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  "description": "Suggested donation $1 if you think it's worth it.  This is (barely) a full-length novel, but the lower suggestion is due to the fact that, unlike any previous episode, this one has no explicit sex whatsoever.  It has a few references to those other stories' kinks, but the most adult situation in the entire book is a pair of nipples pressed to a half-awake liger's back.\n\nSpeaking of ligers, one, a newly-graduated army private, is assigned as a guard and aide to Serra and Pria, as they're sent on an Agent-like mission to deal with some trouble left over from the brief war between Atheria and Vivenge.  The timing can be pegged pretty accurately at just shy of two years and four months from the end of episode 4, for reasons that will become apparent in the two-word introductory paragraph of a chapter.",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Suggested donation $1 if you think it&#039;s worth it.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is (barely) a full-length novel, but the lower suggestion is due to the fact that, unlike any previous episode, this one has no explicit sex whatsoever.&nbsp;&nbsp;It has a few references to those other stories&#039; kinks, but the most adult situation in the entire book is a pair of nipples pressed to a half-awake liger&#039;s back.<br /><br />Speaking of ligers, one, a newly-graduated army private, is assigned as a guard and aide to Serra and Pria, as they&#039;re sent on an Agent-like mission to deal with some trouble left over from the brief war between Atheria and Vivenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;The timing can be pegged pretty accurately at just shy of two years and four months from the end of episode 4, for reasons that will become apparent in the two-word introductory paragraph of a chapter.</span>",
  "writing": "Fantasie Eviscerotique\n\nEpisode 5\n\nby Adrian VanWormer (Kathalla at FA and IB)\n\nPrologue\n\n\tJerek compared the scrawled note in his hand to the doors he passed along the opulently decorated hallway, grumbling to himself despite the circumstances.  His lieutenant only barely qualified as literate, while he himself was a good bit short of that mark, and the details combined... annoyingly.  With sufficient effort, he could sound out the letters on the note to read ‘Meeting Room 4,’ but the officer’s blocky script and the ornate, carved-brass lettering on the doors was so different that they might as well have been different languages.  He paused, briefly, as he recognized the numeral one on such a door, and glanced between the letters above it and the scrap of parchment, counting, comparing... yes, this seemed to be the start of the meeting rooms.  They occupied only one side of the hall, the other filled with paintings, decorative urns, and other trappings of wealth, and one of the palace’s elite guards was relaxing against the wall three doors up.  Jerek could, at least, count, so he tucked the note back into a belt pouch and glanced over himself once more to make sure he was presentable.\n\n\tBoiled leather breastplate, three layers of leather bands forming a long kilt, well-polished boots, and thick bracers that extended to fingerless gloves with iron studs on the backs; his uniform wasn’t quite standard, as that last detail was an invention of his training sergeant, meant to take advantage of his unusual size and strength, but he couldn’t help but feel pride at the entirety.  The lovingly-polished, single iron pip on each shoulder proclaimed him a ‘mere’ private, but he knew better than most what even that low rank really meant.  The clumsy, too-tall, ignorant recruit had overcome every last one of those failures and completed his training.  He moved now with a looming grace, his muscle had settled from imbalanced lumps to a fairly uniform thickness that made him look entirely proportional at a distance, and while he was no genius, the life of a soldier and its sundry duties no longer baffled him.\n\n\tHis present errand, however, was still just a bit confusing.  This was only his second full day in his new rank, the previous having been one of traditional leave and liberty that any recruit was given when they were finally released from training.  The rest of his training platoon had graduated on the same day, but he’d never really fit in with them... figuratively or literally.  The bunks in the barracks physically couldn’t hold him, so they’d cleared out a storage closet and given him a bedroll on the floor; hardly luxurious, but the next best thing to private quarters, which had earned the resentment of more than one of his fellow trainees in their communal billet.  The special attention from their trainers as they worked as hard as he to see his physical potential fully realized... was almost worse, and of course that very potential meant none of his platoon-mates wanted to spar with him.  Thus, while everyone else had gotten together to celebrate, mostly at a tavern though a couple of the better-off recruits held a party of their own at a whorehouse, his own ‘celebratory’ day was spent wandering through parks, sitting and thinking of not much at all, and the occasional battle to keep a scowl off his face when a passing child spotted him and their happy smiles crumbled with fear.\n\n\tHis own brow furrowed at the memory, and he fought to return his expression to neutrality as he drew nearer that guarded door.  It wasn’t any fault of his that he was so large...  Ligers always were!  He actually liked children... but very, very few of them could remain calm in the proximity of a cat standing just over eight and a half feet tall and weighing more than any two other muscular soldiers in the kingdom.  Even a faint frown would only make their fear worse, so he had to hide just how much each fresh reaction hurt, deep inside.\n\n\t“Private Jerek, reporting as ordered,” he rumbled to the guard, setting aside the less pleasant aspects of his life in favor of the merely incomprehensible.  Everyone else he’d trained with, this day, were reporting to their own new posts, be they constable stations, guard posts on the walls, or postings beyond the capitol, but not him.  He’d been summoned to the palace, and the training enclave’s captain who’d personally delivered his orders either hadn’t had, or simply hadn’t revealed, a single clue as to why.\n\n\tThe tall, for a normal man, wolf blinked as he stared two feet up at the towering figure’s face, then gave himself a shake that made his armor clatter, “I was told you’d be... big, but that was an understatement!  I guess I understand why they dragged in a special chair, now...  Go inside and have a seat; you’ll be seen to shortly.”\n\n\tJerek hid a faint smile this time; the man was a second lieutenant, his clear superior, but for an officer he was at the same bottom of the heap that the liger was for the enlisted ranks, and probably very nearly as new at his job.  He simply nodded, “Yes, sir,” and ducked down as he reached for the door’s latch.  Even in the large, spacious palace, the doorways hadn’t been built with his bulk in mind.\n\n\tThe meeting room, in contrast to the hallway’s decor, was elegantly simple.  The medium-sized, round table within had fine carving on its legs, and the regular chair at the far side boasted light gilding on its arms and around its cushioned backrest, though the larger seat set out for him was a bit cruder.  The walls were paneled, edged in fine molding, but were otherwise unadorned.  Four more guards were inside, again in the full plate of the palace elite, standing silently in the corners even as he moved across the carpet to settle his weight into the chair with a faint creak of protesting wood.  A slight motion caught his eye, and he glanced up to see one of the guards removing his thumb from the pommel-stone of his sword... had there been a faint glow, there?  The private had very little experience with magic, though he knew its uses were frequent and varied among the wealthy.  He kept his expression neutrally attentive as he pondered, and he was just starting to come to the conclusion that that stone might be some sort of signaling device when the far door of the chamber opened, a robed cougar stepping through to take his own seat, his face recognizable to almost everyone in Atheria City.\n\n\t“At ease, Private,” King Keesanrel IV rumbled, his voice almost as deep as his guest’s, as he held up a palm in a calming gesture.\n\n\tJerek nodded as he sank back down from his spinal-reflex rise to attention, and murmured instead, “Your Majesty...”  That, he thought to himself as he urged his racing heart to slow, explained the guards...  Since he hadn’t been assigned a post yet, he also hadn’t been issued any weapons, but he could understand how his very size could be considered a threat.\n\n\tLeaning back against the cushions, the king nodded to himself, satisfied at the young soldier’s quick recovery of aplomb.  “You are here,” he began, “because you’re... unusual, which I’m sure you know, but what you can’t know is just how unusual you are.  It’s not just your size or even species.  You surprised every officer, every ‘expert,’ when, over the course of standard, basic training, you managed to overcome difficulties no regular trooper has to face.  Balance, coordination, and uniform muscle development... are problematic at best for any liger.  I’m certain you didn’t even realize you were working under such a handicap; you simply did what you were told.  Only you know how easy or hard that actually was, but from a historical perspective, you’re unique.  Every other liger we’ve ever had enlist... has needed special attention to correct the disadvantages they were born with, usually taking a minimum of half again the standard training time, and every one of your instructors was expecting you to need the same consideration.  Whether your success was a matter of your own effort, or whether you just got luckier than most in how your heritage worked out, you graduated right on schedule with the rest of your platoon, and that alone was worth reporting to the upper ranks.  The first reaction, of course, was to consider sending you to advanced training, with the goal of your eventual membership among my elite palace guards...”\n\n\tJerek’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t quite restrain himself, “Me, your Majesty?  In the elite?!?”\n\n\tKeesanrel smiled faintly, “As a possibility, yes... but let me repeat that they merely considered that option.  The captain of my personal guard discussed it with me and my... well, my girls.  You’ve probably heard rumors, or at least some bad jokes, about my personal life.  The queen having a girlfriend, perhaps even having a penis and me being fey.  I assure you, Queen Serra is quite female, but one thing she isn’t is a traditional queen.  Her talents would be stifled by that role, and our marriage would be... rather sour, if I held her to classical monogamy.  Also worth noting is that the girlfriend rumors speak of exists, and is a full-fledged Agent of Atheria, even if she was born in Drachath.  As a soldier, I’m sure it was explained to you just how rare a person it takes to be an Agent, and it means more to keep that kind of person happy than it does to have my wife all to myself every single night.  Besides, for every night the girls spend together, away from me, on average they spend another, both in my bed.  Speaking as a man, rather than a king, I assure you that’s... pleasant.”\n\n\tThe liger couldn’t help but snort with amusement, one brow high, though other parts of his mind were ranging from confused to aghast at his very monarch sharing so many details of his personal life.  What was so special about one newly-minted private, that the king himself would be discussing this kind of thing with him?\n\n\t“Sleeping arrangements in the royal wing aside,” the king went on, “my wife and my Agent share similar talents, and for the last couple years we’ve been playing with an idea... and it’s finally manifesting as reality.  This information is not to leave this room; you aren’t one for gossip, I know, but if you decline the position I’m about to offer you, I will have to have my uncle Tyron wipe your memory of this visit, for security reasons.”  His guest’s eyes widened under his serious gaze, and the big feline finally nodded.  “‘My girls’ are now the founding members of the Sisters of Order.  Other members include the Drachathian ambassador to Letarr, an obscure priestess in Unicorn Vale, a captain in the Vale’s elite, and a farmer’s daughter in Dengar.  I expect this membership to grow as time goes on, but never many, and never in the public eye.  The purpose of the Sisters, you see, is to maintain the good of the common man... even by evil means.  The prime example of how this works involves our own nation’s history, some two and a half years ago.  The queen, though she was just a foreign ambassadorial guard at the time, murdered my father... for the good of us all.  I know this sounds shocking... but if she hadn’t, our nation would be a subject province of Vivenge right now, as would Drachath.  The Vale would once more be closed, half our male population would be dead, half our women chattel to Imperial soldiers, and we’d almost certainly have trouble with starvation.  Instead, the Vale now has three openings, our economy has never been better, practically everyone is well fed, and I’ve actually had to lower taxes because we couldn’t spend what the economic boom was bringing in.  That, my large friend, is how an act of evil can result in good.  The other Sisters are sworn to watch out for similar situations, where either a word or a blade in the right place can tangibly improve things.  They don’t automatically seek an evil solution, as sometimes good can beget the best good, but they won’t hesitate to use means most folks would find repugnant.  They’re Agents of the World, in a sense.  Though international diplomacy was involved in the Sisters’ founding, the Sisters themselves know no borders, only the goal of the good of the common man.”\n\n\tJerek’s eyes narrowed from their widened surprise as he thought these concepts over, nodding half to himself, “I... see, your Majesty.  The only part I’m still confused about, I guess, is what any of this has to do with me.”\n\n\tThe cougar smiled faintly, “I understand...  You’re not much of a ‘sister,’ right?  We may eventually rename the organization, but by coincidence every candidate for full membership has so far been female.  Despite your unique talents that I already mentioned, you’re not actually being considered for membership, except perhaps in an auxiliary role.  You see, someone’s stirring up trouble in those two counties we annexed from Vivenge in that little war.  Our two resident Sisters are going to go investigate it, finding the person or persons responsible and either arresting them or killing them, depending on how just a trial would be, but they’re just a couple of young ladies.  One is a mage, and both can fight fairly well, but they’re hardly an army by themselves... and I dearly love them both.  I’d have a hard time talking them into accepting a company or regiment sized military escort... and such would certainly have a negative impact on any covert aspects of their mission!  Thus, I decided to send along just a little more muscle to help... and that is where you come in.  You’re a bright enough lad to figure the rest out, I’m sure.”\n\n\tJerek glanced down at his right arm, letting go of the chair to tense and flex it...  “I believe I do, your Majesty,” he mused as he glanced up again.  “I’m no one-man army, myself... but, yes, I do have muscle, and I’ve always wanted to see more of the kingdom.  I swore to obey you, if normally through the intermediary of your designated officers, when I enlisted, and if this is where you feel I’ll be most useful, it’s my merest duty to accede to your wishes.”\n\n\tThe king nodded one last time, quite firmly, “Good!  You are, on my authority, immediately promoted to the rank of specialist, and assigned itinerant duty as the queen’s attendant.  Your salary... will be a colonel’s, to better help you in the performance of your duties.”  He rose from his seat and leaned across the table, extending one hand, “Thank you for accepting this position, Specialist Jerek.  I’m sure you’ll keep my girls safe if they run into trouble, and the three of you can be on your way tomorrow.  For the rest of the day, pack up what you need to travel, and by the time you’re done my orders should reach the ears they need to, and you can pick up your first month’s pay at the army clerks’ office.”\n\n\tStill a bit bewildered, particularly by his new wages, the liger leaned forward and, very carefully, clasped the strong hand that was only half the size of his own.\n\nChapter 1\n\n\t“So, dear,” Serra asked as she stood aside for the trio of servants that were carrying her packed bags out of the suite, “did you find us a suitable escort?  I still, personally, don’t think we need one, but you made some good points.  Banditry may be at an all-time low, but it still exists, and if Pria or I have to step out of our guises and into our official roles, having a visible, official guard would make whoever we’re exerting our authority over much more likely to believe us.”\n\n\tHer husband nodded, “I did... and I think you’ll like him.  You see, in one sense Jerek is your exact species, but he’s also your direct opposite.”\n\n\tThe tigon blinked, understanding immediately, “A liger!  I know you said you were sending some ‘extra muscle’ along, but damn, you meant that literally!”\n\n\tKeesanrel nodded again with a fond smile, “He’s... big, no doubt about that.  He’s also either physically or mentally gifted; we’re not sure yet, but however he managed it, he’s had a far easier time adjusting to his own body’s oddities than most.  He’s only got an army private’s basic training under his belt, but he also had to hold back to keep from killing his sparing partners.  If trouble erupts, I’m hoping he can remember to give it his all, in which case I may as well have sent you with a couple platoons.  He should be worth at least that many soldiers, himself, if he lets himself be.”\n\n\tThis fetched another grinning nod, before his wife sobered and gave him a very warm look, “I’ll miss you...  I know Pria will be along so I’ll hardly be bored, and if I’m desperate I could always just seduce the oversized helper you picked... but I’ve very much enjoyed being your wife, in all respects, even if my season kept us apart until just a few weeks ago.  A month, minimum, away from you is hardly something I can look forward to after we only just started sleeping together again, no matter how important and stimulating the mission.”\n\n\tEven as he stepped forward to enfold her in a tight hug, the king nodded again, “I know... and I share your feeling.  I won’t lack for simple sex, of course, now that the tunnel between the palace and the embassy is dug, but... the slaves aren’t you.”\n\n\tSerra nodded against his shoulder, drops forming at the corner of her eyes, only to be interrupted by a second hug from behind, her best friend leaning over her shoulder to share a fierce, deep kiss with her husband.  “C’mon, you lovebirds,” Pria remarked, only slightly breathless from that kiss, “we’ll all miss each other, but we still need to get going.  We swore to endure more than just a little loneliness for this kind of thing...”\n\n\tBoth felines nodded, the king responding, “Indeed...  Good luck, my loves... and good hunting.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tPria and Serra were still pulling on plain, if fine, brown traveling cloaks when they stepped into the paved courtyard adjacent to the palace stables, and both had to stop and blink a bit.  Even forewarned, the tigon was surprised by the sheer height and bulk of the man standing next to the four horses, two saddled and two pack-beasts.  His feet, clearly, would nearly touch the ground if he tried to mount, and the animals weren’t large examples of their kind; simply carrying his basic weight would have been problematic.  On the flip-side of the coin, though, those same long legs would probably let him keep pace with the horses at a walk without breaking a sweat, and he could probably match a canter by jogging.\n\n\t“Jerek, I presume?” Serra asked as they drew near.\n\n\tThe huge feline nodded, half-bowing in place, “Your Majesty...”\n\n\tHalf-grimacing, though her eyes were amused, Pria shook her head, “You can forget that phrase right now, kid.  Unless something comes up where we need our official authority, we’re just common travelers who coincidentally resemble and share names with a couple close friends of the king.  Even if someone makes the connection and asks, we’ll flatly deny any semblance of royalty.”\n\n\tHis queen nodding her agreement with a faint smile, the liger bowed again, “My apologies, my ladies.  I shall try to remember that... but your mounts are ready, and the morning dwindles while we wait.  Shall we proceed?”\n\n\t“Polite and efficient,” Serra mused as she put a foot in the stirrup and hauled herself up.  “I think we’ll get along.”\n\n\tHer girlfriend nodded as she mounted as well, “Probably...”  Pausing only to double-check the lead rope of her packhorse, she nodded and gestured toward the gate, “If you would lead the way, good sir?  Foot traffic normally avoids horses, though they can still crowd a bit too much...  Someone like you, on the other paw, I’m sure will clear a wide swath for us.  We’re heading for the north gate and the highway beyond, and our goal is Southwall, the nearer of the two annexed counties.  The highway will get us as far as Urenhold, then we’ll ask for directions before cutting west.”  Pria noticed, of course; his eyes had tightened very subtly at her mention of his clearing the way, though the rest of his expression remained respectfully attentive.  That was, evidently, a sore point to some degree, and now that she thought about it, she could understand why.  People avoiding him because of his size, always fearing him with no effort to actually get to know him... was probably a very lonely life.  Keeping her own face carefully relaxed, she resolved not to be one of the thousands of people who’d each done him a tiny hurt, that had to add up eventually, through sheer ignorance and prejudice.\n\n\tJerek, for his part, hadn’t even noticed the familiar pain.  Instead, he simply obeyed, stepping slowly toward the gate, then settling into a long, easy stride as he heard the hooves behind him.  He kept one ear canted back as he led them \n\nthrough the wealthy districts’ light traffic, hearing alone enough to keep exactly three feet between the lead horse and his own back.  The closer they got to the wall, the busier the broad street became, and he had to divide his attention between listening and watching.  As predicted, the crowds gave him a wide berth when they saw him, but they didn’t always manage that in time; anyone traveling the same direction, but slower, he had to carefully lead the horses around, and he found the challenge of navigation surprisingly stimulating.  It felt good, to have a duty and discharge it well, and to enjoy the trust of high personages.  In less time than he could really believe, he was passing under the raised portcullis of the north gate and onto the highway.\n\n\tAs the crowds thinned, Serra nudged her horse into a brief canter to pull even with him, then reined back to a walk to ask, “You’re obviously strong... but how’s your endurance?  We’re not in any serious hurry, but it’s foolish to waste time that can be saved.  To put it bluntly, how frequently and for how long can you jog or sprint?”\n\n\tThe normally self-effacing young man came perilously close to a smirk as he rumbled back, “I can jog longer than your horses can canter... with the right food.  I’ve got a couple pounds of a fairly oily jerky in my pack; if I eat that on the run, I could go ‘til sunset.  Sprinting... well, ma’am, I’m sorry to say that uses energy faster than food can replace it.  If I eat something an hour in advance, I can manage twenty or thirty minutes of a pony’s gallop, speed-wise, but I’ll be a wreck afterwards.”\n\n\tPulling up on the other side, Pria whistled softly under the sound of hooves, “In an emergency, that could prove quite, quite useful.  You see, I can provide the same sort of energy that food does, magically.  My own endurance is also limited, but... oh, one to two hours, I’m guessing.  With me on your back, I could keep you sprinting that long.”\n\n\t“That shouldn’t be necessary this morning,” the tigon chuckled.  “Dig that jerky out, though, and we’ll let you prove what you said about jogging.  That’s fast enough, for now.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek didn’t, actually, get to prove his morning-to-evening boast... as they spent the mid-afternoon at a roadside inn for a snack and a break to rest the horses.  He said nothing, but was privately relieved at the chance for two or three pint mugs of clean water, as late autumn was occasionally warm despite the northern latitude, and even his marginally-oversized backpack didn’t have room for the water skins he’d need to run for twelve hours comfortably.\n\n\tThe highway leading north of the capitol had minimal curves, the central kingdom having no mountains and few hills to avoid, so the sun was setting just as they came into sight of a medium-small town where they could find an inn for the night, nearly seventy miles from where they’d started.  Both ladies were casting odd glances toward him...  They’d heard, but obviously hadn’t believed, that he could run so far and still move without agony.  That, he knew, would wait ‘til morning.  It would take at least an hour’s steady walking for his muscles’ protests to fade to a dull roar, and he was out of jerky anyway, so he thought a silent prayer of hope to Tarragh that his companions weren’t expecting him to repeat the performance the next day.\n\n\tThere was more than one inn along the town’s central road, its position on the highway making it a popular stop on the way to or from the capitol, but the ladies didn’t bother investigating their options.  They stopped at the stables of the first one available, grossly over-tipped the stable boy in Jerek’s opinion (he was still coming to terms with his own, royally-decreed salary, but that silver penny would have been a week’s pay for his actual rank), and headed inside.  Pria’s belly had been rumbling as the sun set, so she turned immediately toward the common room, while Serra stepped up to the desk to reserve a room.  Since he knew his sleeping arrangements could be... problematic, the liger followed the latter.\n\n\t“We’ll need the largest bed you’ve got,” the tigon purred to the vulpine behind the desk.\n\n\tEven as the man nodded, Jerek interrupted, “No, we won’t.  I know inn beds... even the big ones.  It wouldn’t fit unless I sleep diagonally, and then there’d be no room for anyone else... not that it would be proper for anyone else to be there.  Please, good sir, if you’ve a smaller room with a cot... that, I can set aside and lay out a sleeproll big enough for me.  I can pay for it myself.”\n\n\tThe fox tried to nod again, muzzle open to reply, only to be interrupted again as Serra stared up at her escort, “Proper?  What has that got to do with anything?  If you insist on sleeping on the floor, the big-bed room would still do, and even if you can’t stretch out, the three of us could have plenty of fun there before we actually sleep...”\n\n\tJerek blinked, then shook his head, his muzzle grim as he reached for his coinpouch, “Definitely a separate room, good innkeeper, but close enough to that of my companions to hear any commotion.  It is my duty to keep them safe on this journey, and while I’m sure I could do that job even better from within the same chamber... I literally cannot discard propriety to that degree.”\n\n\tThe scowl this fetched from his fellow feline promised that this was not the last he’d hear on the subject, but she made no more objections as they each paid for their lodgings, then headed back to see what kind of supper Pria had ordered for them.\n\n* * *\n\n\tConversation was sparse, and what there was was tense, throughout breakfast and the loading of their overnight gear back onto the horses.  The only sign of his ‘showing off,’ the previous day, was a slight tension around Jerek’s eyes, though his calves and soles were in agony that long practice let him hide.  There was a similar narrowness in Serra’s expression, if for entirely different reasons, and while she’d almost certainly mentioned the reason to Pria overnight, the wolf seemed more bewildered by the negative undercurrents than anything else.\n\n\t“Jerek,” the tigon finally said, once they were well beyond the town’s log wall, “what’s your damned problem?  I know you’re not married, and you know my husband wouldn’t mind.  What the hell was that about propriety, and ‘definitely’ sleeping in separate rooms?!?  You’re the first man I’ve ever met that wouldn’t leap at last night’s opportunity, and you damned well owe me a reason why!”\n\n\tHer escort’s brow furrowed in reflexive anger, and he closed his eyes for a long moment as he walked, reining in his temper before it could escape.  Finally, he opened them and replied, still staring straight ahead, “You can’t know... what it’s like to have a body like mine.  Every adult I meet, it seems, wants something from me, something related to my size.  Men want my strength, or the combat prowess they assume I possess.  Women... I shouldn’t have to specify what they expect.  The children are even worse in their own way...”  He turned his head to fix her with a tear-rimmed gaze, his deep voice barely audible over the hoof-beats, “Do you have any idea how it feels to see fear in every young face you meet?  For children to never laugh, or even smile, when you’re in view?  Fear, lust, or avarice, I seem to evoke only the most primal of reactions... and all for my body!  I haven’t met anyone interested in me, the man behind the muscles, since I was ten years old!  The only thing I have left, my only chance for satisfaction or some faint semblance of fulfillment... is duty, and I felt better than I had in years, when the king had a worthy duty for me to perform.  I intend to do exactly that; I will escort you two wherever you decide to go, helping when I can, defending you when I must, and keeping my distance when you need that instead.  Offer as often as you wish, but whether propriety means anything to you or not, I will do my duty, no more and no less... my queen.”\n\n\tSerra’s gaze had softened briefly as he covered aspects of his life she had, indeed, never considered... but it hardened again at his last sentence, and she snorted, “If you want to put it in terms of duty, perhaps tonight I should simply order you into my bed.  As you yourself emphasized, I am your queen.  I love Pria dearly, and she’s the best licker I know, but since getting married I’ve gotten rather fond of getting stuffed, well and frequently.  If you’re still being stubborn about meaningless, innocent fun a week from now, I’ll probably leave you at the next army outpost we come across, and journey onwards with a new escort, one a bit less prudish.”\n\n\tJerek turned his gaze back toward the road, wiping his eyes on the back of one bracer and saying nothing.\n\n\tAfter a moment’s awkward silence, Pria spoke up, “You’re being awfully hard on him, kitten...  He’s doing exactly what he was hired for, and the entire issue of who sleeps with whom seems to boil down to a matter of respect.  He obviously has it for you, but you don’t seem to be returning the favor very well.  The Sisterhood isn’t even a season old yet...  Do you really want to destroy it over this silly an issue?  Because if you carry through on either of your threats, be it a ‘command performance’ or abandoning a good soldier for the crime of doing his duty, you’ll have to carry out the rest of the mission solo.  We may be girlfriends, and ‘evil,’ but I’ll abdicate my office and head back to my dad’s embassy before I stand idly by and watch you abuse a good man like that.  If all you need is dick, we’ll stop by a Roxanite temple where there’s man-meat in plenty.”\n\n\tThe tigon’s eyes widened as her lover of years threatened to end it all over this, and being an Agent had been her life’s goal for even longer.  Was she really being that bad?  She couldn’t see it that way... but if both of her companions were that serious, at least some compromise was obviously in order.  “I... apologize,” she forced out a moment later.  “Jerek... I still don’t see what, in your eyes, was so bad about my offer... but I won’t try to order you to do that, nor abandon you.  In one sense, my husband’s assignment to you is also a tacit order to me, and I have a duty to him too.”  She glanced to her lupine friend, “I suppose part of it is my missing Kees’ spines already... but you’ve got a point that they’re not hard to replace.  We’ve got a long way to go... but, just two or three stops at Roxanite enclaves along the way won’t slow us down that much!  Let’s... keep an eye out for them.”\n\n\tThe Agent nodded, and they rode for a few more minutes in silence, content with their own thoughts.  Once everyone seemed relaxed again, though, she asked in a mischievous tone, “Jerek?  Just out of curiosity... would ladies who assume that what’s under your kilt is as oversized as the rest of you... be right?”\n\n\tBlinking at the sheer effrontery of the question, the soldier could only whip his head around to stare... until he saw the laughter in her eyes, and the corners of his own muzzle twitched up involuntarily.  “From what I’ve seen of other men in the public baths,” he finally replied, “I am completely, utterly average... in proportion.”\n\n\tBoth ladies’ eyes widened at that, and the wolf smiled back, “Thank you.  I think we can... extrapolate well enough in our minds; you needn’t prove it.”\n\n\tNodding once more, Jerek turned his gaze back to the road, and his thoughts back to the future.\n\n* * *\n\n\tThe sun was setting on the third evening of their journey as the group neared the large, breast-like double domes of a countryside temple to Roxanarra.  While Jerek was quite relieved that the previous night had involved no objection to his renting his own room, he had more than one qualm about his charges’ current destination.  “Do these places even have someplace where I can sleep alone?” he asked the ladies as they drew near enough to make out individual figures in the small village by the fading sunlight.  Serra glanced at him and simply shrugged, while her companion arched a brow curiously.  Looking over to the wolf, he shrugged as well, “I’m not just being ‘prudish’ again, but I’ve only got a month’s pay to work with, for a trip that will probably take at least that long.  Spending any of it on this sort of self-indulgent frivolity would be... unwise, at the very least, and it’s not how I envisioned my f—”  He broke off suddenly, looking away.\n\n\tBoth brows high, Pria looked over to her girlfriend, “I think he was about to say ‘my first time.’  No fucking wonder he reacted badly to the subject!”\n\n\tThe liger’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, his muzzle set with visible tension and a faint redness barely visible at his eartips in the bad light.\n\n\tSerra could only blink for the first several seconds, then freed one hand from the reins to thump against her own forehead, “Shit!  Now I feel like a damned idiot, alright...  I’m... not actually sure, though.  Not all of the rooms to play in, then sleep in, are someone’s private chambers, I know that much... perhaps we can see if they’ve got one to spare?”\n\n\tThe wolf’s ears perked up as a memory surfaced, “The novices!  Their cells are the only ones too small to comfortably sleep two; they’re expected to perform their duties in rooms with discreet peep-holes, so the senior priests can evaluate their performance with none being the wiser.  Unless they’re full up, I think I can be considered Roxanite enough, personally, to request the loan of one.”  She frowned, then, with another glance at her large guard, “That very size, though...  I’m not sure you’ll fit, Jer, not even on the floor.”\n\n\tAfter the inadvertent revelation of another of his embarrassing flaws, it took Jerek a moment to switch mental gears and consider her statement.  He shrugged after a few seconds’ thought, “Unless the beds are unusually cheap and flimsy, I can lift one onto its side, freeing enough floor-space to curl up.  I’ll be a bit stiff in the morning, but I’m used to it.  If not, we still have tents on the pack-horses, and the periphery of the enclave looks flat enough.”\n\n\tSerra shook her head, even if he couldn’t see it, “I’d prefer not to make you do that...  The evenings are getting cooler; I know you can endure discomfort, but if there’s any sort of affordable alternative, it would be rather silly to do so when there are perfectly good rooms to be had.”  She glanced over, “Ask them, dear.  If they have one but your religious authority isn’t enough... my secular rank should suffice.  Roxanites are very good at discretion, so my identity will be safe enough.”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded, then addressed the liger again with a smirk in her tone, “And what’s this about paying for everything yourself, Jer?  Count the contents of your purse when you get a chance...  Your salary is for you, not to fund your assigned mission.  Two nights of slipping the cost of your room back where it came from has been good practice for my own mission, as I was a bit rusty when we first set out.”\n\n\tJerek half-turned, his muzzle opening, then shut it again and looked back to the road.  He was supposed to be an escort, attendant, and aide, not a burden, so of course he’d shouldered the extra expense of a private room that had been no part of the ladies’ original plans.  He also refused, however, to further dampen their own enthusiasm for the night by forcing his troubles on them.  Privately, he resolved to find out two things if he could... how much the temple asked for a spare novice’s cell, and where Pria hid her money, as he hadn’t been present for anything the wolf had paid for so far.  Though she was a lot nicer about it than her girlfriend, in his opinion, her subtle stubbornness could not compare to his own when he decided to dig his metaphorical heels in, and a faint, grim smile briefly graced his muzzle in the fading light.\n\n\tThe lanterns and torches of the enclave were close enough to be helpful by the time the sun set completely, and one of the homespun-clad villagers was waiting at the guest stables.  “Since both of you have far more interest in the temple proper than I do,” the soldier mused, “why don’t you just go on ahead?  I can help unload the horses, and it would be nice to have something useful to do while we’re here.”\n\n\tThe ladies shared a glance, then a nod, Serra replying, “Thank you.  We’ve got more gear than this fellow’s probably used to dealing with, and I really would rather get inside while they’re still gathered for the evening meal.  The priests would, of course, be happy to help me choose someone to my liking, but I personally prefer to survey my options beforehand.”\n\n\tThe robed mink glanced between his assorted guests, then nodded, “You both have good points, and I would indeed appreciate the assistance.  Supper for the adherents will only last another twenty minutes, though they always have something for late-arriving guests, too.”\n\n\tPria nodded back, and reached over to take her friend’s hand, “Alright.  We’ll ask about the cell first thing, though, and tell whoever’s watching the door to let you know how things work out.”\n\n\tBoth men moved to lift bundles down from first packhorse as the ladies strode off, and the mink gave them another moment to get out of earshot before murmuring, “Those two seemed friendly enough...  Perhaps you’re not into girls?  I’d be happy to loan you my bed tonight, with a dawn bath so they don’t smell what we do there...”\n\n\tJerek blushed at the offer, shaking his head, and lifted a pair of bags from one of the saddles just for time to organize his thoughts before answering, “It’s not that...  I just don’t want to disappoint anyone.  I’m sure any priestess in there would take one look at me and offer a discount... then go to bed unsatisfied, having expected something better than a virgin.  We’re here strictly for the ladies’ benefit; I, myself, have literally no business in a place like this.”\n\n\tThe Roxanite chuckled, amusement overcoming his disappointment almost immediately, “True enough, the way you describe it... but if you admitted that inexperience at the outset, I know of at least two ladies who’d lock you in their chambers and immediately see to your... education.  You’d be stuck here for weeks!”\n\n\tThis fetched a bitter chuckle and a more rueful shake of the head, “That sort of delay... would be tacit treason, actually.  These ladies need to be in Southwall within another week, and if I’m not with them, I’d better pray it’s because I’m dead.  The king was jovial enough when he gave me this mission, but I doubt he’d remain so should I fail it to that extent.”\n\n\t“Ah, duty,” the mustelid sighed, then nodded, “but I understand.  Here, Our Bounteous Lady teaches us to balance duty and fun, which is a hard lesson for some of the novices who thought they’d just get to fuck all day, every day.  Fucking, though, doesn’t till the garden plots, or re-thatch the roofs, or any of the thousand other details that keep our little village welcoming to visitors.”  He frowned faintly, glancing across a horse’s rump to meet the other man’s eyes, “Don’t make the mistake of going too far the other way, though...  Duty alone is an empty life indeed.  Whether in a bedchamber or not... find something you enjoy, or life’s just not worth living.”\n\n\tJerek shrugged, “I enjoy doing my duty well, actually.  Being issued a private’s pips at the end of basic training felt very, very good.  Having that accomplishment recognized by my superiors, leading to a major role on a mission that’s important to the entire kingdom, felt even better.  Personal accomplishment... that’s satisfaction enough, isn’t it?”\n\n\tThis earned a shrug in return as they both moved to the second packhorse, “Perhaps... but it’s a bit unusual.  Most people tend toward more tangible things, or at least more profound.  Wealth, power, sex, love, a family...  I’ve never seen a tombstone with ‘he did his job well’ on it.”\n\n\tThe liger shook his head and paused to tick off on his fingers, “Meaningless, illusory, problematic, unlikely, and impossible, respectively.”  He wrapped those fingers around a bundled tent to lift down as he mused, “I’m an infertile half-breed; I’ll never have children, which is probably for the best given how much I scare them just by being me.  Duty and my pride therein... are pretty much all I have left.”\n\nChapter 2\n\n\tThe border of the Duchy of Urenhold was marked by a weathered stone hut, a leftover from before the capitol’s division into districts, when each duke aspired to be their own sort of minor king.  The travelers would have simply passed it by, but as their horses neared four figures in uniform marched out, standing in a line where a hinged pole had once blocked the road, now long gone.  The one with brass bars on his shoulders instead of iron studs took half a step forward to call as they reined in, “What is your business in the duchy?”\n\n\tAfter a glance shared with her companions, Serra spoke for the group, “Our business... is our own, and yours is suspect.  This is the king’s highway, along which anyone may travel without needing to justify themselves in the slightest.  The county of my own birth, at one time, had guards that routinely annoyed random citizens on their journeys, frequently demanding taxes they had little or no legitimate claim to, and it very nearly ruined the holding until my mother stepped in to fix things.  I find it hard to believe that a duke, no matter how new and inexperienced, would make the same mistake.”\n\n\tThe officer shrugged, “I do apologize for interrupting your trip, however briefly... but if you know that the duke was recently replaced, you probably also know why.  ‘Random citizens’ traveling this very road were spies and traitors, and it’s simply good principle to at least ask a few, basic questions if it can help prevent a repeat of that sad time.”\n\n\tThat canid’s words were logical enough, his voice smooth and honest-sounding, but he seemed to be building a case for a policy that, to the best knowledge of a soldier, an Agent, and a queen, simply didn’t exist.  Jerek glanced back at Pria, noticing that beneath bored-seeming brows her eyes were flicking from one man to the next, studying them closely... and as he turned casually back to do the same, discrepancies started to appear.  None of the presumed soldiers’ armored uniforms fit quite right; some parts were just a bit loose, others too tight, sometimes on the same body.  One corporal was, on just one shoulder, missing one of the two large iron studs of his rank, and the liger could see a gap in the seam along a ‘fellow’ specialist’s side, the leather intact but the stitching broken for just the width of a large knife or average sword.\n\n\t“If ‘basic questions’ are the order of the day,” Pria mused calmly enough, “I have one for you...  Where are the soldiers you four bandits killed to get those uniforms?”\n\n\tJerek had just reached the same conclusion as she spoke, so he was ready when, after a single stunned blink apiece, all four men reached for their swords.  The huge cat was already moving before the ‘officer’s’ blade was half out; he didn’t bother with finesse of any sort, simply lifting a fist high and bringing it down with every ounce of his considerable strength.  The man’s helm caved in under the blow, blood shooting from his nose and brains trickling down the sides of his head from where the iron covered his ears, even as he was driven to his knees to flop backwards into the dirt the next moment, limbs twitching.  The cat’s next stride turned into a kick, cracking the rigid leather over the nearest bandit’s belly and sending him reeling back, vomit splattering the road.  He turned to face the two who’d managed to get their blades up, only to blink as they both keeled over without a sound.  He glanced back to see Pria lowering her hand, and nodded to himself; it didn’t take much magic to kill an ordinary man, after all.  “Sorry, ma’am...  I forgot you could do that, and it’s a lot less messy than my way.”\n\n\tThe wolf shrugged with a lopsided smile, “Hey, at least we’ll get some answers out of the one you kicked before internal bleeding finishes him off.  I’m no healer, able to knock someone out with a thought; I just boiled half a dram or so of blood dry, blocking up the main arteries to those two’s brains.  They’ll be dead in another few seconds.”\n\n\tSerra glanced at the still-retching, fake soldier and shook her head as she climbed out of her saddle, “I don’t think he can stop heaving long enough to talk.  I’ve seen sledgehammers that do less damage than your boot, kitty.  How ‘bout I just finish this one off and we tell the next town’s real guards about ‘em?”  She paused as she neared the shuddering form, a light kick of her own knocking off his helmet so she could grab his headfur with one hand, the other pulling a folded steel dagger from the small of her back to casually slit his throat.  Her smile was broad and toothy as she straightened up, “We’ve done what’s necessary...  We stopped these criminals.  Whoever they got the uniforms from is probably already dead, so closure for their relatives is more pressing a need than justice.  The local constables can investigate toward that end well enough.”\n\n\tHer companions nodded as she remounted, Pria suggesting, “Jerek?  Glance into the hut and see if they have any loot or, unlikely as it may be, stolen badges or identification.  Whatever’s there can be passed on to those same constables.”\n\n\tThe centuries-old single room was bare save for dust, leaves, and the remains of a small cooking fire, and he shook his head with a grimace, “They must have cached the rest of their gear somewhere, as I don’t even see sleeprolls...  Probably nearby, but we don’t have time to go treasure-hunting.”\n\n\t“That we don’t,” Serra agreed, then looked a bit more sharply at the liger, “but we might need to take some time for shopping at the nearest weapon-smith.  Specialist Jerek, you’re a soldier.  Why the hell are you unarmed?  Effective as they were, you should have had a damned sight more than hands and feet available, after signing on to defend us!”\n\n\tHer escort blinked hard, looking abashed, then visibly fought not to shrug.  Looking her firmly in the eye, he replied simply, “I’d never been issued any arms save loans for practice.  Weapons are provided at, and by, our postings, and I don’t actually have one of those.”\n\n\tPria blinked, “I’d always just assumed you favored knives or short swords, and that they were in your bag.”\n\n\tJerek shook his head, “No...  All I’m carrying is my bedroll, my spare uniform, and a bit of emergency food.  Leathers for someone my size are bulky, and I can’t go as long as most people without eating; there just wasn’t room for anything else... nor, I thought, any need.  Beyond what’s in my bag, I’ve got my coinpurse, what I’m wearing, and a perfectly good set of claws and teeth.  Can either of you name even one thing more I actually need?”\n\n\tBoth ladies thought about it with the occasional faintly-guilty glance back at their heavily-loaded packbeasts, Serra finally offering a suggestion, “Hygiene rags and a trowel?”\n\n\tThe other cat tilted his head, then nodded grudgingly, “If we were traveling cross-country, those would be useful... but we’ve been at inns every night.  I’ll just hold it.”  One corner of his muzzle quirked up as he glanced at the four corpses, “It’d take a bit more than scum like this to scare me shitless!”  A hint of satisfaction touched his awareness as he turned back to the road and started walking again to the sound of giggles.  Perhaps that Roxanite mink had had a point... as it was indeed fun, even fulfilling, to be able to make a lady laugh.\n\n* * *\n\n\tThe group’s final destination, that pair of counties just across what had been the western border between Atheria and Vivenge, was an exception to the usual layout of the kingdom, with earldoms and smaller holdings being subject to a duchy.  Eventually, they’d be incorporated into the larger hierarchy, but while they were still new the counts, city mayors, and military commanders were direct appointments by the crown.  Circumstances were similar in the city of Frostcrest, seat of the duchy of Urenhold, if for entirely different reasons.  The previous duke had been a traitor, though there the king had simply promoted an existing earl he could trust to support him, along with a few months of partial martial law to keep things running while the rest of the local administrators were reviewed for loyalty and replaced if needed.  Despite the unrest in the annexed territories, the duchy proper was once more loyal and stable, and the queen had decided to check with the local government to see if they had any more detailed information that would help her mission.  Her girlfriend went with her, of course, the pair leaving Jerek with a small pouch of gold and an admonition that he be properly equipped by the time they got back.\n\n\tThe liger was still seething, just a bit, as he stepped out of the inn and glanced across the skyline for hints of dark coal-smoke that’d indicate where the city’s smiths gathered.  He hadn’t exactly been ineffective in that fight!  He was still trying to recover from the emotional realization, once the adrenaline had worn off, that he’d killed someone, and didn’t really want to think about being able to repeat the act even more easily.  A nightmare, last night, had involved several repeats of the wet-melon crunch of a popping skull... only the skulls were Pria’s, Serra’s, Keesanrel’s, and his own parents’, while he could only look on helplessly and feel shame at failing to protect them.\n\n\tHe shook off those memories, or tried to (they were rather stubborn), as he started walking down the street.  Discomfort or no, the queen had every right to give him the order she did, and he would obey.  After three or four city blocks, though, a thought started to surface...  She’d specified properly equipped, and he was a specialist in the Atherian army on official assignment.  Ignoring the smithies he could now faintly smell in the distance, he instead doubled back to a small constable post he’d passed, and asked the corporal on duty there for directions to the local army barracks and armory.  That was a much longer walk than the smiths, it turned out, but he wasn’t in any hurry, and he was looking forward to the tiny victory of being able to return the pouch he’d been given, never having opened it, much less spent any.\n\n\t“New transfer?” one of the sentries at the blocky building asked.  “Captain’s office is through the left door, then right at the hall, first door on the right.”\n\n\tJerek shook his head, “I’m on escort duty, passing through, but my charges have business for a while.  I was shuffled out with entirely too much haste, and they neglected to issue me so much as a knife, a situation I’m hoping this post can correct.”\n\n\tThe other sentry looked him up and down, mostly up, “What were they feeding you at your old post, boy?  You don’t look like you need a knife...”\n\n\tSurprising himself with a barked laugh, rare indeed for any jab at his height, he shook his head, “I didn’t need one when we ran into a few bandits...”  He winced again at the memory, “I’d never killed a man before...  I always held back in training, and I didn’t know just what a fist like mine could do to a skull.”\n\n\tBoth sentries winced, either in sympathy or from imagining that fist’s effects, the first one speaking up again, “Better get a sword, then...  With one of those, you can choose to stick it somewhere that’s not fatal.  See the captain, as he’s got the local Truthstone to check your story, but I’m sure we can spare a blade or two.”\n\n\t“Thank you,” Jerek nodded even as he shared a casual salute with the pair, “and I’ll do just that.”\n\n\tHe had to stifle a chuckle as he knocked on the edge of the open door of the captain’s office.  The figure across the desk was no small man, seven feet tall and thick with hard-trained muscle; the silver crossed swords and shield of a junior priest of Tarragh glittered on the wolf’s breast, explaining his physique well enough, but his eyes were wide as he stood to return his junior’s salute, “By His Blade, you’re a big one!  Come in and... well, I’m not sure the chairs I keep for the little guys would hold you.  Still, come in, Specialist.”\n\n\tNodding as he sank to the wooden floor between those chairs, the liger rumbled, “I need to borrow your Truthstone, as I’ve never been issued a badge or identifying documents, just so everyone’s sure I’m who and what I appear to be... but I also wasn’t issued any weapons, while my lawful superior on my mission insists I be armed.  The standard-issue longsword may be a bit small for someone like me... but hopefully your armory can spare one or two.”\n\n\tSettling back into his own seat so he could open the drawer that held the barracks’ magical tools, the captain nodded with a faint smile, “Situation normal: all fucked up.  Let’s get you verified and equipped.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tSerra nodded to herself as she rounded the corner and the inn came into view, her escort leaning casually against the wall near the main door.  Even from half a block away she could see the paired longswords hanging from a new belt, though they looked more like short swords on him, only the detail that he was taller than the frame of the door hinting at the true scale.  “Grab the packs from our room,” she directed as she neared.  “The meeting went well and we know where to at least start looking, as well as having a few ideas to lessen the symptoms while we hunt for the cause, but it’s barely noon so we can put another thirty or forty miles behind us before dark.”\n\n\t“Yes, ma’am,” Jerek replied automatically, ducking to step into the inn and navigate the narrow (for him) staircase to their rooms.  Naturally, he took the opportunity that presented itself, tucking the pouch of gold into a pocket of Pria’s clothes bag.  His own pack’s flap was tied loosely, as he’d had a chance to pick up a crumbled bacon and granola blend that would sustain him while letting the whole group move faster.\n\n\tHis faint sense of triumph lasted only until he’d tied the ladies’ packs onto their horses and they’d started moving, Pria commenting to her girlfriend, “He never opened that coinpouch, but his own isn’t depleted enough for him to have bought them himself.”  She glanced over at the blinking liger, “The fact that it’s in my bag’s pocket doesn’t mean I can’t sense gold, or the energies I put into the pouch’s drawstring.  I’m no archmage, but two things I am good at are mage-sight and short-term enchantments.”\n\n\tThe liger’s ears splayed, and he had to cough twice before he could mutter at sufficient volume, “I... the swords are army-issue.  I talked a local garrison captain, with a decent armory under his command, into issuing them to me.”\n\n\tSerra nodded, though a faint frown still teased around the corners of her muzzle, “Acceptable... barely, and for now.  I’ll need to see you use them before I fully make up my mind, but one of the advantages of buying from a smith is the variety you get to choose from.  Those swords are sized for a completely average soldier; an unusually small trooper would find them uncomfortably heavy, while you have the exact opposite problem, at least in first-impression theory.  Keep them for now, but if we get into another fight, or find an opportunity for some sparring practice, I’ll be reevaluating your decision then.”\n\n\tSomehow, Jerek managed to keep from wincing at her foreboding tone, replying only, “Yes, my queen,” and gesturing invitingly toward the road leading to the west gate.  He heard what could, possibly, have been a muffled giggle from Pria’s direction, but both ladies started moving soon enough, leading their horses through the afternoon foot traffic.\n\n* * *\n\n\tSerra stirred a small pot of oatmeal and salt-cured beef as her companions extracted the support poles from the tent.  Though luxurious enough by most standards, it would only have been comfortable for all three of them had they been on... friendlier terms than their big, fussy escort demanded.  She’d made one token, subtle attempt to break past his guard last night; her riding skirt was fairly typical of the upper class, but unlike most ‘fine’ ladies she didn’t bother wearing underdrawers with it, and she’d managed to take a moment when no one else was looking to very faintly ‘sign’ the largest of their pillows in a rather personal fashion...  When they’d all climbed in just before the evening downpour struck, though, she’d heard a faint snort in the darkness and the rustling of her escort turning the pillow over to sleep on its pheromone-free side, and to her surprise she couldn’t detect even a hint of morning wood under his armor when they rose with the sun.  “How bad is it?” she finally asked as the other two started feeling around the thick, damp canvas.\n\n\tSharing a glance with Pria, Jerek spoke up, “It could have been worse.  The rain stopped at least two hours before dawn, so it’s not quite soaked through to the inner wax at this point.  If we’ll be stopping in... oh, four to six hours and can spread the sections out to dry, they’ll survive being folded that long without molding or such, but if there’s longer to go we’ll want to drape them over the packhorses and turn them once every couple of hours.”\n\n\tThe tigon nodded and gave the pot one more stir before swinging the iron frame’s arm away from the fire and reaching for bowls, “Fold them.  This leg of the journey is our last chance to relax before the real work starts, so we’ll be traveling only ‘til noon.  There’s another Roxanite enclave I want to spend most of the day at, but we can find somewhere to spread the canvas before getting distracted, and I don’t think it will rain today too.  Over in Vivenge, and in these two counties as they haven’t had long enough to change much, Roxanarra has a small temple in almost every town and city, but this is the last real enclave we’ll see for a while; they just aren’t tolerated in the empire.”  She paused to await two nods at the proposed route, then continued, looking more directly at the liger, “Pria already knows the plan... but once we reach Southwall, our first task is to split up.  One of the forms the reported ‘unrest’ has taken is that there are... rumors, bordering on propaganda and outright lies, about just how these counties came to change hands.  The best way to address false rumors, then, is to enlist the help of the priesthood, as the common folk often come to them for advice or clarification.  In Frostcrest, we picked up several copies and versions of a more thorough explanation of recent history.  They’re all true, but each was written specifically for the comfort and biases of each deity’s followers.  Pria will take the Goddesses of Light, I’ll contact the dark side of the pantheon as I’m pretty sure I can find all of them despite their secrecy, and you, Specialist, will take the appropriate documents to the temples of the Gods of Light.  Just getting a factual account into the hands of those the locals trust should accomplish a large part of our mission.  We still need to find the source of those rumors, of course, but simply hamstringing their current efforts is a worthy goal in its own right.”\n\n\tAs the bigger cat nodded, the wolf chimed in, “Not to mention possibly pushing that source out into the open, as they try something else, possibly something more obvious.”\n\n\tSerra nodded back, “We can’t count on that... but if it happens, be prepared to take advantage of it.”\n\n\tJerek nodded too, half to himself as he considered, “Shattrathin, Tarragh... what about Molinden?  Those new, big temples that started popping up in Atheria a couple years back; are there any where we’re going?”\n\n\t“They might be,” his queen replied, then gave a faint shrug.  “It was pressure from Vivenge that had been keeping Atheria from formally recognizing Molinden.  Since the treaty with Drachath, the religion has at least been crown-supported and legal, but there might be some resistance in territory that was formerly Vivenge’s.  Look around when we get there, since I’ve got a couple history packets written with merchants in mind, and it’ll be your job to deliver one of them to the local priests of commerce if you find any.”\n\n\tThe young soldier nodded, still thinking to himself about the towns and cities they’d passed through.  All religious buildings, at least those of the Light, had been gathered into relatively small areas, so it was only a neighborhood or district he’d need to find, rather than hunting a variety of targets all over a large, unknown city.  “I can do that, ma’am,” he decided a moment later.\n\n\t“As can I,” Pria agreed, then added, “but let’s all keep an eye out for decent boarding houses, or even small rental properties, during this first bit of wandering.  We’re going to be in the area for at least a couple weeks, possibly one or more months, so it wouldn’t hurt to find something both more comfortable and less public than an inn for a base of operations.”\n\n\tGiving one final nod, Serra smiled and started ladling carnivore’s porridge into bowls, “Looks like we’ve got a good plan, or at least a sturdy foundation for one... but that’s all for tomorrow.  For today, let’s eat, get packed, and get to that enclave.  This is probably my last chance for serious fun in the foreseeable future, and I intend to enjoy it while I can.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t‘Another day, another mustelid,’ Jerek thought to himself, surprised at his own amusement under the circumstances.  This enclave’s stable looked much like the last one’s, though instead of a fading dusk he was unloading the horses to a noon sun with the help of a badger about his age, with far more of the day ahead in which he’d need to occupy himself while his charges wiled away the hours with gratuitous sex.\n\n\t“I think we made good enough time to join the lunch crowd,” Pria remarked with a glance at the sun, almost due south of them.  She turned to her escort, “Since it’s safe to assume you probably still don’t want to join us for what comes after... I suggest, just because it’s marginally more stimulating than warming a bench ‘til sunset, we all share the meal then you see if there are any chores or other minor tasks around the enclave that your strength could ease.”\n\n\tA remnant of his previous amusement helped keep even a faint scowl off his face as Jerek nodded, “I suppose I can see that...  It was a reasonably vigorous jog to get us here this soon, so one other option for me is a simple nap, but then I’d be up all night with even less to do.  I’ll go help in the fields or something after lunch.”\n\n\tSerra quirked a brow, standing aside while the immediate needs of the horses were seen to, and asked, “Just what is your background, anyway?  You always struck me as a bit more... polished than a farmer; I’d roughly pegged you as the son of tradesmen.”\n\n\tThe liger shrugged as he worked, “A little bit of both...  My family ran a little country-side inn.  It was in the southwest of the kingdom, that little triangle formed by the borders of Drachath and the Vale, so it saw only a moderate amount of traffic.  Only the distant spacing of the local towns kept us in business; we had a large garden, a meadow, and a small herd to feed ourselves and our guests, and my father was just good enough a carpenter to keep things in repair without the time and expense of importing someone from a larger community.  Between repairs, being effectively a small farm, and helping the inn itself and meeting its guests, my childhood was... rather varied, really.”  He glanced around through the gaps in the stable walls, “These enclaves... are actually a lot like home, just a bit bigger.  The needs are probably very similar, and I’m sure I can find something to help with.”\n\n\t“A country boy... with exposure to more social classes, in passing at least, than most,” the queen surmised, nodding.  “That fits, and clears up a few minor points of confusion.  Anyway, just set that tent aside; it won’t mold in the time it takes us to eat, and you can find someplace to spread it out to dry as your first chore of the afternoon.”\n\n\tTurning away, as much to hide a faint eye-roll he couldn’t quite restrain as to tuck the damp tent into a free corner, he settled for simply replying, “Yes, ma’am.”\n\nChapter 3\n\n\tTheir technical leader on her own hunt for any dark temples hiding in Southwall, Pria and Jerek found their parts of the group assignment surprisingly easy.  Just south of the center of town, where the stained glass windows behind the pulpits could catch the best light, were all of the more accepted temples, Gods on one side of the broad avenue stretching to the south gate, Goddesses on the other.  Molinden’s shrine was surrounded by scaffolds, the building that had been the city’s second-best inn about half-sheathed in thin marble at this point, and since it wasn’t a restday there were several workers in evidence, most of them wearing the stylized copper coin pendant of novices over plain, durable clothes rather than robes.  Sharing a nod with the wolf as they split up, Jerek ducked under the platform supporting a painter just over the main doors, and looked around until he found someone wearing at least silver.  The priests were, obviously, doing their best to pretend that the construction noise didn’t exist, so the liger was able to explain his mission and deliver the correct sheaf of parchment with only a few pauses to wait for banging to die down.\n\n\tThe next temple on the street was Tarragh’s, its ornate doors carved with scenes of honor, battle, and glory, flanked by plate-armored acolytes whose eyes widened at their visitor’s size.  Chuckling, as it was easier to forgive that sort of reaction from men who expected to be bigger than almost anyone they met, he crisply returned their salutes and stepped into the sanctuary.  There was a senior priest sitting on one of the pews, muttering to himself as he shuffled several small sheets of parchment, but that lion looked up as the booted tread of the newcomer, muffled by the central aisle’s carpet, paused near him.  His eyes went briefly-wide too, of course, then narrowed shrewdly as he looked first for any sign of a necklace or pendant, then at the one large and one small iron pips on each leather-armored shoulder.  Half-nodding to himself, he rumbled, “Welcome to the House of War.  As it’s not a restday, and since I don’t recognize you, I have to wonder... are you here to join our church?”\n\n\tJerek started to shake his head, then paused...  “That might actually be a good idea,” he mused once he’d considered it.  “I’m actually here to drop this off,” and he reached around to pull another sheaf of parchment out of the top of his pack, “as an official crown communication to every local religious leader.  Still... Tarragh tends to be who I’m thinking of whenever a situation has me praying for any reason.  All I know of Him is that He encourages strength at arms, strength of character, and comporting one’s self with honor in all situations, but even that basic a summary feels... right to me.  What would formal membership actually entail?”\n\n\tThe smaller cat’s muzzle spread in a broad smile, “That is, quite possibly, the most succinct and accurate description of my God’s philosophy that I’ve ever heard.  If you, as it seems, came up with it on your own... then you’d probably feel quite welcome among His Warkin.  Tell me, what deeds of valor can you honestly claim?”\n\n\tJerek frowned slightly, then shook his head, “Not many.  My current rank... was a perk of my mission, not actually earned.  I can only claim a private’s rank on my own merits and, despite usually winning on the practice grounds, I’ve only been in real combat once, and that battle was short and less than glorious.  Some... bandits, we think, had stolen guard uniforms, and were trying to run some sort of scam in them, but neither I nor the ladies I’m escorting know what their actual goal was.  We spotted the flaws in their act, and attacked just before they could.  I was unarmed, but killed one outright and mortally wounded another.  Neither I nor those whom it was my duty to protect received so much as a scratch, and none of the criminals escaped alive.”\n\n\tNodding, the priest smiled again, “That, for your age, is actually a very acceptable list of accomplishments, particularly since you gave it honestly, with no attempt to inflate your deeds.  If you become one of the Warkin, that’s one thing you’ll have to remember... never lie or exaggerate about your deeds or skill.  Even beyond we priests’ ability to detect such a deception, Tarragh Himself would take personal exception to the lie, and He’s not a God you want mad at you.”  His muzzle broadened into a near grin at the soldier’s wry nod, and he continued, “As for the details you were curious about... well, we have several publications we keep around for prospective supplicants, depending on their degree of literacy.”\n\n\tThe liger recognized the implied question immediately, also realizing that this was another test of honesty, and quickly volunteered, “I can read a little, but very slowly, and some combinations of letters are trickier to sound out than most.  I would not, objectively, judge myself literate.”\n\n\t“Excellent!  You not only spotted that little test, but passed it with distinction.  Honesty about your own limitations is as important as that about your deeds.”  Rising and straightening his robe, the lion stepped into the aisle with a gesture to follow, “Come along; we’ll get that ‘crown communication’ to my high priest, and give you a copy of the novice’s primer with simple words and illustrations.  Whether you decide to pursue membership after reading it, or not, you’ll always be welcome here.  My name is Sir Goral, and our knight commander and the leader of this branch of Warkin is Sir Melian.  Once you have another break in your duties, just ask the door guards for either of us if you want to join our little band and enjoy a bit more challenging of sparring partners than you likely did as an army trainee.”\n\n\tNodding as he followed along, still holding the historical document in hopes of finding someone to give it to soon, Jerek chuckled, “That... would be a welcome change of pace.  Also, now that I think on it, the Warkin are probably the only group in the world that would be able to find someone used to making armor in my size.  I wouldn’t mind a decent breastplate, but every smith I ever asked either quoted a truly insane price, or kicked me out of their shop the moment I said the word ‘armor.’  One even had his wife take her broom to me.”\n\n\tBrows high, Goral nodded with a quiet laugh, “I can imagine...  Well, don’t cherish any illusions that something in your size would be cheap, but, yes, I know a smith or two with enough practice at larger breastplates that you wouldn’t be paying an extra premium on the labor.  For just a breast-and-back plate in mid-grade steel, that’d be... oh, five or six florins, I think.”