one in the pistol and chambering a round. I put the pistol in the holster and dropped the spare magazines into my vest pockets.

It was several minutes before I had it adjusted the way I wanted but when I was finished I looked up into John’s eyes. He nodded at the pistol, “for the Saur?”

I shook my head, at John’s words the room had quieted. I saw that Ann looked a little worried, “that will be something bigger and will not be ready for at least a day or so.”

I asked John to have Marie take the package back to my room. I gathered up Sam and Cat and we picked up several trauma packs and anything else we would need. By the time we were ready to go Samuel was there for the girls, “I am headed to Pendar’s too.”

I told the girls to be good and after ruffling some hair, left. Cat was wearing the chain shirt and had the green cane sword through her belt. One of the guards that walked the neighborhood gave us directions and it took almost 30 minutes. I realized that we were not that far from the upper entrance to the Keep when we arrived.

When I entered the courtyard it looked like everything was in chaos. There were wounded against a wall to the left and I turned and went that way. It took several minutes to set up. I had Sam find out who was injured the worst while Cat and I set up an area. Either Cat or Sam would be sewing up cuts while I took care of the more serious injuries.

Legate Abrams stopped by once to thank us and tell me that they were having more problems then they expected. He even went so far as to help place a bandage on and say that the healers were already tired out and they were stuck with the ordinary doctors. He told me that they were seriously thinking of using fire and just burning it down.

The tide of wounded had started slowing down and I was operating on one of the guards with Cat assisting when I felt someone come up behind me, “what do we have here?”

A quick glance told me that my feelings were right, it was the elder Shaffer. Turning back I continued operating, (I was sewing a man’s artery closed and could not spare my attention), “I am busy, if you need help that young lady will help you,” and I nodded in the direction of Sam.

The man stepped closer but not to me. He was right behind Cat, “this one can help me.”

Saying that he reached around and grabbed her breast. Without thought Cat swayed one way and my right hand came around in a blow that sent him flying back. The two guards that had been with him started forward but several of the guards that we had been treating stood up.

A very skinny black haired lieutenant with a rag wrapped around his leg spoke up, “that is enough. Leave or go into bondage as a criminal for interfering with the guard.”

That seemed to wake them up and they stepped back and went to collect their employer. One looked over at me, “it is not over” and then they carried him out. After we finished with the last man I told Cat and Sam to rest while I went over by the gate. The Legate was there with several mages and the lieutenant I had recognized from earlier.

The mages were telling them that they could not stop the animation of the dead because it was tied somehow to the Keep and was too strong. The Legate shook his head, “this means fire and I hate that. It always gets out of hand.”

I looked at the Keep then back to Legate Abrams, “mind if I take a look?”

He looked back at me and then smiled, “what will it cost me?”

I smiled back at him, “let me take a look and I will give you my opinion and the price if needed.”

The two mages looked at me as if I were not sane. I nodded to them and turned to the front of the Keep. Spreading my senses I could feel the webs of magic that laced around me. As I got closer to the front door a guard stopped me and warned me that some of the dead were using bows. I moved to the side of the door and peeked around the corner.

I could feel a web of magic that blocked the doorway. I could feel the strands of magic that came from the dead and led deeper into the Keep. I pulled my head back before an arrow went past where it had been. It looked to me like the dead were tied to the inside of the Keep. I wondered what would happen if they were brought out through the magic barrier.

With an image of bow fishing in my head I went back to where the Legate waited, “how much is it worth to you if I help with this little problem?”

The Legate snorted, “well not the Keep. What did you have in mind?”

I had thought about this, “how about any bond servant in there. After you have checked them of course and one half of the valuables.”

He snorted, “ten percent and I will let you use some of my guards.”

I shook my head, “thirty percent, the bond servants and the guards.”

Legate replied with, “twenty-five and the guards.”

I thought about it then replied, “twenty-five but with the bond servants and guards. The bond servants are not negotiable.”

He looked at me for a long time, “always the soft heart. Very well, it is a deal.”

I nodded, “not that I do not trust your word but how about another official signing off on it first.”

The Legate nodded, “it will take a few minutes.”

I looked around, “I will need several strong men, a couple of heavy crossbows and some light but strong rope or cordage.”