\n\n\tIn other words, the liger thought to himself, a month and a half of pay even at his royally-inflated grade.  Still, that was just over a third of the last quote he’d been given, so he smiled, “I don’t have that much on me... but I can save it up in just another couple weeks, six at the outside if an unexpected expense comes up.  I will definitely speak with you again on this subject.”\n\n\t“Good,” the priest nodded sharply.  “Army-issue leathers are decent enough against the sort of bandits you ran into, but hardly proper for a serious fight, and practically useless if some cur ambushes you with a bow.  Now,” and he paused at a large door in the hall, “let’s say hello to Sir Melian so you can discharge your current task with honor.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tAbout a block away, Jerek spotted his partner between the temples of Roxanarra and Malia, a seeming oddity at first... until he noticed that she was walking a little funny.  That certainly explained why he’d covered two temples in the time it took her to do one, and he shook his head in faintly-amused exasperation as he padded up the steps to the Temple of Generosity.  This time, a ferret in her early twenties, a white robe, and an acolyte’s pendant was on door duty, and the usual eye-widening seemed to strike and stick as she spotted him.  Mindful of the faint, fearful trembling visible at her fingertips, he slowed his pace and put some effort into keeping his voice gentle as he summarized his mission and humbly asked to be led inside.  The priest he was shown to was made of marginally sterner stuff, but he still heard a sigh of relief at his back when he took his leave.\n\n\tAs much to distract himself from his own, fouled mood as any other reason, he paused about midway down the temple steps and looked around.  Typically for this particular temple, there were several roughly-dressed figures standing or sitting on the marble, each with a begging-bowl at hand, but one in particular caught his eye.  In contrast to the listless droop of the other beggars, this one’s tail slithered actively through the air, and that tail’s owner was clearly focused on something in its hands, not the passing foot-traffic other, forlorn voices called to for alms.\n\n\tEasing quietly closer to the happier-seeming figure, Jerek observed that its cloak was a bit finer, or at least cleaner, than most in view, and as his angle progressed he could make out the features of a domestic feline, the chest-level bulge that proclaimed her a woman, and the black blindfold across her face, starkly contrasting with both her tan cloak and white fur.  In her hands was a piece of wood, and as her sightless gaze watched the sky, her fingers... flowed.  There was no other word for it; she stroked the figurine in her grip, feeling its every nuance, and every few seconds one claw or another would extend and a fresh, tiny shaving would join the pile in her lap as she refined the carving.  More than casually curious, now, the soldier stayed as quiet as he could as he sank onto a marble step about six feet away, and the more he saw of the eight-inch-tall wolf she was finishing, the more he marveled.  Other than its size and color, that carving looked like it was alive; those tiny shavings that kept falling were obviously the final step as she worked the wood into such lifelike fur patterns that he expected it to shift in the breeze.\n\n\t“Thank you for not interrupting me,” she said without preamble after he’d silently watched for several minutes.  “My nose and ears work just fine, but the final detailing on one of these things always takes a great deal of concentration, and it doesn’t take much of a slip to ruin a good piece.”\n\n\tA hint of a chuckle rumbled somewhere in his huge chest as Jerek nodded, then silently cursed himself; obviously, she couldn’t see it.  “And your tail works, too,” he replied after only a moment’s hesitation.  “That’s what made me curious enough to find out what you were doing, as it was the only such appendage on these steps that wasn’t drooping with depression.  Now that I’ve seen why, I can understand the pleasure to be found in crafting such beauty, though I could never hope to experience it, myself.”  He glanced around, then added, “I have to wonder, now, why it’s this temple you’re at...  You certainly have skill enough to please Malia, after all.”\n\n\tHalf-turning to face him from behind her blindfold, the young woman shrugged with a smile, “And, of course, you’re far too polite to ask the question that’s really on your mind, why someone who can make this is still a beggar...”  She snorted in amused exasperation, “Don’t worry, almost everyone I meet asks that, but I don’t mind, since it’s fun to shock them with the truth.  I’m not a beggar.  I can get along, not exceptionally well but adequately... but the child who paints these carvings for me, whom I’m told has the talent to do them justice even if I’ll never... see the results, his family has practically nothing.  Sitting here to do my work, I can collect enough coins to feed him and his parents without much sacrifice on my part, and every once in a while someone who can afford something as frivolous as art, but has never seen mine, stops by and becomes interested.”  She held out the oaken wolf, “So, what do you think?”\n\n\tLeaning a bit closer, Jerek resumed his examination of the figurine, and could find no flaw; it was as perfect up close as it had seemed from a distance.  He had to swallow hard, twice before he could speak, “I... ma’am, I’m just a simple soldier.  Such as I has not the words to praise the beauty before me as it deserves.”\n\n\tBlushing through her white fur, the girl shook her head, “That... that’s almost worse, in its own way, than the fulsome, eloquent praise others have profoundly embarrassed me with in the past.  If everyone keeps saying it’s so perfect, how can I keep getting better?  A little constructive criticism can be a good thing... but, as a soldier and not an artist yourself, I guess asking you for a hard-biting critique would be a bit... silly.”\n\n\tJerek chuckled again, “I... understand.  If I had the background to judge, I would, but it’s quite literally not my place.  I’m curious, though, just how you... how they come out so life-like.  I’ve seen sculptures decorating the palace of our king, and they can’t compare in fine detail to what I’m looking at now.”\n\n\tTucking the carving back into her lap, she gestured down the street toward the Temple of Arts, “Those who serve Malia, who taught my to refine my natural talent, wondered the same thing, and all I can offer is the conclusion of their speculations, which may or may not be the truth.  ‘Normal’ sculptors... use their eyes far too much, and they’re used to thinking in ‘visual terms,’ whatever that means.  I was born this way.  According to a healer, there are these... things on the inside of the eye that absorb light and allow one to see, and I don’t have any.  Thus, their conclusion is that my mind’s less cluttered than most, and better able to remember, when I...”  She broke off with a faint frown, then visibly prepared herself and went on, “This is the part that’s occasionally gotten me some... rather disconcerting offers, but I have to touch what I’m going to carve, first.  Well, for most parts; after my first three male sculptures looked like they were erect under their breeches, my teachers suggested that I just fake that part.  I remember the shapes and textures I feel, then simply duplicate them in miniature.  It’s really that simple, that innocent, but I’ve had to issue more than one prospective customer a refund when they were entirely too pleased that I’d be running my hands all over them.”\n\n\tThis time, the liger very deliberately did not laugh, and tried hard to keep his amusement out of his tone as he replied, “I can understand that...  While not exactly the same, I’ve experienced some distantly-related misconceptions about just what sort of service I was trying to offer someone.  I’ve also, though, encountered one or two individuals whom I think I judge fairly when I doubt their ability to tell the difference between an artist and a whore, but the occasional stupid person is just part of the mortal condition.”\n\n\tThis fetched another smiling nod, “While I doubt any man has ever experienced just my situation... it indeed sounds like you’ve come close enough to understand.  Now,” and she patted the marble next to her, “I’ve got another small work to start on, someone’s pet kitten this time, so why don’t you stop looming like that and have a seat?  So long as you’re quiet, you’ll get to see one of these things made from the start.”\n\n\tJerek blinked, briefly confused, then realized...  Keeping his rumble as neutral as possible, he replied, “I am sitting down.”\n\n\t“You’re...”  Shaking her head in clear disbelief, the smaller cat scooted her cloak across the step, a foot dragging her bowl along as one hand reached blindly until it came into contact with his arm, and even behind that strip of black cloth the inevitable widening of eyes occurred yet again as she felt her way up to his shoulder.\n\n\t“Do you know,” the liger rumbled softly, almost to himself, “I was actually happy for just an instant when I first noticed you were blind?  It’s not that I wish disability on anyone...  For the first time in my life, I realized, here was someone who I could talk to, who’d make no judgments, hold no preconceptions, based on the completely meaningless detail that I stand eight feet, seven inches tall in bare feet.  Every other conversation or relationship I have is always impacted by that fact.  Hardly a day goes by that I don’t hear some child, bursting into frightened tears just because of how I look.  You, though... you saw, or rather heard and smelled, just another man, as good or bad as any other man, but for once based on my words and personality, not... not my size.”\n\n\tNodding shallowly as she let go of his huge arm, the girl visibly gathered herself before replying, “I think... that you do understand my life, and how assumptions made by others can impact it, far better than most...”  She smiled faintly, then, “Also, I understand just how novel an experience our conversation must have been for you.  Other than your voice coming from an angle I assumed meant you were standing, you were just another new voice to talk to, a new scent to become familiar with.”  Scooting back the way she’d come, just to open a socially-proper gap, she held out one hand, “I’m Beckah, and it’s been... an experience, meeting you.”\n\n\tLaughing softly as he reached to enfold her small paw in his, the soldier nodded, “Specialist Jerek of the Atherian army, at your service, ma’am.  Well... so long as that service won’t take more than a few seconds.  I can see one of my bosses coming up the street now, so my free time is probably at an end.”\n\n\tBeckah smiled back, “I know how that goes...  I’m usually escorted here and home again by someone from Malia’s or Tarragh’s temple, and I’ve heard both sorts complain of duty often enough.  If you see me here again, I wouldn’t mind talking some more, and if I’m not here, the door guards of either temple will probably know where to find me.”\n\n\tNodding to himself as he fished around in his purse for his smallest gold coin, the liger reached over and dropped it into her bowl, “Here, something for that family you’re helping.  Good pigments, I’ve heard, can be expensive, but your work clearly deserves the best.  I can’t say when, but if possible I’ll see you again sometime.”\n\n\tBrows rose behind black cloth again, suggesting that the white cat knew exactly what denomination had been given from the tone of its clink, but she nodded affably enough, “You have my thanks, and that of little Crellan, I’m sure.  May your duties be discharged with speed and honor.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“It took me a while to find one of Sliisthar’s bunch, but I managed eventually,” Serra mused as she touched two crystals together, lighting the kitchen hearth in the small house she’d chosen to rent.  “How did you two do?”\n\n\tAfter a quick, shared glance with Pria, Jerek spoke up, “I had no trouble at all, though I think your girlfriend stopped for a quickie at the Temple of Love.  The mission itself aside for the moment, the local leaders of the Warkin would like to recruit me, and I also met the saddest irony I can imagine.”\n\n\tThe tigon blinked, “You’d fit in with Tarragh well enough, I’m sure... but if the other part was so sad, why are you smiling?”\n\n\t“Because, while it’s sad as a concept, she herself doesn’t realize, so she’s happy and content despite it...  You see, I met a young lady who’s quite possibly the finest artist I’ll ever meet.  She carves wood with her bare claws, but the results look alive, down to every whorl of fur.  She was, however, born blind, so she’ll never see the beauty she creates.”\n\n\tAs her girlfriend just blinked, Pria added, “Actually, she’s even rarer than you’d think...  No ordinary person could carve oak like that for any length of time without wearing their claws down to nubs.  I sensed it when I came to collect you; she’s also a natural mage, with no training or need for training, and is unconsciously reinforcing her claws with magic as she works.  That sort of person comes along maybe once every four or five generations.”\n\n\tIt was Jerek’s turn to blink, then nod, “I hadn’t realized that... and, quite possibly, neither has she.”  Glancing back to his queen, he suggested, “Our mission has priority, but I really think you should meet Beckah when you have a chance, and see some of her work.  She spends her days on the temple steps, begging to support a different, poor family, while making mere trinkets for merchants and tradesmen.  Those ‘trinkets,’ though, surpass anything I saw in your husband’s palace, artistically.  A bit of royal patronage for the finest carver in the kingdom is only sensible to consider.”\n\n\tSerra nodded firmly, “I’ll make a point of meeting her, for both your reason and Pria’s.  I don’t want to disrupt her life too much, particularly if an entire family is depending on her for support, but standing policy dictates that I at least try to get her to Atheria City.  Natural mages are a matter of great prestige to any nation’s magic-users, given their rarity, and Keesanrel has a better eye for art than his father ever did.  Whether or not she can work with pieces bigger than the ‘trinkets’ you mentioned, he’s bound to want something from her.”  Glancing to Pria, she changed subjects with a hint of a grin, “As for our mission... it’s time for a few more of the late-night adventures we had when we first followed Elaria here.  Let’s catch a nap after lunch, then start learning the local alleys and rooftops.  I’ve asked the count’s chief constable to forward reports to me, about the fliers and graffiti they’ve been cleaning up for the last few weeks, and I intend to analyze them for patterns.  Once we spot one, we can work on identifying our enemy if we can catch them in the act.  Whether we kill them spectacularly, follow them to find their accomplices, or simply make them disappear to get the other side worried... we’ll decide once we’ve got a target.”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded with a half-smirk of her own, “I packed my black clothes and plenty of tea leaves.”\n\n\t“Good,” Serra declared as she lifted an iron rack from the counter to set over the now-burning wood in the hearth.  “Jerek?  There’s a decent chunk of mutton in the bag over there; grab it and start cutting steaks while I see about the bread and veggies.”\n\n\tNodding as he picked up a kitchen knife, the liger mused, “I assume this is one of the times I won’t be escorting you...  My sergeants didn’t bother to teach me any stealth, and at just over forty stone I’d probably break any roof I tried to sneak over.”\n\n\tPria nodded back with a snicker as she started setting out plates and utensils for the meal, “You assume correctly, though don’t go running off to your artistic new girlfriend just yet.  There will be times we’ll need to go out without you, but you’ll still have guard duty while we’re napping today.”\n\n\tThe soldier’s first impulse, of course, was to take offense at the implied relationship between himself and Beckah, but on second thought he simply stuck his (very large) tongue out at the ladies.  As he set about slicing the meat, he shook his head with a faint smile, “I’ve still got that booklet from the Warkin to read while you two sleep, to figure out whether my mindset and Tarragh’s match as well as His priests seem to think.  You just latch the door and window in your room, and I’ll keep the sitting room door open so I can hear the rest of the house while I study.”\n\n\t“Fair enough,” the Agent quipped as she started filling mugs from a small cask of light ale and setting them around the table, then added more seriously, “but, tomorrow and later, once I’ve had a chance to work on things... when you’re playing guard, keep a particular ear out for high-pitched whines.  I’ll be warding the locks and latches about the place, and that sort of whine will indicate someone’s broken something, or that a lock’s innards were touched by a metal other than the brass of a proper key, such as a steel lockpick.”\n\n\tThat, Jerek mused to himself, certainly beat spending an entire day or night pacing through a patrol route.  Even a ‘minor’ mage, he was coming to realize, could make a difference on a mission that was hard to overstate.\n\n* * *\n\n\tThe liger blinked out of his light doze at the faint scrape and click of a key in the lock, whatever dream he’d been having replaced instantly by half-panicked confusion as he stared around the dark room.  It only took a moment before he remembered where he was, and the fading scent of wax suggested that the candle he’d been reading by had gone out at least an hour ago.\n\n\tLight flared around the corner of the doorway as the ladies stepped inside, one holding a crystal whose glow seemed bright in the dark of night, but was probably barely visible in the day.  “I told you, I’m fine,” he heard Serra saying, the frustration in her tone suggesting that it was a repeat of something she’d said several times already.  “Maybe that mutton was a bit off, or some sediment got mixed in with our ale...  By the time we left, the queasiness had already passed, and it didn’t rear its head again on our little adventure.”\n\n\t“Be that as it may, I’m as responsible for your safety as the lump there,” and Pria paused at the entrance to the sitting room to wave to Jerek.  “Even if the food was fine, keep in mind that you’ve had more lovers than usual lately, and there are illnesses that can be passed along that way that don’t always show up immediately, so even if they honestly thought they were healthy they could have been wrong.  I’m afraid I’ll have to insist in this matter.”\n\n\tThe liger just barely caught her eye-roll as Serra moved toward their bedroom, “Alright, alright!  I’ll see a healer tomorrow, but I’ll wager you an hour-long rimjob that they won’t find anything.  Everyone has the occasional off day, even queens.”\n\n\tThe wolf’s snort was muffled by the front door as it clicked shut, “No bet, as I only like that in combination with other things, so it’d be as boring for the winner as it’d be laborious for the loser, on top of an hour being too long to stay clean throughout.  Just make sure you’re healthy, that’s all I ask.”\n\n\tChuckling to himself, but confident that the matter was being handled and he needn’t worry about it, Jerek squirmed a bit deeper into the cushions.  This chair was actually quite comfortable, so he picked up the illustrated guide to the Warkin he’d been reading from where it had fallen in his lap, set it on the table next to him, and went back to sleep.\n\nChapter 4\n\n\t“I’m what?!?”\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek glanced between the two ladies in the sitting room’s smaller chairs, “First, I’ve got to check... is this a joke?”\n\n\tHer girlfriend simply growling in response, Pria shook her head, “No.  Given its repercussions, it’s not the sort of prank either of us would pull, and I’m one of the few mages you’ll ever meet below master-rank who can handle thought-energy well enough to know if someone’s lying.  The healer we went to was a strict agnostic, with a deep-seated aversion to politics, mortal or otherwise, so a religious oath was out of the question.  The ‘other way’ confirmed their honesty well enough, though.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded, “Then how will this affect our mission?  I don’t know the legal issues involved, but my gut tells me this will have something to do with duty... only which duty?”  He glanced to the tigon, “You have a duty to this mission, a duty to the kingdom, and a duty to the king.  Those last two aren’t always as identical as some might first think, and I have no idea which of the three, if any, trumps the others.”\n\n\tSerra grumbled for just a few more seconds, then sighed, “I know how they stack up... and, in the strictest sense of those duties, I should immediately hire or buy a well-suspended carriage and ride home.  That would, though, effectively break at least one solemn oath to more than one Goddess, so I’ve little choice but to compromise on some issues that, by the letter of the law, are set in stone with no room for maneuver.  I’ll send a message to the king, by royal courier for discretion, then retreat to a less active role even as I stay in town.  I must continue to help our mission however I can... but I can’t take any risks that might jeopardize a potential heir to the throne,” and she patted her belly through her blouse with another sigh.\n\n\tJerek made it halfway through a second nod before freezing as a thought struck, then looked up with splayed ears, “Another thing I have no choice but to ask, and please don’t kill me for this... do you know who the father is?”\n\n\tTo his relief, the tigon blinked once then barked a laugh.  “Yes, and it’s Keesanrel.  He was the only feline I was anywhere near around my heat, which I’d thought was over... but, as the healer reminded us, once in a great while a pregnancy can occur when the symptoms of estrus have been gone for one or two days.  I guess I simply came back to my husband’s bed a little too soon, then got either very lucky or the exact opposite, depending on perspective.”\n\n\tHer guard, clearly relieved, completed his nod, “Then I think the matter’s fairly settled...  Our mission continues, while you’ll be its ‘public face’ to officials in safe locations and our mastermind here in the house, collating our gathered information and deciding on the next steps.  Pria can continue the covert side when those officials aren’t quite enough for the information we need, or when someone needs to disappear or die.”\n\n\tThis earned a grudging nod from the queen, while Pria simply quirked a brow at him, “And what will you be doing?”\n\n\tJerek chuckled, “Not much more than I have been, helping with the chores and simply being here to keep the king happy... though, if we need something short of an assassination, like a public beating to discourage a particular type of behavior among those who hear of it, I suppose I could manage that.”\n\n\tSerra thought for another moment, then managed the first smile she’d worn since returning from the healer, if a small one.  “Thank you, Jerek...  I was still in too much shock from the news to think clearly, and my mind had been running in mutually-contradictory circles.  Following the course you propose, we can meet all our myriad duties and the only real loss is that Pria won’t have me to watch her back when sneaking around somewhere.  Even the morning sickness won’t be a problem, so long as I keep something nearby to eat the moment I wake up.”\n\n\tHer wolf smiled warmly, “I don’t mind working alone... but now that the inconvenience of the situation has been settled, we can focus on the real ramification of the news.  You’re going to have a baby!  You and Kees always wanted kids, even if you were planning to let things settle down for a few more years before tying for ‘em.  You’re going to be a mother... and I’ll help.  No foisting your son or daughter off on a nanny, here!  Even if I don’t have a wedding ring, you, Keesanrel, and I are a family, and I intend to remain part of it.”\n\n\tThat tiny smile gradually grew at her lover’s words, and Serra was finally beaming as they finished, tears of joy forming at the corners of her eyes as she gently touched her belly again, “I... I am!  We are!”  Lunging from her seat, she snatched Pria into a hug fierce enough to make her ribs creak, “We’re having a baby!”\n\n* * *\n\n\tLunch had had something of a celebratory feeling, which probably confused the poor courier from the county government who briefly interrupted it; he was only there to drop off the latest reports on graffiti and vandalism, but these strange people kept grinning at him.\n\n\tAs the dishes dried on the rack, the ladies grabbed their cloaks to ward off the day’s slight chill, Serra commanding, “Come along, Jerek.  It’s time to meet someone.”\n\n\tThe liger blinked, then nodded as he straightened his armor, “Yes, ma’am.  Um... who and where, this time?”\n\n\tThis earned him an outright smirk, “Oh, how short men’s memories can be...”  That grin only broadened at his reflexive scowl as she elaborated, “Specialist... barely two hours ago you personally saved the entire mission, by keeping the cool head neither of us could and seeing things clearly as a result.  I can look for patterns in those documents later tonight while Pria’s exploring; for now, and in thanks for your enormous contribution, we’re going to go meet your friend, if she’s there.”  Opening the front door, Serra gestured with the key she was holding, “On to the temple district, comrades!  We’ve got some art to be impressed by and a very interesting young lady to meet.”\n\n\tJerek opened his muzzle to protest; her proposal was rather frivolous compared to their official mission... but now both ladies were smirking, arguments or orders clearly on the tips of their tongues, so he shut his mouth with a snap and simply nodded in surrender, “Yes, ma’am.”\n\n\tHe’d half-hoped Beckah wouldn’t be there today... but it seemed that every female he knew was conspiring against him; he spotted her the moment he rounded the corner, on the steps exactly where he’d met her the day before.  Stifling a sigh, he pointed, “There she is,” and led the ladies in that direction.\n\n\tThe cool breeze coming from the north, hinting at the winter to come, meant they were downwind of the white cat, but she still ‘looked’ up as they neared, “Hmm... Jerek?  Is that you?  I can’t think of anyone else whose footfalls my rump can feel through solid marble...”\n\n\tPausing a few feet away, he replied, “Yes, it’s me... and my immediate superiors.  They’d like to meet you and see your carvings, but I’m guessing that the resulting conversation may include... less than public knowledge.  You have my word as a soldier that our intentions are honorable.  That said, do you have somewhere we could go to talk?”\n\n\tBeckah’s head dipped back in surprise, then her muzzle pursed as she thought...  “The work I’d planned to do today is all little stuff, with no real pressure to finish quickly,” she finally replied.  “You’re making this all sound very mysterious, possibly even somewhat ominous, but... I guess I trust you that much.  We each bared a small piece of our hearts, yesterday, and found them similar.  There’s a workroom in Malia’s temple that’s normally used for figure painting, where I go when I need to feel someone up before sculpting them, that should probably suffice,” and she stood, tucking a half-carved block of wood into a pocket and brushing the shavings from her cloak.  From under that garment, she pulled a small bundle of what looked like dowels with one end tapered and the other drilled, and quickly pieced them together into a long, slim cane.\n\n\tHer friend chuckled, “I’d just been about to offer an arm to guide you... but instead, I must apologize for even thinking you’d need my help.  You have a strong and independent spirit, and I knew this, but my poor brain hadn’t quite caught up with reality on that score.”\n\n\tThe cat’s free hand groped air for a moment before finding his arm and closing as well as it could around half his wrist, “Oh, I don’t mind a little help... but like I said yesterday, I was born this way.  I really can’t understand the pity I hear in some folks’ voices, as I can’t really miss what I never had.  I’m... content with my life.”\n\n\t“That’s something we’ll have to discuss in private,” Pria commented as they started walking toward the Temple of Arts, “as you’ll have the choice and opportunity to change that life rather extremely.  Are you ‘content’ enough to keep going as you are for another thirty or forty years?  Or would you like the chance to be... more?”\n\n\tThat cowl-shaded brow furrowed, “I’m... not sure, but the way you phrase things suggests that even knowing my options would change me in some way.  This, in turn, suggests that if you tell me and I decline, I may live in regret for the rest of my life.”  She thought for another moment, then shrugged, “I guess I’d rather know.  Yes, I find fulfillment when I’m actually working, but some mornings I just lay in bed, wondering if it’s worth going on.”\n\n\tThe wolf’s smile carried through to her voice as she nodded, “Good... you do have a strong spirit.  Not everyone can look into the unknown, with or without working eyes, and not turn away.”\n\n\tOther than asking for her ‘usual room’ from the temple guard, Beckah said nothing more until they reached their goal, and tapped around with her cane to find a chair before sitting to address the group, “Jerek, I already know... and I can tell that his ‘superiors’ are both women, one wolf, and one cat whose breed I can’t quite identify, who’s pregnant.  Mind giving me a few introductions?”\n\n\tChuckling softly, the liger did the honors, “The wolf... is Pria, Agent of Atheria.  Do you know anything about Agents?”\n\n\tEyes wide behind cloth, Beckah nodded, “A little... they’re all mages, and priests, and thieves, and warriors, and nobles, all at the same time.  They out-rank every baron, earl, count, or even duke, and you never want to get one mad at you.”\n\n\tGiggling, Pria nodded, “That’s... accurate enough.  Though, and here’s where the first of today’s near-impossibilities crops up... my girlfriend here outranks even me.”\n\n\tEven as the tigon snickered her agreement, Jerek continued with a nod of his own, “Indeed...  My other companion is Serra, Queen of Atheria, currently carrying a possible heir to the throne.  Please keep her rank to yourself, though, as you’re now one of maybe eight people in this city who know she’s not just another traveler.”\n\n\tBeckah actually winced, visibly fighting not to cringe, “Goddess...  ‘Superiors’ indeed!  Jerek... that trust I mentioned is fading rather quickly, and you’d better have a good explanation ready.  I’m perhaps one step up from the very bottom of society; I have no business associating with royalty!”\n\n\tSerra spoke up for herself, “But you do... if your carvings are as good as he told me.  Do you have anything you can show me?  Jerek’s been to the palace I normally live in, and told me flatly that what you make is better than what he saw there.  Of course I’d be interested!”\n\n\tBeckah’s cowl shifted as her ears perked reflexively at interest in her wares, and she nodded as she felt around her cloak, “Yes... the kid I was making that kitten for hadn’t picked it up yet, and it was one I hadn’t planned to have Crellan paint.”  Holding out the three-inch figurine, a hint of unwonted shyness crept into her voice as she asked, “Will this do, your Majesty?”\n\n\tSerra took a step closer, reaching out for the carving, only to pull her hand back and simply peer closely enough that her breath ruffled white arm-fur, “Goddesses... I half-expect that thing to look at me and meow!  Jerek was right.  I’ve never seen anything that detailed!  That tiny little nose, those ears, that... well, everything!  I can even tell that the original kitten it was modeled after was a girl, and at that size that’s not easy!”\n\n\tThe white cat’s ears tried to splay, and she grumbled a terse curse as she shook her head free of her cowl so they could do so, “I... normally skip those bits on actual people, but the kitten thought it was being petted while I felt its shape, and pressed those parts into my hand by accident, so I figured I might as well include them this time.”\n\n\tSerra had to laugh softly as she straightened up and nodded, “Understandable...  One of the things I’d been meaning to ask was whether you could work in a larger format, something suitable for public display.  Even if you can’t, I’m sure the king and I, and Pria too who’s something of a second spouse to both of us, would like miniatures of each other for when we have to be apart.”\n\n\tBecka considered as she tucked the wooden cat away, then shrugged, “I think I could do a life-sized statue... but it would take a long time.  I normally work in figurines no more than a foot and a half tall, or the occasional half-scale bust, and it takes the better part of a month to do either of those right.”\n\n\tPria chimed in, “And that’s the first of the things I said could change your life...  If you agree to carve a few things for us, you’ll have to leave the home you’ve known at least once, to travel to Atheria City and feel the king, probably naked for the miniatures his wives will carry.  When and if you return, you’d also be significantly wealthier than you’ve ever been, as your skill is worth a great deal of gold.”\n\n\tThe cat nodded slowly at her words, then paused, worry creeping into her voice again as she asked, “What do you mean, if I return?”\n\n\tSighing softly, Pria explained, “I think I can wipe your memory if this turns out to be too shocking, too much of a change... but, Beckah, you’re also a mage.  The entire world is lucky if it gets one person like you in a century.  Without even realizing it, you’ve been projecting a field of motion-magic through your claws, keeping them from being worn down, and probably carving finer lines than their own sharpness could ever hope for.  I can’t prove this to you without imposing magical perceptions on you, which would be a permanent change, but... tell me, have you ever used your claws in self-defense?”\n\n\tLooking a bit stunned again, the cat started to shake her head, then paused, “Just once...  It was shortly after I started growing curves, and I couldn’t know how ‘dark,’ whatever that means, the alley a supposed ‘customer’ was leading me through really was, but I knew something was wrong when they started trying to pull open my cloak.  That was... kind of weird, really; afterwards the guards kept asking me where I hid my knives, but I don’t have any!”\n\n\t“Then there’s the evidence,” Pria chuckled.  “Once again completely unconsciously, you channeled raw magic through your claws, and probably did a great deal more damage than you realize.  If your attacker survived, they should consider themselves lucky to end up in gaol rather than a graveyard.”  Straightening and donning a more serious tone, she continued, “Here’s where you have choices to make, two of them.  The first is whether you’d like to become an active, rather than natural, mage.  I can awaken your mage-sight, which will let you see these energies and manipulate them.  You would be able to get around without your cane, as it doesn’t take eyes to perceive the earth-energies of your environment or the brighter glow of living people, and you would never be defenseless again, but you’d also attract a lot of attention.  Natural mages are so rare that they bring prestige to whichever country they live in, and I’d have to suggest that you stay in Atheria City for your own safety.  Since this county belonged to Vivenge when you were born, they’d probably stage a small border raid to kidnap you, once the word got out, and claim you as ‘theirs.’”\n\n\tHis deep frown almost identical to the artist’s, Jerek rumbled dangerously, “Not while I’m here, they won’t...  If she decides to stay, and once our mission is complete, I think I’d prefer to request reassignment to the Southwall guard, where I can make sure anyone attempting to relocate her against her will regrets it.”\n\n\tBeckah quirked an odd little smile in the liger’s direction, then turned back toward the wolf, “Well, that’s not pleasant news, but at least there are still options.  Now, what’s the second thing I need to make a decision about?”\n\n\t“That one’s a lot simpler,” Pria shrugged, then continued in a gentle voice, “and it’s a straightforward offer...  I can, for this short time, loan you my eyes, and let you see for the first time in your life.  I cannot heal your eyes, as there’s technically nothing wrong with them and I’m not a healer anyway... but you could look out through mine, if you wish.”\n\n\tJust as softly, Jerek added, “Remember the Maliites’ speculations?  If it is, indeed, your very lack of sight that has let you remember contours and textures so accurately... this stands a chance of ruining, or at least damaging, your artistic gift forever.”\n\n\tA tear escaped the blindfold and trickled down one white cheek as Beckah sat there, her mind struggling to cope with two offers she’d never thought possible...  Her three guests simply waited patiently, offering no pressure one way or the other, and she finally reached up to brush her cheek, “I... I didn’t mention all of those speculations, and one recent addition to them was that growing up like this, using my mind and senses in this way, established patterns that could not easily be broken.  That ‘clutter’ I was talking about yesterday; I don’t have years of it built up, so just a little probably wouldn’t ruin everything else.”  She frowned faintly, “Mage-sight... would be almost as good as real sight, as I understand it.  In the long term, that could impact the way I remember things... but carving is simply what I do.  I find it hard to believe that anything will ever keep me from making art, even if I have to focus harder to separate tactile from... ‘visual’ memories.  Yes...”  She faced Pria directly, her spine straightening, “Let’s try your eyes for a moment, first.  If it’s not so overwhelming an experience that I feel my very sanity’s at risk, I think I just might be willing to learn to be a mage, too.”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded as she stepped closer, “I’ll need to touch your head, as this is effectively a work of thought-magic.  I’ll be linking the parts of my brain that deal with sight... to yours.  The first thing you see, therefor, will be yourself, from my perspective.  Are you ready?”\n\n\tBeckah could smell the paw hovering in front of her face, but didn’t say a word.  Instead, visibly steeling herself, she ducked slightly and thrust her forehead into that palm.  Pria’s eyes closed for a moment as she concentrated, crafting the links carefully and double-checking every one, before opening her eyes and releasing her constraints upon the magic even as she pulled her hand back.\n\n\t“Oh... my... Goddess!” the cat gulped air as her benefactor held her gaze steady.  “So that’s what... color is?”  Her voice was unsteady, her body trembling in reaction, but all she could ask was, “More, please?  Let me see another person?”\n\n\tPria took a step back so all three felines were in her view, and had to chuckle at the white one’s gasp.  Taking a guess at its cause, she asked, “Big, isn’t he?”\n\n\tLeaving her cane leaning against her chair, Beckah was a little awkward as she navigated for the first time from someone else’s perceptions, but there was very little hesitation as she stood up and moved toward Jerek.  One hand reached out almost tentatively, a smile spreading on her face as she touched the leather over his chest to confirm that what she was seeing (and what a concept that was!) was real.  Reaching up with both hands, then, she gripped the straps that supported his rank pips, and climbed up, legs around his waist as she planted a kiss full on his muzzle.  Ignoring his stunned blink, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned back to purr, “I just met you, and this is crazy... but for your understanding yesterday, and your gifts today... I think I love you.”\n\n\tJerek stiffened and blinked twice more, then relaxed enough to smile and carefully wrap one arm around her shoulders for a gentle hug, “There are many kinds of love... and I would very much like to share the love of friends with you.  As for gifts... what else was I to do?  This gift is really Pria’s, as I had no idea it was even possible, but I had to introduce you to her and the queen after seeing your art.  I couldn’t see something like that wolf you were sculpting and not mention it...  Blame fate, not my own merit, for how things worked out.”\n\n\tThe cat nodded with a quiet giggle as she climbed down again, “Friends... yes, at a minimum, but I’ve got the nagging suspicion that some part of me would very much like to be more than that...”  Turning toward her more active benefactor, she watched her own face draw nearer as she stepped over and planted a somewhat more chaste kiss on the wolf’s cheek, “And thank you, too...  No one who was born with sight can truly understand what I’m feeling right this moment, and it was worth every risk you mentioned.”\n\n\tPria couldn’t help but laugh softly, “You’re welcome... but good luck getting to be ‘more than friends’ with our huge lump there.  Serra and I have both offered, with nothing but a few bitter arguments to show for it.  He even slept alone at two different Roxanite enclaves on the trip here, which takes some serious stubbornness to pull off.”\n\n\tLeaning to the side so she could see the flustered liger’s face over her own shoulder, Beckah shrugged, “He’s a soldier, not a gigolo.  I know his heart’s in the right place, and if the feeling is ever right, he’ll express it.”  Her lips twitched in a tiny smile of triumph where he couldn’t see them, as Pria’s loaned gaze spotted the slight softening of his stiff features, but she changed the subject before he could get suspicious, “Now... how does ‘mage-sight’ differ from this temporary loan?”\n\n\tThe mage considered her words for a moment before answering, “It’s actually very, very different.  You will see the same shapes, but the colors will be those of energy-types, which you’ll eventually learn to tell apart.  Also, mage-sight is not blocked by other objects, nor does it really use the mage’s physical eyes to see, so it works with one’s eyes closed, for things that are directly behind you, and the like.  You will simply be aware of everything around you, though you’ll need to learn to suppress the sense when anyone’s working active magic nearby, as there’s an enormous difference between ambient energy and a spell.  You could get hurt if you’re open enough to see the faint earth-energy patterns in a rock, when someone starts using enough power to melt that rock.  Light and dark are effectively meaningless to those perceptions...  You seemed confused by the concept of darkness, so to explain it’s the absence of the light that lets us see.  Each time I’ve had to blink to keep my eyes from drying out, you got a flash of darkness, and if it weren’t for the light of the sun streaming in through that window, this whole room would be black to us, leaving us as blind as you were born.  Also, the difference between a living body and dead fibers or hide mean that you’ll see almost everyone as effectively naked, and you’d have to concentrate to make out their clothes, but the benefit to that is that no one can conceal a weapon from you.”\n\n\tBeckah blushed faintly, but nodded, “I... think I can live with that, assuming that the lack of this ‘darkness’ doesn’t keep me from being able to sleep.  In any case, after even this brief an experience, I don’t think I could stand going back to sound, scent, and touch as my only contact with the world.  Please... do what you can.”\n\n\tNodding back with a wide smile, the wolf warned her, “I need to touch other parts of your mind to do this, so you’ll lose my vision for a moment, but when I’m done you’ll never be blind again.”\n\n\tThe last view from Pria’s eyes was of her hand rising, and Beckah once more eagerly pressed her headfur into it.\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek would never forget the looks on the Maliites’ faces when their local ‘blind girl’ walked right up the middle of the chapel with her cane’s pieces in her hand, set them on the exact center of the altar, and knelt to pray in thanksgiving.  She still wore her blindfold, but moved with a visible confidence and grace, knowing the precise location of every possible obstacle in her path.  Pria and Serra were both busy, cornering those who were muttering about miracles and explaining that it was magic, instead, and all four of them were trying to keep from laughing as they finally stepped back out onto the street.\n\n\t“I’d like you to follow us home so you know where we’re staying,” Pria suggested once they were under the cloudy sky again.  “Whether you opt for formal magic lessons or not is up to you, but I should at least teach you the basics of energy projection while I’m still in town.  You’ve done well enough using limited magics instinctively, for art and defense, but now that your magic is really ‘awake’ you should get it under conscious control, to prevent any number of fairly nasty accidents that can happen.”\n\n\tBeckah considered that for a moment, then nodded, “I never dreamed I’d be any sort of wizard, but you’ve got a good point about accidents.  I’ll walk with you for now, but I won’t stay; I need to tell my usual escorts the news, how I won’t be needing their eyes every morning and evening, as well as some other friends of mine, like Crellan and his family.  I also have two carvings to deliver, and another to work on before bed...  What does your schedule for tomorrow look like?”\n\n\t“I’ll be exploring the city in the dark again tonight,” she shrugged, “so I’ll be sleeping fairly late as a result...  Why don’t you stop by our place for lunch?  That’ll be my breakfast, to be honest, but the wards I set up at the house will be helpful examples when I start explaining just how spells ‘look.’”\n\n\tIt gave Beckah a special little thrill as the other two cats nodded their agreement and she noticed for once.  “That,” she mused as normally as she could, “sounds like a good plan.”\n\nChapter 5\n\n\tHis Agent sleeping and his queen sorting through papers, Jerek had begged the restday morning off, and it was with an odd blend of anticipation and dread that he climbed the steps of the temple.  Nothing he’d found in the Warkin primer had conflicted with his own sense of honor or justice, but becoming an active adherent of a religion, any religion, was nearly as profound a shift in his life as the one Beckah had experienced the day before.  His mind probably wasn’t the only one thinking of the blind cat, though, as the guards flanking the doors, wide open this time, beat his hand to their salutes, a new respect visible in their eyes.\n\n\tThe chapel was filled to roughly half capacity, mostly men with two or three women mixed in, and even the ladies were at least as well armed and armored as he was himself.  The male adherents were almost all in chain, plate, or both, and the pews had gaps between the seats and backs, through which several bastard or great swords across various backs could poke comfortably.  Picking a pew with only two other men on it near the back of the room, Jerek adjusted the swords at his hips to slip through that gap too, and took a seat.\n\n\tHe’d timed the walk just about perfectly...  Less than five minutes passed before the murmurs of conversation faded with the entrance of the high priest in full armor, and Sir Melian cleared his throat as he stood behind the pulpit, “Welcome, warriors all...  Let us meditate, pray, and celebrate this day of rest that our spirits and bodies shall be strong for life’s next trial, for His Glory.”\n\n\t“For His Glory...” the crowd echoed in unison as their heads dipped prayerfully.\n\n* * *\n\n\tAs the closing prayer ended, Jerek managed to join the chant that time, though he stayed seated for another minute to let the rest of the congregation get to their feet and file out without his bulk in the way.  Just as he moved to stand, though, Sir Goral caught his eye and motioned for him to pause.\n\n\tAfter one more moment for the crowd to clear just that much more, the lion stepped closer and asked, “So... have you made up your mind?”\n\n\tThe bigger man nodded firmly, “I have.  Tarragh is really the only God I could ever call my own, as there was almost nothing in the primer I could take even the mildest exception to.  If it clearly and accurately conveyed His mindset and ideals, I will be very comfortable among His followers.”\n\n\tGoral started to nod, then paused...  “Mild exception?” he asked.  “‘Almost nothing’ and ‘nothing’ can be quite different...  While you are your own person, and not even a God would demand complete agreement with Him, I’ll have to ask for clarification before He or I can accept your oath...”\n\n\tChuckling, Jerek gave his head a small shake, “I said mild, and I meant it.  My current immediate superiors on my mission are both women, and very strong and competent in their specialties, so I was a little put off by every pronoun in the primer being masculine.  That might be interpreted as a bias on His part... were it not for the countervailing example of the ladies who were at this very service.  I understand that, strictly physically, the average man makes a better warrior than the average woman, but it was a comfort to see that He, and His clergy, recognize that there are exceptions to every general rule.  As case in point... the Agent of Atheria I report to asked me to remind you that her sister, Dame Elaria, has met Tarragh in person and gained His approval.”\n\n\t“But He almost never manifests... wait, did you say Dame Elaria?”  At the liger’s chuckling nod, Goral’s eyes widened, “Every Warkin in the world has probably heard of that fight by now...  It was only with practice weapons, but one young woman beat sixty-seven warriors at once.  That Agent’s sister... woman or not, we acknowledge her as being flatly the greatest warrior in the world.  In a battle in Atheria City, she killed forty-one men in full plate armor, while she was in light leather and never took a scratch.  She’s a fucking blade dancer, for Tarragh’s sake!  I can only envy you, to serve under the command of anyone related to someone like that.”\n\n\tJerek nodded solemnly, “It is my honor to serve her, as she’s a worthy commander regardless of who she’s related to...  It is my hope, though, that you understand why even a hint that women might somehow be automatically inferior to men was a concept I found distasteful.”\n\n\tTo his relief, the lion smiled, “Indeed I can, now that I know the details that led to your momentary distaste.  The God of War does not have a bias against women... though, to the church’s communal shame, some of our members do.  Aside from that minor failing, which is theirs alone, they tend to be good and honorable warriors in other respects, so we phrased the introductory material to keep from scaring off that type.  Are you ready to offer Tarragh your oath, now?”\n\n\tNodding as he recalled the suggested phrasings from the primer, Jerek bowed his head and murmured, “God of War, Justice, and Honor... I pledge my life to the principles You embody, my arm to the justice You love, and my soul to the honor You demand, so help me Tarragh.”\n\n\tThe ring of steel on steel sounded in the back of his mind, punctuated by the massed warcry of an army, and his eyes scrunched shut around tears as he realized he’d been heard... and accepted.\n\n\tSir Goral’s voice was oddly gentle as he recalled his own, long-ago moment of wonder when he’d spoken a similar oath, and he said quietly and simply, “Welcome, brother.  Here you will always find those you may call kin, and blades to fight at your side so long as your cause is just.  Let’s go get you a pendant.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tClosing the door behind him and setting the key on the stand next to it, Jerek took a moment to listen, then padded toward the kitchen where three female voices were in conversation.  “Am I late?” he asked as he stepped in and settled onto a heavily-built stool.  A glance around was answer enough, and he shook his head, “Never mind...  I’m not late, Beckah’s early, if you’re only just starting to make lunch.”\n\n\tPria chuckled from where she was slicing a steak into strips, “You’re right on time, and congratulations on your new religion...  The bunghole in our new cider cask is more stuck than I can deal with, though; could you get the plug out and a spigot in?”\n\n\tNodding as he stood again, the liger moved to the counter with a chuckle, “I’ve yet to find the cask that can keep me out...”\n\n\t“Your size and strength as a topic, even peripherally, and nary a grumble!” Serra teased in mock-disbelief from where she also worked on food.  “Will wonders never cease?  Having a God to call your own must be mellowing you out...”\n\n\tJerek tilted his head as he dug his claws deep into the bung plug and started subtly twisting, “Hmm... you might be more correct than your tone suggests you think.  There was a lot in that novice primer about honesty, both with others and with one’s self, and it would be rather silly to deny that I have the body you can see right in front of you.  Ah, there!”  The plug, slightly worse off for its encounter with those claws, finally gave up its grip, and the carbonated cider started bubbling out of the hole.  He quickly shoved a spigot into place, giving it a twist on the way in to seat it firmly, and set the cask back onto the rack on the counter.  A couple moments with a rag sufficed to clean what had spilled, and he returned to his stool to await either lunch or another request.\n\n\tBeckah’s brow furled slightly as she concentrated, obviously putting the morning’s lessons to use, and she brightened as she sorted out the energies of leather from those of metal, “Ah!  You joined Tarragh’s bunch, I... see,” and she had to grin at that last word.\n\n\tThe liger couldn’t help but smile back, “Yes, I’m a novice in the Warkin, now.  The next morning I can get away from my other duties, they’d like me to stop by the yard behind the temple to spar...  That should be interesting, as the folks there are a lot bigger and stronger than the rest of my training platoon, so I won’t have to hold back nearly as much.  Quite the opposite; with their collective experience, I’d better look to my defense!”\n\n\t“Speaking of that sort of thing,” Serra mused as she put the sliced meat and some bell peppers into a frying pan and started sprinkling on spices, “I think I’ll have a mission for you by tomorrow night.  I’ve got a good guess of where the next vandal will be painting ‘Occupied, Not Conquered’ on a wall, one of the lingering loyalists to Vivenge.  Pria will be looking for them tonight, and once we have a description or possibly name, I’ll want you to go have a... ‘discussion’ with them, one that I strongly urge you to punctuate with at least one broken bone.  Atheria conquered this territory fair and square, at the cost of a couple thousand of your fellow soldiers’ lives, and we do not need cowards stirring up trouble from the shadows.  If they want to try to take the county back, they should bring an army like a normal person.”\n\n\tWhile the other three people nodded grimly, Beckah thought for a moment... then asked Pria, “Could I help, possibly?  Night or day, it doesn’t make a difference to me, and I should be able to spot a can or bucket of paint under someone’s cloak...”\n\n\tThe wolf blinked, then pondered as well, finally nodding, “I’m considered better than most mages, at what I can perceive arcanely, but despite your inexperience you’ve got a big advantage over me.  This is your only form of sight, so you’re always paying attention to it.  Within a week, two at the most, I fully expect the student to surpass the teacher, on this one point.  Your aid would be welcome.”\n\n\t“This will be... interesting,” the cat nodded back.  She glanced to the side, “I saw that frown, Jerek...  I’ll be safe enough, so long as my partner here can verify I’m not ‘hiding’ in the light from a window.  If someone does come after me, I strongly doubt they’d be able to see as well as I can in the dark.  I’ll lead them on a merry chase, but almost certainly not a long one.”\n\n\tJerek nodded, a wry twist to his muzzle, “I realize that, now that I’ve had two seconds to consider the matter.  The frown was just a holdover from memories of the almost defenseless, blind girl I first met.  My brain may not be the fastest in the world, but it does reach the finish line eventually.  I’m sure it will catch up someday.”\n\n\tBeckah merely shook her head with a quiet laugh, “I don’t think so...  The day your first reaction to someone smaller and weaker than you being at risk isn’t protectiveness... will be the day you’re buried in a double-sized grave.  You have your own pain, your own problems, and you’re working your way past them... but some things you should never even try to change.”\n\n\tThe liger’s ears splayed, just a bit red at the tips, but he was saved from having to come up with a reply as a plate of stir-fried beef and peppers was slid onto the counter beside him.  “Lunch!” Serra announced with a grin, then climbed onto another stool to dig into her own serving.\n\n\tThe scents rising with the steam distracted the whole group from conversation for several minutes, aside from a comment from Beckah that she could tell just which bites would burn her mouth by the subtleties of their glow.  Once the meal had been reduced to a few scraps to be nibbled and mugs of cider to sip, the cat spoke up again, “Jerek?  I’ve been asked to extend an invitation to you... and I’ve already cleared it with your bosses here.  That family I help would like you to stop by for dinner.  They want to thank you for helping someone who’s helped them so much, and Crellan makes his own pigments from fairly inexpensive ingredients, so there was a lot left from that gold half-monarch you gave me.  They’ve stocked up on enough food, better fare than they usually enjoy, to feed you and any of these ladies who might be able to tag along, and you might enjoy seeing the real ‘finished product’ of my carvings.  I’ve heard grown men burst into tears, seeing one of those figurines in living color, and I just might have to beg the use of Pria’s eyes again someday to see them for myself.”\n\n\tThe wolf in question swallowed a nibble of beef and grinned, “When I have the chance, I’ll build a pair of devices that will let you borrow the eyes of anyone when you’re both wearing them.  It’ll be at least a few days, but I’m a decent enough enchantress for that much.”\n\n\t“I suppose I could meet them,” Jerek agreed, “but I hope you gave them fair warning... and not just because of how much I eat.  Remember what I said about how I scare children.  That... hurts, and I’d rather not volunteer to experience it again.”\n\n\tBeckah leaned over to lay a hand on his arm with a reassuring smile, “Don’t worry...  I described you well enough, and little Crellan’s actually looking forward to meeting my ‘gentle giant.’”\n\n\tSerra finished her drink and nodded, “Good... because I’m coming along.  I want to meet this young painter too.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tThe queen came to regret her decision, just a little, as Beckah led them through the twisting, narrow gaps between the hovels just outside of the town’s north gate.  She’d been in worse spots, once or twice, but those had been years ago, and she’d managed to do a good job of forgetting the smell.  The trip also brought to light a meaningful detail in the context of her mission: there was no sign of graffiti or propaganda in the slums.  That put the whole situation into the category of a targeted, deliberate disruption, not a generalized popular insurrection.  The small house the cat led them to, at least, looked to be in marginally better repair than most.  Other than the smoke from tallow-dip candles scattered around and the occasional pungent whiff of the odd things Crellan made his pigments from, though, the interior was remarkably clean and tidy.\n\n\t“Jerek, Serra, I’d like you to meet Ferria, her husband Reldek, and little Crellan,” Beckah half-purred while her bigger guest was still working on squeezing through the crude door without knocking down the entire rickety structure.\n\n\t“We cleared a space for you right by the door there,” a voice remarked, and Jerek could only blink and nod as his head cleared the doorway and he could see the small family... of bats.  Like most fliers, they were shorter than average, and the ceiling of their house was built to match.  To his immediate right, though, a large pillow had been tucked into a corner for a backrest, the rest of the wooden floor bare, and the liger moved carefully to fold himself up against it.\n\n\tHe’d barely gotten settled when the smallest figure drew near, perhaps one year either way of ten to guess.  Crellan’s dark eyes were very large as he stopped a few feet away and asked, “Are you real, Mister?”  His voice was awed, but not, thankfully, fearful.\n\n\tJerek nodded solemnly, “I was the last time I checked...  My father was a lion, and my mother a tigress, and the children of that pairing are always very, very large when they grow up.  Now, this might seem strange, but it doesn’t work the other way around.”  He tilted an ear toward the other feline, “Serra, there, had a tiger for a dad and a lioness for a mom, and she’s normal-sized.  You’d have to ask a good healer to explain why, though, as I didn’t understand the answers to my own questions about it, at least not well enough to hold any confidence of accuracy if I tried to repeat them.”\n\n\tThe queen quirked a brow, then nodded, “I’m glad I came, if only to provide such a convenient example.  I’d only just thought about it, but one doesn’t see a liger and a tigon close enough to point out the differences very often, now does one?”\n\n\tFerria spoke up from the corner of the room with cabinets and a rough counter, where she was putting the finishing touches on two regular-sized clay dinner plates’ contents, and what looked like a small serving platter that had seen better days before being pressed into service as tableware, “You’re both welcome here, if only for the joy and wonder you’ve brought our family’s greatest benefactress, though I must also thank you for your educational example.  We don’t have many exotic breeds in the neighborhood, and it will help if he’s familiar with such if Crellan decides to take up the family business.”\n\n\tHer husband chuckled from where he lounged in the home’s most comfortable chair, “I can see the question on both of your faces... and, to answer, my wife and I are couriers.  Most of those jobs are done by men on horses, but we handle the occasional rush job, as we can fly faster than any four-hoofed beast can run.  Not for as far on the long haul, of course, and we’re limited too in how much we can carry...  The official limits told to prospective customers by the office are five pounds and two hundred miles, but we’ll make the delivery within three hours.  Not many people are in that big a hurry, but it tends to be worth the premium fee to those who need it.”\n\n\tTigon and liger exchanged a glance, and the former nodded, “That’s certainly an interesting-sounding career...  Tell me, though; how often does your business take you into Vivenge, and has it been getting noticeably better in the last month or two?”\n\n\tThe bats each blinked a few times, then Reldek nodded, “Sometimes, and a little...  We’ve gotten just two more, fairly regular clients in that time, usually evening deliveries of sealed parchment, often with an overnight stay and a reply to take back on the way.  Neither my wife nor I like that extra delay in returning home, but they’re paying just as much for the return delivery, and in those cases the courier office isn’t involved so they don’t take a cut.  Even before your big friend gave us a little gold to play with, life here had been getting steadily better of late.”\n\n\tSerra nodded back, a faint frown on her muzzle as she considered, then looked up again, “I’d like you to keep me informed, in summary, of any other jobs you receive that take you into Vivenge.  I don’t expect you to compromise the security of what you’re actually carrying, but if my suspicions are correct, you are about to see another increase in your work... and the people paying for it don’t have Atheria’s best interests at heart.  A description of who, locally, is hiring your services, and just where in Vivenge they want you to go, will suffice.”\n\n\tFerria frowned as she lifted two plates and padded over to serve her guests first, “Even that much could be considered a violation of our confidentiality agreements... unless you have some sort of official authority in the matter.  Beckah,” and she smiled as she handed one of those plates to the white cat, “didn’t say anything about official ranks... but did describe you as one of this big soldier’s bosses, which is the only reason your suggestion isn’t immediately being given a flat ‘no.’”\n\n\tThe tigon smiled as she reached to accept her own meal as it was offered, “Thank you, and this smells lovely...  I do, actually, have the authority to override the usual practices of private courier services, but I have to be careful about how I go about using it.  This county was part of Vivenge for most of your lives, and at this level of society very little has changed.  What does it matter, in the slums, just who the count is?  Thus, I must ask... how much do you know about Atheria, its government, and its royal family?”\n\n\tIt was Reldek’s turn to answer again, as Ferria needed to serve Jerek’s platter then work on filling mugs, “Not much... and you’re right about how little has changed in this neighborhood.  Let’s see... the old emperor and our new king share the label ‘big cats,’ though their species differed.  The Atherian king also took a queen, fairly early in his reign, who happens to share your given name, and she was described by one traveling minstrel I met as a lioness, but with dark... brown... stripes.”  His gaze had focused on Serra’s stripes as he spoke, along her neck where it peeked out of her lowered cowl, and his dark eyes were huge by the time his words trailed off.\n\n\t“I’ve got my signet on me if you want proof,” the tigon confirmed as gently as she could, “and I’m not asking for you to volunteer... nor to put yourself or your family at risk.  This wouldn’t be the safest neighborhood if it became known that you had a lot of money, so in a padded bag under my cloak I’ve got one gold florin worth of nothing but copper.  You’ll be spending the same pennies that the courier office tends to leave you with, but they won’t run out any time soon.”\n\n\tThe only sounds, for one long moment, were the ragged breathing of three stunned bats and a faint giggle from Beckah.  Just for something to do other than be stared at, Serra tore a piece of flatbread in half and used it to scoop up a bite of stew, a smile brightening her muzzle as it proved to be as tasty as it smelled.\n\n\tJerek took that as a signal to try a bite from his own, larger serving, and nodded to himself, “This is quite nice...  I can tell that there’s more than one grain in the bread, which lends an interesting texture, and the peas and garlic are obvious enough... but what’s this meat?  It’s good, but I’ve never tasted anything quite like it.”\n\n\tBlinking her way out of her shock, Ferria started filling another mug from a small keg as she answered, “Squirrel.  Well, lots of squirrels, as they’re rather small individually.  At this time of year, they’re very well fed on ripe nuts, and I’ve found that you can actually taste a hint of them in the meat.  It lends a nice touch, so I tend to use it when it’s ‘in season’ and our local trapper’s had some luck.”\n\n\tCrellan waited for his mother to step out of the kitchen-corner and serve drinks, then nipped in to start loading plates for himself and his father.  “I always knew Mom was a good cook,” he giggled, “but I guess this is s’posed to be a secret, so I can’t tell my friends her stuff’s good enough for a queen!”\n\n\tThe scents rising from the plate his son was holding under his nose helped Reldek finally find his voice, and he nodded as he took it, “Yes, well, ahem.  You’re quite right that we shouldn’t tell anyone else just who our visitor was, son,” then he looked to the cat in question, “and you’re right about your degree of authority.  I’ll start taking notes about any assignment that has me crossing the new border, though it would probably be best if Beckah carried them for me.  It’s rather strongly implied that my great new customers could also be known as ‘the enemy,’ so I shouldn’t step past my known habits and associates if I want to avoid attracting some less-than-welcome attention.  Your attention, in the form of that bag you mentioned, is not unwelcome in the slightest, and I thank you for your foresight in not bringing actual gold.  So long as my family’s not put at undue risk, I’d be happy to serve Atheria in this regard.”\n\n\tSerra swallowed a sip from her mug, which had turned out to be a rather light, sweet dark beer, and nodded, “From what I’ve been told of your son’s artistic ability, it would be an unconscionable loss to the kingdom if a slip on my part were to impact his life or livelihood in that sort of way.  There are unfriendly forces at work here, but we’re still working on identifying them and figuring out just what they’re trying to accomplish.  If and when we manage that, though, I was already planning to hire Beckah to do a few carvings of the royal family, and it would be nice if Crellan could paint them, too, though I don’t yet know how that would work out in terms of travel or shipping.  Those details can wait a few weeks, though.”\n\n\tThe smallest bat looked up from his meal, “Did’ya wanna see my stuff?  Mom kept my very first one, where I was still figuring out how to mix the colors, and practicing with sharper and sharper brush-points.  That moose guy’s half a mess, but by the time I reached the other end I was pretty good.”\n\n\tJerek rumbled a soft laugh as he nodded, “That was the biggest reason we visited!  Recruiting your folks as spies and enjoying this delicious meal were purely secondary; we’re here for you and those brushes and colors of yours.”\n\n\t“After dinner!” Ferria interrupted firmly as he started to jump up.  At his disappointed nod, she smiled to her guests, “Regarding future artwork... we’ll just have to see about that, as you said.  Occasionally, two courier jobs come in at once and we’re both gone, so Crellan’s reasonably used to living without us if he needs to, and he’s also been exercising for the possibility of letting us carry three parcels at once.  There will be plenty of options to decide between, when the time comes.”\n\n\tBeckah nodded, mostly to herself, and picked up her last piece of flatbread to start chasing bits of squirrel around the plate with, “Good...  It sounds like everything will work out, or at least everything we have control over.  There’s still the minor issue of sedition and vandalism, of course, and enemy action can’t be predicted with any certainty, but that’s why so many high-ranking Atherians are keeping a low profile in town.  Whatever the solution turns out to be, I’m sure you’ll find it, and then we can focus on things that actually matter, like figurines, pigments, and travel plans.”\n\nChapter 6\n\n\tThe bronze casting of crossed swords over a shield, gleaming from the end of Jerek’s copper-chain necklace, sufficed for unquestioned entry to the practice yard behind the temple to Tarragh.  There were several fights in progress on the packed dirt, and perhaps three times as many watchers than combatants, but the liger’s first goal was the small armory just within the gates.  “I’ll need something akin to these,” he told the guard there as he drew both his swords with thumbs and forefingers, letting them dangle non-threateningly.\n\n\tThe stocky otter nodded, “Those look army-issue... just like the rest of your gear, ‘cept for those bracers.  Never seen anything quite the like.  Here, lemme find something the same length as your steel.”\n\n\tJerek shrugged as he surrendered his blades, “I haven’t really used the bracers yet, but they’re something a training sergeant came up with for fistfights.  The leather should keep me from splitting my knuckles even if someone dodges and I punch a wall instead, and with the studs leading even a wall wouldn’t escape undamaged.  A man’s face... would never be the same again.  I won’t be using them here, I’m pretty sure.”\n\n\t“Yeah,” the acolyte agreed as he fetched a pair of wooden practice blades, “though if you want to spar hand to hand, there are a few Maliites who might be willin’.  The only unarmed stuff we do here tends to be more along the lines of wrestlin’.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded as he accepted the oaken shafts and checked their weight... good, just a bit heavier than his swords, so they were probably sturdy enough to stand up to his strength with only a little restraint.  “Thanks for the sticks,” he mused, “but I’ve only got time for a few matches with them and I need the practice.  