I went back to Cat and Sam and told them that I going to be clearing the Keep and the price. Sam shook her head, “where are we going to put anyone we find?”

I smiled, “we put them wherever we can.”

With a sigh they got up, Sam asked one of the guards she had helped if he would watch our things. When we walked up to where the Legate was one of the mages gave a surprised yelp and said something to the other and then stepped forward toward Cat. I felt the magic that he started to call up but before he could finish whatever he was going to do Sam stepped up to him and put her dagger to his throat.

At this he seemed to come to himself and shake his head. The other mage had stepped back and had started to chant something when Cat drew the sword. It was as if there was a physical wave that sprang from the blade to the mage. This froze him as if in a block of ice and there was a waiting feeling in the air.

I looked at them, “do you have a problem?”

The first mage looked back at me, “the Mair is carrying a weapon. That is forbidden!”

I looked at the Legate, “is there some law against people carrying weapons?”

The Legate only shook his head. I turned back to the mage, “it seems you have just attempted to attack my bondservant.”

The mage flushed, “it is the prophesy. No Mair is allowed to carry a weapon. It says one will come that carries a green blade. It says that when she comes she will free all the Mair and bring upset and confusion to the mage community.”

I looked at him and then turned to Cat, “really? Is that your plan?”

She tilted her head and shrugged. I looked back at the mages, “you have a choice. You can try to continue your attack and suffer the consequences. Or you can decide that perhaps this might be better settled peacefully another time.”

The mage squeezed his lips together but nodded. Together they turned and left. Both Cat and Sam put their weapons away. The Legate only watched as the mages left and then gestured to the three men nearby. They had two heavy crossbows and a coil of strong cord. As they stepped forward he quietly handed me a folded piece of parchment.

I put the paper in my shirt and gestured for the men to follow. Approaching the main doors from the side I stopped short and turned to face everyone, “alright, what I am going to do is simple to start with. With the crossbows we will attach the cord and I will shoot one of the undead guards. When I do you will pull the cord, causing it to come out the door where we can better deal with it. Any questions so far?”

When no one answered I took the offered crossbow. Tying the cord to a barb headed bolt I moved to the side of the door. I made sure I had slack in the cord and sent my senses out. I found the first bowman quickly. Nodding to everyone I spun around the doorframe bringing the crossbow down and firing almost in one motion.

Even as they were reacting I spun back. As I spun back I yelled for the men to pull and they did. Grabbing the cord they pulled it tight and then turned and walked away. The undead guard appeared a moment latter, it was being dragged along the ground. As soon as it crossed the threshold it crumbled into dust.

This exercise seemed to get a lot of attention from the other guards that had been trying to get in all morning. After that, I repeated this technique four more times until all the bow welding undead were nothing but dust. Then it was a simple matter to stand in the doorway and shoot an undead guard through the leg and pull it out.

When the entranceway was finally clear I looked around, “could someone find a couple of barbed boar spears?”

The Legate cleared his throat and pointed to several guards standing by with just the thing. I nodded my thanks and then entered the Keep with Sam on one side and Cat on the other. Leaving Cat and Sam with a crossbow and their own set of men to watch the stairs I started clearing that floor.

My technique was simple, when I entered a room and a guard was there I would shoot one. As it was being dragged out I would face any others with the barbed spears and have them pulled out as well. I had almost finished clearing that floor when I entered a library. I shot one guard and was facing another when the drow came into the room.

Stabbing the dead guard I handed the spear off and turned to face the drow. I could feel the difference, this was a live drow. I drew my swords and the drow did the same. As we slowly circled one another I waved off a guard that would have come to my aid. With a flash the swords clashed together and again we circled.

I saw from the way it moved that it was resigned to its fate, “I thought your people believed they were better than the rest of us? Why do you serve a mage?”

Again a clash of swords and we parted, “I serve only my own people!”

I stepped back, “if that is so than why are you here, defending a mage’s Keep?”

The drow stood there looking back at me, “I was sent here to perform a task.”

I noticed the amulet he wore, “if that were all than why do you wear his seal? When you die your body will become his.”

The drow glanced down at the amulet, “my lord gave it as a passage here.”

I relaxed, “that should make one wonder. I will offer a deal.”

The drow glanced at me suspiciously, “what deal?”