I’ll save the new learning for when I’m not on assignment.”  Slipping the practice swords into his belt next to the empty scabbards, he padded the rest of the way to join the observers at the edge of the yard.  “I’ll need a partner or two,” he rumbled in greeting.  “Someone who can take a hit, if I get lucky... but despite my obvious strength, I really can’t claim much experience or finesse.”\n\n\tSir Goral was there in full plate, his helm’s visor up, and he immediately lifted a gauntlet, “I would be honored to spar with you.”\n\n\t“As would I,” another voice said from behind a helm, and Jerek started in surprise.  That voice was female, even if her armor’s breastplate hadn’t bothered to include obvious breasts.\n\n\tThe senior priest had to chuckle at his newest novice’s obvious surprise, “This, Specialist Jerek, is Dame Keria, the only priestess of Tarragh in the county.  I’m sure you shared the common conception that ladies seeking knighthood would choose Malia for mere comfort... but Keria has always had an irresistible love of a good challenge.  Carving a place for herself in as male-dominated a field as this one was her only real option, and she’s succeeded, nay, triumphed, despite the obvious odds against her.  I doubt you will ever find a physically stronger woman, and anyone who holds back for fear of hurting her invites defeat.  Always.”\n\n\tJerek was smiling as he nodded to the armored figure, “I can well imagine... though, I will be holding back.  The one time I didn’t, you could have served a decent bowl of soup in the dent I left in a good steel helm, and I’m here because I know I’m not very good yet, not to kill off my brothers and sisters in my new religion.”\n\n\tGoral nodded, turned, and pointed, “Indeed...  Faldon, go fetch a healer, just in case.  There’s a chance we’ll need a bone or two set... but, for now, as I am marginally senior to Dame Keria, I claim the right of the first match.”\n\n\tThe novice he’d gestured to snapped a quick salute, then took off at a jog with a jingle of chainmail.\n\n\tTwo of the three pairs already sparring in the yard proper decided to join the onlookers, certain that someone the liger’s size would be fun to watch.  Even as the huge cat walked to the corner farthest from those still trying to dent each others’ armor with wooden swords, the only slightly smaller lion picked up a pot-metal bastard sword from where it was leaning against a granite bench, holding it easily one-handed as he moved to join his opponent.  “Since you’re here to learn,” the priest mused, “let’s not bother with any sort of formal scoring.  We shall continue until one of us is hurt too badly to continue, or until a clear differential in skill makes going on obviously pointless.”\n\n\tJerek considered that, then nodded, “Alright... though, if there’s time enough to choose when you defeat me, try to break an arm rather than a leg.  I have orders tonight that require me to be mobile.”  His foe paused, brows high, so he elaborated, “In one sense, my job will be akin to that of a crime boss’ enforcer... but it’s at the direct, personal order of our queen.  Please don’t spread the word that she’s here in town, but she’s decided, personally, to do something about the unrest and rumors someone is stirring up.  An Agent has been working to identify one of the cowards who are causing trouble, as per the historical document I dropped off a couple days ago, and my task will be to... discourage that sort of thing.  Physically.”\n\n\t“That makes sense,” Goral agreed as he took a few more steps then lifted his sword to a guard position.  “It’s something that Tarragh doesn’t wholly approve of... but even He realizes that a firm word and a firm fist in the right place can often prevent worse trouble.  The field of open battle may be the truest form of honor and glory, but it’s not your fault if a foe’s too timid to meet you fairly upon it.  Now... defend yourself!” and he lunged, a high side-slash already on the way.\n\n\tThe liger blinked, but even as he did so the reflexes drilled into him during basic training kicked in.  He jumped backwards, hands crossing as he drew both wooden swords.  The left was held reversed, tight against his forearm, which swung up to serve as the shield he didn’t have as a second slash came in.  Long as it was, the crude bastard sword weighed very little more than the arm swinging to intercept, and two clanks of metal on wood rang almost as one as his reflexive thrust struck Goral’s breastplate hard enough to halt his charge.\n\n\t“If we were scoring by points,” the lion mused through his just-closed visor, “that one would be yours.  You may not have experience, but your training stuck very well.”\n\n\tJerek managed an abbreviated, “Thank you, S—” before that four-foot blade swung again, and he blocked again with his left ‘blade.’  The range was short enough to smell the other man’s faint sweat from the initial rush, so he focused on defense for three more short, hard slashes until enough distance had built up for the lion to switch to a straight heart-thrust.  Following the advice of a sergeant sneaky enough to have beaten him four matches out of five in training, the novice used his own, twisting dodge to balance a thrust in return, and dust billowed very loudly as Goral landed flat on his back in a clatter of armor.\n\n\t“Crap,” the priest muttered, steel clacking a bit more softly as he felt around his breastplate, “That left a dent that’ll need to be hammered out...”  Climbing back to his feet, he glanced over to the audience, “Keria?  This hulk’s reflexes are a lot better than I expected...  Even if I’m ‘more experienced,’ I’m going to have to invoke the obvious superiority clause in the terms of engagement before he knocks me on my ass again.  Do you still want a go at ‘im?”\n\n\tHelm and breastplate squealed against one another as the knight tilted her head, then straightened, “I’ll have to pass.  I consider myself a fair judge of a warrior’s potential, and by that claim I think this guy has all the natural talent he’ll ever need.  He still needs practice, true enough, but target dummies should suffice to build up speed and accuracy.  Oh, and when he gets some proper armor, make sure he buys a bigger sword and a shield.  His defense is perfectly fine for what he was using, but the right equipment can improve on even that.”\n\n\tGoral couldn’t help but laugh as he turned back to his sparring partner, “I’ve never gone very far wrong, following Dame Keria’s advice...  Save your pay, Specialist, as you’ve got some steel to buy.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tA week or so in a clean, private house with fresh-cooked meals had left Jerek a bit unprepared.  The tavern he stepped into as the sun set was perfectly ordinary, priced to attract porters, stoneworkers, and low-rank soldiers and mercenaries, but the scents of spilled, stale ale, seasoned with just a hint of vomit where someone had had too much and it had almost been cleaned up right, made his muzzle wrinkle involuntarily as he eased through the crowd as gracefully as he could.  The unidentifiable brown mass of the stew being served would be filling, he knew, but even ignoring the less pleasant scents he couldn’t summon up any enthusiasm from its aroma.\n\n\t“Bread, two ales, and keep the refills coming if you see one empty,” he ordered over the rumble of the crowd and the creak of protest from the stool he chose at the bar.\n\n\tThe bear in a ratty apron nodded, looking him up and down, “That’ll be three coppers in advance, and I’ll let you know when it runs out, but that’s the bare minimum worth of ale it’d take to get someone your size buzzed.”\n\n\tJerek nodded and, seemingly grudgingly, dug out a leather pouch that had seen better days and passed over a few coins.  It could be minutes or hours before his target showed up, if his target showed up, but until they did, he didn’t want to attract attention by acting any differently from the tavern’s usual clientèle.  He kept a discreet eye on those other patrons as he bit a chunk off a slice from the plate of rye bread and washed it down with a swallow of ale.  While still inferior to what he’d been enjoying at ‘home,’ neither were quite as bad as he’d feared, and to his surprise he was genuinely able to relax into his role.\n\n\tIt was, most likely, that very relaxation that kept his expression of half-bored contentment unchanged when another glance around showed an off-white rabbit settling onto a corner table’s bench.  He drained his sixth mug of ale, fished out another copper to drop onto the bar, and reached for the seventh, taking a healthy swig before glancing again, this time in the wrong direction.  It wasn’t until he was halfway through his drink that he risked a second look at the newcomer, currently placing an order with one of the wenches.  Sure enough, the lowered cowl of his plain-looking cloak was lined with a different fabric, much finer and a flawless black.  The garment as a whole, almost certainly, could be turned inside-out to match the description Pria had given him over her lunch and his early supper.\n\n\tThe barkeep moved to pick up his empty mug for another refill, but he held up a hand, “Looks like seven’s enough for me, tonight.  Are we even with the latest penny?”\n\n\t“Yeah, with a bit to spare.  You come back another night, and the bread’s on the house.  My bouncer and I were a bit worried when someone looking like you do showed up, but you’ve been a nice, quiet customer, the kind we like, so you’ll be welcome back any time.”\n\n\tJerek nodded as he lifted his last mug again, “Yeah, I get that a lot...  Can’t help scaring folks, at this size, but I’m not all that bad a guy.  I’ll be back if I have the chance, thanks.”\n\n\tPria’s information had been spot-on so far, so the liger followed her last piece of advice as well, turning right outside of the tavern and right again at the second alley.  No doors or windows opened into this one; it had clearly been just a passage between two buildings until a third had been constructed at the other end, without the added expense of a rear entrance.  One street lamp just barely reached the mouth of the alley, and even that left one side in inky shadow.  The dirt of the street was a bit soft under Jerek’s boots as he let himself vanish into darkness, and he gave one disgusted snort at the stench; the above-average privacy here, compared to most alleyways, had evidently made it quite popular as a public privy.  No one had ever promised him that his job would be pleasant, though, so he simply leaned against the wall, ignored the smell, and waited.  Seven pints of ale had left him feeling mildly pleasant, but he was still a long way from drunk, so however long it took the vandal to eat would only leave him that much more sober, and if the target decided to stay for a few drinks, so much the better.\n\n\tTime passed slowly, and the only thing to break the monotony was a few minutes when the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, half-full and bright enough to make him worry about his concealment before it hid once more.  Every once in a while, an individual or small group would pass his hiding spot, many of them cautious enough to peer into the shadows, looking for the gleam of reflected lamplight... but his swords’ hilts had been held over a lamp to gather soot then rubbed down to smudge it, and his eyes were at least two feet higher than where folks were looking.  Finally, a bit more than an hour after he’d stepped out, the figure he’d spotted came strolling down the street.  The rabbit made it almost completely past the alley... before a large hand reached casually out of darkness and hauled him in by the scruff of his cloak.\n\n\tA knife was in the man’s hand almost before he’d recovered his balance, the threat on his lips dying in a pained gasp as Jerek’s other hand closed around his, a warning squeeze suggesting the possibility of crushed bones.  Relaxing his knife arm in hopes of not being seen as a threat, the bunny half-whispered, “And what do you want?  I don’t have much worth stealing, and I do have a lot of friends...”\n\n\t“I’m not one of them,” the liger replied, and for once he had to grin as the other man’s eyes widened at how high that voice had come from.  “I am... a patriot, I suppose.  You might be called the same... but for the wrong country.  This is Atherian territory, now, and its government and citizens would appreciate it if you stopped defacing their walls with lies.”\n\n\tOne whiskered lip pulled back in a sneer, “Government... that’s not the word I’d use for a pack of sneaks and assassins.  Oh, I know all the ‘proprieties’ were observed where formal declarations were concerned, but the timing and nature of the attacks were about as fair as your average shell game.  I’ve simply been spreading the truth, for good people to see and rise up against blatant conquest, but the puppet count is too blind to see what’s in front of his face.  In fact, I’ve heard the Atherians have sent their so-called queen to do something about it, since our ‘lord’ can’t!”\n\n\tJerek snorted, his voice half growl, “She’s the king’s wife, so there’s no ‘so-called’ about it.”\n\n\tThe rabbit actually laughed despite the pain in his hand, “You obviously haven’t heard the... rumors about her.  I’m sure they’re true enough, so this very night I’d decided to paint a new little phrase...  Serra: Usurper, Murderess, Whore.”\n\n\tIf there’d been windows in the alley, Jerek’s sudden snarl would have shaken them.  His vision went red, and before he knew what he was doing he’d thrown the smaller man against the far wall, following an instant later with a lunge-fueled punch, studs leading.  The impact of a body against wood was followed almost immediately by an only slightly-quieter crunch, and the liger’s fist was suddenly surrounded by wet warmth.  Blinking, he shook his head to clear it then pulled his hand back, wincing at the moist, sucking sound as it withdrew from the rabbit’s chest.  Shaking the blood off of his fingers, he sighed to himself as he stepped onto the street and started walking home as casually as he could manage, “I hope a breastbone counts for that ‘punctuation...’”\n\n* * *\n\n\tAnother flurry of knocks came from the front door.  Jerek could hear the quieter sounds of bodies rushing to dress as he passed the ladies’ bedroom, but whoever was out front was clearly impatient, and didn’t care that it was barely past dawn.  Hiking his bedsheet a bit higher around his waist, he twisted the knob of the deadbolt and lifted the latch to open the door just a crack.\n\n\t“Priority message from the count, sir,” the young weasel in livery said, and the guard sergeant behind him nodded in emphasis.\n\n\tThe liger blinked once, then opened the door a little wider to reach through and accept the offered bundle.  “I’ll get this to the ladies once they’re awake,” he rumbled.  “Is that all for now?”\n\n\tPage and soldier exchanged a glance, then the youngster nodded, “I... guess.  I’m told its fairly urgent, and I’m guessing the upper brass wants a response quickly, but I’ve also picked up a hint or two that ‘the ladies’ outrank the count.  I certainly don’t want to pressure someone like that enough to piss them off!”\n\n\tJerek had to chuckle, and nodded once more, “I’ll drop it by their door on my way back to my room.  Urgent or not, I’m not about to start delivering my reports naked.”\n\n\tFifteen minutes later, Serra looked up from her reading while a half-awake Pria worked on putting together breakfast, “Jerek... just what happened last night?  You got back too late for a report, but we both smelled the blood, and I strongly suspect that it has something to do with why the guard force is questioning every blacksmith, stonemason, and fence post digger in the city.”\n\n\tThe soldier blinked, “That’s an... odd list.  Well, to put it simply, Pria’s directions and guesses worked out perfectly.  I caught the vandal and had a chat with him.  He at least sounded like he truly believed the lies he’s been spreading, and just as truly disbelieved the factual account we’ve spread to counter them.  Also, your identity and presence has leaked to the other side, and he said they were going to switch to a new slogan, aimed specifically at you.  It was to call you an usurper and a murderess, though your husband explained to me about the murder.  Finally...” and he frowned slightly, “ma’am, he called you a whore.  At that point I lost my temper and punched him in the chest.”\n\n\tPria hissed in sympathy, “That had to hurt...”\n\n\tHer girlfriend shook her head, “Not for long it didn’t.  I was right... that does explain why the constabulary is half-panicking over a murderer who uses a sledgehammer, and why they’re checking anyone who carries one in the course of their usual business.”\n\n\tHis voice almost painfully serious, Jerek offered, “If it would help calm the local officials down, I’m prepared to surrender to them.  I may have overreacted, but I was also provoked, so I don’t think they’ll hang me.”\n\n\tBoth ladies shook their heads, the tigon replying in a firm tone, “No.  You were acting under my orders, even if his ribcage wasn’t the bone I expected you to break.  The insult to my person, too, was grounds for a duel, and your assignment could easily be interpreted as your being my de facto champion in such matters.  I will explain matters to the guards, and if they still have a problem, part of our ‘mission supplies’ includes two royal pardons for each of us.  They’re standard issue for anyone in the Sisters of Order, as we’re sworn to do whatever it takes to solve problems, not just whatever happens to be legal.”\n\n\tJerek nodded slowly, “I... can see that, I suppose.  I should also mention that, when I first grabbed the vandal and he thought he was being robbed, he made a point of mentioning that he has a lot of friends.  We’ll need to keep an eye out for just who reacts badly to news of his death, as it was always unlikely that he was acting alone, but he was the only conspirator we’d so far identified.”\n\n\tBoth ladies nodded back, then Pria glanced at her lover with a tilt of her head, “That confirmed leak... I think it’s time to do something you rather wouldn’t, but it’s still the bare-minimum compromise if you want to continue on this mission.  While you’re solving their little murder mystery for them, get your signet verified and request an official guard presence for this house.  Now that the other side knows you’re here, there’s no point to keeping only one guard for a low profile, and as competent as he’s proven to be, Jerek alone isn’t enough.”\n\n\t“Damn it all... but you’re right,” Serra sighed.  “I’d held the hope that finding a husband who valued my actual talents and enjoyed some of the same rather perverse entertainments I do would protect me from the boredom of a typical ‘wifely’ role, even a queen’s version... and, for a couple of years, I suppose it did.  Duty to the succession or no, though, I won’t risk our child by being the focus of enemy attention where they can easily get at me.  Let’s finish making breakfast, eat, then all go to the count’s keep.  I want whoever they assign to meet all of us, just to avoid potential confusion the next time you climb out a window, and to recognize our big friend here as being in command of the detachment.”  She looked up to Jerek with an odd little half-smile, “Another document I have among all those bags we brought along... is the form for registering a field promotion for a member of the army.  Up to the limit of your colonel’s salary, I’ll use it to put you, properly and officially, one rank higher than whoever they think they’re assigning the command to.”\n\n\tJerek winced, but it was faint.  “I suppose I can live with that, ma’am.  Hopefully it’ll just be a squad under a sergeant.  Also... as she’s already agreed to liaise with that family of bats, and given your thoughts on recognition, we should also swing by the temple district on the way and see if Beckah’s out there this morning, and bring her along to introduce to everyone.”\n\n\tOne more nod was forthcoming from the wolf of the bunch, but the pot of water on the hearth had just started to boil, so she moved to add mixed grains and dried fruit, “Among the general populace, she’s the single most useful local contact we’ve made.  I agree with your thought... and Serra’s qualifier, after breakfast.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“Let me get this straight,” the vulpine guard colonel half-groaned as he looked up from the signed and sealed order from the count that boiled down to ‘do whatever the hell they ask.’  “You are...”\n\n\t“Serra, Queen of Atheria, carrying the only current heir to the throne unless someone can convince Tyron to take the crown back.”\n\n\t“And she is...”\n\n\t“Pria, Agent of Atheria and registered with the Mages’ Guild for unusual talents.”\n\n\t“And the beggar girl...”\n\n\t“Beckah, artist and natural mage in training.”\n\n\t“And the guy tall enough to touch my ceiling without jumping is...”\n\n\t“Specialist Jerek of the Atherian army, on guard and escort duty, though he’s about to get a promotion once you decide who to assign to our residence.  He’s also your mysterious ‘hammer murderer,’ though he was acting under my orders at the time, and used his fist, not a hammer.”\n\n\t“And you think any of you are safe within a hundred miles of a disputed border, why?”\n\n\tThe queen frowned slightly, “We’re not safe... which is precisely why we’re here.  Nothing can make this mission safe, but it needs to be completed regardless, and it’s now your job to help make it less unsafe.”\n\n\tThe fox pinched the bridge of his muzzle, eyes closed for a long moment, “Alright...  I’ll peel off three platoons from the reserve, and the next few squads of road patrols to come in won’t be sent back out.  This will give you twenty men each in three eight-hour shifts, and I’ll be assigning Lieutenant Drellar to command them.  The lieutenant and his first shift should be at your place on Black Cherry Lane within two hours, once they’ve worked out the rotation schedule and have seen the quartermaster for supplies and equipment.  I’ll need your signature on a budget overrun request, as we don’t pay the reserve quite as much and we’d been near the breaking point for active-duty wages with the unrest and the extra patrols it called for.”\n\n\tSerra nodded, “Alright,” and leaned forward in her seat, reaching to grab one of the quills on the colonel’s desk, “though I’ll need to borrow this for a different reason, first.”  She smiled to her companions as she filled in the one blank spot on the promotion order, “Since he mentioned three platoons, I’m guessing Drellar is a senior lieutenant... and you’re now a captain, Jerek.  Congratulations.”\n\n\t“As you command, my queen,” he rumbled simply.\n\n\tThe colonel managed to restrain another wince and simply nodded, “I understand how you’d feel more comfortable with your safety in the hands of a soldier you actually know.  While you review and endorse my budget request, I’ll fill out the requisition for his new rank insignia, though he’ll have to keep his enlisted uniform for now.  We don’t keep uniforms that big in stock, but it’ll only take two or three days to make new ones.”\n\n\tTrading the finished promotion order for the budget request he was holding out, Serra dipped her borrowed quill in the pot again and sat back to review the specifics, “I think... I’ll amend your budget just a bit, as several people have suggested that the new captain be properly armored, which is likely to cost more than an extra month’s active-duty wages for three platoons.  I could cover it out of mission funds easily enough, but it would dent even those.  I know a flying courier who could get this request to the duke’s clerk in Frostcrest faster than any horse, and the duke can probably release hard coin from his reserve then wait for the king’s reimbursement.  If you’ll get this order to the scribes to make your local records’ copy,” and she passed over the finished form, “we can probably have your finances balanced again before supper tomorrow.”\n\n\tThe fox blinked, then managed a faint smile, “You’re... not quite the headache I first assumed when you walked in, your Majesty.  The proposal you’ve outlined will make my job far easier, and it’s nice to be under the command of someone who actually gets things done rather than hand out orders, possible or not, and expect everything to magically work out.”\n\n\tSerra’s smile was sympathetic, “I wasn’t born royalty... and I’ve been a corporal in a force much like yours, myself.  Officers who can tell their ass and elbow apart are always pleasant to work with, and I certainly try.”\n\nChapter 7\n\n\tJerek finished his morning stretch in the front hall, then opened the door to step outside.  The guards flanking the door immediately straightened to attention and saluted, even as Lieutenant Drellar scrambled off of the bench he’d had placed in the shadow of the shallow porch’s overhang.  Carefully keeping both amusement and annoyance out of his expression and tone, the liger returned the various salutes and asked, “Anything to report, Lieutenant?”\n\n\t“Yes, sir!” the buck replied with entirely too much enthusiasm for this time of morning.  “We’ve got the usual batch of ‘royal petitions’ from common citizens who heard who’s staying here but not why.  Two soldiers on the night shift reported shadowy figures watching from cover nearby, presumably looking for gaps in the patrol routes... but this house is small enough that I didn’t have to leave gaps.  The only item that wasn’t covered in our planning for obvious contingencies came in the form of a notice from the landlord.  He realized that queens, as a general rule, are not poor, and promptly doubled the rent, retroactive to your arrival and due within two days or he’ll sue to evict.”\n\n\tJerek snorted at that last bit, “Bloody opportunists...  The rental agreement, including price, was a legal contract that both sides are bound by, and the only loopholes that would work for his threat involve grievous damage to the property or a criminal conviction for the residents.  Since the latter is covered by royal pardons, if he comes back ask him if he’d like us to trash the place to make the eviction legal.”\n\n\tThe deer grinned, “He was a greasy one...  I’ll enjoy giving him that sort of ‘choice.’”\n\n\tThe captain nodded, “Good, good...  Now, the spies, while expected, aren’t good news.  I want you to keep the routes and schedules unchanged... but write up a set of orders for the nearest constable post in every direction.  I don’t know the right phrasings, and I’m pretty terrible at writing to begin with, but here’s what I want to happen...  Those posts’ compliments should be doubled, or tripled if they have enough room inside, but only the regular troops and officers should ever show themselves.  I expect, since it’s obvious a single enemy won’t be able to sneak in, that they’ll try something more blatant, an assault large enough to overwhelm one shift of your detachment.  Moving that many people at once is almost impossible to conceal, so when a constable notices such a group heading in our direction, they and their hidden reinforcements should fall out and take the group from behind.  They don’t need to establish intent, or let the other side strike first; if the officer in charge is reasonably certain that, whatever it might look like, it’s an attack in the offing, they are explicitly authorized to use preemptive, lethal force.”\n\n\tDrellar swallowed hard, then nodded back, “That’s... a bit outside their usual terms of engagement, but so is this whole scenario.  Our nation has only one queen, and it’s better to risk hurting a few commoners who chose the wrong route for a street-party than it’d be to risk her.  I believe I know how to phrase your orders, and I’ll find a scribe to dictate them to and a page to carry them within an hour.”\n\n\tJerek took another few steps out onto the street, turned, and peered for a long moment, “Hrmph.  You guys must get more snow up here than I did, growing up on the south end of the kingdom.  If we had a flatter roof to work with, a couple of archers could do as much good as another squad on the ground.  Still, see that grate?  And I’m pretty sure there’s a matching one on the other side...”\n\n\tThe lieutenant caught on instantly, “At this time of year it shouldn’t be too stuffy in the attic, just a little cramped.  I’ll send for two or three of our more compact archers, and if an attack in force comes they can kick the slats out and start shooting.”\n\n\t“Exactly.  This house isn’t exactly a fortified castle, but that doesn’t mean it has to be defenseless.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“Alright,” Pria instructed, holding up both hands, “this is pure fire energy... and this is what I want you to surround it with, but the final mix, not the single-element lines I’m forming it from.  The mix has no noticeable effect on solid matter, but it should serve to shield your mage-sight from the intensity of your actual attack.  Your targets are the bundles of straw I’ve placed on rocks twenty, fifty, and two hundred feet distant.  I don’t expect you to be able to hit the third one; I could only strike the first strongly enough to damage it, and that’s with a great deal of effort.”\n\n\tBeckah nodded, brow furrowing as she ‘looked’ intently at the energies rising from the wolf’s paws.  She held out her own hand, palm up, and a wisp of smoke appeared where a passing insect had just been incinerated, and she giggled, “This is so neat!  I never dreamed I’d be able to do anything like this...  It certainly isn’t easy, though; hold that mix for a bit while I get it right.”  Her brow gradually relaxed as she duplicated the other emissions, the lines of power fluctuating as she strove for the right ratios, and when they felt right she combined them, “There...  Within that sphere, I’m blind again; I can’t see a hint of the energies I know are inside, just a spot of blankness.”\n\n\tPria smiled, “That’s what we’re aiming for.  For the sighted, this blend is also useful for hiding from one’s fellow mages, simply wrapping a thin layer of it around your own body, but I’m afraid that would blind you completely.  Now, make a tube of it from here to the target, and add fire, right down the middle.”\n\n\tIt took the cat a few seconds to locate which of the boulders on the rocky plain had bundles on top, but once she did the closest one burst into flame almost instantly.  The second followed a moment later, and a grunt of effort punctuated the third’s ignition.  “You were right, it gets harder with range, but I think I could send it farther if I had to.”\n\n\tHer tutor blinked and shook her head to clear it, musing, “I was able to follow your speed and accuracy just by the lack of energies along your shielding tube... let me check one thing,” and she reached out to touch the feline’s forehead then neck.  “By Her Teats...  My father, who trained me, has far, far more raw power than I do, but he’d have been drenched in sweat, hitting that third bundle as hard as you did.  You, on the other hand, are still dry.  I’m going to have to word your official registration as a mage very, very carefully, if we don’t want you to end up labeled a threat to the kingdom, because once you’ve had enough practice for this stuff to come easily to you, there’d be very little anyone could do to stop you if you went on a rampage.”\n\n\tBeckah frowned as she digested that, then shrugged, “I’m not sure what to say about that.  I’m willing to make an appropriate oath to Malia if needed, but we’d have to consider the phrasing carefully.  I’m still new at this, so inviting divine punishment for a simple accident holds no attraction to me, and it wouldn’t do me much good if I simply promised to limit my power-levels, if some day I need my full power for something.”  An amused snort followed a moment later, “Listen to me... power?  Rampages?  Last week I was just a simple carver; what business do I have even thinking in these terms?”\n\n\tThis fetched a laugh from Pria, and she patted her student’s shoulder comfortingly, “It’s all my fault, I know...  I did warn you that your life was about to change, but even I didn’t know that you’d turn out this strong.  All I was ever told about natural mages was that they’re rare, end of story.  Now, after all of three basic lessons, you can see farther and more accurately than I can, and mage-sight is one of my major talents, while in terms of power, you could probably knock down the walls of the count’s keep if you set your mind to it.  You’re a joy to teach, as you catch on to things so quickly, but I can’t help but feel a bit of an inferiority complex next to you.”\n\n\tThe cat nodded, then sighed, “I think I understand Jerek even better, now...  We’d both suffered a rare pain, one that only another sufferer could really understand, but mine was simply the pity I was shown for lacking something I’d never known and couldn’t miss.  Now it looks like both he and I will be feared for our strength, with no thought given for our basic integrity.”\n\n\tA passing thought shook loose a giggle, hardly appropriate for such a depressing topic, so Pria hastened to explain, “Sorry... but I just imagined you, Jerek, and my older sister teaming up.  She’s widely regarded as the greatest single warrior in the world, while you might very well be the strongest mage, and Jer’s among the strongest of men.  It would be... interesting to see if the three of you could conquer an entire small nation.  A silly thought, I know... but actually plausible, underneath.”\n\n\tBeckah snickered as she nodded, “Not that I have any desire to rule...  I’ve seen what it’s like, with Serra’s freedoms steadily shrinking even as the pressure for some sort of progress grows, and it’s nothing I’d care to experience, myself.  Still, back to our main subject... do you have to publicize my strength?  It’s certainly better than feeling helpless, but I really don’t want it to stigmatize me and my future relationships, either.  Especially with Jerek...  He feels protective of me, and I actually like it.  I wouldn’t want him to feel weak, or useless, or that I’m just one more woman who wants him for his body, because I’ve seen his heart, the one thing almost everyone else ignores, and it’s as big as the rest of him.  I... I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I think I love him.”\n\n\tPria’s hand returned to give her shoulder another squeeze, and the wolf was smiling faintly as she nodded, “I believe you do... and I’ve got at least the beginnings of an idea to help the two of you along.  Give me just a little time to work with, then we’ll make a flanking run around that wall he’s put up around his feelings.”\n\n\tBeckah reached up to pat the hand on her shoulder, her smile wide, “Thank you.  I appreciate both your help and your discretion.”\n\n\tThe wolf snorted with a grin, “Discretion, hell...  Your next lesson is to go to that farm I can just see from here, where I’m told the scarecrows aren’t working.  Just to see what kind of range you really have, let’s go see if the local crows can learn after a few of them explode or catch fire in mid-air, and that sort of thing can get rather noisy.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t The squad of soldiers holding formation around her split as Serra reached her destination, four flanking the door, two taking posts at the ends of the block to watch the other streets, and the last four following her inside the courier’s office.  “Don’t mind them; this is a commission, not an invasion,” she told the two startled-looking fellows on the other side of the counter.\n\n\tAfter a shared glance and a few blinks apiece, the equine of the pair asked, “Um, how can we help you, ma’am?”\n\n\tSerra set the pouch she was holding on the counter, “I’ve got a sealed diplomatic pouch for delivery to Duke Urenhold or his seneschal.  No lesser functionary can safely open it, and its delivery has royal priority.  I strongly suggest using Reldek or his wife Ferria if they’re available.”\n\n\tThe horse blinked again, “Not many people know we have bats available... much less their names.  Yeah, they’re both in town, and flight time to Frostcrest is a bit over two hours if they push themselves.  Actual delivery will be a minimum of four hours from now, as a high-energy meal and some time to digest it is required, and the price is one and a half monarchs.”\n\n\tHis customer nodded as she fished the coins from her purse, though her mind was busy with the implications of that fee; either jobs were very few and far between, or the cut the office was keeping was downright criminal.  At these rates, there was no excuse she could see that would justify the family she’d met living so poorly.  “Alright,” she said aloud, “here’s your money and the official address for the delivery, and mine for the reply I’ll expect by this time tomorrow, as the courier will need rest between flights.  Treat the bag gently, as it will incinerate itself if you try to open it.”\n\n\tBoth men swallowed hard at her warning, the arctic wolf grabbing a quill to translate her note onto one of their standard forms as his coworker nodded and promised good service.  Both of them, in any case, looked relieved as she gathered her guards and stepped out.\n\n\t“Nothing to report, your Majesty,” the sergeant of the squad rumbled as they settled into formation again.  “Where to now?”\n\n\t“Briar Street,” she replied.  “There’s a decent restaurant I’ve been wanting to try on its north loop, and it’d be nice not to have to eat my own cooking for one night.  The rest of my friends will be joining us there, and I’m told they have a decent tavern your men can relax in while we eat.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek leaned back with a contented sigh, patting his belly.  “I love your cooking, ladies,” he rumbled, “but honesty compels me to say that this was bet—”  The already-stressed backing of the chair gave way, and he hit the floor with a thud that rattled the wine glasses amidst a small cloud of splinters.\n\n\t“No, that wasn’t my magic,” Pria grinned, “just fate with a sense of humor.  We’re covering the meal, but you can pay for the chair on our way out.”\n\n\tThe liger climbed back up to a kneel to the sound of Serra’s laugh and Beckah’s more restrained giggle, but he was smiling as he shook his head ruefully, “That’s not the first time this has happened, and I’ve made a habit of never spending so much of my money that I can’t cover a bit of broken furniture.”  Reaching behind himself, he pulled out a couple of the larger shards of wood, “It’s a good thing I didn’t bring any clothes but my armor for this trip, though.  These could have seriously hurt.”\n\n\t“Ah... about that...”\n\n\tJerek looked toward Beckah, blinking at something in her tone.\n\n\t“I’m working on a new piece,” she continued, “and it’s of you.  It’s not for any particular customer this time...  I’m trying to see whether my mage-sight can provide as much detail as I used to get by touch, but living flesh is vastly easier to see than leather.  In fact, it takes a special effort just to perceive your fur.  Your sculpture, if and when I finish it, will be a tasteful nude, since that’s how it’s easiest to ‘see’ you.”  She mimed a glance toward Pria, unnecessary as it was for her particular form of sight, “Now that I’m aware of what I’d previously done unconsciously, with magic, it’s coming along quite a bit quicker than previous pieces its size.  The initial, rough biped-shape took about two minutes, instead of four or five days of whittling shavings off of a block the size I needed to depict him.”\n\n\tWolf and liger both nodded, the former in simple approval and the latter in preface to a bemused comment, “I’d already come to terms with the nudity issue.  It’s really not a personal violation, as you see everyone that way, and I’d rather you have that ability, by far, than the world of darkness you’d previously known.  My modesty is an insignificant price to pay for your sight.”\n\n\tNodding back as she rose from her seat, Beckah’s smile took on a faintly naughty cast as she half-purred, “If only you weren’t such a gentleman... I think I’d be happy to ‘apologize’ by taking off this cloak of mine for you sometime, just to keep things even and fair.  You see, after I’d had several pranks played on me by tailors, selling me garish or clashing colors that I couldn’t even understand in concept, unless it’s particularly cold this cloak is the only thing I wear.  I’ve been stark naked beneath it since the day we met.”  Turning back to the other ladies, and hiding a smile at the very mixed emotions flashing through the liger’s expression that her mage-sight could clearly make out, she gave a half-bow, “I should get going, though, if I’m going to get any more work done on that sculpture before bed.”\n\n\tBoth women nodded, and Serra asked, “Would you like one or two of my guards to escort you home?”\n\n\tThe cat shook her head, “No, I’m sure I’ll be safe enough.  Other than the chill, night’s darkness means nothing to me, and after this morning’s practice in what are arguably offensive magics, anyone intercepting me with fell intent will regret it.”\n\n\tAll three of her friends nodded grimly, Jerek rumbling, “Then have a safe journey and a good rest, with my thanks for your company this eve.”\n\n\tBeckah turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see the smile his last comment had left on her face, one that just didn’t want to fade as she eased her mage-sight’s sensitivity gradually higher until she could make out the door and the boarded sidewalk beyond.  Living bodies were almost, if not quite, painfully bright at this level, but three blocks from the fancy restaurant that very sensitivity let her spot and step around the night soil someone had recently dumped out of a window.  Counting the twists and turns through the walls that divided the city into districts, it was almost two miles to the small boarding house she lived in.  It wasn’t the cheapest of dwellings, but her carvings tended to bring in enough that she’d lived there for a good three years straight, and having assistance nearby, particularly someone to clean wood shavings when she’d been truly blind, had made it the obvious choice despite how little spending money it left her with.\n\n\tTen minutes and two district walls later, she started to notice them.  Three bundles of living energy were following her, at a distance and making almost no noise, and they seemed to be avoiding light sources, darting from one alley to the next then waiting to make sure no one could see them before moving again.  The cat gave no sign that she’d noticed them, but continued to watch... and as she did, a pattern became apparent, though it was missing a piece.  There was enough delay, every third move, for a fourth person to take up a new spot, and she concentrated her attention where they should be.  The pattern of energy was nearly invisible, only faint differences between it and the night air noticeable, but the implications were disturbing.  Someone, obviously, had made a shrewd guess as to why the ‘blind girl’ wasn’t using her cane anymore.\n\n\tThe mysterious figures were gradually closing the distance, whichever one was in the lead barely two buildings back as she crossed the border into ‘her’ district, and it was getting harder to play the oblivious innocent.  They only had two more blocks in which to make their move... and she actually felt relieved when they finally did, the three ‘visible’ ones jogging as a group while the cloaked form approached at a near-sprint, one arm high...\n\n\tBeckah didn’t bother to turn as her attacker bounced off of a solid wall of motion-magic.  “That was your warning,” she said conversationally.  “You only get one, and it also counts for your three friends.  Leave or die.”\n\n\tThe mage-cloaked figure was rubbing its invisible nose and cursing, but one of the others lifted a device with a muted glow of its own; she barely had time to damp down her perceptions before a bright line of power burst forth, and her protective wall shattered with a sensation like a bee had stung her in the middle of her brain.  The threesome slowed to a walk as they neared, one of them laughing, “Look at ‘er cringe...  Must not feel too good, gettin’ hit by a spellbreaker.”\n\n\t“I said,” she growled as she straightened and turned, “leave or die!”\n\n\tThat vivid beam lashed out again, but she didn’t bother to dim it, accepting the pain as the price of knowing its energies, and the hand she whipped up, palm out, projected an instinctive counter, making no attempt to block it but instead pulling its mixed energy types, each in a different direction.  She pushed that division in the stream further up the line, and when it hit the matrix of crystals that were doing the mixing and projecting, they promptly exploded.  The man with the spellbreaker managed one muffled curse before slumping over, and she could see his life-energies fading fast as he bled profusely from the chest and neck.\n\n\tBeckah guessed that there was some light available, as both of the clearly-visible figures were staring at their dying comrade, and a moment later they and their cloaked companion all charged.  She didn’t bother throwing up a wall this time; instead, at knee, belly, and chest levels, she formed three impossibly-thin planes of motion-magic, the sort Pria had described to her when she’d curiously asked about the ‘magic swords’ in some stories and ballads she’d heard.  It wasn’t the swords themselves that did the cutting, but rather the magic they projected, and the three attackers running into the same effect fell like a coarse, meaty rain.  The smell of blood almost overpowered the stench of spilled and split entrails as each man was divided into at least six pieces, and liquid, hot in the night’s chill air, splashed all over her cloak.\n\n\tShe could only stand there for a long moment, trying not to lose that fine supper she’d just had, between the smell and the heart-wrenching knowledge that it was someone’s lifeblood soaking through her garment and cooling quickly, but some other, inner part of her was... satisfied.  These were almost certainly co-conspirators of the vandal Jerek had killed, balked by the increased guard at their enemy’s house, so they’d instead tried to ambush the weakest of the queen’s supporters... only to find that ‘blind’ and ‘helpless’ had become distinctly different things in recent days.  As either enemies of the kingdom or cowards without honor, she couldn’t, in her deepest heart, regret their deaths, though her mind and feelings were still in turmoil over the fact that she’d been the one to kill them.\n\n\tA door creaked open to her left, and the energy-shape of a vulpine head peeked out, “What’s all the commotion out... great Gods!  Miss?  Are you alright?”\n\n\tThe cat straightened and brushed at her cloak, muzzle wrinkling as her fingers met pieces of her attackers, sticky pieces.  “I’m fine,” she told the stranger, “but I can’t say the same for these four men who tried to ambush me.  They forgot that a blind mage is still a mage, ignored the warning I was honor-bound to give, and paid the price.  None of this... stuff on me is mine.”\n\n\tThe fox shook his head in wonder, tinged with disgust as the breeze shifted in his direction, then turned to yell into his house, “Carlon!  Get your uniform back on and get down here!”  Back to the blood-soaked feline, he said more quietly, “My son’s in the guard, off-duty at the moment, but he should probably escort you to the nearest station to file a report.”\n\n\tBeckah started to nod, then paused, “Actually... I think I should go back to the queen’s house on Black Cherry Lane.  This was actually an indirect attack against her.  The guards there know me, but your son’s escort will be welcome, as I think I’m about to come down with a bad case of the shakes as the adrenaline wears off.”\n\n\tThis fetched a sympathetic chuckle, “I understand...  It took three ales for the shivering to stop, the first time Carlon tried to serve a warrant and they resisted arrest.  Nothing can ever really prepare you for your first taste of combat and its reminder of your own mortality.  Ah, here he comes; we’ll get you to where you can feel safe soon enough.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek answered the door, a bit confused at the knock so shortly after he and the ladies had gotten home... and blinked at the stranger in uniform, hovering protectively over his blood-drenched friend.  “Your Majesty!” he called over his shoulder, then turned back to bow, “Whatever happened... you have my gratitude for returning Beckah safely to us.”\n\n\tCarlon shook his head with a faint smile, “I didn’t do much...  What you see are the results of her defending herself, and none of the blood or other bits are hers.  Simply for her comfort after being ambushed, just outside of my house by lucky coincidence, I’ve escorted her back here.  I should probably get back and help the night shift sort body parts for identification...”\n\n\tThe liger blinked and nodded, but it was the queen, coming up behind him, who replied, “Whether you think it was ‘much’ or not, you have our thanks.  Tell the sergeant out there your name and unit, and don’t be surprised when there’s a bonus in your next pay pouch.”  Easing around her big bodyguard, she held out a hand, “Beckah?  Please, come in so we can get you cleaned up, then tell us what happened...”\n\n\tThe vulpine guard nodded and saluted, turning away as the cat stepped inside.  From down the hall, Pria called out, “I can smell the mess from here...  I’ve got the tub filling, though it’s not hot.  Time for a little more practice with fire-energy, but gently; you need a bath, not a boiling.”\n\n\tThe shivers that had been running up and down her body during the walk started to fade as Beckah let her friends lead her deeper inside.  These people, she knew, she’d always be safe around, and her instincts seemed to realize it too.  “There were some... people, who I noticed following me when I was about halfway home,” she explained, working at the ties of her cloak as she walked.  “I don’t think any of them were wizards, but they did have magic.  One of them was almost invisible to my sight... but once I deduced his presence from the others’ leap-frogging tactics, I was able to make him out.  Another had something they called a ‘spellbreaker,’ which wasn’t pleasant at all when it shattered the motion-wall I’d thrown up to block the invisible one’s charge.  I gave them a choice after that first man bounced, leave or die, and... they didn’t leave.”  She’d reached the bathroom by that point, and slipped the opened cloak from her shoulders, then had to snort at how quickly the liger behind her averted his gaze.  He couldn’t have seen more than her upper back before turning around, and his head didn’t so much as twitch in a hint of another peek.\n\n\tPria helped her out of her cloak with a roll of her eyes, murmuring, “I noticed that too...  Too much a gentleman for his own good, or for yours, but this attack is just the excuse I needed for those helpful plans I mentioned.  Just in case you’ve ever wondered, though... you’re very pretty, bordering on beautiful.  I’ve lusted after enough women to be a fair judge, I’d think, and you’re certainly the sort I wouldn’t mind taking to bed.”\n\n\tBeckah nodded as she poked one finger into the tub’s cool water, judging by that touch as she added energy until just the faintest hint of steam started to rise, “I’d... wondered, but I’d touched many other faces and sets of curves to later carve them, so it was only natural to touch myself and compare.  I knew, at the very least, that I wasn’t ugly.”  Setting aside her blindfold, she climbed into the tub and relaxed into the warm water with a sigh.\n\n\tSerra nudged the sodden, sticky pile of the cat’s cloak with one foot, “I think we’re going to have to burn this... which is a pity, as it looks a bit finer than most.  I can loan you one of mine in the short term, but it will be a bit scratchier against a bare body.”\n\n\tHer lupine girlfriend shook her head, “Clothes are rather secondary at the moment...  The important thing is the attack itself, as well as its implications.  Our enemy might not have the numbers it would take for a frontal assault of this house, so instead they’ve tried attacking a known associate of ours.  Beckah... I think you should stay here tonight, then when the night guards trade off with the morning shift, let them earn a little overtime, escorting you to your home and back for your possessions and artworks.  Walking that route twice a day as you did was probably the biggest reason they chose you for a target, since our other business has been too random and scattered to get an ambush team into position in time.”\n\n\t“I think that would work, though Mistress Thora, who owns the boarding house I’ve got a room in, will be disappointed to lose a years-long, well-behaved tenant.  The chairs in your sitting room are comfortable enough to sleep in, I’m pretty sure.”\n\n\tSerra and Pria exchanged a glance, the queen musing, “We weren’t planning to inflict that sort of ‘bed’ on you... were we?”\n\n\tThe Agent shook her head, chuckling as she passed over a rag for the cat to scrub herself with, the water already a faint pink, “I wasn’t.  A couple of my comments and questions, lately, have been probes, but your answers make it clear enough that you have no sexual interest in women, so sharing our bed is probably not an option.  That huge one that takes most of Jerek’s room, though... he mainly needed its length, so half the width is free if you’d be comfortable sharing it with him.”\n\n\tBeckah quirked a brow high, though the sky-blue eyes beneath it were unfocused, “I wouldn’t mind... but he might.  The obvious assumption from what I don’t wear under the cloak would be right; I sleep just as naked, and he evidently has something against the view.”\n\n\t“I can hear you girls, you know,” the captain’s voice called from the very room in question.  “We can probably get you a light nightgown tomorrow; for now, I’ve got the lamp out and I’m in bed myself, so it will be too dark to see once you’re clean and dry.”\n\n\tPria snickered very softly, then murmured, “I didn’t really ‘peek,’ but my own periodic sweeps of the house with mage-sight showed that he sleeps in naught but fur, himself, though he’s brought out a spare blanket and wrapped himself completely in the regular one, this moment.  We’ll just have to see how he reacts in the morning, when being half-asleep and unused to sharing a bed might give him a good view despite his best intentions.”\n\n\tBeckah’s smile was more than a bit wicked as she simply nodded and scrubbed.\n\nChapter 8\n\n\tJerek opened his eyes to blink at the light streaming through his window’s closed shutters, his mind somewhere between the present reality, foggy memories, and rapidly-fading dreams.  The present took the fore very quickly, though, when he moved to stretch, only then noticing the body cuddled up behind him.  His blanket had slipped somewhat, and either Beckah’s had too or she hadn’t bothered with any warmth beyond his own body, as he could distinctly feel a pair of nipples poking him below his shoulderblades.  “Beckah?” he rumbled.\n\n\tHe felt the girl behind him shift sleepily, then stiffen, only to relax the next moment and slip her arms around his broad chest, “Jerek...  No wonder I felt so safe and comfortable.  Those men I killed... they kept coming back, in my dreams, but you were there too, and they died again, several more times, sometimes at your hands, while other times we slew them as a team.  Those dreams... tried to be nightmares, but they failed, because of you.”\n\n\tStill less than fully awake himself, the liger’s first reflex was to roll over and hold her in return, until a shifting of the soft breasts against his fur, and his blanket sliding against a rare case of morning wood, reminded him of the proprieties involved.  Relaxing back down onto his side, he gave the upper of the hands around him a gentle pat, “I’m... glad I could be here for you, if it made the difference you say.  I can hear the ladies waking up, though...  If you want to go borrow one of their cloaks, please close the door on your way out so I can dress too.  You’ve my word that I’ll keep my eyes closed as you depart.”\n\n\tBeckah giggled faintly as she squirmed a bit higher to nuzzle the back of his neck, “My big, silly kitten... do you think I’d even be here, if your look or touch were anything but welcome?  I shall do as you ask, this morning, simply because you have duties that I’d be a poor friend indeed to interfere with, but you can’t escape forever.  Blow out all the lamps you want; I’m a mage now, and I can make light.”\n\n\tThe liger was left with mixed feelings as she did, indeed, pull away and pad out into the hall, latching the door behind her.  He still firmly believed he had no business looking, and the concept of touching frightened him on some level... but his back where her breasts had been pressed against him now seemed awfully cold in the morning air...\n\n* * *\n\n\tThe cloak Beckah attended breakfast in was a bit big and loose on her, cinched with an incongruous silk sash that one of the ladies had dug up.  Even as Jerek settled onto the well-built stool that complained the least about his weight, Serra was saying, “Half the platoon needs sleep too badly, but that still leaves a squad for escort duty, and unless you own a lot more stuff than I think, they should be able to carry everything in one trip.”\n\n\tThe white cat shook her head with a smile, her blindfold back in place, “Just my two spare cloaks, a few things to wear beneath in deep winter, five small carvings that I kept when a customer changed their mind and wouldn’t pay, and three or four silver marks worth of savings.  Since my rent included basic meals, I don’t even own any dishes.”\n\n\tJerek took a sniff at the air as they talked, then mused, “Fruit porridge again...  It looks like we need to shop.  Should I accompany Beckah, or did you want me to carry bundles at the market again?”\n\n\tPria handed him a bowl of the porridge in question even as she grinned, “The latter.  We’re low on meats of all kinds, and you’ll need to haul home another bag of powdered limestone for the privy; it’s getting a bit rank.  I hate using you as a menial, but you’re the only one who can carry the whole load alone, letting the rest of our escort focus on doing their jobs and watching for trouble.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded and picked up a spoon, stirring his breakfast to help it cool, “Alright...  Speaking of that sort of trouble, though, do we have any new information about those idiots who attacked Beckah?”\n\n\t“‘Idiots’ is right,” the Agent grinned broadly.  “I slipped out as soon as she’d gone to bed and took a look at the scene...  They’d been equipped to counter a minor mage.  There was that spellbreaker she blew up,” and she glanced to the cat, “which was excellent work, by the way; one of those can ruin the day of even an archmage.”\n\n\tBeckah simply mumbled something around a blush.\n\n\t“Then there was the mage-sight shroud, which was still working since it wasn’t in line with those final cuts...  Unusually good work, that one; it was set into a belt buckle with a rotating disc holding several power crystals, and the shroud it was projecting was only one of several defensive shields it could create, depending on which stored energy-blend it was fed, and it was a body-wrap rather than a basic sphere.  The other three fellows had simpler, reactive shields that would have sprung up if she’d started flinging fire around...  We have to assume that there’s a wizard on the other side, custom-making their tools, as the combination wasn’t anything you’d find even in the best-stocked magic shop.  At least one dagger on the scene had a shield-penetrating spell, too.  My conclusion is that the other wizard was working as well as he could, from hearsay evidence, but hadn’t actually witnessed any of our training sessions.  If his information had been better, we’d be scheduling a funeral, not enjoying a meal.”\n\n\tSeveral grim looks were exchanged, Serra speaking as she sat down for her own meal, “We have a powerful foe, and we cannot count on his or her ignorance for a defense.  Pria, you help with the shopping as you know what we need.  I’ll be spending the day with the count and his staff, trying to find some common thread that might help us identify additional enemies who blend in perfectly until they make their move, as they’re citizens in good standing who’ve spent their entire lives here.  This is a danger faced by the victor in any conquered territory.  The war of two and a half years ago... isn’t really over.  I’ll also make a point of talking to his court wizard, to see if we can think of just what the enemy mage’s motive is, whether he’s in charge and after something in town or in the castle, or whether he’s simply a major player in an organized insurgency.”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded, “Alright...  We’re already overstraining our available guard force with these trips, so let’s combine two for safety; one squad on overtime with Beckah, one squad on duty at the house, and the last squad can escort you to the keep before we take them shopping.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t\n\n\tJerek accepted the package of bacon as the butcher finished wrapping it up, thanked the man and stepped outside.  The only things still on the list Pria had dictated were butter, cheese, and limestone, but powdered rock could wait ‘til last so he wouldn’t have to carry it for long.  Glancing around, he spotted the booth of dairy products... and a slight commotion on that side of the market square, involving a vaguely-familiar figure in armor.  Given recent events, any disturbance warranted investigation, so he secured his newest burden and headed that way.\n\n\t“Dame Keria?” he asked with a blink as he neared the small cluster of guards.\n\n\tSteel creaked as the figure in plate nodded, “Novice Jerek...  I see you’ve been promoted, quite a bit, since we last met.  I was just asking these fellows for help finding you or one of your housemates.  There’s been... an incident at that house.  I was nearby when I heard the first clash, and helped the guards there fight off the attack.  They told me the... your most prominent companion was elsewhere, and I sent a corporal to tell her to stay there.”\n\n\tThe liger blinked again, then nodded, his muzzle grim.  He could guess the parts she’d left unsaid, and her choice of words suggested that she’d been knighted for far more than her physical prowess.  “I guess we’ll all join that companion shortly... but I should see the aftermath of this ‘incident.’  The rest of my shopping can wait.”  Spotting another package-laden form drawing near, he turned, “Pria, we need to head home.”\n\n\t“I heard,” the Agent nodded.  “Another of the low-energy, short-term enchantments I’m fond of is one to keep an ear on anyone I’m teamed up with, even for simple shopping, so long as they’re within a couple blocks of me.”\n\n\tThe house was surrounded by seeming chaos as they drew near, though the frenetic activity sorted itself out as the got close enough to identify individuals.  Half of the squad was tending to bodies, mostly strangers in widely-assorted armor but with four familiar figures among the dead being loaded onto three large carts, while one more stranger, tied to Drellar’s bench, was being questioned by the lieutenant under the watchful eye of a sergeant with two daggers drawn and ready.  The house itself had seen better days; all of the windows on the street side had been broken, the attic grates had been kicked out, and the corner of the sitting room was still smoldering, enough of the wall burned away to make out the remains of furniture.\n\n\tJerek’s rumble cut through the noise as he neared, “Lieutenant Drellar, report!”\n\n\tTurning away from his evident prisoner, the buck marched smartly over and snapped a salute, “Sir!  We have engaged the enemy, sir!”  At a gesture from the captain, he relaxed to parade rest, continuing calmly enough, “There were about thirty of them, sir.  An estimated half a dozen groups converged from several directions, but your standing orders proved to be a nasty surprise when they joined up and charged.  The archer upstairs slowed them down enough for me to gather the half of the squad watching the rear and for the constables to take their flank, then this fine lady,” and he nodded with great respect to Keria, “joined in.  We suffered four fatalities and two flesh wounds, but it would have been much worse without her help, as the attackers weren’t your common thugs or street rabble.  According to the survivor I was just having a chat with, they’re mercenaries, and fairly good ones at that.  They hadn’t worked long as a unit, but had enough individual experience to hold a line back-to-back fairly well.  Without the knight’s help, the tactics you’d suggested would have still won the day, but I wouldn’t have had even this half-squad left alive when the dust settled.  They had at least one magical fire-thrower, but some of the locals showed up with buckets the moment the screaming stopped.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded grimly, “This is one more example of our enemy acting on incomplete information...  I seriously doubt that they meant to attack an empty house, suggesting that the attack was coordinated at a distance, before anyone realized we’d all gone out on errands this morning.  The other half of the platoon should only be a block or two behind us; have them gather whatever possessions can be salvaged from the house, and forward them to the guest suite the count doesn’t know he’s assigning yet.”  He glanced to Pria, “I may be exceeding my authority, here, but I think it’s time for all of us to move into the castle, including Beckah when she and her escort get back.”\n\n\t“You are,” Pria nodded, then grinned, “but I happen to agree with you.”  Looking back over the carnage, she sighed, “It was a good house, and it served us well... as did its guardians.  Lieutenant, inform your unit’s clerk to disburse double death benefits to the families of your soldiers who fell today, and a week’s war-pay for the survivors, yourself included.  I’ll confirm it in writing on my Agent’s authority when I have the chance.”\n\n\tDrellar blinked, then snapped to rigid attention with an academy-perfect salute, “Yes, ma’am!”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“This, in a word, sucks,” the queen grumbled as she settled down for a late lunch.  This particular set of guest rooms had been built for Atherian trade representatives, back when Southwall had been a border-crossing for Vivenge, and it included its own small kitchen so poison was one less thing a delegation had to worry about.\n\n\tPria nodded, none of her usual wry humor visible this time, “We missed the fight itself... but the house was a mess even if the attackers never made it inside, and there were a lot of bodies in the street.  I agree fully with the count’s suggestion that it would be... unwise for you to go see it in person.”\n\n\tSerra nodded, sullen but resigned, “I know...  If they could get thirty mercs into town without raising an alarm, there’s no reason they couldn’t get sixty.  Still, the fact that they used mercenaries, coupled with the attack’s execrable timing, suggests that the five locals we’ve killed so far might be thinning the numbers of available ‘patriots.’  I certainly hope so, anyway, as we seem to be finding enemies every way we turn, and I’m getting tired of looking over my shoulder.  I want to find whoever’s behind this and stop the troubles at the source.”\n\n\t“Regarding that,” the Agent mused, “the surviving attacker was quite forthcoming...  He has no personal stake in this little conflict beyond what he was paid to do, and he’s fairly certain that he met the man in charge when he was handing out pay and enchanted stones.  I’ve got the city guard keeping an eye out for a very tall, slim white wolf with a bit of a pot belly and a preference for mage-robes.  That is, ever so coincidentally, the species of the last Imperial Count Southwall’s family.  He doesn’t match the description of the count, his son, or his brothers, but we didn’t take any cousins into custody during the war.  Could this really be as simple a matter as familial vengeance?”\n\n\tThe tigon started to nod, then paused and shook her head, “No, because the notion of a wizard related to the old count rings a fairly major bell after my conversations with the court wizard this morning.  Tell me... do you know anything about rune-magic?”\n\n\tBoth other cats looked blank at the question, evolving to confusion at the growl it immediately fetched from the wolf, “Yes... yes, I do.”  Glancing around at her companions, Pria settled back in her chair to explain, “There are three commonly-recognized ‘tiers’ of magic.  Most mages never make it past the first tier, which covers your basic projections of motion, fire, and the like, as well as some fairly advanced spells cast by combining those elements.  Even reactive enchantments, such as turning cloth into armor that only manifests during an actual attack, are a first-tier effect.  The second tier is where things are either exponentially more complicated than even that, or where things are flatly dangerous without enough training and practice.  Use of thought-magic without adequate safeguards can kill the casting mage quickly, though it’s more likely to simply leave them a brain-dead vegetable.  For the complicated stuff, there’s magical trackers that can take one of someone’s furs and use it to precisely trace a years-old path they happened to follow.”  Her mood lightened enough for a faint grin, “Trust me... if I tried to explain just how that works, you’d get a headache.  I certainly did when I learned...”\n\n\tBeckah swallowed a bite of lunch then gestured with her fork, “If the second tier is so dangerous and complicated... what could possibly qualify for a third tier?”\n\n\tThe wolf was looking grim again, “Things that allow one mage to threaten entire nations.  Permanent or temporary gates that can move an army hundreds of miles in mere minutes, for one example.  The extremely difficult twist that can convert an object into pure energy... though no mage in history has managed that with anything larger than a pebble, and even fewer have survived the experience as that pebble can level an entire city.  Finally... there’s rune-magic.  No one knows how or why runes work, or how they were first discovered, but they’re... versatile.  They can be used to perform first-tier effects of virtually any complexity or power-level, but at very little cost to the casting wizard.  They can render gates unnecessary, causing someone to disappear and instantly reappear elsewhere.  There’s really very little they can’t do, and most of the usual limits go right out the window... if the runes are scribed right.  Utterly perfect penmanship, the ability to draw a letter so similarly that, a hundred tries in a row, an impartial reader would swear they all came off of the same press rather than from a pen, is the minimum basic requirement for a rune-mage.  If they get it wrong... then this nigh-unlimited power turns on them.  Several hundred miles southwest of Drachath is a place known as the Plain of Glass.  Nothing grows there, though time and weather have reduced the once-perfect bowl to sharp shards, but it’s a landmark mages from every nation in the world have heard of, because it was formed when someone drew a rune just a little bit wrong, or used the wrong rune, or just used the right one in the wrong order.  The town that was once there was simply and utterly annihilated, and the very earth was melted in a perfect circle.”\n\n\tSerra chewed a bite of sautéed beef while everyone digested the lesson, then swallowed and explained, “There is a room in this castle’s basement that used to belong to the prewar court wizard.  It was mage-locked, but in a fairly conventional fashion, and a group of combat wizards in the initial invasion was able to pick its defenses apart, but they took one look at a steel box in the middle of the room and decided to leave it alone... because it’s covered in runes.  A Guild branch headmaster was sent, able to read runes even if he couldn’t create them, and it’s a much more comprehensive version of a magical lock, with some fairly nasty effects built in should anyone try opening it wrong.  The headmaster was able, with his understanding of just what those defenses reacted to, to scry a vague image of its contents, which appear to be a single, large book.  Our guess is that it’s a book about rune-magic, and we already know that the wizard on the other side is very, very good at conventional magery.  He just might think he’s good enough to try runes, which would make everything we’ve dealt with so far a diversion.  Whether he can start a civil war or just weaken us enough for a quick smash-and-grab, his end goal is almost certainly that box, which is still exactly where it was found given the risk even touching it would entail.”\n\n\tPria nodded and pushed away her half-finished plate, “I’ll be back for this... but with what you just said, there’s something I have to do right now.  I’m not even in shouting distance of the power it’d take to build a gate myself, but I know how they work, and there are some tricks I can put in place that will keep that room secure from such.  If our would-be rune-mage thinks he’s got our side’s magicians distracted enough to pop a gate into that room... some of it will bounce like light from a mirror, creating a partial fold-back loop that will bode ill for anyone nearby.  The contents of that room will be destroyed, as will anyone within fifty yards of the wizard himself.  If you feel the castle shake from an explosion, that means both our foe and his prize are no longer a concern.”\n\n\tBlinking a bit at the implications, Jerek suggested, “Check the guard posts in that basement, and directly above... and move them to a safe distance if needed.  Let’s not go sacrificing our own if we don’t have to.”\n\n\tThe wolf chuckled as she padded toward the door, “Don’t worry, I was already planning that... even though this principled precaution probably won’t be necessary.  The fact that we haven’t already had an invasion by gate suggests that our foe isn’t actually tier-three quality, or that he doesn’t know exactly where the room and box are.”  She blew a kiss to the queen, “I’ll be back within an hour, love.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tOther than a few pages dropping off reports on subjects the queen had left standing orders about, there wasn’t much for the group to do that afternoon.  Serra and Pria retreated to their room of the suite to ‘test the bed’s suspension,’ while Jerek picked one of the simpler-looking books from the shelf of entertainment to practice his reading.  Beckah, for her part, simply unpacked the large figurine she’d been working on, already recognizably feline, and worked on refining it, happy to have her model close at hand where she could examine him in minute detail without his even realizing it.  She’d briefly toyed with the notion of including the erection he probably hadn’t realized she could see every detail of through his blanket, that morning... but had discarded it, not just for his sake, but because thinking about it enough to sculpt it would probably get her worked up enough to start making demands that could sour their current friendship.\n\n\tAs the early sunset of the cusp between autumn and winter faded, the ladies returned, freshly bathed, to start making another meal, though they were almost immediately interrupted by a knock at the door.  Loosening his swords in their sheaths, Jerek moved to answer it, peeking out through the spy-hole then opening it wide as the colonel they’d met earlier stepped in.  “Sir, ma’ams... I’ve just gotten some disturbing news.  A merchant caravan was stopping for the night, about a day’s ride southeast of here, when they found a stray horse near a well-known camping spot.  The horse had a royal brand, so they hunted around a bit more, and eventually found the body of a courier in royal livery.  His pouch was nowhere to be found, though some grass and brush had been recently burnt, nowhere near the designated fire pit.”\n\n\tQueen and Agent both frowned, the tigon voicing the obvious conclusion, “That... was probably my husband’s reply to a message I sent last week, but before our little conflict had started heating up so he had no reason to take extra precautions.  You’ll want to have the mage-relays report the non-delivery, at a min... oh, no...”  Four sets of ears perked curiously at the sudden pain in her voice, and she had to blink away tears before asking, “Are you certain no one has tried to deliver any other messages to me, here or to the guard we left at the house?”\n\n\tThe fox blinked, then shook his head, “No, your Majesty.  Were you expecting one?”\n\n\tSerra nodded sadly, “Yes...  We should have had a reply from Duke Urenhold by now, unless something happened to the bat I sent.  We should have had it hours ago, even!”  She turned toward the gasp that had come from behind her, “Beckah... please guide a platoon to your friends’ house.  Whoever’s there deserves to be told that someone’s murdering couriers, and if he’s alone, Crellan should probably join us.  Have him bring his pigments.  If my worst fears are true, he’ll be too distraught to use them... but their familiarity may help his recovery, once the initial pain is past.”\n\n\tThe colonel noted, “As chief of the guard, I’m informed of all comings and goings of flighted folk... and, yes, two bats were mentioned in yesterday’s evening report, one going north, the other east, at pretty much the same time.  I haven’t yet received today’s copy of that report, but none of the earlier ones reported a return.”\n\n\tTears were further darkening the black cloth of Beckah’s blindfold as she set down her sculpture and stood to brush off the shavings, and her voice was stiff with the over-control of someone holding agony at bay by pure will, “Let’s go...  Whoever was sent north may still turn up, but I share your fear about the other, and their son will need me now.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tBeckah stepped out of the bathing room in the nightgown she’d borrowed from one of the castle maids, just as the glow of Jerek’s arms finished the senseless-seeming bob and weave of knotting the pants that had once belonged to a short, fat man, but now served as shorts, just a little too tight over his muscles but unlikely to tear as he moved.  She couldn’t summon the effort it’d take to ‘see’ the cloth itself, but Crellan needed their company, their comfort and understanding, while they all awaited even the slightest hint that either of his parents might still be alive.\n\n\tJerek’s noon-time ‘triumph’ over having a suite with enough rooms that he needn’t share a bed... had been discarded without hesitation with the evening’s bad news.  ‘Escaping’ another night of sleeping naked with a woman was meaningless beside the child’s need, and he knelt by the chair where Crellan sat, picking up a nearby rag to dab at the moist trails down his dark-furred cheeks.\n\n\t“Th... thank you,” the bat managed, then sniffed again.\n\n\tSlipping around the other side of the chair to hug him, wings and all, Beckah murmured, “Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast... I’m going to go to the office your folks worked at.  They’ll tell me everything they know, even if I have to scare them a bit,” and she held up one cupped palm, filled with harmless but intimidating light-energy.\n\n\tEyes wide at the first display of magic he’d ever seen up close, Crellan nodded, “Please...  It’s not knowin’ for sure that’s the worst.  Maybe someone got sick, or just hurt a little, but the folks at the office didn’t think it was ‘mportant ‘nuf to tell us about.  I keep thinkin’ of ways they coulda died, or ways they could still be alive, an’ neither one’s much fun.”\n\n\tJerek stood to blow out the lamps by the door, then turned down the adjustable-wick one closer to the bed before climbing in with a rumble, “If you want to scare them, I’d be willing to come along, possibly with three or four of the bigger Warkin... but it can still wait ‘til morning.  C’mon, Crel; let’s all get some sleep.”\n\nChapter 9\n\n\t“Pria’s still asleep and the door guard says Serra’s re-interrogating the prisoner,” Beckah reported as from the kitchen nook.  “You two just have some tea, you look like you need it, then you can try my first-ever attempt at making breakfast.”\n\n\tJerek glanced down at the young bat, “I dunno... are we brave enough for that, Crel?”\n\n\tA night’s sleep had done him a great deal of good.  His dark eyes twinkling with amusement, Crellan gave the issue mock-serious thought, “She’s not really blind no more, so she might not poison us...”\n\n\tThe cat snorted, “Very funny, boys.  It’s just leftover steak strips over fresh boiled barley, and a bit of sliced fruit on the side.  Even I can’t screw that up.”\n\n\tBoth ‘boys’ teased her throughout the meal, despite its being perfectly edible, and all three diners looked up when Serra opened the door and stepped in just as they were finishing.  She padded over to the table to set down two small squares of parchment before speaking, “I’ve just had an... enlightening conversation with that captured mercenary, regarding the other side’s standing orders.  These are the delivery forms that Pria recovered from Crellan’s house during another one of her late-night trips.”  She turned her gaze on the little bat, eyes full of sympathy, “I’ve always thought it was better to tell someone bad news directly...  It hurts, but not as much as not knowing...”\n\n\tCrellan blinked, then nodded for her to continue.\n\n\t“Your mother was sent to the southeastern duchy with my orders for the duke.  Your father’s form, though, says ‘verbal message: contingency thirteen.’  According to the hired soldier I talked to, this means ‘kill the bearer of this message.’  I’m afraid that your dad is dead, for no more crime than being known as my ally.”\n\n\tThe bat managed one more stunned blink, then leaned over to grab Jerek around the waist before sobbing into his leathers.\n\n\tBeckah hissed, the look on her face murderous, “Does it say who sent that message?  If it does... they’re dead too, and I won’t be quick about it...”\n\n\tSerra shook her head, “That part of the form is blank, but my chat with that fighter jogged loose a memory.  When I was placing my own order for courier service, there were two men in the office, a horse... and a white wolf, the same species as the purported wizard.  He didn’t match the rest of the description we’d been given, but it’s all too likely he’s related.  It’s time to visit that office again.”\n\n\tEven as he gently patted the shuddering child clinging to him, Jerek volunteered, “I should do that... with a few guards for backup.  I know Beckah would be willing, even eager, and almost certainly effective, but I’m not a national treasure.  If the other side has a contingency plan for a confrontation there, I’m the logical one to send.”\n\n\tThe white cat still looked furious as she turned toward him, but his level gaze and a moment to recover from shock calmed her enough to admit, “You’re probably right...  Both the ambush I met and the attack on your house showed signs of hastiness, but if they do make the connection they’ll probably be better prepared this time.  You aren’t going alone; if you hadn’t already mentioned taking more soldiers with you, I’d have to insist on going along.  As things stand... all I can say is stay safe, and if you meet the guilty, make them hurt for it.”\n\n\tJerek nodded very firmly, “I promise you exactly that, on my honor and in Tarragh’s name.  I’ve had enough breakfast; as soon as I go fetch my swords, it’s time for... a little chat.”  Gently, he disengaged the slim arms around his waist, and his voice still carried a hint of his previous oath as he told Crellan, “I don’t know if you’re old enough to understand revenge... but you have my promise that the one who sent your father off to die, if he’s there, will not escape justice.”\n\n\tCrellan blinked away tears as he looked up at the liger, tips of sharp teeth showing around his lips as he nodded, “I know you’re not as scary as you look, to normal people like me...  Can you be, when someone deserves it?”\n\n\tThe soldier smiled grimly, “In a word, yes.  I was asking a bad guy questions a few nights ago, just like I’ll be doing this morning, and the fellow made the mistake of calling the queen a whore.  I hit him.  Once.  He died.”\n\n\t“Good!” the boy nodded once more.  “Hit someone again... hit them for my daddy.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“Off sick my ass!” Jerek roared as he stormed back into the suite.  Four bodies cringed, and he closed his eyes and shook himself before settling into an armchair where he took a deep, calming breath.\n\n\tThe queen’s voice was more amused than accusatory as she pointed out, “That doesn’t exactly sound like ‘mission accomplished...’”\n\n\t“It was a dead end,” he sighed, “and I’m sorry for that, Crellan.  That horse was there, but the wolf didn’t come in to work yesterday or this morning.  I showed the guy there the ‘contingency thirteen’ order, and he agreed that it was one of his forms and in the wolf’s handwriting, but there was no matching record in the office, nor any employment records that mentioned a residence to look for him at.  I made a bit of a mess, having a literate sergeant go through his papers then breaking open the wolf’s locked desk, with nothing to show for it save fresh evidence of our enemy’s basic cowardice.”\n\n\tSeveral heads nodded sadly, Beckah musing with a sigh, “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t come along.  I wouldn’t have left the building standing, most likely.”\n\n\t“We’re not quite out of leads yet,” Pria noted.  “We have, basically, three options right now.  The most obvious is to simply wait for the enemy to make the next move,” and she smirked faintly at the collection of scowls this earned her, “which is just as obviously not the most popular choice.  Option two is to follow the same order that got Reldek killed.  That wolf had to provide legitimate directions to a co-conspirator... but it’s across the fairly hostile border with Vivenge, in the second-largest town of the neighboring barony.”\n\n\t“I wanna do that,” Crellan chimed in, “but I dunno if we can.  They probably gots a whole army there, lookin’ for folks like us.”\n\n\tSerra nodded, “About half again their prewar garrison, yes.  Not an entire army, but certainly more soldiers than we could deal with.”\n\n\tBrows arched, Jerek pointed out, “So you’ve outlined what we either can’t or won’t do... meaning they’re not really options at all.  Hopefully your third idea will be more feasible.”\n\n\tThe wolf grinned, “Keesanrel should have made you a sergeant...  Now that you’ve had some time to learn the difference between training and the real world, you’re starting to think like one.  My third, or one real, suggestion is that we let Beckah take a look at that box downstairs.”  She turned to face the surprised-looking cat, “You use magic at an almost instinctive level, and your carvings show just the sort of detail and precision necessary to safely work with runes.  I urge you to be careful, and not try anything active without discussing it with me first, but there’s a chance, I can’t really guess how much of one, that you might be able to get somewhere with a lock no one else dares touch.”\n\n\tBeckah chuckled, “I can look at it, I guess...  I’m just having a ‘what the hell?’ moment, wondering how the blind girl begging on the temple steps got to this point.  I’m in the middle of an international wizard-war, seeking vengeance for my dearest friends, living with an Agent and a queen, and now you want me to go poking something that could leave this entire city a smoking crater.  If a fortune teller had described this situation to me a few weeks ago, I’d have quietly called for the healers, as they’re obviously insane.”\n\n\tSlipping out of his chair, Jerek padded over to kneel to her eye level, “But you are not...  The wrenching my reality suffered when I emerged from basic training to meet my king face to face... was nothing compared to the changes in your life.  Anyone else might very well have been driven mad by these events.  Never doubt the strength of your spirit, for it is greater by far than my own strength of arm.  I’ve been... humbled, and honored, to do what I can to aid you these past days.”\n\n\tThe cat patted her blindfold to absorb a few stray tears, but she was smiling as she replied, “You, sir, just crossed the line...  Showing me that degree of respect, when you have to have a pretty good idea of how I already feel about you... well, you’ve got two options.  Either pack your things and go home, or marry me.”\n\n\tJerek blinked hard, a sudden stab of panic shooting through him, followed almost instantly by shame at his first reaction.  Yes, he knew how she felt, but he wasn’t used to thinking of her in a similar way... because he’d very deliberately avoided those thoughts, out of respect.\n\n\tSerra took his confused pause as a chance to mention, “She’s right, about your options.  Here in the middle of a well-guarded keep, we hardly need you as an escort, so don’t go thinking you can use duty as an excuse.  Either tell her ‘yes,’ or be marching back to Atheria City after lunch.”\n\n\tThe liger’s half-exasperated eye-roll shook a giggle loose from Crellan, and he leaned closer to wrap his arms around his friend... no, fiancée.  “Yes,” he murmured simply into her neck-fur.\n\n\tBeckah hugged him back, a contented purr rumbling in her voice, “Thank you...”  Grinning mischievously, then, she pulled back just a little, “When we’re done with the mission here, but before I follow you wherever your army job next leads... there are just a few visits I’d like to make, to some childhood friends who became something else as we hit our teens.  I could hear the gloating pity in their voices when talking about their boyfriends or husbands, as obviously a mere ‘blind girl’ would never catch their like, and now I’d like to hear them gnawing their own livers under words of well-wishing when they see just who and what I did ‘catch.’”\n\n\tJerek had to laugh softly as he finally let go, “I’ll make sure to wear one of the captain’s uniforms I was told will be ready by tonight.  There’s just one more detail I’d like to settle, though, before we go play with dangerous magic in the basement...”  His voice grew firmly serious, “I’m a liger.  Ligers are infertile.  I can never give you children of your own.  That said, if we receive confirmation that these bastards also killed Ferria... could we adopt Crellan?”\n\n\tThe bat’s already-large eyes got huge at that notion, and before anyone else could reply he’d launched himself from his chair with a half-flap of his wings to hug both cats at once.\n\n\tBeckah smiled gently as she wrapped an arm around the child, “I think we just did.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tCalling it a ‘box’ didn’t do the thing justice.  Sitting in the exact center of the room was a polished, apparently seamless cube of steel, nearly three feet on a side.  Its only markings were the mentioned runes, strange shapes etched in thin lines covering the uppermost surface, while the sides could have served as a decent mirror.  Dirt and dust had built up around the lower edges, bespeaking how long it had sat there, but there wasn’t a hint of rust despite the cellar being moderately dank and damp.\n\n\tA servant finished setting up the four stacking chairs he’d brought in, and two more set down a sturdy bench with a sigh of relief before filing out again.  The wolf, three cats, and bat (who’d flatly refused to let his new parents out of his sight, so soon after losing his birth family) took seats in a rough semicircle around the artifact, and Pria spoke up first, “There it is...  What do you ‘see,’ Beckah?”\n\n\t“Very little, actually.  As you already know, I’m sure, the whole thing is covered with the sort of barrier you taught me to make, but for just the depth of the runes’ etchings, I can make out... well, I’m not sure how to describe it.  There are pairs of runes at the four corners; one of each is a power source for a specific element, while its partner is a power limiter tied to that source.  Unless I’m seriously misinterpreting things, without those limits the first runes would be generating effectively infinite power.  The rest of the runes are what does something with that power, such as maintaining the shroud, and another effect that I’ve only seen one parallel to...”  She faced Pria and pointed, “I’ve seen something similar, inside your right hand.”\n\n\tHer other companions blinking in confusion, the wolf simply smiled and fished a gold-rimmed, rounded stone of black onyx out of her vest pocket with her left hand.  Holding her right palm up, she set the stone there and, a moment later, the air rippled, a translucent copy of the king’s personal crest forming above the stone.  “This is my Agent’s badge,” she explained, “and there’s a small gem embedded in my flesh with a signature-spell that the badge reacts to.  These spells are basically a very small energy line tied into a very, very complicated knot.  The outer layers obscure the inner, so not even I can duplicate it, but the inner knots have to be exactly right or the badge won’t work.  Also, the stone itself is special, ‘tinting’ the spell in a fairly unique way, so even if someone realizes it’s a yellow sapphire instead of the topaz it looks like, they’d need to know exactly where it was mined to get a duplicate.”\n\n\tBeckah nodded her understanding, and held out her own hand, “May I see the badge for a moment?  I’d like to try something... on a safer target than that box.  I think I’ve read its defensive mechanism accurately, and there’s a reason it’s made of steel, which conducts lightning.  That’s exactly what we’d get if we opened it wrong; it’ll char anyone within twenty feet.”\n\n\tPria surrendered her badge, taking a shrewd guess at just what her student was about to attempt, but kept her muzzle shut.  An old saying ran through her mind, ‘The man who says something is impossible should not interrupt the one who’s doing it.’\n\n\tThe cat’s brow furrowed as she focused on looking past her teacher’s own, living glow to the spell within, her mental ‘angle’ swinging wildly as it grew ever larger in her mind’s eye, capturing every nuance...  Finally, she lifted her other hand and slowly, carefully fed a trickle of magic into the air, shaping it, folding it, and wrapping the mote of energy in an almost gauze-like variant of her mage-sight shroud spell, so thin and diffuse that it mirrored the almost undetectable muting of the original spell’s physical stone.  No one so much as twitched, realizing her degree of concentration, though Pria’s eyes steadily widened as she kept glancing between her own hand and Beckah’s, unable to tell the slightest difference between the two spells by the time she finished and held the badge near, the illusory crest forming anew.\n\n\tSerra lurched forward in her seat, barely staying on the edge as she blurted, “That’s bloody impossible!  Some of our kingdom’s highest security is based on the fact that no one can... well, can do what you just fucking did!”\n\n\t“Is a queen s’posed to have that dirty a mouth?” Crellan whispered to Jerek, who fought to keep his expression straight.\n\n\tBeckah grinned as she passed the badge back, its illusion stuttering as it traded off between the two copies of the signature, “Jerek?  Crellan?  I think we’re going to have to move to Atheria City when this is all done.  Even if the queen here doesn’t tell anyone else, I doubt they’d trust me, or risk me, anywhere another nation might get their hands on me... or my loved ones.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded glumly, “And I couldn’t protect you from the army they’d damned well send to get you, if word got out that you can do that.”\n\n\tWith a nod of her own, his prospective wife stood up and padded toward the box, stopping a foot away as she carefully spied out parallels and congruences between its runic spell and the signature verifier in the badge, “We’ll worry about that sort of thing later.  For now, I’ll need another moment of silence while I concentrate.”\n\n\tJerek’s and Crellan’s muzzles both opened in protest, but a stern look from both other ladies stilled them.  Pria gave them an encouraging smile as she saw a fresh, tiny mote spring into being at the end of one white-furred finger, and relaxed back into her seat.  The liger simply closed his eyes and silently prayed, commending his soul to Tarragh should he die in the next minute and asking that his new family be allowed to join him in the War God’s heaven.\n\n\tBeckah reached toward the box, that single finger extended, then paused with a faint frown.  Taking two steps around it, she faced it at a new angle... then touched the very center of the top with her fingertip.  Her three companions jumped in their seats, and her son let out an involuntary squeak, as one side of the box simply fell off with a loud clang, right where her toes would have been if she hadn’t moved.  Bending down, she casually lifted out the thick, leather-bound tome inside.  “This,” she mused, “is not your average book.  Only about half the pages have ink on them; the rest are ‘illustrated’ with magic, bound to the parchment and perpetually refreshed by the runes on the front cover.”\n\n\t“That,” Pria amended, “is possibly the single most dangerous item in the world.  There’s an old saying, ‘the only thing more dangerous than knowledge is ignorance.’  That book, though, is an exception to the rule.  With the knowledge it contains, a mage would, most likely, kill themselves and everyone around them.  If they succeed and survive, though, they could conquer the world.”\n\n\tLittle Crellan, of all people, asked in his piping voice, “Does that make us the bad guys?  In all the stories I hear, ‘bout adventures and battles and valor and such, the bad guys are always tryin’ to take over the world...”\n\n\tMost of the adults blinked, then smiled indulgently.  Serra shook her head and told him, “My husband, the king, has enough trouble just dealing with these two counties our army conquered for us.  Conquest... is a lot of work, and who’d want to have all those headaches for the entire world?  No, we’re happy enough with one little kingdom to call our own.”\n\n\tHefting the book for emphasis, Beckah noted, “It looks like whoever wrote this shared some of Pria’s fears about its potential use.  There’s a single, simple spell in the spine; if you push on all three of these indentations at once, the book will incinerate itself, while shielding whoever had the courage to destroy it.”\n\n\tPria looked torn, “I’m tempted... very tempted to just invoke that spell and be done with it.  We already have two similar tomes in the kingdom, one in the Mages’ Guild headmaster’s private, and very well-protected, library, and another in the royal vault.”\n\n\tShaking his head, Jerek pointed out, “But would the enemy wizard believe us if we did that and found a way to tell him?  While I was growing up,” and he winked to Crellan, “and up, and up...” before continuing more seriously, “every thug, bully, and cheat I met seemed to share a common blind spot.  Their first assumption about what anyone else would do... was based on what they’d do, and a wizard hungry for power would almost certainly assume that others share that hunger.  He’d never seriously considering destroying such a vast source of power... except, possibly, with his dying breath to spite a potential rival.”\n\n\t“Luckily,” Pria mused, “that’s not a decision we have to make immediately.  Let me work a quick spell, then it’ll be time for lunch.”  Everything obviously valuable had already been taken when the keep was first conquered, but this had still been a wizard’s workroom, so it wasn’t hard for the wolf to find a stray, blank piece of quartz and a canvas bag.  Even as everyone agreed with her proposal, punctuated by a rumble from Crellan’s midsection and several grins, she cast a quick, fabric-infusing mage-sight shroud on the stone, then dropped it into the bag and held it open.\n\n\tBeckah nodded, understanding immediately, and slipped the book carefully into the bag, spine up, then took one more moment to pick up the beveled square of steel and press it back against the open side of the box, where it locked firmly into apparently-seamless place once more.  “This is actually safe to touch and move,” she noted, “except for the middle rune on top.  Contact there, physical or magical, by anything not bearing the right signature will set off the lightning.”\n\n\t“Something to keep in mind, as it could serve as a weapon under the right circumstances,” her tutor agreed.  It was Jerek’s belly’s turn to rumble, then, far more ominously than the little bat’s could manage, so she set the discussion aside in favor of leading the way toward lunch.\n\n\tLike most suites of its kind, just outside of their rooms and to one side of the guards flanking the door was a page’s bench, and three messengers sitting on it were looking all too happy about their arrival.  Lunch, obviously, would have to wait.\n\n\tThe one man in a private’s uniform, his companions both in county livery, stood up and saluted, “Sir, ma’ams... I bring good news from Rusty Gorge.  Incidents of vandalism and anti-Atherian propaganda have faded to an effective nil in that county.  When I rode out two days ago, it had been three days since any genuinely new incidents; the only things we’d been finding were older and just hadn’t been noticed or reported immediately.”\n\n\tSerra frowned slightly, “I suppose that’s good news in the sense that we won’t need to go calming things down in person, there... but it’s because of some bad news.  The acts you refer to were part of a conspiracy, and those behind it know who and where I am.  If they’ve stopped in the other county, it means they’re consolidating their remaining resources, and I’m the obvious target since my death would cause far more disruption than a few provocative slogans.”\n\n\tThe young tiger blinked, then shrugged, “Sounds like something way above my pay grade, ma’am.  I don’t even know who you are, but I was told to give you that message and I have.  I’ll go head to the barracks for some grub and a bunk before riding back, by your leave.”\n\n\tAt the queen’s dismissing gesture, he turned and marched down the hall, and the second messenger stood up, “Message from the mage relays, your Majesty.”  The private still in earshot hit the floor as he stumbled over his own two feet, and he scrambled back up to continue in double-time to the sound of Crellan’s giggle.  The standing mink fought to keep his own expression serious as he continued, “This one’s also from Rusty Gorge.  There’s a pass over White Mountain heading north that’s usually used by anyone wanting to avoid the new official border crossing and its customs inspections.  A rather seedy fellow showed up at Count Rusty Gorge’s castle this morning; they’re pretty sure he’s a smuggler, but he’s also either a patriot or simply doing better for himself under our administration than Vivenge’s, so in the interests of keeping things stable he reported an abandoned camp at the far end of some fairly major tracks.  His best guess is somewhere between forty and a hundred people recently marched into Atheria by that route, and his count informed our count on principle since those tracks led to a swamp that crosses their mutual border and there’s no telling where they came out.”\n\n\tSerra nodded, “Tell our count to muster the reserve and enough armor and weapons for them.  They might be needed soon.”\n\n\tThe mink simply nodded back then stepped around the group to move deeper into the residential wing.\n\n\tThe third messenger, a ferret, stood and reported, “Another message from the mage-relays, from Duke Urenhold.  He’d fronted the budget overrun you’d endorsed, to be returned by the same courier who brought the order.  That courier’s body was found the evening after she left, with four crossbow bolts in her and several additional holes through her wings.  The diplomatic pouch was absent, and the ground nearby had been churned up by hoofprints.”\n\n\tBeckah knelt as Crellan’s eyes filled with tears, and pulled him into a gentle hug as he wept.\n\n\tThe queen had to wipe her own eyes, too, before replying, “That courier... was this boy’s mother, and we’d already discovered that his father had been murdered, probably by the same group.”  Her frown deepened, from sadness to a smoldering anger, as a thought surfaced, “She stayed overnight... which was long enough for a man on a fast horse to get there and intercept her return flight, but a large group would have attracted attention.  They obviously already had men there, that far south, for their messenger to gather for the attack, which suggests that even the ‘bandits’ we met on our way here were part of this conspiracy.  Someone has either a very long arm and a great deal of influence, or is spending money like water to buy the loyalty of those who’d sell it.  They’ve also had time; it must have taken months to get all these pieces into place...”\n\n\tNone of this sounded like anything he’d need to carry a message about, so the ferret simply bowed, then tilted his head questioningly.  At her nod, a bit belated as her mind was busy, he turned and headed back down the hall.\n\n\tThe guards finally snapped to attention and saluted as the group moved to open the door, and Jerek paused to return the gesture before stepping around the rest of his companions toward the kitchen.  “I guess I’ll fix the meal,” he mused in passing.  “Our royals need to consider the news and its implications, and my son needs his mother.”\n\n\tCrellan looked up, blinking, at his emphasis, and some of the agony faded from his expression as he realized just what the liger had implied.  He may have lost his birth-parents... but these two people, one a long-time friend and the other simply amazing to him for several reasons, would make sure he’d never be alone again.\n\nChapter 10\n\n\tDearest Serra and Pria, another mage-relayed message, delivered on parchment during breakfast, read.\n\n\tI will have to skip some of the more... descriptive endearments I’d included in my original, intercepted and destroyed reply, as they would likely do the on-duty wizard here a mischief at his age, and we wouldn’t want that.  I understand the conflicting duties whose pressure you feel, but I agree with your proposed plan.  You’re both smart enough, and realistic enough, to seek out more help and protection should you and our child need it.  Stay safe, return when you can, and may your efforts bring about happier times for everyone but the playclub’s slaves who were so relieved when you stopped coming by.\n\n\t— Yours forever, Keesanrel IV\n\n\tSerra smiled as she set down the short letter, “I do miss him so... but it’s nice to have permission, however belated, for what we’re already doing.”\n\n\t“And what are we doing today?” Jerek asked curiously as he buttered two slices of bread then passed one to his son.  That was a concept he was still getting used to, as he was less than twice the boy’s age, but the relationship was proving to be surprisingly comfortable.  Besides, the kid’s need for comfort at night meant that Beckah was still wearing that nightgown to bed, delaying things he wasn’t quite comfortable with... yet.  His virginity’s days were numbered, he knew, but he occasionally found himself wistfully looking forward to the loss, and more time would probably leave him even better prepared when the moment actually came.\n\n\tThe queen shrugged, “Not much, unless the other side makes a move or we get news sooner than I expect.  Once the reserve’s fully mobilized, we’ll reinstate the full road patrol schedule and add scouting forays into the countryside, looking for places a force like the smuggler reported might rally before an attack.  I’ve told them to be careful about it, given how cowardly our foe has proven to be.  Scouts are to work in pairs at a minimum, and keep one or two hundred yards between them so if one stumbles into a fresh ambush, the other will probably get away.”\n\n\tJerek nodded, “Even if I dislike the notion of offering a sacrificial goat for the other side, it’s good that you’re thinking in terms of ambushes.  Every single fatality on both sides of this little conflict has been part of some sort of sneak attack, even that vandal I hit too hard, to be honest.  I was the one sneaking that time, I guess.”\n\n\t“If that’s the extent of our plans,” Pria mused as she finished reading Keesanrel’s letter for herself, “I should grab a few more stray crystals from downstairs and let Beckah practice enchanting them.”  She glanced over at the cat, “That’s one of only two subjects left in ‘the basics’ I promised I’d teach.  The other, we can cover at the same time, and that’s projecting energy from a remote point, rather than a line coming from your person, and you’ll have to get used to concentrating on a point in space if you’re going to make a spell stick to a rock for long.”\n\n\tBeckah chuckled and wagged a finger in Crellan’s direction, “I saw those ears perk...  Yes, you can watch if you want, but some of it will be boringly invisible to normal sight, I’m thinking.”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded with a soft chuckle, “Indeed... but I can choose some relatively spectacular effects to drill you on, so the results will be more fun to watch once the ‘staring at rocks’ part is done.”\n\n\t“Just so you have something useful to do,” Serra suggested to Jerek, “why don’t you go visit your temple, then an armorer that they recommend?  With the loss of the house and its ongoing rent, though the owner will be reimbursed by the crown eventually, our only remaining ‘mission expense’ is food, and we could skip even that just by taking meals with the count.  Since the money I’d promised the colonel was stolen, I’ll replace it from my own purse, including what we’d budgeted for your armor.”\n\n\tHer former escort nodded, “I can do that...  Oh!” and he turned back to his family-to-be, “Thinking about the crown and such raised a thought... or, rather, it put an old worry to rest.  Crellan... when I first met Beckah, the only reason we still assumed she’d be living here, even after carving a few things for the king, was that we didn’t want to take her away from you, and your family here.  We’re your family now, though...  Never forget your real mother and father, as they were very good people who worked hard to raise you right and let your talent with paints shine through.  Now, though... how would you like to live in Atheria City?  There are a lot of very rich people there, nobles gathered for the king’s court, and they would pay you gold, gold that’s yours to keep or spend, for the kind of colors on Beckah’s carvings that I saw the night we met.  Also, you’d be living in a much better neighborhood, with guards around to make sure no one ever tries to take what’s yours.”\n\n\tThe bat’s eyes had scrunched shut at the reminder of his parents’ absence, but they grew wide and very bright at the rest of his suggestion, “That’d be neat!”\n\n\tSerra interrupted, “Neighborhood?  Forget that right now.  I can promise you three a small suite in the palace, permanently.  The Royal Carver, and her Royal Painter,” and she shot the boy a wink, “deserve nothing less.”\n\n\tCrellan blinked once more, then nodded with a grin, “And my new dad, the Royal Kicker of Butt!”\n\n\tJerek couldn’t help but laugh at that ‘endorsement,’ “Maybe...  On the journey here, I did kick someone who needed kicking, but it wasn’t in their butt.  They died, of course.  I’ll be sure to save the royal butt-kickings for those who deserve them.”\n\n\tBeckah’s gentle smile drew his gaze, a sight he hoped he’d never grow tired of seeing, and she half-purred, “We are a family, to each other... but let’s not forget to make it official at some point.  We’ll need a wedding, once the threat of impending attack is past, and some formal adoption or guardianship proceedings, both, hopefully, before we spend weeks moving south.”\n\n\tHer affianced nodded, “Since my armor will be paid for by the crown, and it’s almost time to collect my next month’s wages from the army, I shall endeavor to purchase the best wedding rings seven florins can buy.”\n\n\tSerra winced, “Since marrying a rich man, myself, I’ve done a fair bit of jewelry shopping... and you’re not going to get two decent rings with gemstones at that price.  Pria?  If our natural mage here does as well at enchantment as she’s done everything else she’s set her fine mind to, see if you can angle the lesson to result in a few high-value, salable stones.  She can wholesale them to the local magic shop and double, or maybe triple, the ring budget,” and she cast a mock-suspicious glance across the table, “unless, of course, her prospective husband has some hang-up about having to buy everything himself.”\n\n\t“I feel as if I’m missing something, here,” the white cat mused half-whimsically.\n\n\tJerek looked a bit abashed, “It’s just an old argument from the journey north, before I met you, dear.  I was... a bit stuffier, though with cause I still think.  It sort of boiled down to a form of protest against pressures which I really didn’t deserve to be the focus of.”\n\n\tPria translated, “In other words, your words actually, he was being a soldier, not a gigolo.  He didn’t win the financial argument, as I fight a lot dirtier than he does, but he won the other half, and will be delivered to your nuptial bed a virgin despite our best efforts.”\n\n\tThe liger snorted, “And thank you so much for mentioning that...  C’mon, let’s settle down and eat; you have magic lessons and I have shopping, and the morning’s not getting any younger.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“Don’t say a word,” the burly otter working the forge’s bellows said before Jerek had even straightened from ducking through the door.  “You have to be the one Sir Goral was talking about, when he came by so I could fix that dent you left in his armor.  He sounded very confident that you’d be able to afford my wares soon, so I had him describe your size, and I’ve been extending a hauburgeon I already had in stock in my spare time since.  Now that you’re here, I can get the more precise measurements I’ll need before starting on a proper breastplate to go with it, but you’ll be wearing my finest chainmail before you leave.”\n\n\tBlinking a bit, the liger nodded and pulled the small purse he’d been given out of his belt, “You’re right enough, I guess.  I don’t see myself becoming a knight any time soon, so what you’ve proposed should suit my needs handily.  I have...” and he had to open the purse and check, “ten florins to work with, today.  How much more will I need for the plate?”\n\n\tThe smith tilted his head as he mentally sized the big man, “The suit of chain will run you eight... and I’m told you’re a man of honor in the direct service of the queen, so I’ll forgo my usual ‘half down’ policy.  The chain’s actually more work than the plate, though the latter uses just a bit more raw metal, so it’ll be six florins when it’s ready.  Should take four or five days, and I know someone who’ll make a well-padded gambeson to go under it all for about a monarch.”\n\n\t Jerek nodded, and dumped the purse’s contents on the counter at the less smoky end of the shop, “I’ll get another four florins to you as soon as I can, and we can check the fit of the hauburgeon after your next quench... or were you going to keep heating that blade forever?  It’s already orange; time to start hammering, if I’m remembering my own work with horseshoes right.”\n\n\tThe otter yelped, and grabbed the tongs to move the almost-overheated metal to the anvil.  “Thanks!” he called out between hammer strikes, “I almost... let my eagerness... for one job... ruin another!”\n\n\tWhen he’d gotten his captain’s uniforms the evening prior, they’d held two surprises... that they were made of durable cloth without any leather reinforcement, and that nothing was in just one piece, sections joined by adjustable straps despite being made to his exact size already.  He was coming to realize, now, that the uniforms were meant to be worn equally well by themselves, or over the very armor he’d been discussing, as officers generally had something a bit better than his old leathers when they went into battle.  He’d be carrying the new chainmail home, though, after visiting the tailor to order the necessary padding.  Wearing the armor over his uniform, instead of the other way around, would quickly wear out any fabric not specifically designed for it, but wearing it ‘properly’ without the padded gambeson would tear half his fur out before he’d walked a mile in it.  The shopping trip as a whole, at least, seemed like it would be both faster and more immediately fruitful than he’d first assumed when setting out.\n\n\tA loud hiss woke him from his musings as steam boiled out of a water barrel near the forge, and the smith set the half-forged blade aside to step over and collect his coins.  “I’ve got your new suit in a bottom drawer here...  Weighs a good bit even for mere chain, it does; I didn’t skimp any, as I’m sure you can take the weight.  Let’s just get it shaken out and held up to be sure it’ll fit.”\n\n\tJerek had to smile as the scent of oiled steel filled his nostrils, looking down at the suit he held against his chest with one hand while the other stretched out an arm of it.  “This is excellent-looking work, master smith,” he rumbled.  “You said you extended it, but I can’t see a divide; no wonder you had three knights, one of them a high priest, all directing me here.”\n\n\tThe otter snorted, “A half-assed extension is just another way of saying ‘obvious weak spot.’  The quality of my work can mean your life or death, and I’d prefer that you stay alive to shop here again.”\n\n\t“Given that I’ll still need a shield and a bigger sword at some point, you’re quite right to see it that way.  Here, let’s get this rolled up so I can carry it over my shoulder on the way to the tailor.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tJerek blinked at the rather odd assortment Pria and Beckah were unloading from an old box they’d found in the basement.  There was still some time before supper, so he stepped closer and asked, “Just what did you manage to make, today?  That looks like a charlatan’s crystal ball, and the... tiaras?  Headbands?  Whatever they are, they’re a bit strange.”\n\n\t“The ball works, Daddy!  I tried it myself!” Crellan proclaimed proudly.\n\n\tPria gave the kid an indulgent head-ruffling, then looked up to grin, “The sprout’s got it right, actually.  The classic concept of a crystal ball is actually quite viable, but it’s dependent entirely on how far the enchanter can personally push a remote projection-point.  The exact process would be meaningless to a non-mage, so let’s just call it ‘very difficult’ and mention that the effort goes up with range.  On a good day, I can manage eight feet with most sorts of energy, as my strength has always been in my subtlety, not my raw power.  Light-energy, which is what the ball uses, is a bit easier to work with, enough so that I could send a glowing line nearly fifty yards if I wanted to enjoy a headache, but the ball itself can still only be imprinted with the same level of power and effort that the enchanter’s capable of.  We had to pause the lesson for a cup of willowbark, as Beckah finally found her limit and got a headache of her own for her troubles, but this thing’s range is somewhere between four and five miles.  The little crystals around the base are part of the spell too, and control the point you’re looking at through the glass.  Of course, your bride-to-be wouldn’t have been able to try her own new toy... without these,” and she held up the iron circlets, each with an inset, faceted octagon of yet another kind of crystal.  Pausing to examine small marks on the inner rims, she handed one to the liger, “Here, put this on with the crystal at your forehead, then close your eyes, and don’t open them again until the spell ends.”\n\n\tBlinking a bit, Jerek complied, settling onto the floor with his legs folded.  Nothing happened, at first, but then he saw... himself!  The angle was odd, and the view was anything but steady, swinging around to show both ladies from below, and he realized, “Crellan?  Am I seeing through your eyes?”\n\n\tThe view bobbed wildly as the bat nodded, “Yup!  These things are neat!  But you don’t wanna open your eyes while on the receivin’ end, ‘cuz seein’ two things at once is just too much.  Made me dizzy when I tried it.”\n\n\tChuckling, Jerek lifted the circlet free, opening his eyes the moment the loaned view faded, “So these will work for anyone...  Very nice.  Now, what are those hemispheres?”\n\n\tPria’s tone was a bit more serious this time, “These... are weapons.  You’ll notice that the rows are on opposite sides of the box; they need to stay that way, and I’ll be marking one set when your son lends me some paint.  Once that’s done, you take any one marked one, and an unmarked one, and put the flat sides together...  They’ll stick to each other, after which you have exactly five seconds before it explodes.  I’d advise throwing it at someone you don’t like, in that time.  It’s a refinement of one of my own father’s inventions, years before I was born, while he was still in training himself.”\n\n\tCrellan piped up, “The farmer Momma practices near had a stump he didn’t want.  It’s gone now.”  His big ears splayed at the memory, “It was loud.”\n\n\t“That it was,” the wolf agreed.  “In any case, these were the things I thought we’d find most useful, ourselves.  We already sold the normal stuff to the magic shop, which is run by a wizard only a little stronger than me, but quite experienced at identifying and evaluating enchantments.  We showed him a few things like window alarms, weight reducers, and variable-focus lights, fairly standard effects but requiring above-average skill to make well, and he bought the whole lot then and there.  The materials we had to work with were a bit crude, but he’ll be fancying them up so they look ‘real’ to the rich, ignorant fools who buy that kind of thing.”\n\n\t“I’ve got all the gold we’ll need for a couple of decent gems,” Beckah purred, “but that’s all we’ll really have to buy.  Pria told me of her own parents’ wedding rings, which her father made out of gold coins.  Compared to what I worked with today, simply levitating a bit of metal, melting it in place, and holding a shape around it ‘til it cools will be child’s play.”\n\n\tJerek smiled fondly, “I’d prefer it that way, but not because of the money.  I... oh.  I was just about to say ‘I love you for you, not your power,’ only to realize I’d never said it in so many words... but I do love you, the first girl who didn’t prejudge me.  Maybe there’s something to that old saw about love being blind...  The power you’ve grown into is simply a bonus, and that you’d use it to make the very symbols of our union... it touches me, deep within.”\n\n\t“Dinner’s almost ready, you lovebirds,” came the call from the kitchen.  “Get that ratty box off the table so we can eat.”\n\n\tCareful not to tip it and get the half-explosives too close to each other, Beckah lifted the box down to the floor then brushed its dusty footprint clean with the sleeve of her cloak, just to give the so-good ache in her throat time to fade.  When she could, she replied, “I know it’s the ‘real me’ you came to respect and befriend.  And I know that it was purely reciprocal, from me getting to know the ‘real you,’ but it was your reaction to my reaction that drew me closer to you, even before you showed up with royalty and turned my life upside-down.  I get a little dizzy when I try to map out just how our bond grew, but love was never meant to be analyzed too closely...  Simply accept that it exists, and is real.”\n\n\tJerek wiped his eyes and nodded as he took his seat at the table, but the only comment to be had was from Crellan, muttering about ‘talking in mushy circles’ just as the queen brought out the first steaming dish.\n\n* * *\n\n\t“Now you’re starting to look like a soldier,” Serra approved as the liger stepped out of his bedroom.\n\n\tHe’d picked up his finished gambeson that morning, two days after ordering it, then stopped by the smithy as well to pay the balance on his in-progress breastplate.  Crellan was staring, clearly impressed by the sight of the armor and uniform tunic, the latter still crisp and new, and at a nudge from his mother he scrambled to put on the circlet that was a little too big for him so she could see too.\n\n\t“I agree,” Beckah said with a smile.  “You’re looking very sharp, and you can’t even blame your swords since you’re not wearing them.  If you’d been in that when I first saw you, and if I’d had my present experience in seeing people for comparison, I’d have considered you way out of my league.  I might have tried to sell you a carving, as you look like you can afford it, but pursuing romance?  Never.”\n\n\tJerek chuckled, “Dear... you are, quite possibly, the most powerful living mage in the world.  You could have just about any man, or woman for that matter, you want.  That you’d settle for me is...”\n\n\tHe hadn’t yet thought up a suitable adjective when she burst into laughter, “Settle?!?  Gods and Goddesses, the humility of the man!  Just you wait ‘til our wedding night, Mister, and I’ll show you just how much I’m not simply ‘settling’ for anything!”\n\n\tRather than let the conversation continue into territory best kept in privacy, he padded the rest of the way over to peer at her morning’s work, “Damn... those bands are a lot nicer than I’d thought they’d be when you were talking about ‘simply’ melting down coins... and just how much did you get from the magic shop?  Those diamonds are not small!”\n\n\tBeckah brightened as he took an interest, but had to warn him first, “Don’t touch them yet, they’re solid but still hot...  Anyway, the tapered band with filigree in the middle was a spur-of-the-moment thing, since just holding the basic ring shape was almost boringly easy.  I took the pattern from the lace of the queen’s blouse cuffs.  The diamonds... were a bargain I got in return for the first enchantment I wholly invented myself, with no help or instructions from anyone.  The jeweler I found mostly trades finished gems, but he cuts his own too, fairly well as he made these.  For his usual trades, though, he now has a device that will make sure he’s never sold a fake again.  Give it any two gems, such as one he’s buying and another he knows the pedigree of, and it will indicate, decisively, whether or not they’re made of the same substance.  Even if the scam’s more complicated than the usual colored glass, it won’t work on him, and in thanks he sold me these stones at the price he’d paid for the uncut roughs.  In effect, we made a straight trade, labor for labor.”\n\n\tJerek nodded, “Wise and fair, on so many levels.  As a novice of Tarragh, I particularly like the fact that you’ll be reducing successful dishonesty in the future.”\n\n\tThe cat had to chuckle, “He’s an acolyte of Molinden, himself, and said very nearly the same thing.”  She paused, stiffening in her seat, “Crellan!  Move the ball’s view back about fifty yards the way you came; I think I saw something.”  She and her son were still wearing the circlets, but when she’d started explaining her latest exploit he’d gone back to scrying the countryside with his favorite new toy.  The countryside, of course, was nowhere near as interesting as the city... but some rather firm orders had been issued on the subject the second time his view wandered into an occupied bedroom.\n\n\tHis father stepped closer to peer into the globe too, “I see it...  Smoke, but diffuse, like a campfire with a woven-branch baffle over it.  Just a little closer... there!  I can see two, no, three helmets poking out of bushes at even increments.  Sentries... and those helms aren’t army-issue.  We should try to get a count—blast!  Why’d it just go black?”\n\n\tBeckah took off her circlet so she could better examine the ball’s spell-structure, “It’s still working... or trying to.  The remote point disappeared and won’t manifest again, even though it’s not out of range.  I think we just hit someone’s shield against just this sort of scrying.  Crel, can you remember which way you sent it?”\n\n\tThe bat nodded, “I started from the crater where that stump used to be, then went north, and a little west when I got bored with grass and wanted to see that forest.”\n\n\tIf only from the amount of practice he’d put in, Crellan was the best in their group at the deft, gentle touch needed on the ball’s control-crystals, so Serra took him at his word as she opened the cupboard under the bookcase and pulled out a map of the local area.  She’d barely finished spreading it on the floor when she rumbled, “Got it.  Corporal Nellan!”  The suite’s front door opened a moment later, the guard in question blinking curiously.  “Get to the colonel,” she snapped like the soldier she’d once been herself, “and tell him that the enemy’s rallying at Shady Pines.”\n\n\t“Ma’am!  Yes, ma’am!”\n\n\tThe queen turned to Jerek, “And you, put on your swords.  We’re not going anywhere... but I want to ‘patrol’ with that crystal once it’s working again, keeping an eye on the battle but also making sure no one’s using it as a diversion.  With as many men as that little forest could conceal, they’ll probably be turning out half the city guard to meet them, and someone might want to take advantage of the reduction here in town.”\n\nChapter 11\n\n\tBy the time the liger was properly armed, his fiancée had gotten her spell restarted, and Pria had rushed back in from collecting daily reports from various people around the castle.  “How bad is it?” she asked as she threw herself into a seat and peered intently into the crystal.\n\n\t“It could be a lot better,” Beckah groused.  “I thought I’d made this thing subtle enough... but the shield that knocked it out must have triggered an alarm, too.  By the time I had the view back, there was just a dissipating puff of steam; they’ve put out the fire that first attracted my attention, and their sentries either moved or just hid a lot better.  At the range I have to keep the spell at, I can’t see any of them now.”\n\n\tCrellan stroked two of the crystal’s in the ball’s base, one a lot harder than the other, and with only a tiny additional adjustment they could see the forming ranks of friendly soldiers.  “Sheesh,” he breathed, “That’s... I count twenty across, and it’s ten lines deep and they’re still comin’ out!”  He touched another control, spinning his finger a half-circle around an onyx stud, “And there’s the bad guys...”\n\n\tA similar formation to the guards’ was forming up as men spilled from the forest, but the Atherians had seen them too, and helmets came into view as the troops started to march.  Crellan advanced the view again for a better look, and it seemed that the smuggler’s guess had been pretty close.  Perhaps eighty men in motley armor had emerged from the trees, a white wolf in a maroon robe leading from the front rank.\n\n\t“Oh, shit,” Serra breathed.  “Crel, that’s the baddest of the bad guys, right there, and if he’s pressing the attack when we outnumber his troops three to one...  They’re still a mile and a half apart, but I have a very bad feeling about this.”\n\n\tPria stood and padded to the door, opening it to address the remaining guard, “Activate contingency plan Charcoal.  I’ll be barring the door while you’re gone, so don’t worry about us.”\n\n\t“Yes, ma’am!”  They could all hear his boots as he sprinted down the hall, until the door closed and the Agent lifted its iron bar into place.\n\n\tReturning to her seat, Pria answered the obvious question, “I’m just as worried as you are... but this emergency plan of mine should put a serious crimp in their routine if they get too close.  Crel,” and her gaze was serious as the bat looked up, “this is the group that murdered your parents, and their leader.  If I tell you to do something that will hurt or even kill them, will you have a problem with that?”\n\n\tCrellan’s lips curled in a snarl far beyond his years, “No, ma’am!  You just tell me what to do, and the more of them that die, the better!”\n\n\tBoth royals nodded, satisfied, and Serra rumbled, “We’ve got ten minutes or so ‘til the lines meet... but I want to see them again in five.  See how quickly you can check our own hallway, the main hall of the castle, and as many major roads in town as you can hit.  Look for anyone acting sneaky.”\n\n\tThe bat cracked his knuckles with panache, then hit the ball’s ‘reset’ control, the image shifting instantly to the group’s own suite in an overhead view before he started putting it through the requested paces.\n\n\tThe magical ‘patrol’ turned up nothing suspicious, but that didn’t make anyone feel particularly better, given that nothing the enemy had previously done had been blatant or obvious.  They located the converging forces again with a minute to spare from Serra’s schedule, the guards’ twelve ranks to the mercenaries’ four, but they were still nearly a quarter-mile apart when the Atherian guards, in twos and threes, started clutching at their necks and keeling over.  Their tidy formation shattered as some soldiers rushed to help their comrades, others turned tail and ran, and still more kept inexplicably dropping to the ground.\n\n\t“Darts!  Magically-delivered darts!” hissed Pria.  “I’ve used them myself, as they’re a great way to take down an armored foe, even at the very limits of your range...  Mine were coated in a knock-out serum, but I somehow doubt our foe is that merciful.  He’s certainly shown no hesitation about killing anyone else; I doubt he’d bat an eye at poisoning the entire force.”\n\n\tCrellan choked back a sob, the vision he shared with his mother blurred by tears as he watched men on his side, some with faces he knew from around town, die with no chance to defend themselves, one after the other.  His fingers, though, remained steady on the crystals, the view never wavering as the ragged, outnumbered force swarmed over the tumbled bodies, checking for any quick thinkers that had faked being struck and simply thrown themselves down.  They found two, and the results weren’t pretty.\n\n\t“Take us back,” Pria murmured.  “Set the view to the north gate, downwards toward the road from just over the wall.”\n\n\tSeveral sets of eyes widened as that road came into view, a very familiar steel cube now occupying the middle, some thirty feet out from the wall.  “Oh,” breathed Beckah, “that is slick.  If there’s anything in the world that bastard would stop for, you’ve just handed it to him... and I can certainly guess what comes next for ‘plan Charcoal.’”\n\n\tThe wolf nodded grimly, “Crellan...  This is the tricky part.  I need you to position the view directly over the exact center of that box, but don’t get too close to it yet.  When you’re there, rotate it back up so we can see the bad guys coming, without moving it an inch from the point it’s above.”\n\n\tAs her son worked, Beckah explained, “Remember what I said about that rune in the middle?  Once the scrying spell is in the right place, if it’s lowered down it will count as magical contact... and it does not have the signature to make things safe.”\n\n\tCrellan briefly freed an arm from his work to wipe his eyes, which were suddenly very fierce, “I get it...  Plan Charcoal!  Just tell me when!”\n\n\tBeckah reached out to lay a hand on the ball, brow furrowed as she concentrated, “At this range, this is gonna be tough... but I’m adding a mage-sight cloak around the observation point.  It won’t affect our view at all, but it’ll keep that wizard from noticing that he’s being spied on.  We can’t count on him being too distracted by his ‘prize’ popping up in plain sight to check... but the spell that makes checking pointless won’t fool those runes.  In fact, it’ll probably set them off just a tiny bit sooner, so let’s wait until as many of them are close as possible.”\n\n\tPria shook her head, “We can’t wait too long, though.  He probably has the original enchantment-key that you forged the other night, so if it looks like he’s getting close enough to touch the box... drop the spell, Crel.”\n\n\tThe nearest mercenaries were already close enough to see the box, pointing at it as their muzzles moved, clearly calling out though the spell didn’t relay sound.  Moving at a steady lope, the white wolf pushed his way through his men, finally pausing as he broke through the last of them to stare at the stuff of his dreams and the goal for which he’d spent money and blood with such abandon.  After several seconds of blinking, he shook himself free of his fascination, threw his head back, and howled in triumph, but he still, obviously, suspected some sort of trap.  His gestures indicated troops and directions as he gave a steady stream of orders, and the mercs with bows formed up tight around him.  Groups of ten took up formation at perhaps twenty yards, guarding the flanks against any sort of ambush, and they paid particular attention to the fringes of the slums and the cover they offered.\n\n\tHis close-in guards holding back just enough to keep a good firing angle on the walls, not that the battlements were manned this time, the wizard drew nearer, rubbing his hands together and clearly cackling with glee.  “Sheesh,” Jerek muttered, “could this guy be any more cliché?!?”\n\n\t“Don’t knock it,” Serra grinned.  “Clichés are predictable, and a predictable foe is their own worse enemy.”\n\n\tCrellan blurted out, “He’s reaching!  I’m dropping!” a scant second before the room was filled with a blinding light.  Beckah flinched, and all four people with working eyes closed them and turned away, but when the light vanished five seconds later they looked back instantly.  The archers and at least twenty other nearby mercenaries were blackened corpses, some still standing, and every bit of metal armor in view was glowing, anywhere from a sullen red to a dull orange.  The wizard himself was still there, blinking futilely to restore his vision as he stood on a perfect circle of ordinary dirt surrounded by lightning-lashed black.\n\n\tPria groaned, “Shit, he had a shield up, and it was a damned good one if it survived that.  Wait... I think he’s blind from that flash, at least temporarily!”\n\n\t“Good,” Beckah purred around a smirk, “let him try it on for size...”\n\n\tThe wolf grinned back, “Yeah, it’s—oh shit.  Crel, show me his hands!  Fuck!”\n\n\tThe others barely had time to make out the metallic disc covered with runes that he’d pulled out of his belt.  By the time he’d finished tracing a fingertip around its etchings, disc and wizard alike simply vanished.\n\n\t“Damn it!” Pria swore, pounding her fist on the table.  “I may be wrong... but I think that was just the sort of runic disappearing act I talked about the other night, probably linked to a second disc.  There’s no real range limit, so he could be back at the camp in the woods, all the way back to Vivenge, or anywhere else he’d feel safe.  All it takes is leaving the matching disc on the floor or ground, and in an emergency he can pop back to that spot in an instant.”\n\n\tCrellan, as the wolf spoke, had lifted the view-point of the ball upwards, then angled it down, “Whoa...  I got at least thirty of the bad guys, but the rest seem confused.  None of them are gettin’ anywhere near the box, though.”\n\n\tSerra chuckled, “Would you, in their place?  From the way they’re stumbling, it looks like the flash got them pretty good, too.”\n\n\tThe bat grinned impudently, “Nope!  I’m not that stupid... hey, look.  They’re looking up, and some of them are putting their hands behind their heads...”\n\n\t“Good, the guards remembered the second half of plan Charcoal,” Pria growled.  “I had them clear the walls for their own safety, but now that the light show’s over some archers are coming back.  They’ll hold the survivors until foot troops come out to arrest them... not that we have many of those anymore.  Damn him.”\n\n\tA knock came at the door, and the count’s own voice called through it, “Your Majesty?  I... I have some rather bad news.”\n\n\tJerek was closest, so he stepped over to pluck the heavy bar free and open the door, standing out of the way and bowing.\n\n\t“Thank you, Captain,” the rat nodded graciously as he stepped inside, then turned and blinked at the cluster of bodies surrounding an obvious scrying device.  “Maybe it’s not so much ‘news’ as I thought,” he guessed.\n\n\tSerra shook her head, “We watched the whole thing, from deployment, to murder, to that rather spectacular finish.  The wizard who’s after our book of runes probably can’t scribe them himself, or he wouldn’t be after the book, but that box wasn’t the only runic artifact his family had.  He used another one to escape, and our trap didn’t do nearly enough damage to balance the losses your troops suffered.”\n\n\tCount Southwall nodded, then frowned at a passing thought, “About that trap... I must protest your use of the rune-cube as bait.  If my functionaries’ speculations are correct, that box is the why behind every single trouble my holding has suffered, and its contents are worth the incredible expense our enemies have shouldered.  Just over half of the soldiers under my command, many of them from my own employees back when I was a merchant ‘prince,’ are dead because of that box, and the notion of just handing it over, or even the risk of its easy capture, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”\n\n\tPria shook her head, “Your Highness... the box is empty.  Its ‘impossible to pick’ lock was picked, and I’ve got the book that was inside in a safe place now.  Yes, there was a risk that the wizard on the other side would get it intact, but it would have gained him nothing, and as things turned out it was the only bait that could draw him out personally.  He still escaped, true, but not completely unscathed, and we struck at least one, telling blow in partial vengeance for your soldiers’ lives.”\n\n\tThe rat blinked, “How did you ever... no, wait, I doubt I’d understand if you told me.  Instead, please accept my humble apologies for doubting your wisdom and resourcefulness.  Sometimes, when meeting an Agent in flesh and blood reality, it’s hard to remember that the unbelievable legends about them... are based on truth.”\n\n\t“There are a few more forces involved, here, than even a legendary Agent,” Serra mused with a faint smile as she stood, then took one step over to lay a hand on Crellan’s shoulder, “and I think it’s time to acknowledge one of them.  This child... was the only one paying enough attention, with his hands on the crystal ball’s controls.  Two seconds before the enemy would have gotten their paws on that box, empty or not, he triggered the blast that cost our enemy as many lives as their side had lost throughout the entire previous conflict!  He also hurt their leader, and forced him to reveal one more resource we’ll be much better prepared to counter, next time.”\n\n\tThe count’s brows were high by the time she’d finished, and he gave the boy a crisp half-bow, head dipped in respect, “You have my personal thanks, young one, and I’ll talk to my troop commanders to see just what sort of medals or other honors we have established for civilians who play a crucial role in our defense.  You shall be given the highest of such that is available.”\n\n\tCrellan nodded solemnly back, “Thank you, sir.  I only did what I had to, though.  Those people killed my family, and it was my turn to hurt them!”\n\n\tThis fetched a blink and a faint smile, “Feisty one, isn’t he?  But it’s just that sort who’ll grow into a fine man and a credit to the kingdom.”  He turned to bow again to the queen, “I must go see to the disposition of our prisoners.  As mercenaries, there’s always a chance they might enlist on our side next, and we’re seeing just how many can pass a test with a Truthstone.  Good day, your Majesty.”\n\n\tJerek interpreted the glare his son directed at the noble’s back as he left, and stepped over to murmur, quietly but firmly, “Mercenaries... are like weapons, Crel.  Anyone can use them so long as their money’s good.  If you see one of the men who attacked us today, but guarding the town just like the soldiers who died did, it’s not a betrayal... or, at least, not a betrayal of you or us.  Anyone who promises good service, while holding a stone that tattles when they lie, is one more blade on our side, that our enemy can’t use to hurt us with anymore.  What would you have us do, line them all up and cut their throats?  Just for following the orders they were paid for?  Remember, we’re supposed to be the good guys.”\n\n\tSerra smiled gently at the mental and emotional turmoil visible on the child’s face, “Welcome to the real world, little one...  The right answers aren’t always as simple as they are in the stories.”\n\n\tAs the bat finally sighed and nodded, conceding the teens’ point, Pria suggested to Beckah, “Let’s take a quick walk out through the north gate.  While I highly doubt we’ll find anything, on principle we should check for any magical residues that disc left when the wizard vanished.  There’s a chance, be it ever so tiny, that he left a trail we can track.”\n\n\tNodding as she set aside her circlet, the cat stretched, “After the strain of cloaking our scrying, and after being cooped up in this castle for days, I could use a chance to stretch my legs a bit.  Let’s go see the carnage.”\n\n\tThe queen nodded, “You two do what you can, but try not to be gone long.  I’ll be working on lunch while you’re out.”\n\n* * *\n\n\tPria was just about ready to head back.  As she’d judged likely, there wasn’t any sort of trail leading from the odd residues in the dirt left by lightning and a departing teleport, and the citizens and soldiers gathering charred corpses in half-melted armor were trampling any physical evidence that might have been found otherwise.  She turned to call Beckah, but paused... because the cat was on her knees in the middle of the unburnt circle in the road.\n\n\t“Did you know,” she mused as a single claw brushed at the dirt with every bit of the delicacy she used when carving, “that years-long practice with, and exposure to, magic can leave your very body lightly enchanted?  At least, that’s what I’m guessing from what I’m seeing...  It’s the only guess I can make as to why this shed fur,” and she finally pulled a single, short hair from the dust, “is glowing faintly to mage-sight.  Without that residue, even I couldn’t have found this.”\n\n\tThe wolf blinked hard, then closed her eyes and concentrated...  “I can see it now that I know what to look for, but that is faint.  Your own glow practically drowns it out, and I’d never have noticed its contrast among even earth-energies.”