I glanced at the door as the Legate entered, “safe passage for your word not to return and to have the amulet checked.”

The Legate’s lips thinned but he nodded. The drow seemed to consider, “I keep my weapons?”

Again the Legate nodded and the drow stood a moment then nodded, “accepted.”

As he was leaving with the Legate he turned, “I will consider your words. Beware the floors below, a worm awaits.”

After he had left I finished clearing that floor. I only encountering two other guards, both at the entrance to the stairs leading down. Leaving guards to watch I returned to the stairs leading up. Making my way to the second floor I went from room to room but no guards showed. I did find six Mair girls caught in a spell, they were fifteen or sixteen.

The next floor was the same, only the Mair were younger, maybe thirteen and there were ten of them. The last floor held the youngest and it tore at my heart to see thirty little girls five or six years old kneeling in the poses they were left in. Back on the ground floor I went to the stairs leading down.

Going down the stairs and clearing each of the first two floors was fairly simple. The third was harder and I encountered something I had not seen before. They stood eight feet tall and had a greenish tint to their skin and carried large iron maces. The guards with me panicked at first but I just ignored the size and stabbed them like the other guards.

The quarters on this floor were more luxurious and better guarded. Going down to the last floor was a lot more difficult. There were a dozen guards on the stairs and it was as bad when we reached the hall. When it was finally cleared we only saw one door. I could feel the magic in the air and had everyone with me wait.

When I opened the door there were no guards. With my senses open I stepped in. I was on the landing of a grand staircase leading down. The room was large, two hundred feet by two hundred. The center of the room was clear except for a pedestal that held a large glowing stone. There were workstations around the edge of the room.

I could see four Mair held by spells in the four corners. I could also feel a web of magic throughout the room. Following it I saw a path to where I thought I would be able to disarm the traps. Cat and Sam came through the door behind me and I glanced at them, “stay here and wait.”

Going down the stairs I made my way to the first corner. The Mair held by the spell looked back at me and I could not tell how old she was. The spell that held her was different, she was aware. I did not think I had a choice and slowly stepped onto the tile that had a pattern, “who are you? Where is master?”

I slowly moved to her and helped her stand. She looked to be four months pregnant, “the mage is gone. Move slowly.”

I led her back to the stairs and Sam came down to take her out. I went back to the corner and then followed the path I saw in my mind. When I reached the next corner I again woke the Mair being held there. This time she was defiant until I explained that the mage was gone. She to was pregnant and I led her back to where Cat waited to lead her out.

The third corner was the same but the last was different. When I released her she only looked at me, “where is mother?”

I looked around for another Mair, “I do not know.”

I could feel the barely contained fury as she looked around the room, “where is Pendar?”

I looked back into her angry face, “he fled.”

She glared, “and Antizel? Where is he?”

I shook my head, “I do not know an Antizel. Follow me and I will get you out.”

As she stepped out of the diagram there was a loud boom as if from thunder. Following it was a bright flash in the center of the room. I pushed the Mair behind me as I turned to face the center of the room. What I saw startled me, it was a huge dragon like in the fairy tales. Before the Mair bumped me I saw and felt something else, the dragon was not really there!

With a loud roar it turned to face us and I felt the pull of magic from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as a ball of something appeared in the Mair’s hand. With a throwing motion she threw it at the dragon. I watched as it went right through it and exploded against the far wall. Then I saw something else, the dragon wore a pendent!

I pulled my new pistol, “wait!”

I aimed at the amulet and even as I fired the dragon breathed a jet of flame. I was starting to move when the Mair made a casting motion and an invisible shield sprang up in front of us blocking the blast of flame. The bullet hit the amulet with a loud ringing sound and I quickly fired again. This time it was muted as the amulet broke in half.

The dragon seemed to become more visible and the Mair again blocked another jet of flame. I changed aim and fired to hit the dragon but it did not look like it did much damage. The dragon roared and stepped forward towards us. I dropped the magazine and slid the one with the solid bullets back in and chambered a new round.

The dragon was almost on us when I fired, this time under its chin. The dragon roared and seemed to jerk its head back. Again I fired, this time when the dragon jerked back it fell. Even as it hit the floor it was fading away. As the crystal in the center of the room started to glow I aimed and fired. With a deafening crash of thunder and lighting that shot around the room it exploded.