\n\n\t“A detached fur shouldn’t glow at all, though,” her student noted.  “Just from the fact that it does, however dimly, I think we can make a pretty good guess at who it came from.  That shield may have stopped the lightning, but it had to get pretty windy around here with the heat and air currents, and if the shield blocked air it’d be kind of hard to breathe inside.  That’s probably what blew this loose.”\n\n\tPria’s voice was speculative, “That wizard... has to be at least second-tier, so he’d know the threat of magical trackers and probably has himself thoroughly groomed before any confrontation.  I lack the strength to make those trackers, but I know the mechanics of the spell.  If I show you the matrices, and you provide the power I lack...”\n\n\tBeckah’s slow smile showed a great many sharp teeth as she nodded, and promised the circle where her enemy had stood, “You can run... but you can’t hide.”\n\n* * *\n\n\t“You’re smilin’... what’d you find?  Is it in that pouch?  Do we know where the bad guy went?”  Crellan’s rush of questions shook a laugh from both ladies as they stepped back into the suite.\n\n\tPria ruffled his headfur in passing, “Calm down, kid...  Yes, we found something, but it’ll take at least a day to do anything with.  The wind when you let loose the lightning... blew off one of the wizard’s furs, and we found it, but we’ll need some shopping and an entire new level of magic lessons to do anything useful with it.”  Stepping over to the bookcase, she placed her right hand against a particular patch of blank wall, then reached through another section to deposit the pouch on top of the tome already there.  The hidden nook was no part of the original construction and didn’t appear on any records, but it was the absolute best combination of visual and tangible illusion and magical cloaking that her experience and Beckah’s impossibly-detailed strength could create.  Unless a well-cloaked spell was triggered by her embedded Agent’s gem, that wall was real, light and motion magics combined to match the exact shape, color, and texture of the original wood paneling.  There was nothing obvious to mage-sight, and almost nothing that a nigh-microscopic examination would spot... and, behind the illusion, there were several lethal defenses in place, too.  The only weak point in the illusion was that knocking on the fake wood produced no sound, but Beckah was already experimenting with a few ideas to make up that lack too.\n\n\tThe white cat, for her part, sniffed the air and smiled as she joined the folks already at the table, “Pan-fried chicken... and you’ve been experimenting with spices again, your Majesty.  This smells like it will be one of your more successful tests.”\n\n\tSerra shrugged as she set the steaming platter down and took her own seat, “It gives me something to do, as I’m pretty useless where magic’s concerned.  I think I’ll be surprising my husband when we get back...  As a queen, and before that as an embassy guard, I wasn’t really allowed to cook my own meals, and I’d fallen out of practice.  Now that I’ve rediscovered this particular joy, though, I think I’ll have to insist on adding a kitchen to the royal wing.”\n\n\t“Speaking of seasonings,” Pria mused as she completed the group around the table, “there’s one I’ve been meaning to try...  It’s called an ‘assassin pepper,’ because it sneaks up on you, usually more than a minute after the first bite, and if you use too much it’ll probably feel like you’re dying.  Just a little, though, if you like spicy foods, can be wonderful.”\n\n\tThe queen blinked, “The castle cook I’ve been borrowing spices from has some of that, I think.  The concept, at least, would explain the bright red bottle covered in warning skulls and sealed with lead, as it’s unlikely they’d have actual poison right between the garlic powder and the basil.”\n\n\tBeckah smirked to her ‘boys’ as she reached for a drumstick, “And you two were worried about my cooking!  Watch out for anything these two menaces would like you to ‘just try.’”\n\n* * *\n\n\tPria was panting as she stepped out of the spare room she’d turned into a wizard’s workshop, and leaned against the wall when she reached the sitting room.  “I’m for the bath, then bed,” she told the others gathered there.  “Save me some dinner, but I’m too tired to eat it right now.”\n\n\tAs she shambled back down the hall with her tail dragging on the floor, Beckah stepped around her to settle between her fiancée and son where they were playing a game of draughts on the carpet.  She shook her head with a sigh, “The last step on this thing was kind of rough on her... but she’ll be fine after some rest and food.”\n\n\tSerra set aside the reports she’d been reading, most of which boiled down to ‘no action, no ideas, and no progress,’ and padded over to peer at the odd creation in the cat’s hand.  “I’ve seen trackers before,” she noted, “and that doesn’t look anything like them.  What new, impossible wonder have you and my wife come up with this time?”\n\n\tBeckah shook her head, “There’s nothing new here, except the approach we took to the problem.”  She held up the brass-rimmed and -backed oval of agate, and pointed to the amethyst set into its very center, “We’re not interested in following the enemy’s path, especially when he can use those rune-discs to interrupt that path on a whim.  Thus, the main stone is similar to the trackers you’re used to, and will glow brighter as you get closer.  The middle stone, though... it simply watches the main one, but with a sensitivity it would be hard to describe and impossible to overstate.  The man’s probably a dozen leagues away right now; if you move a few feet closer, you wouldn’t notice the difference in the proximity glow.  The second stone will, though.  Reacting only to increases in light that are too faint for even me to sense magically, it will light up whenever you’re moving directly toward your target.  In a way, that’s actually more effective than the usual path-tracers, as you don’t have to find his path to begin with.  You’ll always know just which direction he’s in, regardless of your starting point, and when you get close enough for the agate’s glow to be visible you can judge the range more traditionally.”\n\n\tThe queen blinked hard, “The Magistrate General of the kingdom would give you half his annual enforcement budget for that...  You may call it ‘a new approach,’ but it’ll damned near revolutionize the way we track particularly heinous criminals.  Other nations would happily make you rich just to let their archmages spend five minutes examining that, if it works the way you say.”\n\n\tA little flushed from the praise, Beckah shrugged, “There’s only one way to find out if it works... and that’s to use it.  Crellan?”  The bat looked up, and she smiled, “My next invention, that I’ll work on this evening, is a special belt for you to wear...  It’ll have shields against everything I can think of, because we don’t know how fast you’ll need to be moving for the amplifier stone to register changes.  The obvious way to test it, then, is to let you fly with it, but I want to make sure you’re safe up there.  Arrows, mage-fire, or even going through a storm and being struck by genuine lightning, the defenses I’ll send you with won’t even be bothered.  I’ve even invented a few attacks, just to figure out ways to block them, and you’ll have those shields too.”\n\n\tThe liger beside her moved one of his pieces on the board, commenting wryly, “Beats the heck out of the breastplate I was planning to pick up this afternoon...”\n\n\tSerra chuckled, “Duplicating high-security signatures, being able to find someone anywhere in the world, and now an invulnerable flier... this kingdom doesn’t currently have an archmage, just three or four headmaster-grade wizards in the Guild and my uncle-in-law Tyron, nominal leader of our magic users just because he’s court mage for the king.  I think, Beckah, that the only way you can ever live without nobles and nations being pants-shitting scared of you is if you take the post of Archmage of Atheria, with its attendant oaths of loyalty.”\n\n\tThe cat’s head dipped back, the equivalent of a blink of surprise in one who’d never used their own eyes, but she thought about the offer for a long moment...  “I have relatively little to go on, in my experience,” she mused as she raised her head again.  “I’m talking about those oaths, and whether I can expect them to be abused by those they’re sworn to... but I do have some examples to judge by.  First, there’s Vivenge.  Before this county changed hands, one of my routine expenses was for a license to put out a begging bowl, and another to sell artwork, the latter requiring a signed attestation from the high priest of Malia to prove that I wasn’t using minimal talent as cover for a less legal, but more lucrative, profession.  Next would be the nobles of the empire in question; I heard little of the count or his family before the war, but now that family is murdering my friends, attacking a home that was mine however briefly, and generally breaking every rule of civilized behavior just to get a book they think will lead to the sort of power even an honest man shouldn’t be trusted with.”\n\n\tJerek interjected with a snort, “Nice country.  Even without the recent war, from that little synopsis I’d try to avoid the place.”\n\n\tHis fiancée nodded with a soft laugh, then went on, “Now let’s apply the same judgments to Atheria...  The whole licensing system was dismantled in favor of a slightly larger guard presence in the streets.  They didn’t worry about proving anything to some jaded bureaucrat, even if they did keep an eye on me, and anyone else, just to see if anything suspicious cropped up.  The general economy improved in ways even I could notice, as more people could spare a copper to drop into the bowl in exchange for a peek at my current artwork, and perhaps half again as many people as before could buy one of those carvings.  The savings we recovered from my old boarding house were almost all amassed in the last two years; before that, I had about the same number of coins, but none of them were silver.  Moving on, there’s the Atherian nobility...  Our current count, much like the last, is an effective nonentity at ‘my’ level of society, though my more recent experiences show him to be a fairly decent sort, perhaps just a hair too pragmatic for my personal tastes, but that’s hardly cause to condemn the man.  Even if I couldn’t see it, he had to be some part of the driving force behind the economic upswing, so he’s obviously doing his job adequately.  Then there’s the queen I still can’t quite believe I met, much less moved in with,” and she shot Serra a grin.  “You’re a good person...  You’ve occasionally been hard and cold in some of the orders you’ve given, but you had to be, to prevent worse to those you rule and feel some responsibility for.  You’re friendly, open, and not even slightly snobbish.  Can you imagine the lady of even the most run-down barony, doing her own cooking?!?  Much less feeding her guests and friends with the labors of her own hands...  Once again, I have to try pretty hard to find even the mildest critique about you, and this time it’s that you’re a bit blasé about money, though in your defense you’ve done your best to see that those whose money you’re spending get either fair value in trade or eventual reimbursement.”  She quirked an odd little half-smile, “Unless I want to live on a mountaintop where my power can’t hurt anyone, I’d probably have to take some sort of oath, just to live a relatively normal life... and if there’s a choice to be made, I’d rather choose you and the dynasty you represent.  You’re royalty that I can live with, in the deeper philosophical sense rather than just having a bedroom across the hall from yours.  Yes, I’ll take the oaths necessary for that post.”\n\nChapter 12\n\n\tIt was the fourth morning after the abortive raid on the city gates.  Crellan’s experimental flight had been a great deal of fun for him, even though it had proven technically unnecessary.  Once Pria had woken up to unlock the hidden nook and get that fur to feed to the tracker, they’d found that a brisk walk in a wide circle was enough to determine that the enemy wizard was roughly north by northeast of them, but not particularly close.  As breakfast drew to a close, Beckah asked both royals, “Was there anything new in this morning’s reports?”\n\n\tBoth ladies shook their heads, Serra answering, “Nothing major.  They’ve finished interviewing the surviving mercenaries, and a little less than half of them passed their magic-assisted test, so we swore twenty new soldiers into the army to replenish a bit of the lost guard force, and they’re still hemming and hawing over which units to reinforce us with from Frostcrest.  We caught that city’s Guild branch headmaster on a brief vacation, they finally bothered to tell us, so it’ll be at least another day before he can get here to formally evaluate you before administering your oaths.  Other than those relative non-events, there’s no news at all.”\n\n\tThe cat nodded, “I figured as much...” and turned to Jerek.  “Since I’m between carvings at the moment while Crellan paints the one of you, and I’m sure we’re all tired of just sitting around waiting for something to change, let’s get married.”\n\n\tTo her surprise, for once he didn’t even blink.  “Alright.  As one of the Warkin, my armor and uniform are considered ‘formal wear’ for all situations, but to balance that out with your own leanings we should hold the service at Malia’s temple.  Should we do it before or after lunch?”\n\n\tBeckah’s smile seemed to glow, at his ready acceptance after so much resistance, but it was Pria who replied first, “After.  Definitely.  It’s only polite to give the priests at least a little warning, and I’m not going to see a friend of mine married in either that cloak or what she’s got under it.  We’ll need to shop for a proper dress.”\n\n\tSerra nodded her emphatic agreement, “Yes, something to match her eyes, and I’m sure we can scare up a little jewelry to accent things...  Hell, mount that tracker on a chain and it’d make a pretty pendant.”\n\n\tThat fetched the confused blink from Jerek that his prospective wife hadn’t manage to shock out of him, “You know what color her eyes are?  I... think I failed somewhere in my duties as a man, since I don’t know that.”\n\n\tThe wolf chuckled, “That’s your own fault.  She took off the blindfold when we bathed her after that ambush, and you’d already blown out the lamp when she climbed into bed without it.  They’re sky blue, for the record, and very pretty if you can get used to them wandering in odd directions.”\n\n\tNodding, the soldier leaned back in his seat to sing softly to himself, “Eyes like the sky, my mouth it went dry, as I loved her more and more... she lifts me so high, ‘midst blue I can fly, up where my heart can soar...”  He shook himself and glanced around, three faces staring at him while his bride’s jaw hung open.  “Sorry, that just shook loose a memory of one of the minstrels who stopped by the inn I grew up in.  Not the best-scanned verse in the world, but it seemed to fit.”\n\n\t“Has anyone ever bothered to mention,” Beckah asked when she had control of her voice again, “that you have perfect pitch and meter?  And that chest of yours lends... a moving resonance.  I would dearly love to hear you sing at full volume some day.”\n\n\tThe liger chuckled, “For you... you have but to ask.  Please, though, don’t mention it to Dame Keria.  She’s been trying to get a choir together at the temple, but everyone she’s asked so far is either tone-deaf or has a voice roughened by years of yelling orders over the noise of battle.  If she discovers my modest little talent, I’ll probably have to fight her to get out of the city when we head home.”\n\n\tCrellan piped up, “I can sing too!  Most bats can, between ears like we gots and the animal-types usin’ squeaks to see at night, even if we two-leggers can’t do that.”\n\n\tBeckah simply smiled, “I was trained by Maliites in more than just carving.  We’ll have to find a song to learn, one that lends itself to three-register harmonies.  For today, though, I’ll need to dictate some names and addresses to one of the senior pages for invitations, then go shopping.  Whoever goes with me will need to bring the circlets; this is too important to go into without at least seeing what I’ll be wearing.”\n\n\t“Something for your son, too,” Serra suggested as she stood up.  “I’ll go fill a purse for you, then visit the records office for the forms we’ll need before the day is out.”\n\n\tPria nodded, “I’ll go along for the shopping; I learned this city pretty damned well, after my hunts for vandals, and I know just which tailors the locals consider the best.”\n\n\tNone of them had completely finished breakfast, but there were suddenly more important things to think about, and the group scattered.\n\n* * *\n\n\tJust over half of the diminished city guard surrounded the Temple of Arts and lined a fair distance along the streets on all sides.  To those who knew her well, Serra’s pregnancy had just started to show, along with enough of a ‘glow’ that not one soldier questioned their need to be there; their queen, and quite possibly their next king, needed their vigilance as she attended the hastily-arranged wedding that was about to start.\n\n\tMost of the in-residence Maliites packed the pews in the chapel, all looking pleased and proud of ‘their’ blind girl, while a small flock of chattering, teenaged girls had gathered near the back, earning more than one glare from one priest or another, which they simply ignored, as they whispered wilder and wilder speculations about just who the husband might be.  The front two pews on the right side were reserved for the queen and Agent, the rest of the space filled by the count’s personal guard, while he and his seneschal sat in the front row on the left, seeming bemused to be ‘just regular guys’ for a single afternoon.\n\n\tThis temple, at least, had no problem supplying a choir, and the basses began the traditional wedding hymn in a low, almost inaudible hum.  Conversations gradually faded as the music grew in volume, and even the ‘magpie brigade’ had quieted down by the time the tenor soloist’s chest swelled and he sang the first praise to love.  The whole temple seemed to vibrate as, with the next line, the choir joined him en masse, needing no conductor to direct their practiced voices as their harmony traded off between registers.  The gasps of Beckah’s ‘friends’ were, thankfully drowned out by the singing as doors opened to either side of the altar and the happy couple stepped through, Jerek resplendent in his polished armor and dark blue uniform, and his bride like no one had ever seen her before, in a pale blue, sleeveless gown, tastefully accented with more ornaments than just her tracker.  Both cats stood in place as the third and fourth verses rolled through the audience, then stepped toward the altar during the fifth, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as the glorious sound faded and little Crellan stepped out of line, his clear soprano concluding the last verse solo.\n\n\tThe couple and priest at the altar waited another moment so the bat could scamper over and, at her leg-patting invitation, climb up on the queen’s lap.  The cats turned back to face the lupine high priest, and he smiled fondly as he opened his book of services.  “Friends and comrades, patrons and devout, lords and ladies in the kingdoms of our own lives... you are welcome.  We gather here today to bear witness to a love we can only hope to find the like of for ourselves, and to celebrate the joyous fortune of this fine couple, for finding it in each other.  It is the duty of any priest to counsel, to judge, to advise, and I did mine, speaking with and learning of each of these sterling examples of their kind.  Both come from among the humblest possible of beginnings, yet both have risen higher than any imagination might have predicted.  The times of recent days have been of strife, with these two fine felines standing at its very center, yet here they stand now, unbowed, unbroken, ready to face their next challenge from even greater strength, as the two shall be as one before it, a whole far greater than the sum of its parts.”  He lifted a ring from one of the two ribbons dangling from his book, normally simple bookmarks but he’d found them uniquely handy at weddings, and he placed it in the groom’s hand, “Do you, Jerek, captain in the Atherian army, royal escort and guard, and novice of Tarragh, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?  To love her, honor her, and fail not her slightest trust, so long as you both shall live?”\n\n\tThe liger nodded as he slipped the ring, tiny-seeming in his hand, onto one of her slim, strong fingers, “By my life, my honor, and my soul, I do.”  He blinked, then, and held up his just-freed hand to interrupt the priest, “I do... but the ceremony may have to wait.  Beckah... your tracker is glowing.”\n\n\tMost of those gathered, the priest included, were confused, but Pria recovered from surprise almost instantly and barked, “Guards, on your feet!  Defend the temple!”\n\n\tOne of the double doors at the far end of the red carpet slammed open, and the white wolf in his robe a shade darker stepped onto it with a sneering smirk, “The Agent has the right idea... or would if you poor fools could touch me.  I’m tired of playing games, of sending fighters who arrive too late or are intercepted by luck... so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands and end this.  The guards outside are simply unconscious, as I have only one real desire, and the route to its fulfillment is right here.  Give me the box, or your precious, pregnant queen dies today.”\n\n\tBeckah stepped down from the altar’s dais, shooting her fiancée a quick smile for knowing better than to get between her and another wizard, then addressed her foe, “You and those you command murdered the best friends I had in this city, attacked my newer companions, and even assaulted me.  Now you burst in on my very wedding and expect to issue demands?  You have earned death many times over for your crimes, but before I allow you to die, I must tell you... the box is empty.  It was empty when you needlessly slaughtered hundreds, taking the pretty bait like a fool.  I opened the box, and I have the book you lust after, but it shall never be yours.”\n\n\t“You lie!” the wizard roared, one hand lashing out, but his eyes widened as she raised her palm just as quickly, the attack no one else could see simply vanishing.\n\n\tThe guards and several armed clergy were all trying to get at the invader, but invisible walls of force blocked them, keeping the back of the room and the central aisle clear.  “I will give you one chance to surrender,” the cat offered, “because defeating you might damage this fine temple.  Today, I seek the title of wife.  Tomorrow, I will have another title as well...  Archmage!”\n\n\tThe wolf shook his head, “Impossible!  You’re just a blind beggar girl; even now, the eyes you’ve finally bared clearly can’t focus.  You’ve obviously been given some magical trinkets and toys, to block my first attack, but my power comes from within!  No toy can match a proper mage!”  Both hands rose, sleeves billowing, as he gathered a sphere of energy that was visible to all, and he heaved it down the aisle, only to watch it fade as her brow furrowed, and the next moment that same defense became an attack, his outermost shield unraveling as its blended energies were isolated and pulled apart.\n\n\t“Fool,” she growled, “fool and blind, blinder by far than I...  I was born a mage, you idiot!”\n\n\tThe first hint of genuine fear flickered across his features as his second shield crumbled, and he closed his eyes to concentrate, reinforcing the third with all of his considerable power and calling as well upon the array of crystals that lined his cloak.  Not even an archmage could break that shield, and within it he gathered still more power for a narrow, focused thrust that would reduce her to a half-cooked spray of mist.  Whatever force was sucking energy away from his defenses, though, suddenly appeared in duplicate, a remote point emerging right between his hands despite the ‘impenetrable’ shield, amidst the very thunders as he gathered them to strike, and his augmented powers flowed through it like water down a drain.  The girl was starting to visibly glow, and to his mage-sight she was nearly blinding, as the last dregs of his strength were stolen from him and he stood in a fancy robe that was suddenly no more than the cloth it seemed.\n\n\tBeckah’s head screamed with pain as she struggled to hold onto the power she’d taken.  If she lost control now, she’d be but the first of many it would kill.  Every lesson, every passing comment on magic she’d ever heard, filtered through her desperately racing mind, but only one, tiny tidbit seemed to fit her need to deal with this much energy.  Trusting the instincts that had guided her for far longer than she knew, she made one last, desperate grab at that power, and twisted...  Unimaginable relief flooded her being as that maelstrom contracted, condensing down to a tiny, single point, and when the last mote had faded, a single, white-hot grain of sand fell from between her fingers to land on the carpet, a tiny wisp of smoke rising and fading.\n\n\t“Impossible!” the white wolf breathed.  He’d heard, of course, of the very rare wizard who’d survived turning matter into energy... but she’d just turned energy, his energy, into matter!\n\n\tLifting her sweat-drenched head, Beckah released the barriers that had protected and restrained the rest of the gathering, her voice wan as she commanded, “Guards... place him under arrest.  His enchantments are dead, including his rune-disc, and he’s overstrained his own gift; an ordinary Wizardbane collar can contain him, from now ‘til the morning he hangs.”\n\n\tThe captain of the count’s guard carried just such a collar, and handed it to his lowest private before turning and saluting with profound respect, “Yes, ma’am!”\n\n\tThe cat mopped her brow with one arm as she turned to step shakily back up toward the altar.  “I believe,” she murmured wearily, “that you had something to ask me, good priest...”\n\n\tHe nodded, but before he could get his mind back onto the interrupted ceremony, he was drowned out by the crowd that started cheering.\n\n* * *\n\n\tThey gathered in the room that had been the first thing Beckah had ever seen, the queen, the Agent, the newlyweds, and the young bat.  “Crellan will start growing up in just another few years,” Serra mused, “and you two are fairly young, yourselves... so the records clerk I consulted suggested that you not adopt him.  Instead, I’ve got the form to make you his legal guardians until he turns fourteen, instead, though you can still call each other parents and son if you wish.  The legal distinctions are subtle, and effectively meaningless next to how you feel about each other.”\n\n\tJerek exchanged one glance with his wife, and it was enough.  “Just show us where to sign,” he said.\n\n\t“Yes!” Crellan chirped, and all four adults grinned as they passed around quills and two identical sheets of press-printed parchment, Beckah managing a far neater job than usual with her husband leaning over her shoulder and Pria’s helpful circlets in play.\n\n\tThe queen signed each copy as witness, then mused, “Since the ‘threat to the stability of the kingdom’ is currently in gaol, and will hang tomorrow morning without need for a trial, our work here is pretty much done.  I’ve got enough money for a good carriage, we’ve still got the horses we rode and the tent we came with for additional shelter on the road, and we can certainly afford to stay at any inns that are convenient...  Taking personal responsibility for paying reservists we very much needed to activate, though, left a big enough dent that we’ll be returning to the palace with only a few silver marks to spare.  Wedding presents, I’m afraid, will have to wait until I can swipe Kees’ key to the treasury again.”\n\n\tJerek thought for a moment, then shrugged, “I’m coming home with a beautiful wife.  If you seriously think you can give me anything even more valuable, you’re going to have a graffiti problem again, this time saying ‘the queen is nuts’ if I can spell it right.”\n\n\tThe wife in question slipped an arm around his waist and smirked, “I shouldn’t have to list the great many, priceless things you’ve given me.  We’ll want at least one more day before leaving, to watch a murderer die and to avoid wasting the trip that headmaster is making, but I’ve still got my personal savings, your promise of a room I won’t be paying rent on, and I’m sure the job of archmage is not a volunteer post.  We’ll be comfortable enough, just having each other and something useful to do, with money to spare to flesh out the big gifts with little ones.”\n\n\t“Your first job will probably be building Atheria a proper, inter-duchy gate network,” Pria noted.  “By yourself, you should have no trouble building the gate-spells themselves after a little practice, but you’ll have half the Guild following you around to help open them.  It’s hard to describe the sheer quantity of power that takes.”\n\n\tThe cat nodded, sighing her reluctant agreement, “I can believe it...  Today, even more than that headache, was a reminder that even I have limits.”  She mimed a guilty glance up at her husband, “I’m still feeling pretty weak after that duel...  Whatever tradition says about wedding-night activities, I’m not sure I’ll have the strength for it.”\n\n\tJerek shrugged, though his rumble was serious, “Your love and your embrace are all I need.  I’d be content even if we never got around to that particular detail... though I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t, so I won’t argue when you’re ready.”\n\n\tSerra spoke up again, “You do still need an assignment, unless you feel like resigning your commission and living off of your wife’s income.  Just to avoid potential conflicts, I should note that the kingdom’s archmage is traditionally assigned a personal guard, officially for the dignity of their position as they tend to be fairly apt at defending themselves.  The real duties tend to be along the lines of an aide and ‘gofer,’ much like you were for Pria and I.  It would be a violation of common sense to assign anyone but you to that post.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded, then turned his gaze on his son, “In her copious free time, your mother will probably still be carving things, and you’ll still be painting them.  Any nation’s capitol, though, tends to attract the very best and brightest in any profession, so we’ll be introducing you to the folks at the very large temple of Malia, there, to see whether they can improve even your painting, as well as anything else they have to teach that you’re good at.”\n\n\tCrellan nodded eagerly, “That’ll be neat!  I didn’t get to go to temple very often, ‘cuz... ‘cuz my folks,” and he had to pause to wipe his eyes, “could have to fly off at any moment, an’ someone had to watch the house or our stuff’d be gone when they got back.  I’m gonna miss a lotta things ‘bout Southwall, but that neighborhood won’t be one of ‘em.”\n\n\tPria nodded, her muzzle grim, “I agree...  This mission was interesting in several ways, particularly the people I got to meet and even teach,” and she winked to Beckah, “but the enemy this time was just nasty.  I’ll be glad to get back home.”\n\n\tTilting her head, the queen asked, “Speaking of that... what’s the final score?”\n\n\t“Two for me, one half for you, either two and a half or thirty-one and a half, depending on whether you count the results of plans, for Jerek, five for Beckah by tomorrow morning, thirty-six for Crellan... and two hundred and forty-seven that I know of, for the enemy.”  It took the other three a moment to realize she was talking about kills.\n\n\tSerra winced, “Definitely time to call the case closed.  We won, but the price was too damned high.”\n\n\tCrellan was blinking hard, “How do you get half a kill?”\n\n\tHis father chuckled, “Remember that guy I said I kicked, but not in the butt?  I kicked him in the belly, which he would have died from a day or two later, but the queen cut his throat so he wouldn’t suffer.”  His ears drooped faintly, “Sometimes, ‘mercy’ can be a fairly ugly thing.”\n\n\tAll three ladies nodded solemnly, the Agent pointing out, “They don’t send folks like me or Serra on the easy jobs.  When life gets ugly, sometimes the only way to survive is to get uglier.  I’m still glad it’s over, though, and I’d hate to meet anyone who wouldn’t be.”\n\n\tJerek left one arm around his wife’s waist as he knelt down, motioning Crellan over to pull into a hug, “We still have our honor, and our souls...  Yes, we ‘got ugly,’ because that’s what it took to stop someone who very much needed to be stopped.  The difference between us and the enemy is that we don’t stay that way, once the job is done.  If I’m needed again, I’ll rise, or descend, to the level necessary, but all I want right now is a place to call my own and my family in my arms.”\n\n\tThe queen patted her belly with a poignant smile, “I envy you, that you have exactly that... and I’m looking forward to being able to claim the same.  At least for a while, my adventures are very much over, but the new ‘adventure’ of motherhood awaits.”\n\n\tHer friends all nodded, but Beckah paused mid-motion to note, “If you take a deep sniff, it seems that the culinary artists of the temple have the reception feast just about ready, and there’s someone coming up the stairs to fetch us now.  Unless they’ve run off after the little show I put on, I’ve still got some childhood ‘friends’ to tease mercilessly about their use of the word ‘hunk’ in describing their conquests, as their definition would be invisible in bright light next to my husband!”\n\n\tAt several chuckles and nods, the group started migrating toward the door, but Jerek caught his son’s hand to hold as they followed at the rear of the group.  “I just realized, son,” he murmured, “that you may end up being the best-behaved boy your age in the entire kingdom.  Every mother has ‘mommy magic’ to tell when someone’s misbehaved, but have you taken any time to think about the fact that your mother can see through walls?”\n\n\tCrellan’s eyes were wide, but he couldn’t help but giggle anyway.\n\nEpilogue\n\n\tThe king settled into the seat across from the huge man, that size pretty much the only thing about him that hadn’t changed since their last meeting.  The uniform, armor, and empty claymore scabbard across his back were only part of it; there was confidence and contentment, not confusion or blind eagerness to please, in those eyes this time, but only a hint of shadow from the less pleasant events he’d endured.  That scabbard... he’d have to talk to his guards about that.  If the written reports he’d been given were at all accurate, there were few men in the world he could better trust, and it was an insult to insist he be unarmed in the royal presence.\n\n\tJerek returned the man’s gaze levelly, and could see the evaluation going on behind those eyes, as well as the glance and ever-so-faint grimace, followed by resolve.  The blade had been a wedding gift from his kin at Tarragh’s temple, and it was the source rather than the item that gave him pride, so he looked forward to his guessed-at freedom to carry it in the future.\n\n\t“So,” Keesanrel finally spoke, “we had what started as typically Imperial thinking, an attempt to destabilize the holding and reduce confidence in the count’s ability to rule...  That would never have worked; only in Vivenge do they hold a tradition that the first decade or so of any new noble’s reign is also a period of probation.  Our very response to it offered a new option, though, and they shifted to attacking targets we must defend, to weaken the guard force enough for a successful raid before they could be reinforced, with particular emphasis on couriers who might summon those reinforcements... and, in that, they came damnably close to success.  Finally, with his mercenaries defeated, the mastermind lost patience and tried to make it a simple matter of exchanging a hostage for that book he sought... a book which, even now, rests in the innermost chamber of this palace’s vault.”\n\n\tThe liger nodded, “That fairly well sums it up, your Majesty... or, at least, sums up the enemy’s plans.  Things didn’t exactly work out that way in the end, though.”\n\n\tHis liege smiled faintly, “No, they did not...  I’ve met and talked to your wife, and if she wasn’t such a sweet, charming thing I’d be terrified after the reports I’ve read of what she can do.  Her oaths to Malia to never knowingly work against the interests of Atheria, though, settled the matter rather conclusively.  I rather like her, as a friend, and as a king I couldn’t ask for a better archmage.  She’s already planning a total revamp of the palace defenses, and some of her ideas for that have Tyron still in shock.  Once word of what happened to that white wolf gets around, I doubt we’ll ever have trouble with Vivenge again for as long as she lives, unless some general is foolish enough to try invading without magical support, as any mage he asks would resign their post rather than face our guardian.”\n\n\tJerek smiled grimly, “I wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall for some rather stern words their mages are likely to endure, for failing to realize the treasure they had in their midst.  She may be blind, but they were the ones who couldn’t see past her begging bowl.  It was mere coincidence that your Agent was there to spot what they missed; all I saw was the first girl I’d ever met who’d seen, or at least perceived, a man, not a monster, when I sat down to chat.”\n\n\tKeesanrel nodded, his smile broadening, “I can just imagine how unique that must have been...  My wife... well, wives both remarked on your frustrating stubbornness on the trip there, but I can understand it far better than they.  You were simply waiting for the right girl, one who, exactly as you said, could see past the surface, even without eyes.  I’d envy you for that, if I didn’t have a child of my own on the way to distract me.”  He paused, and his ears dipped as he continued with nigh-painful seriousness, “You have my undying thanks, for that.  You may not think you did much, but around the edges you made a very real difference, keeping the ladies focused, limiting their contact with danger, and making sure they were adequately guarded at all times.  The captain of my personal guard has reviewed both your defensive plans for that house and the reports of the battle there.  Even if you weren’t there to fight it, your precautions held at minimal cost, and had she been there as well, she’d still have returned safely to me.  As far outside the usual practices as they are, I’ve decreed firmly that you’re to keep both your captain’s rank and colonel’s pay in your post as Archmage’s Aide.”\n\n\tThe soldier nodded, then shrugged, “As you say, your Majesty, though I still don’t feel that I’ve earned either one.  Everything I did was almost glaringly obvious, from just my basic training.  Think of how the enemy can hurt you worst, then shape your plans to stop that.  Weigh every risk against its possible benefit, and if the balance is wrong, don’t take the risk.  These two precepts cannot cover everything...  If we’d had better information, for example, we’d never have sent Serra, even with her guards, to that courier office to specifically request delivery by bat.  If we hadn’t... Crellan’s parents would still be alive.”\n\n\t“If you hadn’t,” Keesanrel countered, “the enemy wouldn’t have made the exact moves they did in response, and you may or may not have succeeded as well as you did, in the end.  You’ve still got that one thing to learn, it seems, that a good officer, or even trooper, never second-guesses themselves.  If you get bogged down in what might have been, you lose sight of what’s happening, what still might happen, and even the good your own not-quite-perfect plans resulted in.  Beyond the military aspects, though, you encountered situations where your basic decency made all the difference, such as seeing Beckah’s value, even as just an artist and a friend, and bringing them to the attention of those who could see and cultivate the rest of her gifts.  We couldn’t count on even the best-trained soldier to do the same...  You’re a good man, and a loyal officer, and for those alone you deserve the kingdom’s thanks.”\n\n\tJerek nodded again, one side of his muzzle quirked in a little smile, “As I said last time we were here, I’ve sworn to obey you, so it’s not my place to argue if that’s your official opinion.”\n\n\tThe king laughed, slapping the table with one palm, “Good man!  Now, is the Archmage’s Suite comfortable enough for you and your family?  Most of the previous holders of that position were bachelors, so the extra rooms had gone unused for anything more than storage.  The servants were a bit rushed, getting them ready for an actual family, so let me know if they missed anything.”\n\n\tShaking his head, the liger’s smile broadened, “They’re more than adequate.  Compared to the barracks, a cheap boarding house, and a two-room shack in the slums that the three of us, respectively, are used to, anything done to make them more opulent would actually be counterproductive.  We’ll probably replace the statuary with my wife’s work, as time permits, but that’s not the servants’ fault or concern.  Crellan’s still not used to having a room of his own, but until the novelty wears off, Beckah and I are... grateful he likes it.  We both went to the altar virgins, and it’s been... interesting, as we learn one another in ways our son would put a damper on.”\n\n\t“Good,” Keesanrel nodded a final time, then stood to extend his hand across the table.  As he clasped hands with the huge cat, he grinned, “And, to save the best surprise for last... for fatally punching the man who called my wife a whore, I’m naming you a court baron.  Your formal investiture for the title will be tomorrow morning, but for now you can go tell that son of yours that he’s now properly addressed as ‘prince.’  Given his incredibly low birth, I expect him to get quite a kick out of that.  When you retire, hopefully at a ripe old age and surrounded by winged grandchildren, I’ll see about getting you some lands to go with the title.”\n\n\tThe new noble could only blink, then gave that hand another careful squeeze along with a nod, “Thank you, my liege.”\n\n\t“No, thank you, Baron Jerek, for all you’ve done and have yet to do.”\n\nThe End\n\n",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Fantasie Eviscerotique<br /><br />Episode 5<br /><br />by Adrian VanWormer (Kathalla at FA and IB)<br /><br />Prologue<br /><br />\tJerek compared the scrawled note in his hand to the doors he passed along the opulently decorated hallway, grumbling to himself despite the circumstances.&nbsp;&nbsp;His lieutenant only barely qualified as literate, while he himself was a good bit short of that mark, and the details combined... annoyingly.&nbsp;&nbsp;With sufficient effort, he could sound out the letters on the note to read &lsquo;Meeting Room 4,&rsquo; but the officer&rsquo;s blocky script and the ornate, carved-brass lettering on the doors was so different that they might as well have been different languages.&nbsp;&nbsp;He paused, briefly, as he recognized the numeral one on such a door, and glanced between the letters above it and the scrap of parchment, counting, comparing... yes, this seemed to be the start of the meeting rooms.&nbsp;&nbsp;They occupied only one side of the hall, the other filled with paintings, decorative urns, and other trappings of wealth, and one of the palace&rsquo;s elite guards was relaxing against the wall three doors up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek could, at least, count, so he tucked the note back into a belt pouch and glanced over himself once more to make sure he was presentable.<br /><br />\tBoiled leather breastplate, three layers of leather bands forming a long kilt, well-polished boots, and thick bracers that extended to fingerless gloves with iron studs on the backs; his uniform wasn&rsquo;t quite standard, as that last detail was an invention of his training sergeant, meant to take advantage of his unusual size and strength, but he couldn&rsquo;t help but feel pride at the entirety.&nbsp;&nbsp;The lovingly-polished, single iron pip on each shoulder proclaimed him a &lsquo;mere&rsquo; private, but he knew better than most what even that low rank really meant.&nbsp;&nbsp;The clumsy, too-tall, ignorant recruit had overcome every last one of those failures and completed his training.&nbsp;&nbsp;He moved now with a looming grace, his muscle had settled from imbalanced lumps to a fairly uniform thickness that made him look entirely proportional at a distance, and while he was no genius, the life of a soldier and its sundry duties no longer baffled him.<br /><br />\tHis present errand, however, was still just a bit confusing.&nbsp;&nbsp;This was only his second full day in his new rank, the previous having been one of traditional leave and liberty that any recruit was given when they were finally released from training.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rest of his training platoon had graduated on the same day, but he&rsquo;d never really fit in with them... figuratively or literally.&nbsp;&nbsp;The bunks in the barracks physically couldn&rsquo;t hold him, so they&rsquo;d cleared out a storage closet and given him a bedroll on the floor; hardly luxurious, but the next best thing to private quarters, which had earned the resentment of more than one of his fellow trainees in their communal billet.&nbsp;&nbsp;The special attention from their trainers as they worked as hard as he to see his physical potential fully realized... was almost worse, and of course that very potential meant none of his platoon-mates wanted to spar with him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus, while everyone else had gotten together to celebrate, mostly at a tavern though a couple of the better-off recruits held a party of their own at a whorehouse, his own &lsquo;celebratory&rsquo; day was spent wandering through parks, sitting and thinking of not much at all, and the occasional battle to keep a scowl off his face when a passing child spotted him and their happy smiles crumbled with fear.<br /><br />\tHis own brow furrowed at the memory, and he fought to return his expression to neutrality as he drew nearer that guarded door.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn&rsquo;t any fault of his that he was so large...&nbsp;&nbsp;Ligers always were!&nbsp;&nbsp;He actually liked children... but very, very few of them could remain calm in the proximity of a cat standing just over eight and a half feet tall and weighing more than any two other muscular soldiers in the kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even a faint frown would only make their fear worse, so he had to hide just how much each fresh reaction hurt, deep inside.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Private Jerek, reporting as ordered,&rdquo; he rumbled to the guard, setting aside the less pleasant aspects of his life in favor of the merely incomprehensible.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone else he&rsquo;d trained with, this day, were reporting to their own new posts, be they constable stations, guard posts on the walls, or postings beyond the capitol, but not him.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;d been summoned to the palace, and the training enclave&rsquo;s captain who&rsquo;d personally delivered his orders either hadn&rsquo;t had, or simply hadn&rsquo;t revealed, a single clue as to why.<br /><br />\tThe tall, for a normal man, wolf blinked as he stared two feet up at the towering figure&rsquo;s face, then gave himself a shake that made his armor clatter, &ldquo;I was told you&rsquo;d be... big, but that was an understatement!&nbsp;&nbsp;I guess I understand why they dragged in a special chair, now...&nbsp;&nbsp;Go inside and have a seat; you&rsquo;ll be seen to shortly.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek hid a faint smile this time; the man was a second lieutenant, his clear superior, but for an officer he was at the same bottom of the heap that the liger was for the enlisted ranks, and probably very nearly as new at his job.&nbsp;&nbsp;He simply nodded, &ldquo;Yes, sir,&rdquo; and ducked down as he reached for the door&rsquo;s latch.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even in the large, spacious palace, the doorways hadn&rsquo;t been built with his bulk in mind.<br /><br />\tThe meeting room, in contrast to the hallway&rsquo;s decor, was elegantly simple.&nbsp;&nbsp;The medium-sized, round table within had fine carving on its legs, and the regular chair at the far side boasted light gilding on its arms and around its cushioned backrest, though the larger seat set out for him was a bit cruder.&nbsp;&nbsp;The walls were paneled, edged in fine molding, but were otherwise unadorned.&nbsp;&nbsp;Four more guards were inside, again in the full plate of the palace elite, standing silently in the corners even as he moved across the carpet to settle his weight into the chair with a faint creak of protesting wood.&nbsp;&nbsp;A slight motion caught his eye, and he glanced up to see one of the guards removing his thumb from the pommel-stone of his sword... had there been a faint glow, there?&nbsp;&nbsp;The private had very little experience with magic, though he knew its uses were frequent and varied among the wealthy.&nbsp;&nbsp;He kept his expression neutrally attentive as he pondered, and he was just starting to come to the conclusion that that stone might be some sort of signaling device when the far door of the chamber opened, a robed cougar stepping through to take his own seat, his face recognizable to almost everyone in Atheria City.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;At ease, Private,&rdquo; King Keesanrel IV rumbled, his voice almost as deep as his guest&rsquo;s, as he held up a palm in a calming gesture.<br /><br />\tJerek nodded as he sank back down from his spinal-reflex rise to attention, and murmured instead, &ldquo;Your Majesty...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;That, he thought to himself as he urged his racing heart to slow, explained the guards...&nbsp;&nbsp;Since he hadn&rsquo;t been assigned a post yet, he also hadn&rsquo;t been issued any weapons, but he could understand how his very size could be considered a threat.<br /><br />\tLeaning back against the cushions, the king nodded to himself, satisfied at the young soldier&rsquo;s quick recovery of aplomb.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You are here,&rdquo; he began, &ldquo;because you&rsquo;re... unusual, which I&rsquo;m sure you know, but what you can&rsquo;t know is just how unusual you are.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s not just your size or even species.&nbsp;&nbsp;You surprised every officer, every &lsquo;expert,&rsquo; when, over the course of standard, basic training, you managed to overcome difficulties no regular trooper has to face.&nbsp;&nbsp;Balance, coordination, and uniform muscle development... are problematic at best for any liger.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m certain you didn&rsquo;t even realize you were working under such a handicap; you simply did what you were told.&nbsp;&nbsp;Only you know how easy or hard that actually was, but from a historical perspective, you&rsquo;re unique.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every other liger we&rsquo;ve ever had enlist... has needed special attention to correct the disadvantages they were born with, usually taking a minimum of half again the standard training time, and every one of your instructors was expecting you to need the same consideration.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether your success was a matter of your own effort, or whether you just got luckier than most in how your heritage worked out, you graduated right on schedule with the rest of your platoon, and that alone was worth reporting to the upper ranks.&nbsp;&nbsp;The first reaction, of course, was to consider sending you to advanced training, with the goal of your eventual membership among my elite palace guards...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek&rsquo;s eyes widened, and he couldn&rsquo;t quite restrain himself, &ldquo;Me, your Majesty?&nbsp;&nbsp;In the elite?!?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tKeesanrel smiled faintly, &ldquo;As a possibility, yes... but let me repeat that they merely considered that option.&nbsp;&nbsp;The captain of my personal guard discussed it with me and my... well, my girls.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve probably heard rumors, or at least some bad jokes, about my personal life.&nbsp;&nbsp;The queen having a girlfriend, perhaps even having a penis and me being fey.&nbsp;&nbsp;I assure you, Queen Serra is quite female, but one thing she isn&rsquo;t is a traditional queen.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her talents would be stifled by that role, and our marriage would be... rather sour, if I held her to classical monogamy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also worth noting is that the girlfriend rumors speak of exists, and is a full-fledged Agent of Atheria, even if she was born in Drachath.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a soldier, I&rsquo;m sure it was explained to you just how rare a person it takes to be an Agent, and it means more to keep that kind of person happy than it does to have my wife all to myself every single night.&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides, for every night the girls spend together, away from me, on average they spend another, both in my bed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Speaking as a man, rather than a king, I assure you that&rsquo;s... pleasant.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger couldn&rsquo;t help but snort with amusement, one brow high, though other parts of his mind were ranging from confused to aghast at his very monarch sharing so many details of his personal life.&nbsp;&nbsp;What was so special about one newly-minted private, that the king himself would be discussing this kind of thing with him?<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Sleeping arrangements in the royal wing aside,&rdquo; the king went on, &ldquo;my wife and my Agent share similar talents, and for the last couple years we&rsquo;ve been playing with an idea... and it&rsquo;s finally manifesting as reality.&nbsp;&nbsp;This information is not to leave this room; you aren&rsquo;t one for gossip, I know, but if you decline the position I&rsquo;m about to offer you, I will have to have my uncle Tyron wipe your memory of this visit, for security reasons.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His guest&rsquo;s eyes widened under his serious gaze, and the big feline finally nodded.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;&lsquo;My girls&rsquo; are now the founding members of the Sisters of Order.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other members include the Drachathian ambassador to Letarr, an obscure priestess in Unicorn Vale, a captain in the Vale&rsquo;s elite, and a farmer&rsquo;s daughter in Dengar.&nbsp;&nbsp;I expect this membership to grow as time goes on, but never many, and never in the public eye.&nbsp;&nbsp;The purpose of the Sisters, you see, is to maintain the good of the common man... even by evil means.&nbsp;&nbsp;The prime example of how this works involves our own nation&rsquo;s history, some two and a half years ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;The queen, though she was just a foreign ambassadorial guard at the time, murdered my father... for the good of us all.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know this sounds shocking... but if she hadn&rsquo;t, our nation would be a subject province of Vivenge right now, as would Drachath.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Vale would once more be closed, half our male population would be dead, half our women chattel to Imperial soldiers, and we&rsquo;d almost certainly have trouble with starvation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, the Vale now has three openings, our economy has never been better, practically everyone is well fed, and I&rsquo;ve actually had to lower taxes because we couldn&rsquo;t spend what the economic boom was bringing in.&nbsp;&nbsp;That, my large friend, is how an act of evil can result in good.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other Sisters are sworn to watch out for similar situations, where either a word or a blade in the right place can tangibly improve things.&nbsp;&nbsp;They don&rsquo;t automatically seek an evil solution, as sometimes good can beget the best good, but they won&rsquo;t hesitate to use means most folks would find repugnant.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re Agents of the World, in a sense.&nbsp;&nbsp;Though international diplomacy was involved in the Sisters&rsquo; founding, the Sisters themselves know no borders, only the goal of the good of the common man.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek&rsquo;s eyes narrowed from their widened surprise as he thought these concepts over, nodding half to himself, &ldquo;I... see, your Majesty.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only part I&rsquo;m still confused about, I guess, is what any of this has to do with me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cougar smiled faintly, &ldquo;I understand...&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re not much of a &lsquo;sister,&rsquo; right?&nbsp;&nbsp;We may eventually rename the organization, but by coincidence every candidate for full membership has so far been female.&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite your unique talents that I already mentioned, you&rsquo;re not actually being considered for membership, except perhaps in an auxiliary role.&nbsp;&nbsp;You see, someone&rsquo;s stirring up trouble in those two counties we annexed from Vivenge in that little war.&nbsp;&nbsp;Our two resident Sisters are going to go investigate it, finding the person or persons responsible and either arresting them or killing them, depending on how just a trial would be, but they&rsquo;re just a couple of young ladies.&nbsp;&nbsp;One is a mage, and both can fight fairly well, but they&rsquo;re hardly an army by themselves... and I dearly love them both.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d have a hard time talking them into accepting a company or regiment sized military escort... and such would certainly have a negative impact on any covert aspects of their mission!&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus, I decided to send along just a little more muscle to help... and that is where you come in.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re a bright enough lad to figure the rest out, I&rsquo;m sure.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek glanced down at his right arm, letting go of the chair to tense and flex it...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I believe I do, your Majesty,&rdquo; he mused as he glanced up again.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m no one-man army, myself... but, yes, I do have muscle, and I&rsquo;ve always wanted to see more of the kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;I swore to obey you, if normally through the intermediary of your designated officers, when I enlisted, and if this is where you feel I&rsquo;ll be most useful, it&rsquo;s my merest duty to accede to your wishes.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe king nodded one last time, quite firmly, &ldquo;Good!&nbsp;&nbsp;You are, on my authority, immediately promoted to the rank of specialist, and assigned itinerant duty as the queen&rsquo;s attendant.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your salary... will be a colonel&rsquo;s, to better help you in the performance of your duties.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He rose from his seat and leaned across the table, extending one hand, &ldquo;Thank you for accepting this position, Specialist Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;ll keep my girls safe if they run into trouble, and the three of you can be on your way tomorrow.&nbsp;&nbsp;For the rest of the day, pack up what you need to travel, and by the time you&rsquo;re done my orders should reach the ears they need to, and you can pick up your first month&rsquo;s pay at the army clerks&rsquo; office.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tStill a bit bewildered, particularly by his new wages, the liger leaned forward and, very carefully, clasped the strong hand that was only half the size of his own.<br /><br />Chapter 1<br /><br />\t&ldquo;So, dear,&rdquo; Serra asked as she stood aside for the trio of servants that were carrying her packed bags out of the suite, &ldquo;did you find us a suitable escort?&nbsp;&nbsp;I still, personally, don&rsquo;t think we need one, but you made some good points.&nbsp;&nbsp;Banditry may be at an all-time low, but it still exists, and if Pria or I have to step out of our guises and into our official roles, having a visible, official guard would make whoever we&rsquo;re exerting our authority over much more likely to believe us.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer husband nodded, &ldquo;I did... and I think you&rsquo;ll like him.&nbsp;&nbsp;You see, in one sense Jerek is your exact species, but he&rsquo;s also your direct opposite.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon blinked, understanding immediately, &ldquo;A liger!&nbsp;&nbsp;I know you said you were sending some &lsquo;extra muscle&rsquo; along, but damn, you meant that literally!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tKeesanrel nodded again with a fond smile, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s... big, no doubt about that.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;s also either physically or mentally gifted; we&rsquo;re not sure yet, but however he managed it, he&rsquo;s had a far easier time adjusting to his own body&rsquo;s oddities than most.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;s only got an army private&rsquo;s basic training under his belt, but he also had to hold back to keep from killing his sparing partners.&nbsp;&nbsp;If trouble erupts, I&rsquo;m hoping he can remember to give it his all, in which case I may as well have sent you with a couple platoons.&nbsp;&nbsp;He should be worth at least that many soldiers, himself, if he lets himself be.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched another grinning nod, before his wife sobered and gave him a very warm look, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll miss you...&nbsp;&nbsp;I know Pria will be along so I&rsquo;ll hardly be bored, and if I&rsquo;m desperate I could always just seduce the oversized helper you picked... but I&rsquo;ve very much enjoyed being your wife, in all respects, even if my season kept us apart until just a few weeks ago.&nbsp;&nbsp;A month, minimum, away from you is hardly something I can look forward to after we only just started sleeping together again, no matter how important and stimulating the mission.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEven as he stepped forward to enfold her in a tight hug, the king nodded again, &ldquo;I know... and I share your feeling.&nbsp;&nbsp;I won&rsquo;t lack for simple sex, of course, now that the tunnel between the palace and the embassy is dug, but... the slaves aren&rsquo;t you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded against his shoulder, drops forming at the corner of her eyes, only to be interrupted by a second hug from behind, her best friend leaning over her shoulder to share a fierce, deep kiss with her husband.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;C&rsquo;mon, you lovebirds,&rdquo; Pria remarked, only slightly breathless from that kiss, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll all miss each other, but we still need to get going.&nbsp;&nbsp;We swore to endure more than just a little loneliness for this kind of thing...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth felines nodded, the king responding, &ldquo;Indeed...&nbsp;&nbsp;Good luck, my loves... and good hunting.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tPria and Serra were still pulling on plain, if fine, brown traveling cloaks when they stepped into the paved courtyard adjacent to the palace stables, and both had to stop and blink a bit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even forewarned, the tigon was surprised by the sheer height and bulk of the man standing next to the four horses, two saddled and two pack-beasts.&nbsp;&nbsp;His feet, clearly, would nearly touch the ground if he tried to mount, and the animals weren&rsquo;t large examples of their kind; simply carrying his basic weight would have been problematic.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the flip-side of the coin, though, those same long legs would probably let him keep pace with the horses at a walk without breaking a sweat, and he could probably match a canter by jogging.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Jerek, I presume?&rdquo; Serra asked as they drew near.<br /><br />\tThe huge feline nodded, half-bowing in place, &ldquo;Your Majesty...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHalf-grimacing, though her eyes were amused, Pria shook her head, &ldquo;You can forget that phrase right now, kid.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless something comes up where we need our official authority, we&rsquo;re just common travelers who coincidentally resemble and share names with a couple close friends of the king.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if someone makes the connection and asks, we&rsquo;ll flatly deny any semblance of royalty.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis queen nodding her agreement with a faint smile, the liger bowed again, &ldquo;My apologies, my ladies.&nbsp;&nbsp;I shall try to remember that... but your mounts are ready, and the morning dwindles while we wait.&nbsp;&nbsp;Shall we proceed?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Polite and efficient,&rdquo; Serra mused as she put a foot in the stirrup and hauled herself up.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll get along.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer girlfriend nodded as she mounted as well, &ldquo;Probably...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pausing only to double-check the lead rope of her packhorse, she nodded and gestured toward the gate, &ldquo;If you would lead the way, good sir?&nbsp;&nbsp;Foot traffic normally avoids horses, though they can still crowd a bit too much...&nbsp;&nbsp;Someone like you, on the other paw, I&rsquo;m sure will clear a wide swath for us.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re heading for the north gate and the highway beyond, and our goal is Southwall, the nearer of the two annexed counties.&nbsp;&nbsp;The highway will get us as far as Urenhold, then we&rsquo;ll ask for directions before cutting west.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria noticed, of course; his eyes had tightened very subtly at her mention of his clearing the way, though the rest of his expression remained respectfully attentive.&nbsp;&nbsp;That was, evidently, a sore point to some degree, and now that she thought about it, she could understand why.&nbsp;&nbsp;People avoiding him because of his size, always fearing him with no effort to actually get to know him... was probably a very lonely life.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keeping her own face carefully relaxed, she resolved not to be one of the thousands of people who&rsquo;d each done him a tiny hurt, that had to add up eventually, through sheer ignorance and prejudice.<br /><br />\tJerek, for his part, hadn&rsquo;t even noticed the familiar pain.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, he simply obeyed, stepping slowly toward the gate, then settling into a long, easy stride as he heard the hooves behind him.&nbsp;&nbsp;He kept one ear canted back as he led them <br /><br />through the wealthy districts&rsquo; light traffic, hearing alone enough to keep exactly three feet between the lead horse and his own back.&nbsp;&nbsp;The closer they got to the wall, the busier the broad street became, and he had to divide his attention between listening and watching.&nbsp;&nbsp;As predicted, the crowds gave him a wide berth when they saw him, but they didn&rsquo;t always manage that in time; anyone traveling the same direction, but slower, he had to carefully lead the horses around, and he found the challenge of navigation surprisingly stimulating.&nbsp;&nbsp;It felt good, to have a duty and discharge it well, and to enjoy the trust of high personages.&nbsp;&nbsp;In less time than he could really believe, he was passing under the raised portcullis of the north gate and onto the highway.<br /><br />\tAs the crowds thinned, Serra nudged her horse into a brief canter to pull even with him, then reined back to a walk to ask, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re obviously strong... but how&rsquo;s your endurance?&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re not in any serious hurry, but it&rsquo;s foolish to waste time that can be saved.&nbsp;&nbsp;To put it bluntly, how frequently and for how long can you jog or sprint?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe normally self-effacing young man came perilously close to a smirk as he rumbled back, &ldquo;I can jog longer than your horses can canter... with the right food.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve got a couple pounds of a fairly oily jerky in my pack; if I eat that on the run, I could go &lsquo;til sunset.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sprinting... well, ma&rsquo;am, I&rsquo;m sorry to say that uses energy faster than food can replace it.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I eat something an hour in advance, I can manage twenty or thirty minutes of a pony&rsquo;s gallop, speed-wise, but I&rsquo;ll be a wreck afterwards.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPulling up on the other side, Pria whistled softly under the sound of hooves, &ldquo;In an emergency, that could prove quite, quite useful.&nbsp;&nbsp;You see, I can provide the same sort of energy that food does, magically.&nbsp;&nbsp;My own endurance is also limited, but... oh, one to two hours, I&rsquo;m guessing.&nbsp;&nbsp;With me on your back, I could keep you sprinting that long.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That shouldn&rsquo;t be necessary this morning,&rdquo; the tigon chuckled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Dig that jerky out, though, and we&rsquo;ll let you prove what you said about jogging.&nbsp;&nbsp;That&rsquo;s fast enough, for now.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek didn&rsquo;t, actually, get to prove his morning-to-evening boast... as they spent the mid-afternoon at a roadside inn for a snack and a break to rest the horses.&nbsp;&nbsp;He said nothing, but was privately relieved at the chance for two or three pint mugs of clean water, as late autumn was occasionally warm despite the northern latitude, and even his marginally-oversized backpack didn&rsquo;t have room for the water skins he&rsquo;d need to run for twelve hours comfortably.<br /><br />\tThe highway leading north of the capitol had minimal curves, the central kingdom having no mountains and few hills to avoid, so the sun was setting just as they came into sight of a medium-small town where they could find an inn for the night, nearly seventy miles from where they&rsquo;d started.&nbsp;&nbsp;Both ladies were casting odd glances toward him...&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;d heard, but obviously hadn&rsquo;t believed, that he could run so far and still move without agony.&nbsp;&nbsp;That, he knew, would wait &lsquo;til morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;It would take at least an hour&rsquo;s steady walking for his muscles&rsquo; protests to fade to a dull roar, and he was out of jerky anyway, so he thought a silent prayer of hope to Tarragh that his companions weren&rsquo;t expecting him to repeat the performance the next day.<br /><br />\tThere was more than one inn along the town&rsquo;s central road, its position on the highway making it a popular stop on the way to or from the capitol, but the ladies didn&rsquo;t bother investigating their options.&nbsp;&nbsp;They stopped at the stables of the first one available, grossly over-tipped the stable boy in Jerek&rsquo;s opinion (he was still coming to terms with his own, royally-decreed salary, but that silver penny would have been a week&rsquo;s pay for his actual rank), and headed inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria&rsquo;s belly had been rumbling as the sun set, so she turned immediately toward the common room, while Serra stepped up to the desk to reserve a room.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since he knew his sleeping arrangements could be... problematic, the liger followed the latter.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll need the largest bed you&rsquo;ve got,&rdquo; the tigon purred to the vulpine behind the desk.<br /><br />\tEven as the man nodded, Jerek interrupted, &ldquo;No, we won&rsquo;t.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know inn beds... even the big ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wouldn&rsquo;t fit unless I sleep diagonally, and then there&rsquo;d be no room for anyone else... not that it would be proper for anyone else to be there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please, good sir, if you&rsquo;ve a smaller room with a cot... that, I can set aside and lay out a sleeproll big enough for me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can pay for it myself.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe fox tried to nod again, muzzle open to reply, only to be interrupted again as Serra stared up at her escort, &ldquo;Proper?&nbsp;&nbsp;What has that got to do with anything?&nbsp;&nbsp;If you insist on sleeping on the floor, the big-bed room would still do, and even if you can&rsquo;t stretch out, the three of us could have plenty of fun there before we actually sleep...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek blinked, then shook his head, his muzzle grim as he reached for his coinpouch, &ldquo;Definitely a separate room, good innkeeper, but close enough to that of my companions to hear any commotion.&nbsp;&nbsp;It is my duty to keep them safe on this journey, and while I&rsquo;m sure I could do that job even better from within the same chamber... I literally cannot discard propriety to that degree.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe scowl this fetched from his fellow feline promised that this was not the last he&rsquo;d hear on the subject, but she made no more objections as they each paid for their lodgings, then headed back to see what kind of supper Pria had ordered for them.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tConversation was sparse, and what there was was tense, throughout breakfast and the loading of their overnight gear back onto the horses.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only sign of his &lsquo;showing off,&rsquo; the previous day, was a slight tension around Jerek&rsquo;s eyes, though his calves and soles were in agony that long practice let him hide.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was a similar narrowness in Serra&rsquo;s expression, if for entirely different reasons, and while she&rsquo;d almost certainly mentioned the reason to Pria overnight, the wolf seemed more bewildered by the negative undercurrents than anything else.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Jerek,&rdquo; the tigon finally said, once they were well beyond the town&rsquo;s log wall, &ldquo;what&rsquo;s your damned problem?&nbsp;&nbsp;I know you&rsquo;re not married, and you know my husband wouldn&rsquo;t mind.&nbsp;&nbsp;What the hell was that about propriety, and &lsquo;definitely&rsquo; sleeping in separate rooms?!?&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re the first man I&rsquo;ve ever met that wouldn&rsquo;t leap at last night&rsquo;s opportunity, and you damned well owe me a reason why!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer escort&rsquo;s brow furrowed in reflexive anger, and he closed his eyes for a long moment as he walked, reining in his temper before it could escape.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, he opened them and replied, still staring straight ahead, &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t know... what it&rsquo;s like to have a body like mine.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every adult I meet, it seems, wants something from me, something related to my size.&nbsp;&nbsp;Men want my strength, or the combat prowess they assume I possess.&nbsp;&nbsp;Women... I shouldn&rsquo;t have to specify what they expect.&nbsp;&nbsp;The children are even worse in their own way...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He turned his head to fix her with a tear-rimmed gaze, his deep voice barely audible over the hoof-beats, &ldquo;Do you have any idea how it feels to see fear in every young face you meet?&nbsp;&nbsp;For children to never laugh, or even smile, when you&rsquo;re in view?&nbsp;&nbsp;Fear, lust, or avarice, I seem to evoke only the most primal of reactions... and all for my body!&nbsp;&nbsp;I haven&rsquo;t met anyone interested in me, the man behind the muscles, since I was ten years old!&nbsp;&nbsp;The only thing I have left, my only chance for satisfaction or some faint semblance of fulfillment... is duty, and I felt better than I had in years, when the king had a worthy duty for me to perform.&nbsp;&nbsp;I intend to do exactly that; I will escort you two wherever you decide to go, helping when I can, defending you when I must, and keeping my distance when you need that instead.&nbsp;&nbsp;Offer as often as you wish, but whether propriety means anything to you or not, I will do my duty, no more and no less... my queen.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra&rsquo;s gaze had softened briefly as he covered aspects of his life she had, indeed, never considered... but it hardened again at his last sentence, and she snorted, &ldquo;If you want to put it in terms of duty, perhaps tonight I should simply order you into my bed.&nbsp;&nbsp;As you yourself emphasized, I am your queen.&nbsp;&nbsp;I love Pria dearly, and she&rsquo;s the best licker I know, but since getting married I&rsquo;ve gotten rather fond of getting stuffed, well and frequently.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you&rsquo;re still being stubborn about meaningless, innocent fun a week from now, I&rsquo;ll probably leave you at the next army outpost we come across, and journey onwards with a new escort, one a bit less prudish.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek turned his gaze back toward the road, wiping his eyes on the back of one bracer and saying nothing.<br /><br />\tAfter a moment&rsquo;s awkward silence, Pria spoke up, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re being awfully hard on him, kitten...&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;s doing exactly what he was hired for, and the entire issue of who sleeps with whom seems to boil down to a matter of respect.&nbsp;&nbsp;He obviously has it for you, but you don&rsquo;t seem to be returning the favor very well.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Sisterhood isn&rsquo;t even a season old yet...&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you really want to destroy it over this silly an issue?&nbsp;&nbsp;Because if you carry through on either of your threats, be it a &lsquo;command performance&rsquo; or abandoning a good soldier for the crime of doing his duty, you&rsquo;ll have to carry out the rest of the mission solo.&nbsp;&nbsp;We may be girlfriends, and &lsquo;evil,&rsquo; but I&rsquo;ll abdicate my office and head back to my dad&rsquo;s embassy before I stand idly by and watch you abuse a good man like that.&nbsp;&nbsp;If all you need is dick, we&rsquo;ll stop by a Roxanite temple where there&rsquo;s man-meat in plenty.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon&rsquo;s eyes widened as her lover of years threatened to end it all over this, and being an Agent had been her life&rsquo;s goal for even longer.&nbsp;&nbsp;Was she really being that bad?&nbsp;&nbsp;She couldn&rsquo;t see it that way... but if both of her companions were that serious, at least some compromise was obviously in order.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I... apologize,&rdquo; she forced out a moment later.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Jerek... I still don&rsquo;t see what, in your eyes, was so bad about my offer... but I won&rsquo;t try to order you to do that, nor abandon you.&nbsp;&nbsp;In one sense, my husband&rsquo;s assignment to you is also a tacit order to me, and I have a duty to him too.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced to her lupine friend, &ldquo;I suppose part of it is my missing Kees&rsquo; spines already... but you&rsquo;ve got a point that they&rsquo;re not hard to replace.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ve got a long way to go... but, just two or three stops at Roxanite enclaves along the way won&rsquo;t slow us down that much!&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s... keep an eye out for them.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe Agent nodded, and they rode for a few more minutes in silence, content with their own thoughts.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once everyone seemed relaxed again, though, she asked in a mischievous tone, &ldquo;Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;Just out of curiosity... would ladies who assume that what&rsquo;s under your kilt is as oversized as the rest of you... be right?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlinking at the sheer effrontery of the question, the soldier could only whip his head around to stare... until he saw the laughter in her eyes, and the corners of his own muzzle twitched up involuntarily.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;From what I&rsquo;ve seen of other men in the public baths,&rdquo; he finally replied, &ldquo;I am completely, utterly average... in proportion.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth ladies&rsquo; eyes widened at that, and the wolf smiled back, &ldquo;Thank you.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think we can... extrapolate well enough in our minds; you needn&rsquo;t prove it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding once more, Jerek turned his gaze back to the road, and his thoughts back to the future.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThe sun was setting on the third evening of their journey as the group neared the large, breast-like double domes of a countryside temple to Roxanarra.&nbsp;&nbsp;While Jerek was quite relieved that the previous night had involved no objection to his renting his own room, he had more than one qualm about his charges&rsquo; current destination.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Do these places even have someplace where I can sleep alone?&rdquo; he asked the ladies as they drew near enough to make out individual figures in the small village by the fading sunlight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Serra glanced at him and simply shrugged, while her companion arched a brow curiously.&nbsp;&nbsp;Looking over to the wolf, he shrugged as well, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not just being &lsquo;prudish&rsquo; again, but I&rsquo;ve only got a month&rsquo;s pay to work with, for a trip that will probably take at least that long.&nbsp;&nbsp;Spending any of it on this sort of self-indulgent frivolity would be... unwise, at the very least, and it&rsquo;s not how I envisioned my f&mdash;&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He broke off suddenly, looking away.<br /><br />\tBoth brows high, Pria looked over to her girlfriend, &ldquo;I think he was about to say &lsquo;my first time.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;No fucking wonder he reacted badly to the subject!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger&rsquo;s gaze was fixed straight ahead, his muzzle set with visible tension and a faint redness barely visible at his eartips in the bad light.<br /><br />\tSerra could only blink for the first several seconds, then freed one hand from the reins to thump against her own forehead, &ldquo;Shit!&nbsp;&nbsp;Now I feel like a damned idiot, alright...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m... not actually sure, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not all of the rooms to play in, then sleep in, are someone&rsquo;s private chambers, I know that much... perhaps we can see if they&rsquo;ve got one to spare?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf&rsquo;s ears perked up as a memory surfaced, &ldquo;The novices!&nbsp;&nbsp;Their cells are the only ones too small to comfortably sleep two; they&rsquo;re expected to perform their duties in rooms with discreet peep-holes, so the senior priests can evaluate their performance with none being the wiser.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless they&rsquo;re full up, I think I can be considered Roxanite enough, personally, to request the loan of one.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She frowned, then, with another glance at her large guard, &ldquo;That very size, though...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not sure you&rsquo;ll fit, Jer, not even on the floor.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAfter the inadvertent revelation of another of his embarrassing flaws, it took Jerek a moment to switch mental gears and consider her statement.&nbsp;&nbsp;He shrugged after a few seconds&rsquo; thought, &ldquo;Unless the beds are unusually cheap and flimsy, I can lift one onto its side, freeing enough floor-space to curl up.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be a bit stiff in the morning, but I&rsquo;m used to it.&nbsp;&nbsp;If not, we still have tents on the pack-horses, and the periphery of the enclave looks flat enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra shook her head, even if he couldn&rsquo;t see it, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d prefer not to make you do that...&nbsp;&nbsp;The evenings are getting cooler; I know you can endure discomfort, but if there&rsquo;s any sort of affordable alternative, it would be rather silly to do so when there are perfectly good rooms to be had.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced over, &ldquo;Ask them, dear.&nbsp;&nbsp;If they have one but your religious authority isn&rsquo;t enough... my secular rank should suffice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Roxanites are very good at discretion, so my identity will be safe enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded, then addressed the liger again with a smirk in her tone, &ldquo;And what&rsquo;s this about paying for everything yourself, Jer?&nbsp;&nbsp;Count the contents of your purse when you get a chance...&nbsp;&nbsp;Your salary is for you, not to fund your assigned mission.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two nights of slipping the cost of your room back where it came from has been good practice for my own mission, as I was a bit rusty when we first set out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek half-turned, his muzzle opening, then shut it again and looked back to the road.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was supposed to be an escort, attendant, and aide, not a burden, so of course he&rsquo;d shouldered the extra expense of a private room that had been no part of the ladies&rsquo; original plans.&nbsp;&nbsp;He also refused, however, to further dampen their own enthusiasm for the night by forcing his troubles on them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Privately, he resolved to find out two things if he could... how much the temple asked for a spare novice&rsquo;s cell, and where Pria hid her money, as he hadn&rsquo;t been present for anything the wolf had paid for so far.&nbsp;&nbsp;Though she was a lot nicer about it than her girlfriend, in his opinion, her subtle stubbornness could not compare to his own when he decided to dig his metaphorical heels in, and a faint, grim smile briefly graced his muzzle in the fading light.<br /><br />\tThe lanterns and torches of the enclave were close enough to be helpful by the time the sun set completely, and one of the homespun-clad villagers was waiting at the guest stables.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Since both of you have far more interest in the temple proper than I do,&rdquo; the soldier mused, &ldquo;why don&rsquo;t you just go on ahead?&nbsp;&nbsp;I can help unload the horses, and it would be nice to have something useful to do while we&rsquo;re here.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe ladies shared a glance, then a nod, Serra replying, &ldquo;Thank you.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ve got more gear than this fellow&rsquo;s probably used to dealing with, and I really would rather get inside while they&rsquo;re still gathered for the evening meal.&nbsp;&nbsp;The priests would, of course, be happy to help me choose someone to my liking, but I personally prefer to survey my options beforehand.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe robed mink glanced between his assorted guests, then nodded, &ldquo;You both have good points, and I would indeed appreciate the assistance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Supper for the adherents will only last another twenty minutes, though they always have something for late-arriving guests, too.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria nodded back, and reached over to take her friend&rsquo;s hand, &ldquo;Alright.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll ask about the cell first thing, though, and tell whoever&rsquo;s watching the door to let you know how things work out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth men moved to lift bundles down from first packhorse as the ladies strode off, and the mink gave them another moment to get out of earshot before murmuring, &ldquo;Those two seemed friendly enough...&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps you&rsquo;re not into girls?&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d be happy to loan you my bed tonight, with a dawn bath so they don&rsquo;t smell what we do there...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek blushed at the offer, shaking his head, and lifted a pair of bags from one of the saddles just for time to organize his thoughts before answering, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that...&nbsp;&nbsp;I just don&rsquo;t want to disappoint anyone.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure any priestess in there would take one look at me and offer a discount... then go to bed unsatisfied, having expected something better than a virgin.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re here strictly for the ladies&rsquo; benefit; I, myself, have literally no business in a place like this.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe Roxanite chuckled, amusement overcoming his disappointment almost immediately, &ldquo;True enough, the way you describe it... but if you admitted that inexperience at the outset, I know of at least two ladies who&rsquo;d lock you in their chambers and immediately see to your... education.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;d be stuck here for weeks!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched a bitter chuckle and a more rueful shake of the head, &ldquo;That sort of delay... would be tacit treason, actually.&nbsp;&nbsp;These ladies need to be in Southwall within another week, and if I&rsquo;m not with them, I&rsquo;d better pray it&rsquo;s because I&rsquo;m dead.&nbsp;&nbsp;The king was jovial enough when he gave me this mission, but I doubt he&rsquo;d remain so should I fail it to that extent.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ah, duty,&rdquo; the mustelid sighed, then nodded, &ldquo;but I understand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, Our Bounteous Lady teaches us to balance duty and fun, which is a hard lesson for some of the novices who thought they&rsquo;d just get to fuck all day, every day.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fucking, though, doesn&rsquo;t till the garden plots, or re-thatch the roofs, or any of the thousand other details that keep our little village welcoming to visitors.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He frowned faintly, glancing across a horse&rsquo;s rump to meet the other man&rsquo;s eyes, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t make the mistake of going too far the other way, though...&nbsp;&nbsp;Duty alone is an empty life indeed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether in a bedchamber or not... find something you enjoy, or life&rsquo;s just not worth living.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek shrugged, &ldquo;I enjoy doing my duty well, actually.&nbsp;&nbsp;Being issued a private&rsquo;s pips at the end of basic training felt very, very good.&nbsp;&nbsp;Having that accomplishment recognized by my superiors, leading to a major role on a mission that&rsquo;s important to the entire kingdom, felt even better.&nbsp;&nbsp;Personal accomplishment... that&rsquo;s satisfaction enough, isn&rsquo;t it?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis earned a shrug in return as they both moved to the second packhorse, &ldquo;Perhaps... but it&rsquo;s a bit unusual.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most people tend toward more tangible things, or at least more profound.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wealth, power, sex, love, a family...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve never seen a tombstone with &lsquo;he did his job well&rsquo; on it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger shook his head and paused to tick off on his fingers, &ldquo;Meaningless, illusory, problematic, unlikely, and impossible, respectively.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He wrapped those fingers around a bundled tent to lift down as he mused, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m an infertile half-breed; I&rsquo;ll never have children, which is probably for the best given how much I scare them just by being me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Duty and my pride therein... are pretty much all I have left.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 2<br /><br />\tThe border of the Duchy of Urenhold was marked by a weathered stone hut, a leftover from before the capitol&rsquo;s division into districts, when each duke aspired to be their own sort of minor king.&nbsp;&nbsp;The travelers would have simply passed it by, but as their horses neared four figures in uniform marched out, standing in a line where a hinged pole had once blocked the road, now long gone.&nbsp;&nbsp;The one with brass bars on his shoulders instead of iron studs took half a step forward to call as they reined in, &ldquo;What is your business in the duchy?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAfter a glance shared with her companions, Serra spoke for the group, &ldquo;Our business... is our own, and yours is suspect.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the king&rsquo;s highway, along which anyone may travel without needing to justify themselves in the slightest.&nbsp;&nbsp;The county of my own birth, at one time, had guards that routinely annoyed random citizens on their journeys, frequently demanding taxes they had little or no legitimate claim to, and it very nearly ruined the holding until my mother stepped in to fix things.&nbsp;&nbsp;I find it hard to believe that a duke, no matter how new and inexperienced, would make the same mistake.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe officer shrugged, &ldquo;I do apologize for interrupting your trip, however briefly... but if you know that the duke was recently replaced, you probably also know why.&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;Random citizens&rsquo; traveling this very road were spies and traitors, and it&rsquo;s simply good principle to at least ask a few, basic questions if it can help prevent a repeat of that sad time.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat canid&rsquo;s words were logical enough, his voice smooth and honest-sounding, but he seemed to be building a case for a policy that, to the best knowledge of a soldier, an Agent, and a queen, simply didn&rsquo;t exist.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek glanced back at Pria, noticing that beneath bored-seeming brows her eyes were flicking from one man to the next, studying them closely... and as he turned casually back to do the same, discrepancies started to appear.&nbsp;&nbsp;None of the presumed soldiers&rsquo; armored uniforms fit quite right; some parts were just a bit loose, others too tight, sometimes on the same body.&nbsp;&nbsp;One corporal was, on just one shoulder, missing one of the two large iron studs of his rank, and the liger could see a gap in the seam along a &lsquo;fellow&rsquo; specialist&rsquo;s side, the leather intact but the stitching broken for just the width of a large knife or average sword.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;If &lsquo;basic questions&rsquo; are the order of the day,&rdquo; Pria mused calmly enough, &ldquo;I have one for you...&nbsp;&nbsp;Where are the soldiers you four bandits killed to get those uniforms?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek had just reached the same conclusion as she spoke, so he was ready when, after a single stunned blink apiece, all four men reached for their swords.&nbsp;&nbsp;The huge cat was already moving before the &lsquo;officer&rsquo;s&rsquo; blade was half out; he didn&rsquo;t bother with finesse of any sort, simply lifting a fist high and bringing it down with every ounce of his considerable strength.&nbsp;&nbsp;The man&rsquo;s helm caved in under the blow, blood shooting from his nose and brains trickling down the sides of his head from where the iron covered his ears, even as he was driven to his knees to flop backwards into the dirt the next moment, limbs twitching.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cat&rsquo;s next stride turned into a kick, cracking the rigid leather over the nearest bandit&rsquo;s belly and sending him reeling back, vomit splattering the road.&nbsp;&nbsp;He turned to face the two who&rsquo;d managed to get their blades up, only to blink as they both keeled over without a sound.&nbsp;&nbsp;He glanced back to see Pria lowering her hand, and nodded to himself; it didn&rsquo;t take much magic to kill an ordinary man, after all.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sorry, ma&rsquo;am...&nbsp;&nbsp;I forgot you could do that, and it&rsquo;s a lot less messy than my way.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf shrugged with a lopsided smile, &ldquo;Hey, at least we&rsquo;ll get some answers out of the one you kicked before internal bleeding finishes him off.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m no healer, able to knock someone out with a thought; I just boiled half a dram or so of blood dry, blocking up the main arteries to those two&rsquo;s brains.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ll be dead in another few seconds.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra glanced at the still-retching, fake soldier and shook her head as she climbed out of her saddle, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think he can stop heaving long enough to talk.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve seen sledgehammers that do less damage than your boot, kitty.&nbsp;&nbsp;How &lsquo;bout I just finish this one off and we tell the next town&rsquo;s real guards about &lsquo;em?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She paused as she neared the shuddering form, a light kick of her own knocking off his helmet so she could grab his headfur with one hand, the other pulling a folded steel dagger from the small of her back to casually slit his throat.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her smile was broad and toothy as she straightened up, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve done what&rsquo;s necessary...&nbsp;&nbsp;We stopped these criminals.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whoever they got the uniforms from is probably already dead, so closure for their relatives is more pressing a need than justice.&nbsp;&nbsp;The local constables can investigate toward that end well enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer companions nodded as she remounted, Pria suggesting, &ldquo;Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;Glance into the hut and see if they have any loot or, unlikely as it may be, stolen badges or identification.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever&rsquo;s there can be passed on to those same constables.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe centuries-old single room was bare save for dust, leaves, and the remains of a small cooking fire, and he shook his head with a grimace, &ldquo;They must have cached the rest of their gear somewhere, as I don&rsquo;t even see sleeprolls...&nbsp;&nbsp;Probably nearby, but we don&rsquo;t have time to go treasure-hunting.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That we don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Serra agreed, then looked a bit more sharply at the liger, &ldquo;but we might need to take some time for shopping at the nearest weapon-smith.&nbsp;&nbsp;Specialist Jerek, you&rsquo;re a soldier.&nbsp;&nbsp;Why the hell are you unarmed?&nbsp;&nbsp;Effective as they were, you should have had a damned sight more than hands and feet available, after signing on to defend us!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer escort blinked hard, looking abashed, then visibly fought not to shrug.&nbsp;&nbsp;Looking her firmly in the eye, he replied simply, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d never been issued any arms save loans for practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Weapons are provided at, and by, our postings, and I don&rsquo;t actually have one of those.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria blinked, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d always just assumed you favored knives or short swords, and that they were in your bag.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek shook his head, &ldquo;No...&nbsp;&nbsp;All I&rsquo;m carrying is my bedroll, my spare uniform, and a bit of emergency food.&nbsp;&nbsp;Leathers for someone my size are bulky, and I can&rsquo;t go as long as most people without eating; there just wasn&rsquo;t room for anything else... nor, I thought, any need.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beyond what&rsquo;s in my bag, I&rsquo;ve got my coinpurse, what I&rsquo;m wearing, and a perfectly good set of claws and teeth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Can either of you name even one thing more I actually need?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth ladies thought about it with the occasional faintly-guilty glance back at their heavily-loaded packbeasts, Serra finally offering a suggestion, &ldquo;Hygiene rags and a trowel?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe other cat tilted his head, then nodded grudgingly, &ldquo;If we were traveling cross-country, those would be useful... but we&rsquo;ve been at inns every night.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll just hold it.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;One corner of his muzzle quirked up as he glanced at the four corpses, &ldquo;It&rsquo;d take a bit more than scum like this to scare me shitless!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;A hint of satisfaction touched his awareness as he turned back to the road and started walking again to the sound of giggles.&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps that Roxanite mink had had a point... as it was indeed fun, even fulfilling, to be able to make a lady laugh.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThe group&rsquo;s final destination, that pair of counties just across what had been the western border between Atheria and Vivenge, was an exception to the usual layout of the kingdom, with earldoms and smaller holdings being subject to a duchy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eventually, they&rsquo;d be incorporated into the larger hierarchy, but while they were still new the counts, city mayors, and military commanders were direct appointments by the crown.&nbsp;&nbsp;Circumstances were similar in the city of Frostcrest, seat of the duchy of Urenhold, if for entirely different reasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;The previous duke had been a traitor, though there the king had simply promoted an existing earl he could trust to support him, along with a few months of partial martial law to keep things running while the rest of the local administrators were reviewed for loyalty and replaced if needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite the unrest in the annexed territories, the duchy proper was once more loyal and stable, and the queen had decided to check with the local government to see if they had any more detailed information that would help her mission.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her girlfriend went with her, of course, the pair leaving Jerek with a small pouch of gold and an admonition that he be properly equipped by the time they got back.<br /><br />\tThe liger was still seething, just a bit, as he stepped out of the inn and glanced across the skyline for hints of dark coal-smoke that&rsquo;d indicate where the city&rsquo;s smiths gathered.&nbsp;&nbsp;He hadn&rsquo;t exactly been ineffective in that fight!&nbsp;&nbsp;He was still trying to recover from the emotional realization, once the adrenaline had worn off, that he&rsquo;d killed someone, and didn&rsquo;t really want to think about being able to repeat the act even more easily.&nbsp;&nbsp;A nightmare, last night, had involved several repeats of the wet-melon crunch of a popping skull... only the skulls were Pria&rsquo;s, Serra&rsquo;s, Keesanrel&rsquo;s, and his own parents&rsquo;, while he could only look on helplessly and feel shame at failing to protect them.<br /><br />\tHe shook off those memories, or tried to (they were rather stubborn), as he started walking down the street.&nbsp;&nbsp;Discomfort or no, the queen had every right to give him the order she did, and he would obey.&nbsp;&nbsp;After three or four city blocks, though, a thought started to surface...&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d specified properly equipped, and he was a specialist in the Atherian army on official assignment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ignoring the smithies he could now faintly smell in the distance, he instead doubled back to a small constable post he&rsquo;d passed, and asked the corporal on duty there for directions to the local army barracks and armory.&nbsp;&nbsp;That was a much longer walk than the smiths, it turned out, but he wasn&rsquo;t in any hurry, and he was looking forward to the tiny victory of being able to return the pouch he&rsquo;d been given, never having opened it, much less spent any.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;New transfer?&rdquo; one of the sentries at the blocky building asked.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Captain&rsquo;s office is through the left door, then right at the hall, first door on the right.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek shook his head, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on escort duty, passing through, but my charges have business for a while.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was shuffled out with entirely too much haste, and they neglected to issue me so much as a knife, a situation I&rsquo;m hoping this post can correct.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe other sentry looked him up and down, mostly up, &ldquo;What were they feeding you at your old post, boy?&nbsp;&nbsp;You don&rsquo;t look like you need a knife...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSurprising himself with a barked laugh, rare indeed for any jab at his height, he shook his head, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t need one when we ran into a few bandits...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He winced again at the memory, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d never killed a man before...&nbsp;&nbsp;I always held back in training, and I didn&rsquo;t know just what a fist like mine could do to a skull.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth sentries winced, either in sympathy or from imagining that fist&rsquo;s effects, the first one speaking up again, &ldquo;Better get a sword, then...&nbsp;&nbsp;With one of those, you can choose to stick it somewhere that&rsquo;s not fatal.&nbsp;&nbsp;See the captain, as he&rsquo;s got the local Truthstone to check your story, but I&rsquo;m sure we can spare a blade or two.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Thank you,&rdquo; Jerek nodded even as he shared a casual salute with the pair, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;ll do just that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHe had to stifle a chuckle as he knocked on the edge of the open door of the captain&rsquo;s office.&nbsp;&nbsp;The figure across the desk was no small man, seven feet tall and thick with hard-trained muscle; the silver crossed swords and shield of a junior priest of Tarragh glittered on the wolf&rsquo;s breast, explaining his physique well enough, but his eyes were wide as he stood to return his junior&rsquo;s salute, &ldquo;By His Blade, you&rsquo;re a big one!&nbsp;&nbsp;Come in and... well, I&rsquo;m not sure the chairs I keep for the little guys would hold you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, come in, Specialist.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as he sank to the wooden floor between those chairs, the liger rumbled, &ldquo;I need to borrow your Truthstone, as I&rsquo;ve never been issued a badge or identifying documents, just so everyone&rsquo;s sure I&rsquo;m who and what I appear to be... but I also wasn&rsquo;t issued any weapons, while my lawful superior on my mission insists I be armed.&nbsp;&nbsp;The standard-issue longsword may be a bit small for someone like me... but hopefully your armory can spare one or two.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSettling back into his own seat so he could open the drawer that held the barracks&rsquo; magical tools, the captain nodded with a faint smile, &ldquo;Situation normal: all fucked up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s get you verified and equipped.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tSerra nodded to herself as she rounded the corner and the inn came into view, her escort leaning casually against the wall near the main door.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even from half a block away she could see the paired longswords hanging from a new belt, though they looked more like short swords on him, only the detail that he was taller than the frame of the door hinting at the true scale.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Grab the packs from our room,&rdquo; she directed as she neared.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;The meeting went well and we know where to at least start looking, as well as having a few ideas to lessen the symptoms while we hunt for the cause, but it&rsquo;s barely noon so we can put another thirty or forty miles behind us before dark.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am,&rdquo; Jerek replied automatically, ducking to step into the inn and navigate the narrow (for him) staircase to their rooms.&nbsp;&nbsp;Naturally, he took the opportunity that presented itself, tucking the pouch of gold into a pocket of Pria&rsquo;s clothes bag.&nbsp;&nbsp;His own pack&rsquo;s flap was tied loosely, as he&rsquo;d had a chance to pick up a crumbled bacon and granola blend that would sustain him while letting the whole group move faster.<br /><br />\tHis faint sense of triumph lasted only until he&rsquo;d tied the ladies&rsquo; packs onto their horses and they&rsquo;d started moving, Pria commenting to her girlfriend, &ldquo;He never opened that coinpouch, but his own isn&rsquo;t depleted enough for him to have bought them himself.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced over at the blinking liger, &ldquo;The fact that it&rsquo;s in my bag&rsquo;s pocket doesn&rsquo;t mean I can&rsquo;t sense gold, or the energies I put into the pouch&rsquo;s drawstring.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m no archmage, but two things I am good at are mage-sight and short-term enchantments.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger&rsquo;s ears splayed, and he had to cough twice before he could mutter at sufficient volume, &ldquo;I... the swords are army-issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;I talked a local garrison captain, with a decent armory under his command, into issuing them to me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded, though a faint frown still teased around the corners of her muzzle, &ldquo;Acceptable... barely, and for now.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll need to see you use them before I fully make up my mind, but one of the advantages of buying from a smith is the variety you get to choose from.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those swords are sized for a completely average soldier; an unusually small trooper would find them uncomfortably heavy, while you have the exact opposite problem, at least in first-impression theory.&nbsp;&nbsp;Keep them for now, but if we get into another fight, or find an opportunity for some sparring practice, I&rsquo;ll be reevaluating your decision then.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSomehow, Jerek managed to keep from wincing at her foreboding tone, replying only, &ldquo;Yes, my queen,&rdquo; and gesturing invitingly toward the road leading to the west gate.&nbsp;&nbsp;He heard what could, possibly, have been a muffled giggle from Pria&rsquo;s direction, but both ladies started moving soon enough, leading their horses through the afternoon foot traffic.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tSerra stirred a small pot of oatmeal and salt-cured beef as her companions extracted the support poles from the tent.&nbsp;&nbsp;Though luxurious enough by most standards, it would only have been comfortable for all three of them had they been on... friendlier terms than their big, fussy escort demanded.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d made one token, subtle attempt to break past his guard last night; her riding skirt was fairly typical of the upper class, but unlike most &lsquo;fine&rsquo; ladies she didn&rsquo;t bother wearing underdrawers with it, and she&rsquo;d managed to take a moment when no one else was looking to very faintly &lsquo;sign&rsquo; the largest of their pillows in a rather personal fashion...&nbsp;&nbsp;When they&rsquo;d all climbed in just before the evening downpour struck, though, she&rsquo;d heard a faint snort in the darkness and the rustling of her escort turning the pillow over to sleep on its pheromone-free side, and to her surprise she couldn&rsquo;t detect even a hint of morning wood under his armor when they rose with the sun.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;How bad is it?&rdquo; she finally asked as the other two started feeling around the thick, damp canvas.<br /><br />\tSharing a glance with Pria, Jerek spoke up, &ldquo;It could have been worse.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rain stopped at least two hours before dawn, so it&rsquo;s not quite soaked through to the inner wax at this point.&nbsp;&nbsp;If we&rsquo;ll be stopping in... oh, four to six hours and can spread the sections out to dry, they&rsquo;ll survive being folded that long without molding or such, but if there&rsquo;s longer to go we&rsquo;ll want to drape them over the packhorses and turn them once every couple of hours.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon nodded and gave the pot one more stir before swinging the iron frame&rsquo;s arm away from the fire and reaching for bowls, &ldquo;Fold them.&nbsp;&nbsp;This leg of the journey is our last chance to relax before the real work starts, so we&rsquo;ll be traveling only &lsquo;til noon.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s another Roxanite enclave I want to spend most of the day at, but we can find somewhere to spread the canvas before getting distracted, and I don&rsquo;t think it will rain today too.&nbsp;&nbsp;Over in Vivenge, and in these two counties as they haven&rsquo;t had long enough to change much, Roxanarra has a small temple in almost every town and city, but this is the last real enclave we&rsquo;ll see for a while; they just aren&rsquo;t tolerated in the empire.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She paused to await two nods at the proposed route, then continued, looking more directly at the liger, &ldquo;Pria already knows the plan... but once we reach Southwall, our first task is to split up.&nbsp;&nbsp;One of the forms the reported &lsquo;unrest&rsquo; has taken is that there are... rumors, bordering on propaganda and outright lies, about just how these counties came to change hands.&nbsp;&nbsp;The best way to address false rumors, then, is to enlist the help of the priesthood, as the common folk often come to them for advice or clarification.&nbsp;&nbsp;In Frostcrest, we picked up several copies and versions of a more thorough explanation of recent history.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re all true, but each was written specifically for the comfort and biases of each deity&rsquo;s followers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria will take the Goddesses of Light, I&rsquo;ll contact the dark side of the pantheon as I&rsquo;m pretty sure I can find all of them despite their secrecy, and you, Specialist, will take the appropriate documents to the temples of the Gods of Light.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just getting a factual account into the hands of those the locals trust should accomplish a large part of our mission.&nbsp;&nbsp;We still need to find the source of those rumors, of course, but simply hamstringing their current efforts is a worthy goal in its own right.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAs the bigger cat nodded, the wolf chimed in, &ldquo;Not to mention possibly pushing that source out into the open, as they try something else, possibly something more obvious.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded back, &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t count on that... but if it happens, be prepared to take advantage of it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded too, half to himself as he considered, &ldquo;Shattrathin, Tarragh... what about Molinden?&nbsp;&nbsp;Those new, big temples that started popping up in Atheria a couple years back; are there any where we&rsquo;re going?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;They might be,&rdquo; his queen replied, then gave a faint shrug.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;It was pressure from Vivenge that had been keeping Atheria from formally recognizing Molinden.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since the treaty with Drachath, the religion has at least been crown-supported and legal, but there might be some resistance in territory that was formerly Vivenge&rsquo;s.&nbsp;&nbsp;Look around when we get there, since I&rsquo;ve got a couple history packets written with merchants in mind, and it&rsquo;ll be your job to deliver one of them to the local priests of commerce if you find any.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe young soldier nodded, still thinking to himself about the towns and cities they&rsquo;d passed through.&nbsp;&nbsp;All religious buildings, at least those of the Light, had been gathered into relatively small areas, so it was only a neighborhood or district he&rsquo;d need to find, rather than hunting a variety of targets all over a large, unknown city.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I can do that, ma&rsquo;am,&rdquo; he decided a moment later.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;As can I,&rdquo; Pria agreed, then added, &ldquo;but let&rsquo;s all keep an eye out for decent boarding houses, or even small rental properties, during this first bit of wandering.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re going to be in the area for at least a couple weeks, possibly one or more months, so it wouldn&rsquo;t hurt to find something both more comfortable and less public than an inn for a base of operations.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tGiving one final nod, Serra smiled and started ladling carnivore&rsquo;s porridge into bowls, &ldquo;Looks like we&rsquo;ve got a good plan, or at least a sturdy foundation for one... but that&rsquo;s all for tomorrow.&nbsp;&nbsp;For today, let&rsquo;s eat, get packed, and get to that enclave.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is probably my last chance for serious fun in the foreseeable future, and I intend to enjoy it while I can.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&lsquo;Another day, another mustelid,&rsquo; Jerek thought to himself, surprised at his own amusement under the circumstances.&nbsp;&nbsp;This enclave&rsquo;s stable looked much like the last one&rsquo;s, though instead of a fading dusk he was unloading the horses to a noon sun with the help of a badger about his age, with far more of the day ahead in which he&rsquo;d need to occupy himself while his charges wiled away the hours with gratuitous sex.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I think we made good enough time to join the lunch crowd,&rdquo; Pria remarked with a glance at the sun, almost due south of them.&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned to her escort, &ldquo;Since it&rsquo;s safe to assume you probably still don&rsquo;t want to join us for what comes after... I suggest, just because it&rsquo;s marginally more stimulating than warming a bench &lsquo;til sunset, we all share the meal then you see if there are any chores or other minor tasks around the enclave that your strength could ease.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA remnant of his previous amusement helped keep even a faint scowl off his face as Jerek nodded, &ldquo;I suppose I can see that...&nbsp;&nbsp;It was a reasonably vigorous jog to get us here this soon, so one other option for me is a simple nap, but then I&rsquo;d be up all night with even less to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll go help in the fields or something after lunch.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra quirked a brow, standing aside while the immediate needs of the horses were seen to, and asked, &ldquo;Just what is your background, anyway?&nbsp;&nbsp;You always struck me as a bit more... polished than a farmer; I&rsquo;d roughly pegged you as the son of tradesmen.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger shrugged as he worked, &ldquo;A little bit of both...&nbsp;&nbsp;My family ran a little country-side inn.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was in the southwest of the kingdom, that little triangle formed by the borders of Drachath and the Vale, so it saw only a moderate amount of traffic.&nbsp;&nbsp;Only the distant spacing of the local towns kept us in business; we had a large garden, a meadow, and a small herd to feed ourselves and our guests, and my father was just good enough a carpenter to keep things in repair without the time and expense of importing someone from a larger community.&nbsp;&nbsp;Between repairs, being effectively a small farm, and helping the inn itself and meeting its guests, my childhood was... rather varied, really.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He glanced around through the gaps in the stable walls, &ldquo;These enclaves... are actually a lot like home, just a bit bigger.&nbsp;&nbsp;The needs are probably very similar, and I&rsquo;m sure I can find something to help with.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;A country boy... with exposure to more social classes, in passing at least, than most,&rdquo; the queen surmised, nodding.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;That fits, and clears up a few minor points of confusion.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyway, just set that tent aside; it won&rsquo;t mold in the time it takes us to eat, and you can find someplace to spread it out to dry as your first chore of the afternoon.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTurning away, as much to hide a faint eye-roll he couldn&rsquo;t quite restrain as to tuck the damp tent into a free corner, he settled for simply replying, &ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 3<br /><br />\tTheir technical leader on her own hunt for any dark temples hiding in Southwall, Pria and Jerek found their parts of the group assignment surprisingly easy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just south of the center of town, where the stained glass windows behind the pulpits could catch the best light, were all of the more accepted temples, Gods on one side of the broad avenue stretching to the south gate, Goddesses on the other.&nbsp;&nbsp;Molinden&rsquo;s shrine was surrounded by scaffolds, the building that had been the city&rsquo;s second-best inn about half-sheathed in thin marble at this point, and since it wasn&rsquo;t a restday there were several workers in evidence, most of them wearing the stylized copper coin pendant of novices over plain, durable clothes rather than robes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sharing a nod with the wolf as they split up, Jerek ducked under the platform supporting a painter just over the main doors, and looked around until he found someone wearing at least silver.&nbsp;&nbsp;The priests were, obviously, doing their best to pretend that the construction noise didn&rsquo;t exist, so the liger was able to explain his mission and deliver the correct sheaf of parchment with only a few pauses to wait for banging to die down.<br /><br />\tThe next temple on the street was Tarragh&rsquo;s, its ornate doors carved with scenes of honor, battle, and glory, flanked by plate-armored acolytes whose eyes widened at their visitor&rsquo;s size.&nbsp;&nbsp;Chuckling, as it was easier to forgive that sort of reaction from men who expected to be bigger than almost anyone they met, he crisply returned their salutes and stepped into the sanctuary.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was a senior priest sitting on one of the pews, muttering to himself as he shuffled several small sheets of parchment, but that lion looked up as the booted tread of the newcomer, muffled by the central aisle&rsquo;s carpet, paused near him.&nbsp;&nbsp;His eyes went briefly-wide too, of course, then narrowed shrewdly as he looked first for any sign of a necklace or pendant, then at the one large and one small iron pips on each leather-armored shoulder.&nbsp;&nbsp;Half-nodding to himself, he rumbled, &ldquo;Welcome to the House of War.&nbsp;&nbsp;As it&rsquo;s not a restday, and since I don&rsquo;t recognize you, I have to wonder... are you here to join our church?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek started to shake his head, then paused...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;That might actually be a good idea,&rdquo; he mused once he&rsquo;d considered it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m actually here to drop this off,&rdquo; and he reached around to pull another sheaf of parchment out of the top of his pack, &ldquo;as an official crown communication to every local religious leader.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still... Tarragh tends to be who I&rsquo;m thinking of whenever a situation has me praying for any reason.&nbsp;&nbsp;All I know of Him is that He encourages strength at arms, strength of character, and comporting one&rsquo;s self with honor in all situations, but even that basic a summary feels... right to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;What would formal membership actually entail?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe smaller cat&rsquo;s muzzle spread in a broad smile, &ldquo;That is, quite possibly, the most succinct and accurate description of my God&rsquo;s philosophy that I&rsquo;ve ever heard.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you, as it seems, came up with it on your own... then you&rsquo;d probably feel quite welcome among His Warkin.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tell me, what deeds of valor can you honestly claim?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek frowned slightly, then shook his head, &ldquo;Not many.&nbsp;&nbsp;My current rank... was a perk of my mission, not actually earned.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can only claim a private&rsquo;s rank on my own merits and, despite usually winning on the practice grounds, I&rsquo;ve only been in real combat once, and that battle was short and less than glorious.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some... bandits, we think, had stolen guard uniforms, and were trying to run some sort of scam in them, but neither I nor the ladies I&rsquo;m escorting know what their actual goal was.&nbsp;&nbsp;We spotted the flaws in their act, and attacked just before they could.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was unarmed, but killed one outright and mortally wounded another.&nbsp;&nbsp;Neither I nor those whom it was my duty to protect received so much as a scratch, and none of the criminals escaped alive.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding, the priest smiled again, &ldquo;That, for your age, is actually a very acceptable list of accomplishments, particularly since you gave it honestly, with no attempt to inflate your deeds.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you become one of the Warkin, that&rsquo;s one thing you&rsquo;ll have to remember... never lie or exaggerate about your deeds or skill.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even beyond we priests&rsquo; ability to detect such a deception, Tarragh Himself would take personal exception to the lie, and He&rsquo;s not a God you want mad at you.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His muzzle broadened into a near grin at the soldier&rsquo;s wry nod, and he continued, &ldquo;As for the details you were curious about... well, we have several publications we keep around for prospective supplicants, depending on their degree of literacy.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger recognized the implied question immediately, also realizing that this was another test of honesty, and quickly volunteered, &ldquo;I can read a little, but very slowly, and some combinations of letters are trickier to sound out than most.&nbsp;&nbsp;I would not, objectively, judge myself literate.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Excellent!&nbsp;&nbsp;You not only spotted that little test, but passed it with distinction.&nbsp;&nbsp;Honesty about your own limitations is as important as that about your deeds.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rising and straightening his robe, the lion stepped into the aisle with a gesture to follow, &ldquo;Come along; we&rsquo;ll get that &lsquo;crown communication&rsquo; to my high priest, and give you a copy of the novice&rsquo;s primer with simple words and illustrations.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether you decide to pursue membership after reading it, or not, you&rsquo;ll always be welcome here.&nbsp;&nbsp;My name is Sir Goral, and our knight commander and the leader of this branch of Warkin is Sir Melian.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once you have another break in your duties, just ask the door guards for either of us if you want to join our little band and enjoy a bit more challenging of sparring partners than you likely did as an army trainee.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as he followed along, still holding the historical document in hopes of finding someone to give it to soon, Jerek chuckled, &ldquo;That... would be a welcome change of pace.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, now that I think on it, the Warkin are probably the only group in the world that would be able to find someone used to making armor in my size.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wouldn&rsquo;t mind a decent breastplate, but every smith I ever asked either quoted a truly insane price, or kicked me out of their shop the moment I said the word &lsquo;armor.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;One even had his wife take her broom to me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBrows high, Goral nodded with a quiet laugh, &ldquo;I can imagine...&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, don&rsquo;t cherish any illusions that something in your size would be cheap, but, yes, I know a smith or two with enough practice at larger breastplates that you wouldn&rsquo;t be paying an extra premium on the labor.&nbsp;&nbsp;For just a breast-and-back plate in mid-grade steel, that&rsquo;d be... oh, five or six florins, I think.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIn other words, the liger thought to himself, a month and a half of pay even at his royally-inflated grade.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, that was just over a third of the last quote he&rsquo;d been given, so he smiled, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have that much on me... but I can save it up in just another couple weeks, six at the outside if an unexpected expense comes up.&nbsp;&nbsp;I will definitely speak with you again on this subject.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good,&rdquo; the priest nodded sharply.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Army-issue leathers are decent enough against the sort of bandits you ran into, but hardly proper for a serious fight, and practically useless if some cur ambushes you with a bow.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now,&rdquo; and he paused at a large door in the hall, &ldquo;let&rsquo;s say hello to Sir Melian so you can discharge your current task with honor.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tAbout a block away, Jerek spotted his partner between the temples of Roxanarra and Malia, a seeming oddity at first... until he noticed that she was walking a little funny.&nbsp;&nbsp;That certainly explained why he&rsquo;d covered two temples in the time it took her to do one, and he shook his head in faintly-amused exasperation as he padded up the steps to the Temple of Generosity.&nbsp;&nbsp;This time, a ferret in her early twenties, a white robe, and an acolyte&rsquo;s pendant was on door duty, and the usual eye-widening seemed to strike and stick as she spotted him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Mindful of the faint, fearful trembling visible at her fingertips, he slowed his pace and put some effort into keeping his voice gentle as he summarized his mission and humbly asked to be led inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;The priest he was shown to was made of marginally sterner stuff, but he still heard a sigh of relief at his back when he took his leave.<br /><br />\tAs much to distract himself from his own, fouled mood as any other reason, he paused about midway down the temple steps and looked around.&nbsp;&nbsp;Typically for this particular temple, there were several roughly-dressed figures standing or sitting on the marble, each with a begging-bowl at hand, but one in particular caught his eye.&nbsp;&nbsp;In contrast to the listless droop of the other beggars, this one&rsquo;s tail slithered actively through the air, and that tail&rsquo;s owner was clearly focused on something in its hands, not the passing foot-traffic other, forlorn voices called to for alms.<br /><br />\tEasing quietly closer to the happier-seeming figure, Jerek observed that its cloak was a bit finer, or at least cleaner, than most in view, and as his angle progressed he could make out the features of a domestic feline, the chest-level bulge that proclaimed her a woman, and the black blindfold across her face, starkly contrasting with both her tan cloak and white fur.&nbsp;&nbsp;In her hands was a piece of wood, and as her sightless gaze watched the sky, her fingers... flowed.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was no other word for it; she stroked the figurine in her grip, feeling its every nuance, and every few seconds one claw or another would extend and a fresh, tiny shaving would join the pile in her lap as she refined the carving.&nbsp;&nbsp;More than casually curious, now, the soldier stayed as quiet as he could as he sank onto a marble step about six feet away, and the more he saw of the eight-inch-tall wolf she was finishing, the more he marveled.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other than its size and color, that carving looked like it was alive; those tiny shavings that kept falling were obviously the final step as she worked the wood into such lifelike fur patterns that he expected it to shift in the breeze.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Thank you for not interrupting me,&rdquo; she said without preamble after he&rsquo;d silently watched for several minutes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;My nose and ears work just fine, but the final detailing on one of these things always takes a great deal of concentration, and it doesn&rsquo;t take much of a slip to ruin a good piece.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA hint of a chuckle rumbled somewhere in his huge chest as Jerek nodded, then silently cursed himself; obviously, she couldn&rsquo;t see it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;And your tail works, too,&rdquo; he replied after only a moment&rsquo;s hesitation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what made me curious enough to find out what you were doing, as it was the only such appendage on these steps that wasn&rsquo;t drooping with depression.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that I&rsquo;ve seen why, I can understand the pleasure to be found in crafting such beauty, though I could never hope to experience it, myself.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He glanced around, then added, &ldquo;I have to wonder, now, why it&rsquo;s this temple you&rsquo;re at...&nbsp;&nbsp;You certainly have skill enough to please Malia, after all.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHalf-turning to face him from behind her blindfold, the young woman shrugged with a smile, &ldquo;And, of course, you&rsquo;re far too polite to ask the question that&rsquo;s really on your mind, why someone who can make this is still a beggar...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She snorted in amused exasperation, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, almost everyone I meet asks that, but I don&rsquo;t mind, since it&rsquo;s fun to shock them with the truth.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not a beggar.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can get along, not exceptionally well but adequately... but the child who paints these carvings for me, whom I&rsquo;m told has the talent to do them justice even if I&rsquo;ll never... see the results, his family has practically nothing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sitting here to do my work, I can collect enough coins to feed him and his parents without much sacrifice on my part, and every once in a while someone who can afford something as frivolous as art, but has never seen mine, stops by and becomes interested.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She held out the oaken wolf, &ldquo;So, what do you think?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeaning a bit closer, Jerek resumed his examination of the figurine, and could find no flaw; it was as perfect up close as it had seemed from a distance.&nbsp;&nbsp;He had to swallow hard, twice before he could speak, &ldquo;I... ma&rsquo;am, I&rsquo;m just a simple soldier.&nbsp;&nbsp;Such as I has not the words to praise the beauty before me as it deserves.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlushing through her white fur, the girl shook her head, &ldquo;That... that&rsquo;s almost worse, in its own way, than the fulsome, eloquent praise others have profoundly embarrassed me with in the past.&nbsp;&nbsp;If everyone keeps saying it&rsquo;s so perfect, how can I keep getting better?&nbsp;&nbsp;A little constructive criticism can be a good thing... but, as a soldier and not an artist yourself, I guess asking you for a hard-biting critique would be a bit... silly.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek chuckled again, &ldquo;I... understand.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I had the background to judge, I would, but it&rsquo;s quite literally not my place.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m curious, though, just how you... how they come out so life-like.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve seen sculptures decorating the palace of our king, and they can&rsquo;t compare in fine detail to what I&rsquo;m looking at now.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTucking the carving back into her lap, she gestured down the street toward the Temple of Arts, &ldquo;Those who serve Malia, who taught my to refine my natural talent, wondered the same thing, and all I can offer is the conclusion of their speculations, which may or may not be the truth.&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;Normal&rsquo; sculptors... use their eyes far too much, and they&rsquo;re used to thinking in &lsquo;visual terms,&rsquo; whatever that means.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was born this way.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to a healer, there are these... things on the inside of the eye that absorb light and allow one to see, and I don&rsquo;t have any.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus, their conclusion is that my mind&rsquo;s less cluttered than most, and better able to remember, when I...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She broke off with a faint frown, then visibly prepared herself and went on, &ldquo;This is the part that&rsquo;s occasionally gotten me some... rather disconcerting offers, but I have to touch what I&rsquo;m going to carve, first.&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, for most parts; after my first three male sculptures looked like they were erect under their breeches, my teachers suggested that I just fake that part.&nbsp;&nbsp;I remember the shapes and textures I feel, then simply duplicate them in miniature.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s really that simple, that innocent, but I&rsquo;ve had to issue more than one prospective customer a refund when they were entirely too pleased that I&rsquo;d be running my hands all over them.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis time, the liger very deliberately did not laugh, and tried hard to keep his amusement out of his tone as he replied, &ldquo;I can understand that...&nbsp;&nbsp;While not exactly the same, I&rsquo;ve experienced some distantly-related misconceptions about just what sort of service I was trying to offer someone.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve also, though, encountered one or two individuals whom I think I judge fairly when I doubt their ability to tell the difference between an artist and a whore, but the occasional stupid person is just part of the mortal condition.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched another smiling nod, &ldquo;While I doubt any man has ever experienced just my situation... it indeed sounds like you&rsquo;ve come close enough to understand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now,&rdquo; and she patted the marble next to her, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got another small work to start on, someone&rsquo;s pet kitten this time, so why don&rsquo;t you stop looming like that and have a seat?&nbsp;&nbsp;So long as you&rsquo;re quiet, you&rsquo;ll get to see one of these things made from the start.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek blinked, briefly confused, then realized...&nbsp;&nbsp;Keeping his rumble as neutral as possible, he replied, &ldquo;I am sitting down.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;You&rsquo;re...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shaking her head in clear disbelief, the smaller cat scooted her cloak across the step, a foot dragging her bowl along as one hand reached blindly until it came into contact with his arm, and even behind that strip of black cloth the inevitable widening of eyes occurred yet again as she felt her way up to his shoulder.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Do you know,&rdquo; the liger rumbled softly, almost to himself, &ldquo;I was actually happy for just an instant when I first noticed you were blind?&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s not that I wish disability on anyone...