As the sound and light faded I faced the Mair, “you can do magic?”

She looked back at me with a new look of respect, “yes. All my sisters can.”

I glanced around the room but did not feel anything, the web of magic was gone. Quietly I led the way to the stairs. Cat and Sam were just outside the room and from the tears and the way they clung to me I was a little embarrassed. But when I saw the four Mair girls fall into each others arms crying I felt better.

When I looked around though I did not see any of the guards, “what happened to the guards?”

Sam snorted, “as soon as that dragon appeared they turned and ran.”

I shook my head, “and you two stayed?”

Sam smiled up at me, “we were trying to think of something to do and had to keep the girls from rushing back into the room.”

I faced the crying Mair, “it is time to leave.”

The last one I had freed looked up, “what about our mother?”

I looked at her, “the only ones still in the Keep are upstairs but they look to young to be your mother.”

She nodded, “she is still with Antizel then. I am Amanda and this is Theresa, Beth and Ginger.”

I looked at each other them, “when we get out I will try to find out about your mother.”

We were coming out of the stairwell at the ground level when the guards finally came back. Legate Abrams was in the lead and it looked like an army was following him and not too willingly. I stopped, “well better late then never I guess. Legate, the Keep is yours. Can I take the Mair now?”

He looked at me in surprise, “I was told a dragon was in the mage’s workroom?”

I shook my head, “not a real dragon, something else. Speaking of the mage, do you know an Antizel?”

The Legate blinked, “that would be the necromancer whose Keep you now own. Why?”

I gestured to the Mair behind him, “he had their mother.”

He nodded, “you know the only Mair that were found there.”

Before I could say anything Beth spoke up, “I do not know what a Mair is but mother was not like us. She was a mage that Antizel kidnapped.”

The Legate looked at her, “a mage that was kidnapped? What is her name?”

Amanda took a step forward, “Elizabeth Stormcaller.”

He shook his head, “I do not remember a mage with that name.”

A voice from behind him spoke up, “I do. She disappeared almost five hundred years ago. It was believed that she was killed by the drow. They hated her with a passion.”

The speaker stepped out of the crowd and I saw it was Nathen. He looked at me, “you did not find her in the ruins of the Keep?”

I shook my head but before I could speak Ginger spoke up, “mother was never kept in the Keep. Antizel kept her warded below in the grotto.”

Nathen looked at me, “you did not show us a grotto.”

I shrugged, “I did not know there was one.”

We all looked at Ginger. She blushed and looked at Amanda for help. She shook her head, “I never saw the way in. Maybe grandfather would know.”

I looked at Nathen, “do you know her grandfather?”

He nodded with a half smile, “so do you. Artimas is Elizabeth’s father.”

I smiled, “is that why he volunteered to check the Keep? Because of the drow?”

He nodded, “I can send him a message to meet you.”

I thanked him and turned to Legate, “the Mair?”

He nodded, “go ahead and take them. These as well.”

I saw Amanda start to say something and cut her off. Turning to them, “there are young girls upstairs, they might be your children. Will you help me with them?”

Theresa’s eyes widened, “Pendar only let us see them when they were born. He taunted us by saying he would sell them.”

Beth and Ginger put their arms around her while Amanda patted her on the shoulder. Amanda turned to me, “mother told us how to leave a mage tag. It was difficult doing it while giving birth but I managed.”

When I looked at the other girls they all nodded, “good. That means if they are your children you should know. Does that mean you will help?”

Amanda nodded and when I looked at the others they nodded as well. I nodded to Legate Abrams, “are you going to come to the Keep to see if I can find this grotto?”

He nodded, “it will be after I settle things here. I will send some men if you need them.”

I thanked him and led the girls to the other stairs. Before they climbed the stairs I stopped them, “listen to me now, at this time they call anyone that looks like you Mair. Everyone has been told you have been magically created and you have no rights. You are considered less than a bond servant, that is what they say you are.”

I looked at each of them, “because of the deal I made to clear this place you are considered my property. I am not from this place and do not like this system of bonding. What that means is that I will take you in and help you find a place in this new world. The only thing I expect from each of you is common courtesy and perhaps to help out from time to time.