&nbsp;&nbsp;For the first time in my life, I realized, here was someone who I could talk to, who&rsquo;d make no judgments, hold no preconceptions, based on the completely meaningless detail that I stand eight feet, seven inches tall in bare feet.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every other conversation or relationship I have is always impacted by that fact.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hardly a day goes by that I don&rsquo;t hear some child, bursting into frightened tears just because of how I look.&nbsp;&nbsp;You, though... you saw, or rather heard and smelled, just another man, as good or bad as any other man, but for once based on my words and personality, not... not my size.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding shallowly as she let go of his huge arm, the girl visibly gathered herself before replying, &ldquo;I think... that you do understand my life, and how assumptions made by others can impact it, far better than most...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She smiled faintly, then, &ldquo;Also, I understand just how novel an experience our conversation must have been for you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other than your voice coming from an angle I assumed meant you were standing, you were just another new voice to talk to, a new scent to become familiar with.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scooting back the way she&rsquo;d come, just to open a socially-proper gap, she held out one hand, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m Beckah, and it&rsquo;s been... an experience, meeting you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLaughing softly as he reached to enfold her small paw in his, the soldier nodded, &ldquo;Specialist Jerek of the Atherian army, at your service, ma&rsquo;am.&nbsp;&nbsp;Well... so long as that service won&rsquo;t take more than a few seconds.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can see one of my bosses coming up the street now, so my free time is probably at an end.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah smiled back, &ldquo;I know how that goes...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m usually escorted here and home again by someone from Malia&rsquo;s or Tarragh&rsquo;s temple, and I&rsquo;ve heard both sorts complain of duty often enough.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you see me here again, I wouldn&rsquo;t mind talking some more, and if I&rsquo;m not here, the door guards of either temple will probably know where to find me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding to himself as he fished around in his purse for his smallest gold coin, the liger reached over and dropped it into her bowl, &ldquo;Here, something for that family you&rsquo;re helping.&nbsp;&nbsp;Good pigments, I&rsquo;ve heard, can be expensive, but your work clearly deserves the best.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can&rsquo;t say when, but if possible I&rsquo;ll see you again sometime.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBrows rose behind black cloth again, suggesting that the white cat knew exactly what denomination had been given from the tone of its clink, but she nodded affably enough, &ldquo;You have my thanks, and that of little Crellan, I&rsquo;m sure.&nbsp;&nbsp;May your duties be discharged with speed and honor.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;It took me a while to find one of Sliisthar&rsquo;s bunch, but I managed eventually,&rdquo; Serra mused as she touched two crystals together, lighting the kitchen hearth in the small house she&rsquo;d chosen to rent.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;How did you two do?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAfter a quick, shared glance with Pria, Jerek spoke up, &ldquo;I had no trouble at all, though I think your girlfriend stopped for a quickie at the Temple of Love.&nbsp;&nbsp;The mission itself aside for the moment, the local leaders of the Warkin would like to recruit me, and I also met the saddest irony I can imagine.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon blinked, &ldquo;You&rsquo;d fit in with Tarragh well enough, I&rsquo;m sure... but if the other part was so sad, why are you smiling?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Because, while it&rsquo;s sad as a concept, she herself doesn&rsquo;t realize, so she&rsquo;s happy and content despite it...&nbsp;&nbsp;You see, I met a young lady who&rsquo;s quite possibly the finest artist I&rsquo;ll ever meet.&nbsp;&nbsp;She carves wood with her bare claws, but the results look alive, down to every whorl of fur.&nbsp;&nbsp;She was, however, born blind, so she&rsquo;ll never see the beauty she creates.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAs her girlfriend just blinked, Pria added, &ldquo;Actually, she&rsquo;s even rarer than you&rsquo;d think...&nbsp;&nbsp;No ordinary person could carve oak like that for any length of time without wearing their claws down to nubs.&nbsp;&nbsp;I sensed it when I came to collect you; she&rsquo;s also a natural mage, with no training or need for training, and is unconsciously reinforcing her claws with magic as she works.&nbsp;&nbsp;That sort of person comes along maybe once every four or five generations.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIt was Jerek&rsquo;s turn to blink, then nod, &ldquo;I hadn&rsquo;t realized that... and, quite possibly, neither has she.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glancing back to his queen, he suggested, &ldquo;Our mission has priority, but I really think you should meet Beckah when you have a chance, and see some of her work.&nbsp;&nbsp;She spends her days on the temple steps, begging to support a different, poor family, while making mere trinkets for merchants and tradesmen.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those &lsquo;trinkets,&rsquo; though, surpass anything I saw in your husband&rsquo;s palace, artistically.&nbsp;&nbsp;A bit of royal patronage for the finest carver in the kingdom is only sensible to consider.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded firmly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make a point of meeting her, for both your reason and Pria&rsquo;s.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t want to disrupt her life too much, particularly if an entire family is depending on her for support, but standing policy dictates that I at least try to get her to Atheria City.&nbsp;&nbsp;Natural mages are a matter of great prestige to any nation&rsquo;s magic-users, given their rarity, and Keesanrel has a better eye for art than his father ever did.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether or not she can work with pieces bigger than the &lsquo;trinkets&rsquo; you mentioned, he&rsquo;s bound to want something from her.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glancing to Pria, she changed subjects with a hint of a grin, &ldquo;As for our mission... it&rsquo;s time for a few more of the late-night adventures we had when we first followed Elaria here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s catch a nap after lunch, then start learning the local alleys and rooftops.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve asked the count&rsquo;s chief constable to forward reports to me, about the fliers and graffiti they&rsquo;ve been cleaning up for the last few weeks, and I intend to analyze them for patterns.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once we spot one, we can work on identifying our enemy if we can catch them in the act.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether we kill them spectacularly, follow them to find their accomplices, or simply make them disappear to get the other side worried... we&rsquo;ll decide once we&rsquo;ve got a target.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded with a half-smirk of her own, &ldquo;I packed my black clothes and plenty of tea leaves.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good,&rdquo; Serra declared as she lifted an iron rack from the counter to set over the now-burning wood in the hearth.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a decent chunk of mutton in the bag over there; grab it and start cutting steaks while I see about the bread and veggies.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as he picked up a kitchen knife, the liger mused, &ldquo;I assume this is one of the times I won&rsquo;t be escorting you...&nbsp;&nbsp;My sergeants didn&rsquo;t bother to teach me any stealth, and at just over forty stone I&rsquo;d probably break any roof I tried to sneak over.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria nodded back with a snicker as she started setting out plates and utensils for the meal, &ldquo;You assume correctly, though don&rsquo;t go running off to your artistic new girlfriend just yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;There will be times we&rsquo;ll need to go out without you, but you&rsquo;ll still have guard duty while we&rsquo;re napping today.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe soldier&rsquo;s first impulse, of course, was to take offense at the implied relationship between himself and Beckah, but on second thought he simply stuck his (very large) tongue out at the ladies.&nbsp;&nbsp;As he set about slicing the meat, he shook his head with a faint smile, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve still got that booklet from the Warkin to read while you two sleep, to figure out whether my mindset and Tarragh&rsquo;s match as well as His priests seem to think.&nbsp;&nbsp;You just latch the door and window in your room, and I&rsquo;ll keep the sitting room door open so I can hear the rest of the house while I study.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Fair enough,&rdquo; the Agent quipped as she started filling mugs from a small cask of light ale and setting them around the table, then added more seriously, &ldquo;but, tomorrow and later, once I&rsquo;ve had a chance to work on things... when you&rsquo;re playing guard, keep a particular ear out for high-pitched whines.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be warding the locks and latches about the place, and that sort of whine will indicate someone&rsquo;s broken something, or that a lock&rsquo;s innards were touched by a metal other than the brass of a proper key, such as a steel lockpick.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat, Jerek mused to himself, certainly beat spending an entire day or night pacing through a patrol route.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even a &lsquo;minor&rsquo; mage, he was coming to realize, could make a difference on a mission that was hard to overstate.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked out of his light doze at the faint scrape and click of a key in the lock, whatever dream he&rsquo;d been having replaced instantly by half-panicked confusion as he stared around the dark room.&nbsp;&nbsp;It only took a moment before he remembered where he was, and the fading scent of wax suggested that the candle he&rsquo;d been reading by had gone out at least an hour ago.<br /><br />\tLight flared around the corner of the doorway as the ladies stepped inside, one holding a crystal whose glow seemed bright in the dark of night, but was probably barely visible in the day.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I told you, I&rsquo;m fine,&rdquo; he heard Serra saying, the frustration in her tone suggesting that it was a repeat of something she&rsquo;d said several times already.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Maybe that mutton was a bit off, or some sediment got mixed in with our ale...&nbsp;&nbsp;By the time we left, the queasiness had already passed, and it didn&rsquo;t rear its head again on our little adventure.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Be that as it may, I&rsquo;m as responsible for your safety as the lump there,&rdquo; and Pria paused at the entrance to the sitting room to wave to Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Even if the food was fine, keep in mind that you&rsquo;ve had more lovers than usual lately, and there are illnesses that can be passed along that way that don&rsquo;t always show up immediately, so even if they honestly thought they were healthy they could have been wrong.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m afraid I&rsquo;ll have to insist in this matter.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger just barely caught her eye-roll as Serra moved toward their bedroom, &ldquo;Alright, alright!&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll see a healer tomorrow, but I&rsquo;ll wager you an hour-long rimjob that they won&rsquo;t find anything.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everyone has the occasional off day, even queens.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf&rsquo;s snort was muffled by the front door as it clicked shut, &ldquo;No bet, as I only like that in combination with other things, so it&rsquo;d be as boring for the winner as it&rsquo;d be laborious for the loser, on top of an hour being too long to stay clean throughout.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just make sure you&rsquo;re healthy, that&rsquo;s all I ask.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tChuckling to himself, but confident that the matter was being handled and he needn&rsquo;t worry about it, Jerek squirmed a bit deeper into the cushions.&nbsp;&nbsp;This chair was actually quite comfortable, so he picked up the illustrated guide to the Warkin he&rsquo;d been reading from where it had fallen in his lap, set it on the table next to him, and went back to sleep.<br /><br />Chapter 4<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;m what?!?&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek glanced between the two ladies in the sitting room&rsquo;s smaller chairs, &ldquo;First, I&rsquo;ve got to check... is this a joke?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer girlfriend simply growling in response, Pria shook her head, &ldquo;No.&nbsp;&nbsp;Given its repercussions, it&rsquo;s not the sort of prank either of us would pull, and I&rsquo;m one of the few mages you&rsquo;ll ever meet below master-rank who can handle thought-energy well enough to know if someone&rsquo;s lying.&nbsp;&nbsp;The healer we went to was a strict agnostic, with a deep-seated aversion to politics, mortal or otherwise, so a religious oath was out of the question.&nbsp;&nbsp;The &lsquo;other way&rsquo; confirmed their honesty well enough, though.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded, &ldquo;Then how will this affect our mission?&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t know the legal issues involved, but my gut tells me this will have something to do with duty... only which duty?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He glanced to the tigon, &ldquo;You have a duty to this mission, a duty to the kingdom, and a duty to the king.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those last two aren&rsquo;t always as identical as some might first think, and I have no idea which of the three, if any, trumps the others.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra grumbled for just a few more seconds, then sighed, &ldquo;I know how they stack up... and, in the strictest sense of those duties, I should immediately hire or buy a well-suspended carriage and ride home.&nbsp;&nbsp;That would, though, effectively break at least one solemn oath to more than one Goddess, so I&rsquo;ve little choice but to compromise on some issues that, by the letter of the law, are set in stone with no room for maneuver.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll send a message to the king, by royal courier for discretion, then retreat to a less active role even as I stay in town.&nbsp;&nbsp;I must continue to help our mission however I can... but I can&rsquo;t take any risks that might jeopardize a potential heir to the throne,&rdquo; and she patted her belly through her blouse with another sigh.<br /><br />\tJerek made it halfway through a second nod before freezing as a thought struck, then looked up with splayed ears, &ldquo;Another thing I have no choice but to ask, and please don&rsquo;t kill me for this... do you know who the father is?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTo his relief, the tigon blinked once then barked a laugh.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Yes, and it&rsquo;s Keesanrel.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was the only feline I was anywhere near around my heat, which I&rsquo;d thought was over... but, as the healer reminded us, once in a great while a pregnancy can occur when the symptoms of estrus have been gone for one or two days.&nbsp;&nbsp;I guess I simply came back to my husband&rsquo;s bed a little too soon, then got either very lucky or the exact opposite, depending on perspective.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer guard, clearly relieved, completed his nod, &ldquo;Then I think the matter&rsquo;s fairly settled...&nbsp;&nbsp;Our mission continues, while you&rsquo;ll be its &lsquo;public face&rsquo; to officials in safe locations and our mastermind here in the house, collating our gathered information and deciding on the next steps.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria can continue the covert side when those officials aren&rsquo;t quite enough for the information we need, or when someone needs to disappear or die.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis earned a grudging nod from the queen, while Pria simply quirked a brow at him, &ldquo;And what will you be doing?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek chuckled, &ldquo;Not much more than I have been, helping with the chores and simply being here to keep the king happy... though, if we need something short of an assassination, like a public beating to discourage a particular type of behavior among those who hear of it, I suppose I could manage that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra thought for another moment, then managed the first smile she&rsquo;d worn since returning from the healer, if a small one.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Thank you, Jerek...&nbsp;&nbsp;I was still in too much shock from the news to think clearly, and my mind had been running in mutually-contradictory circles.&nbsp;&nbsp;Following the course you propose, we can meet all our myriad duties and the only real loss is that Pria won&rsquo;t have me to watch her back when sneaking around somewhere.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even the morning sickness won&rsquo;t be a problem, so long as I keep something nearby to eat the moment I wake up.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer wolf smiled warmly, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t mind working alone... but now that the inconvenience of the situation has been settled, we can focus on the real ramification of the news.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re going to have a baby!&nbsp;&nbsp;You and Kees always wanted kids, even if you were planning to let things settle down for a few more years before tying for &lsquo;em.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re going to be a mother... and I&rsquo;ll help.&nbsp;&nbsp;No foisting your son or daughter off on a nanny, here!&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if I don&rsquo;t have a wedding ring, you, Keesanrel, and I are a family, and I intend to remain part of it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat tiny smile gradually grew at her lover&rsquo;s words, and Serra was finally beaming as they finished, tears of joy forming at the corners of her eyes as she gently touched her belly again, &ldquo;I... I am!&nbsp;&nbsp;We are!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lunging from her seat, she snatched Pria into a hug fierce enough to make her ribs creak, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re having a baby!&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tLunch had had something of a celebratory feeling, which probably confused the poor courier from the county government who briefly interrupted it; he was only there to drop off the latest reports on graffiti and vandalism, but these strange people kept grinning at him.<br /><br />\tAs the dishes dried on the rack, the ladies grabbed their cloaks to ward off the day&rsquo;s slight chill, Serra commanding, &ldquo;Come along, Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s time to meet someone.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked, then nodded as he straightened his armor, &ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am.&nbsp;&nbsp;Um... who and where, this time?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis earned him an outright smirk, &ldquo;Oh, how short men&rsquo;s memories can be...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;That grin only broadened at his reflexive scowl as she elaborated, &ldquo;Specialist... barely two hours ago you personally saved the entire mission, by keeping the cool head neither of us could and seeing things clearly as a result.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can look for patterns in those documents later tonight while Pria&rsquo;s exploring; for now, and in thanks for your enormous contribution, we&rsquo;re going to go meet your friend, if she&rsquo;s there.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Opening the front door, Serra gestured with the key she was holding, &ldquo;On to the temple district, comrades!&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ve got some art to be impressed by and a very interesting young lady to meet.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek opened his muzzle to protest; her proposal was rather frivolous compared to their official mission... but now both ladies were smirking, arguments or orders clearly on the tips of their tongues, so he shut his mouth with a snap and simply nodded in surrender, &ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHe&rsquo;d half-hoped Beckah wouldn&rsquo;t be there today... but it seemed that every female he knew was conspiring against him; he spotted her the moment he rounded the corner, on the steps exactly where he&rsquo;d met her the day before.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stifling a sigh, he pointed, &ldquo;There she is,&rdquo; and led the ladies in that direction.<br /><br />\tThe cool breeze coming from the north, hinting at the winter to come, meant they were downwind of the white cat, but she still &lsquo;looked&rsquo; up as they neared, &ldquo;Hmm... Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;Is that you?&nbsp;&nbsp;I can&rsquo;t think of anyone else whose footfalls my rump can feel through solid marble...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPausing a few feet away, he replied, &ldquo;Yes, it&rsquo;s me... and my immediate superiors.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;d like to meet you and see your carvings, but I&rsquo;m guessing that the resulting conversation may include... less than public knowledge.&nbsp;&nbsp;You have my word as a soldier that our intentions are honorable.&nbsp;&nbsp;That said, do you have somewhere we could go to talk?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s head dipped back in surprise, then her muzzle pursed as she thought...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;The work I&rsquo;d planned to do today is all little stuff, with no real pressure to finish quickly,&rdquo; she finally replied.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re making this all sound very mysterious, possibly even somewhat ominous, but... I guess I trust you that much.&nbsp;&nbsp;We each bared a small piece of our hearts, yesterday, and found them similar.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a workroom in Malia&rsquo;s temple that&rsquo;s normally used for figure painting, where I go when I need to feel someone up before sculpting them, that should probably suffice,&rdquo; and she stood, tucking a half-carved block of wood into a pocket and brushing the shavings from her cloak.&nbsp;&nbsp;From under that garment, she pulled a small bundle of what looked like dowels with one end tapered and the other drilled, and quickly pieced them together into a long, slim cane.<br /><br />\tHer friend chuckled, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d just been about to offer an arm to guide you... but instead, I must apologize for even thinking you&rsquo;d need my help.&nbsp;&nbsp;You have a strong and independent spirit, and I knew this, but my poor brain hadn&rsquo;t quite caught up with reality on that score.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat&rsquo;s free hand groped air for a moment before finding his arm and closing as well as it could around half his wrist, &ldquo;Oh, I don&rsquo;t mind a little help... but like I said yesterday, I was born this way.&nbsp;&nbsp;I really can&rsquo;t understand the pity I hear in some folks&rsquo; voices, as I can&rsquo;t really miss what I never had.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m... content with my life.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;ll have to discuss in private,&rdquo; Pria commented as they started walking toward the Temple of Arts, &ldquo;as you&rsquo;ll have the choice and opportunity to change that life rather extremely.&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you &lsquo;content&rsquo; enough to keep going as you are for another thirty or forty years?&nbsp;&nbsp;Or would you like the chance to be... more?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat cowl-shaded brow furrowed, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m... not sure, but the way you phrase things suggests that even knowing my options would change me in some way.&nbsp;&nbsp;This, in turn, suggests that if you tell me and I decline, I may live in regret for the rest of my life.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She thought for another moment, then shrugged, &ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;d rather know.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, I find fulfillment when I&rsquo;m actually working, but some mornings I just lay in bed, wondering if it&rsquo;s worth going on.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf&rsquo;s smile carried through to her voice as she nodded, &ldquo;Good... you do have a strong spirit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not everyone can look into the unknown, with or without working eyes, and not turn away.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tOther than asking for her &lsquo;usual room&rsquo; from the temple guard, Beckah said nothing more until they reached their goal, and tapped around with her cane to find a chair before sitting to address the group, &ldquo;Jerek, I already know... and I can tell that his &lsquo;superiors&rsquo; are both women, one wolf, and one cat whose breed I can&rsquo;t quite identify, who&rsquo;s pregnant.&nbsp;&nbsp;Mind giving me a few introductions?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tChuckling softly, the liger did the honors, &ldquo;The wolf... is Pria, Agent of Atheria.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you know anything about Agents?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEyes wide behind cloth, Beckah nodded, &ldquo;A little... they&rsquo;re all mages, and priests, and thieves, and warriors, and nobles, all at the same time.&nbsp;&nbsp;They out-rank every baron, earl, count, or even duke, and you never want to get one mad at you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tGiggling, Pria nodded, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s... accurate enough.&nbsp;&nbsp;Though, and here&rsquo;s where the first of today&rsquo;s near-impossibilities crops up... my girlfriend here outranks even me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEven as the tigon snickered her agreement, Jerek continued with a nod of his own, &ldquo;Indeed...&nbsp;&nbsp;My other companion is Serra, Queen of Atheria, currently carrying a possible heir to the throne.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please keep her rank to yourself, though, as you&rsquo;re now one of maybe eight people in this city who know she&rsquo;s not just another traveler.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah actually winced, visibly fighting not to cringe, &ldquo;Goddess...&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;Superiors&rsquo; indeed!&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek... that trust I mentioned is fading rather quickly, and you&rsquo;d better have a good explanation ready.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m perhaps one step up from the very bottom of society; I have no business associating with royalty!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra spoke up for herself, &ldquo;But you do... if your carvings are as good as he told me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you have anything you can show me?&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek&rsquo;s been to the palace I normally live in, and told me flatly that what you make is better than what he saw there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course I&rsquo;d be interested!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s cowl shifted as her ears perked reflexively at interest in her wares, and she nodded as she felt around her cloak, &ldquo;Yes... the kid I was making that kitten for hadn&rsquo;t picked it up yet, and it was one I hadn&rsquo;t planned to have Crellan paint.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Holding out the three-inch figurine, a hint of unwonted shyness crept into her voice as she asked, &ldquo;Will this do, your Majesty?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra took a step closer, reaching out for the carving, only to pull her hand back and simply peer closely enough that her breath ruffled white arm-fur, &ldquo;Goddesses... I half-expect that thing to look at me and meow!&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek was right.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve never seen anything that detailed!&nbsp;&nbsp;That tiny little nose, those ears, that... well, everything!&nbsp;&nbsp;I can even tell that the original kitten it was modeled after was a girl, and at that size that&rsquo;s not easy!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe white cat&rsquo;s ears tried to splay, and she grumbled a terse curse as she shook her head free of her cowl so they could do so, &ldquo;I... normally skip those bits on actual people, but the kitten thought it was being petted while I felt its shape, and pressed those parts into my hand by accident, so I figured I might as well include them this time.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra had to laugh softly as she straightened up and nodded, &ldquo;Understandable...&nbsp;&nbsp;One of the things I&rsquo;d been meaning to ask was whether you could work in a larger format, something suitable for public display.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if you can&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;m sure the king and I, and Pria too who&rsquo;s something of a second spouse to both of us, would like miniatures of each other for when we have to be apart.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBecka considered as she tucked the wooden cat away, then shrugged, &ldquo;I think I could do a life-sized statue... but it would take a long time.&nbsp;&nbsp;I normally work in figurines no more than a foot and a half tall, or the occasional half-scale bust, and it takes the better part of a month to do either of those right.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria chimed in, &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s the first of the things I said could change your life...&nbsp;&nbsp;If you agree to carve a few things for us, you&rsquo;ll have to leave the home you&rsquo;ve known at least once, to travel to Atheria City and feel the king, probably naked for the miniatures his wives will carry.&nbsp;&nbsp;When and if you return, you&rsquo;d also be significantly wealthier than you&rsquo;ve ever been, as your skill is worth a great deal of gold.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat nodded slowly at her words, then paused, worry creeping into her voice again as she asked, &ldquo;What do you mean, if I return?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSighing softly, Pria explained, &ldquo;I think I can wipe your memory if this turns out to be too shocking, too much of a change... but, Beckah, you&rsquo;re also a mage.&nbsp;&nbsp;The entire world is lucky if it gets one person like you in a century.&nbsp;&nbsp;Without even realizing it, you&rsquo;ve been projecting a field of motion-magic through your claws, keeping them from being worn down, and probably carving finer lines than their own sharpness could ever hope for.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can&rsquo;t prove this to you without imposing magical perceptions on you, which would be a permanent change, but... tell me, have you ever used your claws in self-defense?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLooking a bit stunned again, the cat started to shake her head, then paused, &ldquo;Just once...&nbsp;&nbsp;It was shortly after I started growing curves, and I couldn&rsquo;t know how &lsquo;dark,&rsquo; whatever that means, the alley a supposed &lsquo;customer&rsquo; was leading me through really was, but I knew something was wrong when they started trying to pull open my cloak.&nbsp;&nbsp;That was... kind of weird, really; afterwards the guards kept asking me where I hid my knives, but I don&rsquo;t have any!&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Then there&rsquo;s the evidence,&rdquo; Pria chuckled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Once again completely unconsciously, you channeled raw magic through your claws, and probably did a great deal more damage than you realize.&nbsp;&nbsp;If your attacker survived, they should consider themselves lucky to end up in gaol rather than a graveyard.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Straightening and donning a more serious tone, she continued, &ldquo;Here&rsquo;s where you have choices to make, two of them.&nbsp;&nbsp;The first is whether you&rsquo;d like to become an active, rather than natural, mage.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can awaken your mage-sight, which will let you see these energies and manipulate them.&nbsp;&nbsp;You would be able to get around without your cane, as it doesn&rsquo;t take eyes to perceive the earth-energies of your environment or the brighter glow of living people, and you would never be defenseless again, but you&rsquo;d also attract a lot of attention.&nbsp;&nbsp;Natural mages are so rare that they bring prestige to whichever country they live in, and I&rsquo;d have to suggest that you stay in Atheria City for your own safety.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since this county belonged to Vivenge when you were born, they&rsquo;d probably stage a small border raid to kidnap you, once the word got out, and claim you as &lsquo;theirs.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis deep frown almost identical to the artist&rsquo;s, Jerek rumbled dangerously, &ldquo;Not while I&rsquo;m here, they won&rsquo;t...&nbsp;&nbsp;If she decides to stay, and once our mission is complete, I think I&rsquo;d prefer to request reassignment to the Southwall guard, where I can make sure anyone attempting to relocate her against her will regrets it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah quirked an odd little smile in the liger&rsquo;s direction, then turned back toward the wolf, &ldquo;Well, that&rsquo;s not pleasant news, but at least there are still options.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, what&rsquo;s the second thing I need to make a decision about?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That one&rsquo;s a lot simpler,&rdquo; Pria shrugged, then continued in a gentle voice, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s a straightforward offer...&nbsp;&nbsp;I can, for this short time, loan you my eyes, and let you see for the first time in your life.&nbsp;&nbsp;I cannot heal your eyes, as there&rsquo;s technically nothing wrong with them and I&rsquo;m not a healer anyway... but you could look out through mine, if you wish.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJust as softly, Jerek added, &ldquo;Remember the Maliites&rsquo; speculations?&nbsp;&nbsp;If it is, indeed, your very lack of sight that has let you remember contours and textures so accurately... this stands a chance of ruining, or at least damaging, your artistic gift forever.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA tear escaped the blindfold and trickled down one white cheek as Beckah sat there, her mind struggling to cope with two offers she&rsquo;d never thought possible...&nbsp;&nbsp;Her three guests simply waited patiently, offering no pressure one way or the other, and she finally reached up to brush her cheek, &ldquo;I... I didn&rsquo;t mention all of those speculations, and one recent addition to them was that growing up like this, using my mind and senses in this way, established patterns that could not easily be broken.&nbsp;&nbsp;That &lsquo;clutter&rsquo; I was talking about yesterday; I don&rsquo;t have years of it built up, so just a little probably wouldn&rsquo;t ruin everything else.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She frowned faintly, &ldquo;Mage-sight... would be almost as good as real sight, as I understand it.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the long term, that could impact the way I remember things... but carving is simply what I do.&nbsp;&nbsp;I find it hard to believe that anything will ever keep me from making art, even if I have to focus harder to separate tactile from... &lsquo;visual&rsquo; memories.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She faced Pria directly, her spine straightening, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s try your eyes for a moment, first.&nbsp;&nbsp;If it&rsquo;s not so overwhelming an experience that I feel my very sanity&rsquo;s at risk, I think I just might be willing to learn to be a mage, too.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded as she stepped closer, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll need to touch your head, as this is effectively a work of thought-magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be linking the parts of my brain that deal with sight... to yours.&nbsp;&nbsp;The first thing you see, therefor, will be yourself, from my perspective.&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you ready?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah could smell the paw hovering in front of her face, but didn&rsquo;t say a word.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, visibly steeling herself, she ducked slightly and thrust her forehead into that palm.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria&rsquo;s eyes closed for a moment as she concentrated, crafting the links carefully and double-checking every one, before opening her eyes and releasing her constraints upon the magic even as she pulled her hand back.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Oh... my... Goddess!&rdquo; the cat gulped air as her benefactor held her gaze steady.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;So that&rsquo;s what... color is?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her voice was unsteady, her body trembling in reaction, but all she could ask was, &ldquo;More, please?&nbsp;&nbsp;Let me see another person?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria took a step back so all three felines were in her view, and had to chuckle at the white one&rsquo;s gasp.&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking a guess at its cause, she asked, &ldquo;Big, isn&rsquo;t he?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeaving her cane leaning against her chair, Beckah was a little awkward as she navigated for the first time from someone else&rsquo;s perceptions, but there was very little hesitation as she stood up and moved toward Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;One hand reached out almost tentatively, a smile spreading on her face as she touched the leather over his chest to confirm that what she was seeing (and what a concept that was!) was real.&nbsp;&nbsp;Reaching up with both hands, then, she gripped the straps that supported his rank pips, and climbed up, legs around his waist as she planted a kiss full on his muzzle.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ignoring his stunned blink, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned back to purr, &ldquo;I just met you, and this is crazy... but for your understanding yesterday, and your gifts today... I think I love you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek stiffened and blinked twice more, then relaxed enough to smile and carefully wrap one arm around her shoulders for a gentle hug, &ldquo;There are many kinds of love... and I would very much like to share the love of friends with you.&nbsp;&nbsp;As for gifts... what else was I to do?&nbsp;&nbsp;This gift is really Pria&rsquo;s, as I had no idea it was even possible, but I had to introduce you to her and the queen after seeing your art.&nbsp;&nbsp;I couldn&rsquo;t see something like that wolf you were sculpting and not mention it...&nbsp;&nbsp;Blame fate, not my own merit, for how things worked out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat nodded with a quiet giggle as she climbed down again, &ldquo;Friends... yes, at a minimum, but I&rsquo;ve got the nagging suspicion that some part of me would very much like to be more than that...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Turning toward her more active benefactor, she watched her own face draw nearer as she stepped over and planted a somewhat more chaste kiss on the wolf&rsquo;s cheek, &ldquo;And thank you, too...&nbsp;&nbsp;No one who was born with sight can truly understand what I&rsquo;m feeling right this moment, and it was worth every risk you mentioned.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria couldn&rsquo;t help but laugh softly, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re welcome... but good luck getting to be &lsquo;more than friends&rsquo; with our huge lump there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Serra and I have both offered, with nothing but a few bitter arguments to show for it.&nbsp;&nbsp;He even slept alone at two different Roxanite enclaves on the trip here, which takes some serious stubbornness to pull off.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLeaning to the side so she could see the flustered liger&rsquo;s face over her own shoulder, Beckah shrugged, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a soldier, not a gigolo.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know his heart&rsquo;s in the right place, and if the feeling is ever right, he&rsquo;ll express it.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her lips twitched in a tiny smile of triumph where he couldn&rsquo;t see them, as Pria&rsquo;s loaned gaze spotted the slight softening of his stiff features, but she changed the subject before he could get suspicious, &ldquo;Now... how does &lsquo;mage-sight&rsquo; differ from this temporary loan?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe mage considered her words for a moment before answering, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s actually very, very different.&nbsp;&nbsp;You will see the same shapes, but the colors will be those of energy-types, which you&rsquo;ll eventually learn to tell apart.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, mage-sight is not blocked by other objects, nor does it really use the mage&rsquo;s physical eyes to see, so it works with one&rsquo;s eyes closed, for things that are directly behind you, and the like.&nbsp;&nbsp;You will simply be aware of everything around you, though you&rsquo;ll need to learn to suppress the sense when anyone&rsquo;s working active magic nearby, as there&rsquo;s an enormous difference between ambient energy and a spell.&nbsp;&nbsp;You could get hurt if you&rsquo;re open enough to see the faint earth-energy patterns in a rock, when someone starts using enough power to melt that rock.&nbsp;&nbsp;Light and dark are effectively meaningless to those perceptions...&nbsp;&nbsp;You seemed confused by the concept of darkness, so to explain it&rsquo;s the absence of the light that lets us see.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each time I&rsquo;ve had to blink to keep my eyes from drying out, you got a flash of darkness, and if it weren&rsquo;t for the light of the sun streaming in through that window, this whole room would be black to us, leaving us as blind as you were born.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, the difference between a living body and dead fibers or hide mean that you&rsquo;ll see almost everyone as effectively naked, and you&rsquo;d have to concentrate to make out their clothes, but the benefit to that is that no one can conceal a weapon from you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah blushed faintly, but nodded, &ldquo;I... think I can live with that, assuming that the lack of this &lsquo;darkness&rsquo; doesn&rsquo;t keep me from being able to sleep.&nbsp;&nbsp;In any case, after even this brief an experience, I don&rsquo;t think I could stand going back to sound, scent, and touch as my only contact with the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please... do what you can.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding back with a wide smile, the wolf warned her, &ldquo;I need to touch other parts of your mind to do this, so you&rsquo;ll lose my vision for a moment, but when I&rsquo;m done you&rsquo;ll never be blind again.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe last view from Pria&rsquo;s eyes was of her hand rising, and Beckah once more eagerly pressed her headfur into it.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek would never forget the looks on the Maliites&rsquo; faces when their local &lsquo;blind girl&rsquo; walked right up the middle of the chapel with her cane&rsquo;s pieces in her hand, set them on the exact center of the altar, and knelt to pray in thanksgiving.&nbsp;&nbsp;She still wore her blindfold, but moved with a visible confidence and grace, knowing the precise location of every possible obstacle in her path.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria and Serra were both busy, cornering those who were muttering about miracles and explaining that it was magic, instead, and all four of them were trying to keep from laughing as they finally stepped back out onto the street.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like you to follow us home so you know where we&rsquo;re staying,&rdquo; Pria suggested once they were under the cloudy sky again.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Whether you opt for formal magic lessons or not is up to you, but I should at least teach you the basics of energy projection while I&rsquo;m still in town.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve done well enough using limited magics instinctively, for art and defense, but now that your magic is really &lsquo;awake&rsquo; you should get it under conscious control, to prevent any number of fairly nasty accidents that can happen.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah considered that for a moment, then nodded, &ldquo;I never dreamed I&rsquo;d be any sort of wizard, but you&rsquo;ve got a good point about accidents.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll walk with you for now, but I won&rsquo;t stay; I need to tell my usual escorts the news, how I won&rsquo;t be needing their eyes every morning and evening, as well as some other friends of mine, like Crellan and his family.&nbsp;&nbsp;I also have two carvings to deliver, and another to work on before bed...&nbsp;&nbsp;What does your schedule for tomorrow look like?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be exploring the city in the dark again tonight,&rdquo; she shrugged, &ldquo;so I&rsquo;ll be sleeping fairly late as a result...&nbsp;&nbsp;Why don&rsquo;t you stop by our place for lunch?&nbsp;&nbsp;That&rsquo;ll be my breakfast, to be honest, but the wards I set up at the house will be helpful examples when I start explaining just how spells &lsquo;look.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIt gave Beckah a special little thrill as the other two cats nodded their agreement and she noticed for once.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;That,&rdquo; she mused as normally as she could, &ldquo;sounds like a good plan.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 5<br /><br />\tHis Agent sleeping and his queen sorting through papers, Jerek had begged the restday morning off, and it was with an odd blend of anticipation and dread that he climbed the steps of the temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing he&rsquo;d found in the Warkin primer had conflicted with his own sense of honor or justice, but becoming an active adherent of a religion, any religion, was nearly as profound a shift in his life as the one Beckah had experienced the day before.&nbsp;&nbsp;His mind probably wasn&rsquo;t the only one thinking of the blind cat, though, as the guards flanking the doors, wide open this time, beat his hand to their salutes, a new respect visible in their eyes.<br /><br />\tThe chapel was filled to roughly half capacity, mostly men with two or three women mixed in, and even the ladies were at least as well armed and armored as he was himself.&nbsp;&nbsp;The male adherents were almost all in chain, plate, or both, and the pews had gaps between the seats and backs, through which several bastard or great swords across various backs could poke comfortably.&nbsp;&nbsp;Picking a pew with only two other men on it near the back of the room, Jerek adjusted the swords at his hips to slip through that gap too, and took a seat.<br /><br />\tHe&rsquo;d timed the walk just about perfectly...&nbsp;&nbsp;Less than five minutes passed before the murmurs of conversation faded with the entrance of the high priest in full armor, and Sir Melian cleared his throat as he stood behind the pulpit, &ldquo;Welcome, warriors all...&nbsp;&nbsp;Let us meditate, pray, and celebrate this day of rest that our spirits and bodies shall be strong for life&rsquo;s next trial, for His Glory.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;For His Glory...&rdquo; the crowd echoed in unison as their heads dipped prayerfully.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tAs the closing prayer ended, Jerek managed to join the chant that time, though he stayed seated for another minute to let the rest of the congregation get to their feet and file out without his bulk in the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just as he moved to stand, though, Sir Goral caught his eye and motioned for him to pause.<br /><br />\tAfter one more moment for the crowd to clear just that much more, the lion stepped closer and asked, &ldquo;So... have you made up your mind?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bigger man nodded firmly, &ldquo;I have.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tarragh is really the only God I could ever call my own, as there was almost nothing in the primer I could take even the mildest exception to.&nbsp;&nbsp;If it clearly and accurately conveyed His mindset and ideals, I will be very comfortable among His followers.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tGoral started to nod, then paused...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Mild exception?&rdquo; he asked.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;&lsquo;Almost nothing&rsquo; and &lsquo;nothing&rsquo; can be quite different...&nbsp;&nbsp;While you are your own person, and not even a God would demand complete agreement with Him, I&rsquo;ll have to ask for clarification before He or I can accept your oath...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tChuckling, Jerek gave his head a small shake, &ldquo;I said mild, and I meant it.&nbsp;&nbsp;My current immediate superiors on my mission are both women, and very strong and competent in their specialties, so I was a little put off by every pronoun in the primer being masculine.&nbsp;&nbsp;That might be interpreted as a bias on His part... were it not for the countervailing example of the ladies who were at this very service.&nbsp;&nbsp;I understand that, strictly physically, the average man makes a better warrior than the average woman, but it was a comfort to see that He, and His clergy, recognize that there are exceptions to every general rule.&nbsp;&nbsp;As case in point... the Agent of Atheria I report to asked me to remind you that her sister, Dame Elaria, has met Tarragh in person and gained His approval.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;But He almost never manifests... wait, did you say Dame Elaria?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;At the liger&rsquo;s chuckling nod, Goral&rsquo;s eyes widened, &ldquo;Every Warkin in the world has probably heard of that fight by now...&nbsp;&nbsp;It was only with practice weapons, but one young woman beat sixty-seven warriors at once.&nbsp;&nbsp;That Agent&rsquo;s sister... woman or not, we acknowledge her as being flatly the greatest warrior in the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a battle in Atheria City, she killed forty-one men in full plate armor, while she was in light leather and never took a scratch.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;s a fucking blade dancer, for Tarragh&rsquo;s sake!&nbsp;&nbsp;I can only envy you, to serve under the command of anyone related to someone like that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded solemnly, &ldquo;It is my honor to serve her, as she&rsquo;s a worthy commander regardless of who she&rsquo;s related to...&nbsp;&nbsp;It is my hope, though, that you understand why even a hint that women might somehow be automatically inferior to men was a concept I found distasteful.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTo his relief, the lion smiled, &ldquo;Indeed I can, now that I know the details that led to your momentary distaste.&nbsp;&nbsp;The God of War does not have a bias against women... though, to the church&rsquo;s communal shame, some of our members do.&nbsp;&nbsp;Aside from that minor failing, which is theirs alone, they tend to be good and honorable warriors in other respects, so we phrased the introductory material to keep from scaring off that type.&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you ready to offer Tarragh your oath, now?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as he recalled the suggested phrasings from the primer, Jerek bowed his head and murmured, &ldquo;God of War, Justice, and Honor... I pledge my life to the principles You embody, my arm to the justice You love, and my soul to the honor You demand, so help me Tarragh.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe ring of steel on steel sounded in the back of his mind, punctuated by the massed warcry of an army, and his eyes scrunched shut around tears as he realized he&rsquo;d been heard... and accepted.<br /><br />\tSir Goral&rsquo;s voice was oddly gentle as he recalled his own, long-ago moment of wonder when he&rsquo;d spoken a similar oath, and he said quietly and simply, &ldquo;Welcome, brother.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here you will always find those you may call kin, and blades to fight at your side so long as your cause is just.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s go get you a pendant.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tClosing the door behind him and setting the key on the stand next to it, Jerek took a moment to listen, then padded toward the kitchen where three female voices were in conversation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Am I late?&rdquo; he asked as he stepped in and settled onto a heavily-built stool.&nbsp;&nbsp;A glance around was answer enough, and he shook his head, &ldquo;Never mind...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not late, Beckah&rsquo;s early, if you&rsquo;re only just starting to make lunch.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria chuckled from where she was slicing a steak into strips, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re right on time, and congratulations on your new religion...&nbsp;&nbsp;The bunghole in our new cider cask is more stuck than I can deal with, though; could you get the plug out and a spigot in?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as he stood again, the liger moved to the counter with a chuckle, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve yet to find the cask that can keep me out...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Your size and strength as a topic, even peripherally, and nary a grumble!&rdquo; Serra teased in mock-disbelief from where she also worked on food.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Will wonders never cease?&nbsp;&nbsp;Having a God to call your own must be mellowing you out...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek tilted his head as he dug his claws deep into the bung plug and started subtly twisting, &ldquo;Hmm... you might be more correct than your tone suggests you think.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was a lot in that novice primer about honesty, both with others and with one&rsquo;s self, and it would be rather silly to deny that I have the body you can see right in front of you.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ah, there!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The plug, slightly worse off for its encounter with those claws, finally gave up its grip, and the carbonated cider started bubbling out of the hole.&nbsp;&nbsp;He quickly shoved a spigot into place, giving it a twist on the way in to seat it firmly, and set the cask back onto the rack on the counter.&nbsp;&nbsp;A couple moments with a rag sufficed to clean what had spilled, and he returned to his stool to await either lunch or another request.<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s brow furled slightly as she concentrated, obviously putting the morning&rsquo;s lessons to use, and she brightened as she sorted out the energies of leather from those of metal, &ldquo;Ah!&nbsp;&nbsp;You joined Tarragh&rsquo;s bunch, I... see,&rdquo; and she had to grin at that last word.<br /><br />\tThe liger couldn&rsquo;t help but smile back, &ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;m a novice in the Warkin, now.&nbsp;&nbsp;The next morning I can get away from my other duties, they&rsquo;d like me to stop by the yard behind the temple to spar...&nbsp;&nbsp;That should be interesting, as the folks there are a lot bigger and stronger than the rest of my training platoon, so I won&rsquo;t have to hold back nearly as much.&nbsp;&nbsp;Quite the opposite; with their collective experience, I&rsquo;d better look to my defense!&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Speaking of that sort of thing,&rdquo; Serra mused as she put the sliced meat and some bell peppers into a frying pan and started sprinkling on spices, &ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ll have a mission for you by tomorrow night.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve got a good guess of where the next vandal will be painting &lsquo;Occupied, Not Conquered&rsquo; on a wall, one of the lingering loyalists to Vivenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria will be looking for them tonight, and once we have a description or possibly name, I&rsquo;ll want you to go have a... &lsquo;discussion&rsquo; with them, one that I strongly urge you to punctuate with at least one broken bone.&nbsp;&nbsp;Atheria conquered this territory fair and square, at the cost of a couple thousand of your fellow soldiers&rsquo; lives, and we do not need cowards stirring up trouble from the shadows.&nbsp;&nbsp;If they want to try to take the county back, they should bring an army like a normal person.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tWhile the other three people nodded grimly, Beckah thought for a moment... then asked Pria, &ldquo;Could I help, possibly?&nbsp;&nbsp;Night or day, it doesn&rsquo;t make a difference to me, and I should be able to spot a can or bucket of paint under someone&rsquo;s cloak...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf blinked, then pondered as well, finally nodding, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m considered better than most mages, at what I can perceive arcanely, but despite your inexperience you&rsquo;ve got a big advantage over me.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is your only form of sight, so you&rsquo;re always paying attention to it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Within a week, two at the most, I fully expect the student to surpass the teacher, on this one point.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your aid would be welcome.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;This will be... interesting,&rdquo; the cat nodded back.&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced to the side, &ldquo;I saw that frown, Jerek...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be safe enough, so long as my partner here can verify I&rsquo;m not &lsquo;hiding&rsquo; in the light from a window.&nbsp;&nbsp;If someone does come after me, I strongly doubt they&rsquo;d be able to see as well as I can in the dark.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll lead them on a merry chase, but almost certainly not a long one.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded, a wry twist to his muzzle, &ldquo;I realize that, now that I&rsquo;ve had two seconds to consider the matter.&nbsp;&nbsp;The frown was just a holdover from memories of the almost defenseless, blind girl I first met.&nbsp;&nbsp;My brain may not be the fastest in the world, but it does reach the finish line eventually.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure it will catch up someday.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah merely shook her head with a quiet laugh, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think so...&nbsp;&nbsp;The day your first reaction to someone smaller and weaker than you being at risk isn&rsquo;t protectiveness... will be the day you&rsquo;re buried in a double-sized grave.&nbsp;&nbsp;You have your own pain, your own problems, and you&rsquo;re working your way past them... but some things you should never even try to change.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger&rsquo;s ears splayed, just a bit red at the tips, but he was saved from having to come up with a reply as a plate of stir-fried beef and peppers was slid onto the counter beside him.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Lunch!&rdquo; Serra announced with a grin, then climbed onto another stool to dig into her own serving.<br /><br />\tThe scents rising with the steam distracted the whole group from conversation for several minutes, aside from a comment from Beckah that she could tell just which bites would burn her mouth by the subtleties of their glow.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the meal had been reduced to a few scraps to be nibbled and mugs of cider to sip, the cat spoke up again, &ldquo;Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve been asked to extend an invitation to you... and I&rsquo;ve already cleared it with your bosses here.&nbsp;&nbsp;That family I help would like you to stop by for dinner.&nbsp;&nbsp;They want to thank you for helping someone who&rsquo;s helped them so much, and Crellan makes his own pigments from fairly inexpensive ingredients, so there was a lot left from that gold half-monarch you gave me.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ve stocked up on enough food, better fare than they usually enjoy, to feed you and any of these ladies who might be able to tag along, and you might enjoy seeing the real &lsquo;finished product&rsquo; of my carvings.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve heard grown men burst into tears, seeing one of those figurines in living color, and I just might have to beg the use of Pria&rsquo;s eyes again someday to see them for myself.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf in question swallowed a nibble of beef and grinned, &ldquo;When I have the chance, I&rsquo;ll build a pair of devices that will let you borrow the eyes of anyone when you&rsquo;re both wearing them.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;ll be at least a few days, but I&rsquo;m a decent enough enchantress for that much.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I suppose I could meet them,&rdquo; Jerek agreed, &ldquo;but I hope you gave them fair warning... and not just because of how much I eat.&nbsp;&nbsp;Remember what I said about how I scare children.&nbsp;&nbsp;That... hurts, and I&rsquo;d rather not volunteer to experience it again.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah leaned over to lay a hand on his arm with a reassuring smile, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry...&nbsp;&nbsp;I described you well enough, and little Crellan&rsquo;s actually looking forward to meeting my &lsquo;gentle giant.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra finished her drink and nodded, &ldquo;Good... because I&rsquo;m coming along.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want to meet this young painter too.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThe queen came to regret her decision, just a little, as Beckah led them through the twisting, narrow gaps between the hovels just outside of the town&rsquo;s north gate.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d been in worse spots, once or twice, but those had been years ago, and she&rsquo;d managed to do a good job of forgetting the smell.&nbsp;&nbsp;The trip also brought to light a meaningful detail in the context of her mission: there was no sign of graffiti or propaganda in the slums.&nbsp;&nbsp;That put the whole situation into the category of a targeted, deliberate disruption, not a generalized popular insurrection.&nbsp;&nbsp;The small house the cat led them to, at least, looked to be in marginally better repair than most.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other than the smoke from tallow-dip candles scattered around and the occasional pungent whiff of the odd things Crellan made his pigments from, though, the interior was remarkably clean and tidy.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Jerek, Serra, I&rsquo;d like you to meet Ferria, her husband Reldek, and little Crellan,&rdquo; Beckah half-purred while her bigger guest was still working on squeezing through the crude door without knocking down the entire rickety structure.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;We cleared a space for you right by the door there,&rdquo; a voice remarked, and Jerek could only blink and nod as his head cleared the doorway and he could see the small family... of bats.&nbsp;&nbsp;Like most fliers, they were shorter than average, and the ceiling of their house was built to match.&nbsp;&nbsp;To his immediate right, though, a large pillow had been tucked into a corner for a backrest, the rest of the wooden floor bare, and the liger moved carefully to fold himself up against it.<br /><br />\tHe&rsquo;d barely gotten settled when the smallest figure drew near, perhaps one year either way of ten to guess.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan&rsquo;s dark eyes were very large as he stopped a few feet away and asked, &ldquo;Are you real, Mister?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His voice was awed, but not, thankfully, fearful.<br /><br />\tJerek nodded solemnly, &ldquo;I was the last time I checked...&nbsp;&nbsp;My father was a lion, and my mother a tigress, and the children of that pairing are always very, very large when they grow up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, this might seem strange, but it doesn&rsquo;t work the other way around.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He tilted an ear toward the other feline, &ldquo;Serra, there, had a tiger for a dad and a lioness for a mom, and she&rsquo;s normal-sized.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;d have to ask a good healer to explain why, though, as I didn&rsquo;t understand the answers to my own questions about it, at least not well enough to hold any confidence of accuracy if I tried to repeat them.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen quirked a brow, then nodded, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad I came, if only to provide such a convenient example.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d only just thought about it, but one doesn&rsquo;t see a liger and a tigon close enough to point out the differences very often, now does one?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tFerria spoke up from the corner of the room with cabinets and a rough counter, where she was putting the finishing touches on two regular-sized clay dinner plates&rsquo; contents, and what looked like a small serving platter that had seen better days before being pressed into service as tableware, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re both welcome here, if only for the joy and wonder you&rsquo;ve brought our family&rsquo;s greatest benefactress, though I must also thank you for your educational example.&nbsp;&nbsp;We don&rsquo;t have many exotic breeds in the neighborhood, and it will help if he&rsquo;s familiar with such if Crellan decides to take up the family business.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer husband chuckled from where he lounged in the home&rsquo;s most comfortable chair, &ldquo;I can see the question on both of your faces... and, to answer, my wife and I are couriers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of those jobs are done by men on horses, but we handle the occasional rush job, as we can fly faster than any four-hoofed beast can run.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not for as far on the long haul, of course, and we&rsquo;re limited too in how much we can carry...&nbsp;&nbsp;The official limits told to prospective customers by the office are five pounds and two hundred miles, but we&rsquo;ll make the delivery within three hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not many people are in that big a hurry, but it tends to be worth the premium fee to those who need it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTigon and liger exchanged a glance, and the former nodded, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s certainly an interesting-sounding career...&nbsp;&nbsp;Tell me, though; how often does your business take you into Vivenge, and has it been getting noticeably better in the last month or two?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bats each blinked a few times, then Reldek nodded, &ldquo;Sometimes, and a little...&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ve gotten just two more, fairly regular clients in that time, usually evening deliveries of sealed parchment, often with an overnight stay and a reply to take back on the way.&nbsp;&nbsp;Neither my wife nor I like that extra delay in returning home, but they&rsquo;re paying just as much for the return delivery, and in those cases the courier office isn&rsquo;t involved so they don&rsquo;t take a cut.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even before your big friend gave us a little gold to play with, life here had been getting steadily better of late.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded back, a faint frown on her muzzle as she considered, then looked up again, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like you to keep me informed, in summary, of any other jobs you receive that take you into Vivenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t expect you to compromise the security of what you&rsquo;re actually carrying, but if my suspicions are correct, you are about to see another increase in your work... and the people paying for it don&rsquo;t have Atheria&rsquo;s best interests at heart.&nbsp;&nbsp;A description of who, locally, is hiring your services, and just where in Vivenge they want you to go, will suffice.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tFerria frowned as she lifted two plates and padded over to serve her guests first, &ldquo;Even that much could be considered a violation of our confidentiality agreements... unless you have some sort of official authority in the matter.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beckah,&rdquo; and she smiled as she handed one of those plates to the white cat, &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t say anything about official ranks... but did describe you as one of this big soldier&rsquo;s bosses, which is the only reason your suggestion isn&rsquo;t immediately being given a flat &lsquo;no.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon smiled as she reached to accept her own meal as it was offered, &ldquo;Thank you, and this smells lovely...&nbsp;&nbsp;I do, actually, have the authority to override the usual practices of private courier services, but I have to be careful about how I go about using it.&nbsp;&nbsp;This county was part of Vivenge for most of your lives, and at this level of society very little has changed.&nbsp;&nbsp;What does it matter, in the slums, just who the count is?&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus, I must ask... how much do you know about Atheria, its government, and its royal family?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIt was Reldek&rsquo;s turn to answer again, as Ferria needed to serve Jerek&rsquo;s platter then work on filling mugs, &ldquo;Not much... and you&rsquo;re right about how little has changed in this neighborhood.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s see... the old emperor and our new king share the label &lsquo;big cats,&rsquo; though their species differed.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Atherian king also took a queen, fairly early in his reign, who happens to share your given name, and she was described by one traveling minstrel I met as a lioness, but with dark... brown... stripes.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His gaze had focused on Serra&rsquo;s stripes as he spoke, along her neck where it peeked out of her lowered cowl, and his dark eyes were huge by the time his words trailed off.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got my signet on me if you want proof,&rdquo; the tigon confirmed as gently as she could, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m not asking for you to volunteer... nor to put yourself or your family at risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;This wouldn&rsquo;t be the safest neighborhood if it became known that you had a lot of money, so in a padded bag under my cloak I&rsquo;ve got one gold florin worth of nothing but copper.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ll be spending the same pennies that the courier office tends to leave you with, but they won&rsquo;t run out any time soon.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe only sounds, for one long moment, were the ragged breathing of three stunned bats and a faint giggle from Beckah.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just for something to do other than be stared at, Serra tore a piece of flatbread in half and used it to scoop up a bite of stew, a smile brightening her muzzle as it proved to be as tasty as it smelled.<br /><br />\tJerek took that as a signal to try a bite from his own, larger serving, and nodded to himself, &ldquo;This is quite nice...&nbsp;&nbsp;I can tell that there&rsquo;s more than one grain in the bread, which lends an interesting texture, and the peas and garlic are obvious enough... but what&rsquo;s this meat?&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s good, but I&rsquo;ve never tasted anything quite like it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlinking her way out of her shock, Ferria started filling another mug from a small keg as she answered, &ldquo;Squirrel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, lots of squirrels, as they&rsquo;re rather small individually.&nbsp;&nbsp;At this time of year, they&rsquo;re very well fed on ripe nuts, and I&rsquo;ve found that you can actually taste a hint of them in the meat.&nbsp;&nbsp;It lends a nice touch, so I tend to use it when it&rsquo;s &lsquo;in season&rsquo; and our local trapper&rsquo;s had some luck.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan waited for his mother to step out of the kitchen-corner and serve drinks, then nipped in to start loading plates for himself and his father.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I always knew Mom was a good cook,&rdquo; he giggled, &ldquo;but I guess this is s&rsquo;posed to be a secret, so I can&rsquo;t tell my friends her stuff&rsquo;s good enough for a queen!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe scents rising from the plate his son was holding under his nose helped Reldek finally find his voice, and he nodded as he took it, &ldquo;Yes, well, ahem.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re quite right that we shouldn&rsquo;t tell anyone else just who our visitor was, son,&rdquo; then he looked to the cat in question, &ldquo;and you&rsquo;re right about your degree of authority.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll start taking notes about any assignment that has me crossing the new border, though it would probably be best if Beckah carried them for me.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s rather strongly implied that my great new customers could also be known as &lsquo;the enemy,&rsquo; so I shouldn&rsquo;t step past my known habits and associates if I want to avoid attracting some less-than-welcome attention.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your attention, in the form of that bag you mentioned, is not unwelcome in the slightest, and I thank you for your foresight in not bringing actual gold.&nbsp;&nbsp;So long as my family&rsquo;s not put at undue risk, I&rsquo;d be happy to serve Atheria in this regard.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra swallowed a sip from her mug, which had turned out to be a rather light, sweet dark beer, and nodded, &ldquo;From what I&rsquo;ve been told of your son&rsquo;s artistic ability, it would be an unconscionable loss to the kingdom if a slip on my part were to impact his life or livelihood in that sort of way.&nbsp;&nbsp;There are unfriendly forces at work here, but we&rsquo;re still working on identifying them and figuring out just what they&rsquo;re trying to accomplish.&nbsp;&nbsp;If and when we manage that, though, I was already planning to hire Beckah to do a few carvings of the royal family, and it would be nice if Crellan could paint them, too, though I don&rsquo;t yet know how that would work out in terms of travel or shipping.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those details can wait a few weeks, though.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe smallest bat looked up from his meal, &ldquo;Did&rsquo;ya wanna see my stuff?&nbsp;&nbsp;Mom kept my very first one, where I was still figuring out how to mix the colors, and practicing with sharper and sharper brush-points.&nbsp;&nbsp;That moose guy&rsquo;s half a mess, but by the time I reached the other end I was pretty good.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek rumbled a soft laugh as he nodded, &ldquo;That was the biggest reason we visited!&nbsp;&nbsp;Recruiting your folks as spies and enjoying this delicious meal were purely secondary; we&rsquo;re here for you and those brushes and colors of yours.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;After dinner!&rdquo; Ferria interrupted firmly as he started to jump up.&nbsp;&nbsp;At his disappointed nod, she smiled to her guests, &ldquo;Regarding future artwork... we&rsquo;ll just have to see about that, as you said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Occasionally, two courier jobs come in at once and we&rsquo;re both gone, so Crellan&rsquo;s reasonably used to living without us if he needs to, and he&rsquo;s also been exercising for the possibility of letting us carry three parcels at once.&nbsp;&nbsp;There will be plenty of options to decide between, when the time comes.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah nodded, mostly to herself, and picked up her last piece of flatbread to start chasing bits of squirrel around the plate with, &ldquo;Good...&nbsp;&nbsp;It sounds like everything will work out, or at least everything we have control over.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s still the minor issue of sedition and vandalism, of course, and enemy action can&rsquo;t be predicted with any certainty, but that&rsquo;s why so many high-ranking Atherians are keeping a low profile in town.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever the solution turns out to be, I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;ll find it, and then we can focus on things that actually matter, like figurines, pigments, and travel plans.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 6<br /><br />\tThe bronze casting of crossed swords over a shield, gleaming from the end of Jerek&rsquo;s copper-chain necklace, sufficed for unquestioned entry to the practice yard behind the temple to Tarragh.&nbsp;&nbsp;There were several fights in progress on the packed dirt, and perhaps three times as many watchers than combatants, but the liger&rsquo;s first goal was the small armory just within the gates.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll need something akin to these,&rdquo; he told the guard there as he drew both his swords with thumbs and forefingers, letting them dangle non-threateningly.<br /><br />\tThe stocky otter nodded, &ldquo;Those look army-issue... just like the rest of your gear, &lsquo;cept for those bracers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Never seen anything quite the like.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, lemme find something the same length as your steel.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek shrugged as he surrendered his blades, &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t really used the bracers yet, but they&rsquo;re something a training sergeant came up with for fistfights.&nbsp;&nbsp;The leather should keep me from splitting my knuckles even if someone dodges and I punch a wall instead, and with the studs leading even a wall wouldn&rsquo;t escape undamaged.&nbsp;&nbsp;A man&rsquo;s face... would never be the same again.&nbsp;&nbsp;I won&rsquo;t be using them here, I&rsquo;m pretty sure.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah,&rdquo; the acolyte agreed as he fetched a pair of wooden practice blades, &ldquo;though if you want to spar hand to hand, there are a few Maliites who might be willin&rsquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only unarmed stuff we do here tends to be more along the lines of wrestlin&rsquo;.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded as he accepted the oaken shafts and checked their weight... good, just a bit heavier than his swords, so they were probably sturdy enough to stand up to his strength with only a little restraint.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Thanks for the sticks,&rdquo; he mused, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;ve only got time for a few matches with them and I need the practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll save the new learning for when I&rsquo;m not on assignment.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slipping the practice swords into his belt next to the empty scabbards, he padded the rest of the way to join the observers at the edge of the yard.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll need a partner or two,&rdquo; he rumbled in greeting.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Someone who can take a hit, if I get lucky... but despite my obvious strength, I really can&rsquo;t claim much experience or finesse.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSir Goral was there in full plate, his helm&rsquo;s visor up, and he immediately lifted a gauntlet, &ldquo;I would be honored to spar with you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;As would I,&rdquo; another voice said from behind a helm, and Jerek started in surprise.&nbsp;&nbsp;That voice was female, even if her armor&rsquo;s breastplate hadn&rsquo;t bothered to include obvious breasts.<br /><br />\tThe senior priest had to chuckle at his newest novice&rsquo;s obvious surprise, &ldquo;This, Specialist Jerek, is Dame Keria, the only priestess of Tarragh in the county.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure you shared the common conception that ladies seeking knighthood would choose Malia for mere comfort... but Keria has always had an irresistible love of a good challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Carving a place for herself in as male-dominated a field as this one was her only real option, and she&rsquo;s succeeded, nay, triumphed, despite the obvious odds against her.&nbsp;&nbsp;I doubt you will ever find a physically stronger woman, and anyone who holds back for fear of hurting her invites defeat.&nbsp;&nbsp;Always.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek was smiling as he nodded to the armored figure, &ldquo;I can well imagine... though, I will be holding back.&nbsp;&nbsp;The one time I didn&rsquo;t, you could have served a decent bowl of soup in the dent I left in a good steel helm, and I&rsquo;m here because I know I&rsquo;m not very good yet, not to kill off my brothers and sisters in my new religion.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tGoral nodded, turned, and pointed, &ldquo;Indeed...&nbsp;&nbsp;Faldon, go fetch a healer, just in case.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a chance we&rsquo;ll need a bone or two set... but, for now, as I am marginally senior to Dame Keria, I claim the right of the first match.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe novice he&rsquo;d gestured to snapped a quick salute, then took off at a jog with a jingle of chainmail.<br /><br />\tTwo of the three pairs already sparring in the yard proper decided to join the onlookers, certain that someone the liger&rsquo;s size would be fun to watch.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even as the huge cat walked to the corner farthest from those still trying to dent each others&rsquo; armor with wooden swords, the only slightly smaller lion picked up a pot-metal bastard sword from where it was leaning against a granite bench, holding it easily one-handed as he moved to join his opponent.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Since you&rsquo;re here to learn,&rdquo; the priest mused, &ldquo;let&rsquo;s not bother with any sort of formal scoring.&nbsp;&nbsp;We shall continue until one of us is hurt too badly to continue, or until a clear differential in skill makes going on obviously pointless.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek considered that, then nodded, &ldquo;Alright... though, if there&rsquo;s time enough to choose when you defeat me, try to break an arm rather than a leg.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have orders tonight that require me to be mobile.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His foe paused, brows high, so he elaborated, &ldquo;In one sense, my job will be akin to that of a crime boss&rsquo; enforcer... but it&rsquo;s at the direct, personal order of our queen.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please don&rsquo;t spread the word that she&rsquo;s here in town, but she&rsquo;s decided, personally, to do something about the unrest and rumors someone is stirring up.&nbsp;&nbsp;An Agent has been working to identify one of the cowards who are causing trouble, as per the historical document I dropped off a couple days ago, and my task will be to... discourage that sort of thing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Physically.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That makes sense,&rdquo; Goral agreed as he took a few more steps then lifted his sword to a guard position.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something that Tarragh doesn&rsquo;t wholly approve of... but even He realizes that a firm word and a firm fist in the right place can often prevent worse trouble.&nbsp;&nbsp;The field of open battle may be the truest form of honor and glory, but it&rsquo;s not your fault if a foe&rsquo;s too timid to meet you fairly upon it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now... defend yourself!&rdquo; and he lunged, a high side-slash already on the way.<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked, but even as he did so the reflexes drilled into him during basic training kicked in.&nbsp;&nbsp;He jumped backwards, hands crossing as he drew both wooden swords.&nbsp;&nbsp;The left was held reversed, tight against his forearm, which swung up to serve as the shield he didn&rsquo;t have as a second slash came in.&nbsp;&nbsp;Long as it was, the crude bastard sword weighed very little more than the arm swinging to intercept, and two clanks of metal on wood rang almost as one as his reflexive thrust struck Goral&rsquo;s breastplate hard enough to halt his charge.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;If we were scoring by points,&rdquo; the lion mused through his just-closed visor, &ldquo;that one would be yours.&nbsp;&nbsp;You may not have experience, but your training stuck very well.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek managed an abbreviated, &ldquo;Thank you, S&mdash;&rdquo; before that four-foot blade swung again, and he blocked again with his left &lsquo;blade.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The range was short enough to smell the other man&rsquo;s faint sweat from the initial rush, so he focused on defense for three more short, hard slashes until enough distance had built up for the lion to switch to a straight heart-thrust.&nbsp;&nbsp;Following the advice of a sergeant sneaky enough to have beaten him four matches out of five in training, the novice used his own, twisting dodge to balance a thrust in return, and dust billowed very loudly as Goral landed flat on his back in a clatter of armor.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Crap,&rdquo; the priest muttered, steel clacking a bit more softly as he felt around his breastplate, &ldquo;That left a dent that&rsquo;ll need to be hammered out...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Climbing back to his feet, he glanced over to the audience, &ldquo;Keria?&nbsp;&nbsp;This hulk&rsquo;s reflexes are a lot better than I expected...&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if I&rsquo;m &lsquo;more experienced,&rsquo; I&rsquo;m going to have to invoke the obvious superiority clause in the terms of engagement before he knocks me on my ass again.&nbsp;&nbsp;Do you still want a go at &lsquo;im?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHelm and breastplate squealed against one another as the knight tilted her head, then straightened, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll have to pass.&nbsp;&nbsp;I consider myself a fair judge of a warrior&rsquo;s potential, and by that claim I think this guy has all the natural talent he&rsquo;ll ever need.&nbsp;&nbsp;He still needs practice, true enough, but target dummies should suffice to build up speed and accuracy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, and when he gets some proper armor, make sure he buys a bigger sword and a shield.&nbsp;&nbsp;His defense is perfectly fine for what he was using, but the right equipment can improve on even that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tGoral couldn&rsquo;t help but laugh as he turned back to his sparring partner, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never gone very far wrong, following Dame Keria&rsquo;s advice...&nbsp;&nbsp;Save your pay, Specialist, as you&rsquo;ve got some steel to buy.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tA week or so in a clean, private house with fresh-cooked meals had left Jerek a bit unprepared.&nbsp;&nbsp;The tavern he stepped into as the sun set was perfectly ordinary, priced to attract porters, stoneworkers, and low-rank soldiers and mercenaries, but the scents of spilled, stale ale, seasoned with just a hint of vomit where someone had had too much and it had almost been cleaned up right, made his muzzle wrinkle involuntarily as he eased through the crowd as gracefully as he could.&nbsp;&nbsp;The unidentifiable brown mass of the stew being served would be filling, he knew, but even ignoring the less pleasant scents he couldn&rsquo;t summon up any enthusiasm from its aroma.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Bread, two ales, and keep the refills coming if you see one empty,&rdquo; he ordered over the rumble of the crowd and the creak of protest from the stool he chose at the bar.<br /><br />\tThe bear in a ratty apron nodded, looking him up and down, &ldquo;That&rsquo;ll be three coppers in advance, and I&rsquo;ll let you know when it runs out, but that&rsquo;s the bare minimum worth of ale it&rsquo;d take to get someone your size buzzed.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded and, seemingly grudgingly, dug out a leather pouch that had seen better days and passed over a few coins.&nbsp;&nbsp;It could be minutes or hours before his target showed up, if his target showed up, but until they did, he didn&rsquo;t want to attract attention by acting any differently from the tavern&rsquo;s usual client&egrave;le.&nbsp;&nbsp;He kept a discreet eye on those other patrons as he bit a chunk off a slice from the plate of rye bread and washed it down with a swallow of ale.&nbsp;&nbsp;While still inferior to what he&rsquo;d been enjoying at &lsquo;home,&rsquo; neither were quite as bad as he&rsquo;d feared, and to his surprise he was genuinely able to relax into his role.<br /><br />\tIt was, most likely, that very relaxation that kept his expression of half-bored contentment unchanged when another glance around showed an off-white rabbit settling onto a corner table&rsquo;s bench.&nbsp;&nbsp;He drained his sixth mug of ale, fished out another copper to drop onto the bar, and reached for the seventh, taking a healthy swig before glancing again, this time in the wrong direction.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn&rsquo;t until he was halfway through his drink that he risked a second look at the newcomer, currently placing an order with one of the wenches.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sure enough, the lowered cowl of his plain-looking cloak was lined with a different fabric, much finer and a flawless black.&nbsp;&nbsp;The garment as a whole, almost certainly, could be turned inside-out to match the description Pria had given him over her lunch and his early supper.<br /><br />\tThe barkeep moved to pick up his empty mug for another refill, but he held up a hand, &ldquo;Looks like seven&rsquo;s enough for me, tonight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Are we even with the latest penny?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yeah, with a bit to spare.&nbsp;&nbsp;You come back another night, and the bread&rsquo;s on the house.&nbsp;&nbsp;My bouncer and I were a bit worried when someone looking like you do showed up, but you&rsquo;ve been a nice, quiet customer, the kind we like, so you&rsquo;ll be welcome back any time.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded as he lifted his last mug again, &ldquo;Yeah, I get that a lot...&nbsp;&nbsp;Can&rsquo;t help scaring folks, at this size, but I&rsquo;m not all that bad a guy.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be back if I have the chance, thanks.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria&rsquo;s information had been spot-on so far, so the liger followed her last piece of advice as well, turning right outside of the tavern and right again at the second alley.&nbsp;&nbsp;No doors or windows opened into this one; it had clearly been just a passage between two buildings until a third had been constructed at the other end, without the added expense of a rear entrance.&nbsp;&nbsp;One street lamp just barely reached the mouth of the alley, and even that left one side in inky shadow.&nbsp;&nbsp;The dirt of the street was a bit soft under Jerek&rsquo;s boots as he let himself vanish into darkness, and he gave one disgusted snort at the stench; the above-average privacy here, compared to most alleyways, had evidently made it quite popular as a public privy.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one had ever promised him that his job would be pleasant, though, so he simply leaned against the wall, ignored the smell, and waited.&nbsp;&nbsp;Seven pints of ale had left him feeling mildly pleasant, but he was still a long way from drunk, so however long it took the vandal to eat would only leave him that much more sober, and if the target decided to stay for a few drinks, so much the better.<br /><br />\tTime passed slowly, and the only thing to break the monotony was a few minutes when the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, half-full and bright enough to make him worry about his concealment before it hid once more.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every once in a while, an individual or small group would pass his hiding spot, many of them cautious enough to peer into the shadows, looking for the gleam of reflected lamplight... but his swords&rsquo; hilts had been held over a lamp to gather soot then rubbed down to smudge it, and his eyes were at least two feet higher than where folks were looking.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, a bit more than an hour after he&rsquo;d stepped out, the figure he&rsquo;d spotted came strolling down the street.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rabbit made it almost completely past the alley... before a large hand reached casually out of darkness and hauled him in by the scruff of his cloak.<br /><br />\tA knife was in the man&rsquo;s hand almost before he&rsquo;d recovered his balance, the threat on his lips dying in a pained gasp as Jerek&rsquo;s other hand closed around his, a warning squeeze suggesting the possibility of crushed bones.&nbsp;&nbsp;Relaxing his knife arm in hopes of not being seen as a threat, the bunny half-whispered, &ldquo;And what do you want?&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t have much worth stealing, and I do have a lot of friends...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not one of them,&rdquo; the liger replied, and for once he had to grin as the other man&rsquo;s eyes widened at how high that voice had come from.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I am... a patriot, I suppose.&nbsp;&nbsp;You might be called the same... but for the wrong country.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is Atherian territory, now, and its government and citizens would appreciate it if you stopped defacing their walls with lies.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tOne whiskered lip pulled back in a sneer, &ldquo;Government... that&rsquo;s not the word I&rsquo;d use for a pack of sneaks and assassins.&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, I know all the &lsquo;proprieties&rsquo; were observed where formal declarations were concerned, but the timing and nature of the attacks were about as fair as your average shell game.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve simply been spreading the truth, for good people to see and rise up against blatant conquest, but the puppet count is too blind to see what&rsquo;s in front of his face.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, I&rsquo;ve heard the Atherians have sent their so-called queen to do something about it, since our &lsquo;lord&rsquo; can&rsquo;t!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek snorted, his voice half growl, &ldquo;She&rsquo;s the king&rsquo;s wife, so there&rsquo;s no &lsquo;so-called&rsquo; about it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe rabbit actually laughed despite the pain in his hand, &ldquo;You obviously haven&rsquo;t heard the... rumors about her.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure they&rsquo;re true enough, so this very night I&rsquo;d decided to paint a new little phrase...&nbsp;&nbsp;Serra: Usurper, Murderess, Whore.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIf there&rsquo;d been windows in the alley, Jerek&rsquo;s sudden snarl would have shaken them.&nbsp;&nbsp;His vision went red, and before he knew what he was doing he&rsquo;d thrown the smaller man against the far wall, following an instant later with a lunge-fueled punch, studs leading.&nbsp;&nbsp;The impact of a body against wood was followed almost immediately by an only slightly-quieter crunch, and the liger&rsquo;s fist was suddenly surrounded by wet warmth.&nbsp;&nbsp;Blinking, he shook his head to clear it then pulled his hand back, wincing at the moist, sucking sound as it withdrew from the rabbit&rsquo;s chest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Shaking the blood off of his fingers, he sighed to himself as he stepped onto the street and started walking home as casually as he could manage, &ldquo;I hope a breastbone counts for that &lsquo;punctuation...&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tAnother flurry of knocks came from the front door.&nbsp;&nbsp;Jerek could hear the quieter sounds of bodies rushing to dress as he passed the ladies&rsquo; bedroom, but whoever was out front was clearly impatient, and didn&rsquo;t care that it was barely past dawn.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hiking his bedsheet a bit higher around his waist, he twisted the knob of the deadbolt and lifted the latch to open the door just a crack.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Priority message from the count, sir,&rdquo; the young weasel in livery said, and the guard sergeant behind him nodded in emphasis.<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked once, then opened the door a little wider to reach through and accept the offered bundle.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get this to the ladies once they&rsquo;re awake,&rdquo; he rumbled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Is that all for now?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPage and soldier exchanged a glance, then the youngster nodded, &ldquo;I... guess.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m told its fairly urgent, and I&rsquo;m guessing the upper brass wants a response quickly, but I&rsquo;ve also picked up a hint or two that &lsquo;the ladies&rsquo; outrank the count.&nbsp;&nbsp;I certainly don&rsquo;t want to pressure someone like that enough to piss them off!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek had to chuckle, and nodded once more, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll drop it by their door on my way back to my room.&nbsp;&nbsp;Urgent or not, I&rsquo;m not about to start delivering my reports naked.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tFifteen minutes later, Serra looked up from her reading while a half-awake Pria worked on putting together breakfast, &ldquo;Jerek... just what happened last night?&nbsp;&nbsp;You got back too late for a report, but we both smelled the blood, and I strongly suspect that it has something to do with why the guard force is questioning every blacksmith, stonemason, and fence post digger in the city.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe soldier blinked, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s an... odd list.&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, to put it simply, Pria&rsquo;s directions and guesses worked out perfectly.&nbsp;&nbsp;I caught the vandal and had a chat with him.&nbsp;&nbsp;He at least sounded like he truly believed the lies he&rsquo;s been spreading, and just as truly disbelieved the factual account we&rsquo;ve spread to counter them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, your identity and presence has leaked to the other side, and he said they were going to switch to a new slogan, aimed specifically at you.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was to call you an usurper and a murderess, though your husband explained to me about the murder.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally...&rdquo; and he frowned slightly, &ldquo;ma&rsquo;am, he called you a whore.&nbsp;&nbsp;At that point I lost my temper and punched him in the chest.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria hissed in sympathy, &ldquo;That had to hurt...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer girlfriend shook her head, &ldquo;Not for long it didn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was right... that does explain why the constabulary is half-panicking over a murderer who uses a sledgehammer, and why they&rsquo;re checking anyone who carries one in the course of their usual business.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis voice almost painfully serious, Jerek offered, &ldquo;If it would help calm the local officials down, I&rsquo;m prepared to surrender to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;I may have overreacted, but I was also provoked, so I don&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;ll hang me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth ladies shook their heads, the tigon replying in a firm tone, &ldquo;No.&nbsp;&nbsp;You were acting under my orders, even if his ribcage wasn&rsquo;t the bone I expected you to break.&nbsp;&nbsp;The insult to my person, too, was grounds for a duel, and your assignment could easily be interpreted as your being my de facto champion in such matters.&nbsp;&nbsp;I will explain matters to the guards, and if they still have a problem, part of our &lsquo;mission supplies&rsquo; includes two royal pardons for each of us.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re standard issue for anyone in the Sisters of Order, as we&rsquo;re sworn to do whatever it takes to solve problems, not just whatever happens to be legal.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded slowly, &ldquo;I... can see that, I suppose.&nbsp;&nbsp;I should also mention that, when I first grabbed the vandal and he thought he was being robbed, he made a point of mentioning that he has a lot of friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll need to keep an eye out for just who reacts badly to news of his death, as it was always unlikely that he was acting alone, but he was the only conspirator we&rsquo;d so far identified.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth ladies nodded back, then Pria glanced at her lover with a tilt of her head, &ldquo;That confirmed leak... I think it&rsquo;s time to do something you rather wouldn&rsquo;t, but it&rsquo;s still the bare-minimum compromise if you want to continue on this mission.&nbsp;&nbsp;While you&rsquo;re solving their little murder mystery for them, get your signet verified and request an official guard presence for this house.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that the other side knows you&rsquo;re here, there&rsquo;s no point to keeping only one guard for a low profile, and as competent as he&rsquo;s proven to be, Jerek alone isn&rsquo;t enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Damn it all... but you&rsquo;re right,&rdquo; Serra sighed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;d held the hope that finding a husband who valued my actual talents and enjoyed some of the same rather perverse entertainments I do would protect me from the boredom of a typical &lsquo;wifely&rsquo; role, even a queen&rsquo;s version... and, for a couple of years, I suppose it did.&nbsp;&nbsp;Duty to the succession or no, though, I won&rsquo;t risk our child by being the focus of enemy attention where they can easily get at me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s finish making breakfast, eat, then all go to the count&rsquo;s keep.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want whoever they assign to meet all of us, just to avoid potential confusion the next time you climb out a window, and to recognize our big friend here as being in command of the detachment.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She looked up to Jerek with an odd little half-smile, &ldquo;Another document I have among all those bags we brought along... is the form for registering a field promotion for a member of the army.&nbsp;&nbsp;Up to the limit of your colonel&rsquo;s salary, I&rsquo;ll use it to put you, properly and officially, one rank higher than whoever they think they&rsquo;re assigning the command to.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek winced, but it was faint.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I suppose I can live with that, ma&rsquo;am.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully it&rsquo;ll just be a squad under a sergeant.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also... as she&rsquo;s already agreed to liaise with that family of bats, and given your thoughts on recognition, we should also swing by the temple district on the way and see if Beckah&rsquo;s out there this morning, and bring her along to introduce to everyone.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tOne more nod was forthcoming from the wolf of the bunch, but the pot of water on the hearth had just started to boil, so she moved to add mixed grains and dried fruit, &ldquo;Among the general populace, she&rsquo;s the single most useful local contact we&rsquo;ve made.&nbsp;&nbsp;I agree with your thought... and Serra&rsquo;s qualifier, after breakfast.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Let me get this straight,&rdquo; the vulpine guard colonel half-groaned as he looked up from the signed and sealed order from the count that boiled down to &lsquo;do whatever the hell they ask.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You are...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Serra, Queen of Atheria, carrying the only current heir to the throne unless someone can convince Tyron to take the crown back.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;And she is...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Pria, Agent of Atheria and registered with the Mages&rsquo; Guild for unusual talents.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;And the beggar girl...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Beckah, artist and natural mage in training.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;And the guy tall enough to touch my ceiling without jumping is...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Specialist Jerek of the Atherian army, on guard and escort duty, though he&rsquo;s about to get a promotion once you decide who to assign to our residence.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;s also your mysterious &lsquo;hammer murderer,&rsquo; though he was acting under my orders at the time, and used his fist, not a hammer.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;And you think any of you are safe within a hundred miles of a disputed border, why?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen frowned slightly, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not safe... which is precisely why we&rsquo;re here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing can make this mission safe, but it needs to be completed regardless, and it&rsquo;s now your job to help make it less unsafe.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe fox pinched the bridge of his muzzle, eyes closed for a long moment, &ldquo;Alright...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll peel off three platoons from the reserve, and the next few squads of road patrols to come in won&rsquo;t be sent back out.&nbsp;&nbsp;This will give you twenty men each in three eight-hour shifts, and I&rsquo;ll be assigning Lieutenant Drellar to command them.&nbsp;&nbsp;The lieutenant and his first shift should be at your place on Black Cherry Lane within two hours, once they&rsquo;ve worked out the rotation schedule and have seen the quartermaster for supplies and equipment.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll need your signature on a budget overrun request, as we don&rsquo;t pay the reserve quite as much and we&rsquo;d been near the breaking point for active-duty wages with the unrest and the extra patrols it called for.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded, &ldquo;Alright,&rdquo; and leaned forward in her seat, reaching to grab one of the quills on the colonel&rsquo;s desk, &ldquo;though I&rsquo;ll need to borrow this for a different reason, first.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She smiled to her companions as she filled in the one blank spot on the promotion order, &ldquo;Since he mentioned three platoons, I&rsquo;m guessing Drellar is a senior lieutenant... and you&rsquo;re now a captain, Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;Congratulations.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;As you command, my queen,&rdquo; he rumbled simply.<br /><br />\tThe colonel managed to restrain another wince and simply nodded, &ldquo;I understand how you&rsquo;d feel more comfortable with your safety in the hands of a soldier you actually know.&nbsp;&nbsp;While you review and endorse my budget request, I&rsquo;ll fill out the requisition for his new rank insignia, though he&rsquo;ll have to keep his enlisted uniform for now.&nbsp;&nbsp;We don&rsquo;t keep uniforms that big in stock, but it&rsquo;ll only take two or three days to make new ones.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTrading the finished promotion order for the budget request he was holding out, Serra dipped her borrowed quill in the pot again and sat back to review the specifics, &ldquo;I think... I&rsquo;ll amend your budget just a bit, as several people have suggested that the new captain be properly armored, which is likely to cost more than an extra month&rsquo;s active-duty wages for three platoons.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could cover it out of mission funds easily enough, but it would dent even those.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know a flying courier who could get this request to the duke&rsquo;s clerk in Frostcrest faster than any horse, and the duke can probably release hard coin from his reserve then wait for the king&rsquo;s reimbursement.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you&rsquo;ll get this order to the scribes to make your local records&rsquo; copy,&rdquo; and she passed over the finished form, &ldquo;we can probably have your finances balanced again before supper tomorrow.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe fox blinked, then managed a faint smile, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re... not quite the headache I first assumed when you walked in, your Majesty.&nbsp;&nbsp;The proposal you&rsquo;ve outlined will make my job far easier, and it&rsquo;s nice to be under the command of someone who actually gets things done rather than hand out orders, possible or not, and expect everything to magically work out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra&rsquo;s smile was sympathetic, &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t born royalty... and I&rsquo;ve been a corporal in a force much like yours, myself.&nbsp;&nbsp;Officers who can tell their ass and elbow apart are always pleasant to work with, and I certainly try.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 7<br /><br />\tJerek finished his morning stretch in the front hall, then opened the door to step outside.&nbsp;&nbsp;The guards flanking the door immediately straightened to attention and saluted, even as Lieutenant Drellar scrambled off of the bench he&rsquo;d had placed in the shadow of the shallow porch&rsquo;s overhang.&nbsp;&nbsp;Carefully keeping both amusement and annoyance out of his expression and tone, the liger returned the various salutes and asked, &ldquo;Anything to report, Lieutenant?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yes, sir!&rdquo; the buck replied with entirely too much enthusiasm for this time of morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got the usual batch of &lsquo;royal petitions&rsquo; from common citizens who heard who&rsquo;s staying here but not why.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two soldiers on the night shift reported shadowy figures watching from cover nearby, presumably looking for gaps in the patrol routes... but this house is small enough that I didn&rsquo;t have to leave gaps.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only item that wasn&rsquo;t covered in our planning for obvious contingencies came in the form of a notice from the landlord.&nbsp;&nbsp;He realized that queens, as a general rule, are not poor, and promptly doubled the rent, retroactive to your arrival and due within two days or he&rsquo;ll sue to evict.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek snorted at that last bit, &ldquo;Bloody opportunists...&nbsp;&nbsp;The rental agreement, including price, was a legal contract that both sides are bound by, and the only loopholes that would work for his threat involve grievous damage to the property or a criminal conviction for the residents.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since the latter is covered by royal pardons, if he comes back ask him if he&rsquo;d like us to trash the place to make the eviction legal.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe deer grinned, &ldquo;He was a greasy one...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll enjoy giving him that sort of &lsquo;choice.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe captain nodded, &ldquo;Good, good...&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, the spies, while expected, aren&rsquo;t good news.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want you to keep the routes and schedules unchanged... but write up a set of orders for the nearest constable post in every direction.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t know the right phrasings, and I&rsquo;m pretty terrible at writing to begin with, but here&rsquo;s what I want to happen...&nbsp;&nbsp;Those posts&rsquo; compliments should be doubled, or tripled if they have enough room inside, but only the regular troops and officers should ever show themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;I expect, since it&rsquo;s obvious a single enemy won&rsquo;t be able to sneak in, that they&rsquo;ll try something more blatant, an assault large enough to overwhelm one shift of your detachment.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving that many people at once is almost impossible to conceal, so when a constable notices such a group heading in our direction, they and their hidden reinforcements should fall out and take the group from behind.&nbsp;&nbsp;They don&rsquo;t need to establish intent, or let the other side strike first; if the officer in charge is reasonably certain that, whatever it might look like, it&rsquo;s an attack in the offing, they are explicitly authorized to use preemptive, lethal force.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tDrellar swallowed hard, then nodded back, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s... a bit outside their usual terms of engagement, but so is this whole scenario.&nbsp;&nbsp;Our nation has only one queen, and it&rsquo;s better to risk hurting a few commoners who chose the wrong route for a street-party than it&rsquo;d be to risk her.&nbsp;&nbsp;I believe I know how to phrase your orders, and I&rsquo;ll find a scribe to dictate them to and a page to carry them within an hour.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek took another few steps out onto the street, turned, and peered for a long moment, &ldquo;Hrmph.&nbsp;&nbsp;You guys must get more snow up here than I did, growing up on the south end of the kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;If we had a flatter roof to work with, a couple of archers could do as much good as another squad on the ground.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, see that grate?&nbsp;&nbsp;And I&rsquo;m pretty sure there&rsquo;s a matching one on the other side...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe lieutenant caught on instantly, &ldquo;At this time of year it shouldn&rsquo;t be too stuffy in the attic, just a little cramped.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll send for two or three of our more compact archers, and if an attack in force comes they can kick the slats out and start shooting.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Exactly.&nbsp;&nbsp;This house isn&rsquo;t exactly a fortified castle, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean it has to be defenseless.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Alright,&rdquo; Pria instructed, holding up both hands, &ldquo;this is pure fire energy... and this is what I want you to surround it with, but the final mix, not the single-element lines I&rsquo;m forming it from.&nbsp;&nbsp;The mix has no noticeable effect on solid matter, but it should serve to shield your mage-sight from the intensity of your actual attack.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your targets are the bundles of straw I&rsquo;ve placed on rocks twenty, fifty, and two hundred feet distant.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t expect you to be able to hit the third one; I could only strike the first strongly enough to damage it, and that&rsquo;s with a great deal of effort.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah nodded, brow furrowing as she &lsquo;looked&rsquo; intently at the energies rising from the wolf&rsquo;s paws.&nbsp;&nbsp;She held out her own hand, palm up, and a wisp of smoke appeared where a passing insect had just been incinerated, and she giggled, &ldquo;This is so neat!&nbsp;&nbsp;I never dreamed I&rsquo;d be able to do anything like this...&nbsp;&nbsp;It certainly isn&rsquo;t easy, though; hold that mix for a bit while I get it right.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her brow gradually relaxed as she duplicated the other emissions, the lines of power fluctuating as she strove for the right ratios, and when they felt right she combined them, &ldquo;There...&nbsp;&nbsp;Within that sphere, I&rsquo;m blind again; I can&rsquo;t see a hint of the energies I know are inside, just a spot of blankness.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria smiled, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re aiming for.&nbsp;&nbsp;For the sighted, this blend is also useful for hiding from one&rsquo;s fellow mages, simply wrapping a thin layer of it around your own body, but I&rsquo;m afraid that would blind you completely.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, make a tube of it from here to the target, and add fire, right down the middle.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIt took the cat a few seconds to locate which of the boulders on the rocky plain had bundles on top, but once she did the closest one burst into flame almost instantly.&nbsp;&nbsp;The second followed a moment later, and a grunt of effort punctuated the third&rsquo;s ignition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You were right, it gets harder with range, but I think I could send it farther if I had to.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer tutor blinked and shook her head to clear it, musing, &ldquo;I was able to follow your speed and accuracy just by the lack of energies along your shielding tube... let me check one thing,&rdquo; and she reached out to touch the feline&rsquo;s forehead then neck.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;By Her Teats...&nbsp;&nbsp;My father, who trained me, has far, far more raw power than I do, but he&rsquo;d have been drenched in sweat, hitting that third bundle as hard as you did.&nbsp;&nbsp;You, on the other hand, are still dry.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m going to have to word your official registration as a mage very, very carefully, if we don&rsquo;t want you to end up labeled a threat to the kingdom, because once you&rsquo;ve had enough practice for this stuff to come easily to you, there&rsquo;d be very little anyone could do to stop you if you went on a rampage.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah frowned as she digested that, then shrugged, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure what to say about that.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m willing to make an appropriate oath to Malia if needed, but we&rsquo;d have to consider the phrasing carefully.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m still new at this, so inviting divine punishment for a simple accident holds no attraction to me, and it wouldn&rsquo;t do me much good if I simply promised to limit my power-levels, if some day I need my full power for something.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;An amused snort followed a moment later, &ldquo;Listen to me... power?&nbsp;&nbsp;Rampages?&nbsp;&nbsp;Last week I was just a simple carver; what business do I have even thinking in these terms?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched a laugh from Pria, and she patted her student&rsquo;s shoulder comfortingly, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all my fault, I know...&nbsp;&nbsp;I did warn you that your life was about to change, but even I didn&rsquo;t know that you&rsquo;d turn out this strong.&nbsp;&nbsp;All I was ever told about natural mages was that they&rsquo;re rare, end of story.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, after all of three basic lessons, you can see farther and more accurately than I can, and mage-sight is one of my major talents, while in terms of power, you could probably knock down the walls of the count&rsquo;s keep if you set your mind to it.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re a joy to teach, as you catch on to things so quickly, but I can&rsquo;t help but feel a bit of an inferiority complex next to you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat nodded, then sighed, &ldquo;I think I understand Jerek even better, now...&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;d both suffered a rare pain, one that only another sufferer could really understand, but mine was simply the pity I was shown for lacking something I&rsquo;d never known and couldn&rsquo;t miss.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now it looks like both he and I will be feared for our strength, with no thought given for our basic integrity.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA passing thought shook loose a giggle, hardly appropriate for such a depressing topic, so Pria hastened to explain, &ldquo;Sorry... but I just imagined you, Jerek, and my older sister teaming up.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;s widely regarded as the greatest single warrior in the world, while you might very well be the strongest mage, and Jer&rsquo;s among the strongest of men.&nbsp;&nbsp;It would be... interesting to see if the three of you could conquer an entire small nation.&nbsp;&nbsp;A silly thought, I know... but actually plausible, underneath.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah snickered as she nodded, &ldquo;Not that I have any desire to rule...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve seen what it&rsquo;s like, with Serra&rsquo;s freedoms steadily shrinking even as the pressure for some sort of progress grows, and it&rsquo;s nothing I&rsquo;d care to experience, myself.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, back to our main subject... do you have to publicize my strength?&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s certainly better than feeling helpless, but I really don&rsquo;t want it to stigmatize me and my future relationships, either.&nbsp;&nbsp;Especially with Jerek...&nbsp;&nbsp;He feels protective of me, and I actually like it.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wouldn&rsquo;t want him to feel weak, or useless, or that I&rsquo;m just one more woman who wants him for his body, because I&rsquo;ve seen his heart, the one thing almost everyone else ignores, and it&rsquo;s as big as the rest of him.&nbsp;&nbsp;I... I wasn&rsquo;t exaggerating when I said I think I love him.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria&rsquo;s hand returned to give her shoulder another squeeze, and the wolf was smiling faintly as she nodded, &ldquo;I believe you do... and I&rsquo;ve got at least the beginnings of an idea to help the two of you along.&nbsp;&nbsp;Give me just a little time to work with, then we&rsquo;ll make a flanking run around that wall he&rsquo;s put up around his feelings.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah reached up to pat the hand on her shoulder, her smile wide, &ldquo;Thank you.&nbsp;&nbsp;I appreciate both your help and your discretion.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf snorted with a grin, &ldquo;Discretion, hell...&nbsp;&nbsp;Your next lesson is to go to that farm I can just see from here, where I&rsquo;m told the scarecrows aren&rsquo;t working.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just to see what kind of range you really have, let&rsquo;s go see if the local crows can learn after a few of them explode or catch fire in mid-air, and that sort of thing can get rather noisy.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t The squad of soldiers holding formation around her split as Serra reached her destination, four flanking the door, two taking posts at the ends of the block to watch the other streets, and the last four following her inside the courier&rsquo;s office.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t mind them; this is a commission, not an invasion,&rdquo; she told the two startled-looking fellows on the other side of the counter.<br /><br />\tAfter a shared glance and a few blinks apiece, the equine of the pair asked, &ldquo;Um, how can we help you, ma&rsquo;am?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra set the pouch she was holding on the counter, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a sealed diplomatic pouch for delivery to Duke Urenhold or his seneschal.&nbsp;&nbsp;No lesser functionary can safely open it, and its delivery has royal priority.&nbsp;&nbsp;I strongly suggest using Reldek or his wife Ferria if they&rsquo;re available.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe horse blinked again, &ldquo;Not many people know we have bats available... much less their names.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yeah, they&rsquo;re both in town, and flight time to Frostcrest is a bit over two hours if they push themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;Actual delivery will be a minimum of four hours from now, as a high-energy meal and some time to digest it is required, and the price is one and a half monarchs.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis customer nodded as she fished the coins from her purse, though her mind was busy with the implications of that fee; either jobs were very few and far between, or the cut the office was keeping was downright criminal.&nbsp;&nbsp;At these rates, there was no excuse she could see that would justify the family she&rsquo;d met living so poorly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Alright,&rdquo; she said aloud, &ldquo;here&rsquo;s your money and the official address for the delivery, and mine for the reply I&rsquo;ll expect by this time tomorrow, as the courier will need rest between flights.&nbsp;&nbsp;Treat the bag gently, as it will incinerate itself if you try to open it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth men swallowed hard at her warning, the arctic wolf grabbing a quill to translate her note onto one of their standard forms as his coworker nodded and promised good service.&nbsp;&nbsp;Both of them, in any case, looked relieved as she gathered her guards and stepped out.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Nothing to report, your Majesty,&rdquo; the sergeant of the squad rumbled as they settled into formation again.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Where to now?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Briar Street,&rdquo; she replied.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a decent restaurant I&rsquo;ve been wanting to try on its north loop, and it&rsquo;d be nice not to have to eat my own cooking for one night.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rest of my friends will be joining us there, and I&rsquo;m told they have a decent tavern your men can relax in while we eat.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek leaned back with a contented sigh, patting his belly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I love your cooking, ladies,&rdquo; he rumbled, &ldquo;but honesty compels me to say that this was bet&mdash;&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The already-stressed backing of the chair gave way, and he hit the floor with a thud that rattled the wine glasses amidst a small cloud of splinters.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;No, that wasn&rsquo;t my magic,&rdquo; Pria grinned, &ldquo;just fate with a sense of humor.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re covering the meal, but you can pay for the chair on our way out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger climbed back up to a kneel to the sound of Serra&rsquo;s laugh and Beckah&rsquo;s more restrained giggle, but he was smiling as he shook his head ruefully, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not the first time this has happened, and I&rsquo;ve made a habit of never spending so much of my money that I can&rsquo;t cover a bit of broken furniture.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reaching behind himself, he pulled out a couple of the larger shards of wood, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good thing I didn&rsquo;t bring any clothes but my armor for this trip, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;These could have seriously hurt.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ah... about that...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek looked toward Beckah, blinking at something in her tone.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;m working on a new piece,&rdquo; she continued, &ldquo;and it&rsquo;s of you.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s not for any particular customer this time...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m trying to see whether my mage-sight can provide as much detail as I used to get by touch, but living flesh is vastly easier to see than leather.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, it takes a special effort just to perceive your fur.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your sculpture, if and when I finish it, will be a tasteful nude, since that&rsquo;s how it&rsquo;s easiest to &lsquo;see&rsquo; you.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She mimed a glance toward Pria, unnecessary as it was for her particular form of sight, &ldquo;Now that I&rsquo;m aware of what I&rsquo;d previously done unconsciously, with magic, it&rsquo;s coming along quite a bit quicker than previous pieces its size.&nbsp;&nbsp;The initial, rough biped-shape took about two minutes, instead of four or five days of whittling shavings off of a block the size I needed to depict him.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tWolf and liger both nodded, the former in simple approval and the latter in preface to a bemused comment, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d already come to terms with the nudity issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s really not a personal violation, as you see everyone that way, and I&rsquo;d rather you have that ability, by far, than the world of darkness you&rsquo;d previously known.&nbsp;&nbsp;My modesty is an insignificant price to pay for your sight.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding back as she rose from her seat, Beckah&rsquo;s smile took on a faintly naughty cast as she half-purred, &ldquo;If only you weren&rsquo;t such a gentleman... I think I&rsquo;d be happy to &lsquo;apologize&rsquo; by taking off this cloak of mine for you sometime, just to keep things even and fair.&nbsp;&nbsp;You see, after I&rsquo;d had several pranks played on me by tailors, selling me garish or clashing colors that I couldn&rsquo;t even understand in concept, unless it&rsquo;s particularly cold this cloak is the only thing I wear.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve been stark naked beneath it since the day we met.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Turning back to the other ladies, and hiding a smile at the very mixed emotions flashing through the liger&rsquo;s expression that her mage-sight could clearly make out, she gave a half-bow, &ldquo;I should get going, though, if I&rsquo;m going to get any more work done on that sculpture before bed.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth women nodded, and Serra asked, &ldquo;Would you like one or two of my guards to escort you home?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat shook her head, &ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;ll be safe enough.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other than the chill, night&rsquo;s darkness means nothing to me, and after this morning&rsquo;s practice in what are arguably offensive magics, anyone intercepting me with fell intent will regret it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAll three of her friends nodded grimly, Jerek rumbling, &ldquo;Then have a safe journey and a good rest, with my thanks for your company this eve.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah turned away quickly so he wouldn&rsquo;t see the smile his last comment had left on her face, one that just didn&rsquo;t want to fade as she eased her mage-sight&rsquo;s sensitivity gradually higher until she could make out the door and the boarded sidewalk beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp;Living bodies were almost, if not quite, painfully bright at this level, but three blocks from the fancy restaurant that very sensitivity let her spot and step around the night soil someone had recently dumped out of a window.&nbsp;&nbsp;Counting the twists and turns through the walls that divided the city into districts, it was almost two miles to the small boarding house she lived in.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn&rsquo;t the cheapest of dwellings, but her carvings tended to bring in enough that she&rsquo;d lived there for a good three years straight, and having assistance nearby, particularly someone to clean wood shavings when she&rsquo;d been truly blind, had made it the obvious choice despite how little spending money it left her with.<br /><br />\tTen minutes and two district walls later, she started to notice them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Three bundles of living energy were following her, at a distance and making almost no noise, and they seemed to be avoiding light sources, darting from one alley to the next then waiting to make sure no one could see them before moving again.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cat gave no sign that she&rsquo;d noticed them, but continued to watch... and as she did, a pattern became apparent, though it was missing a piece.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was enough delay, every third move, for a fourth person to take up a new spot, and she concentrated her attention where they should be.&nbsp;&nbsp;The pattern of energy was nearly invisible, only faint differences between it and the night air noticeable, but the implications were disturbing.&nbsp;&nbsp;Someone, obviously, had made a shrewd guess as to why the &lsquo;blind girl&rsquo; wasn&rsquo;t using her cane anymore.<br /><br />\tThe mysterious figures were gradually closing the distance, whichever one was in the lead barely two buildings back as she crossed the border into &lsquo;her&rsquo; district, and it was getting harder to play the oblivious innocent.&nbsp;&nbsp;They only had two more blocks in which to make their move... and she actually felt relieved when they finally did, the three &lsquo;visible&rsquo; ones jogging as a group while the cloaked form approached at a near-sprint, one arm high...<br /><br />\tBeckah didn&rsquo;t bother to turn as her attacker bounced off of a solid wall of motion-magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;That was your warning,&rdquo; she said conversationally.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You only get one, and it also counts for your three friends.&nbsp;&nbsp;Leave or die.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe mage-cloaked figure was rubbing its invisible nose and cursing, but one of the others lifted a device with a muted glow of its own; she barely had time to damp down her perceptions before a bright line of power burst forth, and her protective wall shattered with a sensation like a bee had stung her in the middle of her brain.&nbsp;&nbsp;The threesome slowed to a walk as they neared, one of them laughing, &ldquo;Look at &lsquo;er cringe...&nbsp;&nbsp;Must not feel too good, gettin&rsquo; hit by a spellbreaker.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I said,&rdquo; she growled as she straightened and turned, &ldquo;leave or die!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat vivid beam lashed out again, but she didn&rsquo;t bother to dim it, accepting the pain as the price of knowing its energies, and the hand she whipped up, palm out, projected an instinctive counter, making no attempt to block it but instead pulling its mixed energy types, each in a different direction.&nbsp;&nbsp;She pushed that division in the stream further up the line, and when it hit the matrix of crystals that were doing the mixing and projecting, they promptly exploded.&nbsp;&nbsp;The man with the spellbreaker managed one muffled curse before slumping over, and she could see his life-energies fading fast as he bled profusely from the chest and neck.<br /><br />\tBeckah guessed that there was some light available, as both of the clearly-visible figures were staring at their dying comrade, and a moment later they and their cloaked companion all charged.&nbsp;&nbsp;She didn&rsquo;t bother throwing up a wall this time; instead, at knee, belly, and chest levels, she formed three impossibly-thin planes of motion-magic, the sort Pria had described to her when she&rsquo;d curiously asked about the &lsquo;magic swords&rsquo; in some stories and ballads she&rsquo;d heard.&nbsp;&nbsp;It wasn&rsquo;t the swords themselves that did the cutting, but rather the magic they projected, and the three attackers running into the same effect fell like a coarse, meaty rain.&nbsp;&nbsp;The smell of blood almost overpowered the stench of spilled and split entrails as each man was divided into at least six pieces, and liquid, hot in the night&rsquo;s chill air, splashed all over her cloak.<br /><br />\tShe could only stand there for a long moment, trying not to lose that fine supper she&rsquo;d just had, between the smell and the heart-wrenching knowledge that it was someone&rsquo;s lifeblood soaking through her garment and cooling quickly, but some other, inner part of her was... satisfied.&nbsp;&nbsp;These were almost certainly co-conspirators of the vandal Jerek had killed, balked by the increased guard at their enemy&rsquo;s house, so they&rsquo;d instead tried to ambush the weakest of the queen&rsquo;s supporters... only to find that &lsquo;blind&rsquo; and &lsquo;helpless&rsquo; had become distinctly different things in recent days.&nbsp;&nbsp;As either enemies of the kingdom or cowards without honor, she couldn&rsquo;t, in her deepest heart, regret their deaths, though her mind and feelings were still in turmoil over the fact that she&rsquo;d been the one to kill them.<br /><br />\tA door creaked open to her left, and the energy-shape of a vulpine head peeked out, &ldquo;What&rsquo;s all the commotion out... great Gods!&nbsp;&nbsp;Miss?&nbsp;&nbsp;Are you alright?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat straightened and brushed at her cloak, muzzle wrinkling as her fingers met pieces of her attackers, sticky pieces.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m fine,&rdquo; she told the stranger, &ldquo;but I can&rsquo;t say the same for these four men who tried to ambush me.&nbsp;&nbsp;They forgot that a blind mage is still a mage, ignored the warning I was honor-bound to give, and paid the price.&nbsp;&nbsp;None of this... stuff on me is mine.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe fox shook his head in wonder, tinged with disgust as the breeze shifted in his direction, then turned to yell into his house, &ldquo;Carlon!&nbsp;&nbsp;Get your uniform back on and get down here!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Back to the blood-soaked feline, he said more quietly, &ldquo;My son&rsquo;s in the guard, off-duty at the moment, but he should probably escort you to the nearest station to file a report.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah started to nod, then paused, &ldquo;Actually... I think I should go back to the queen&rsquo;s house on Black Cherry Lane.&nbsp;&nbsp;This was actually an indirect attack against her.&nbsp;&nbsp;The guards there know me, but your son&rsquo;s escort will be welcome, as I think I&rsquo;m about to come down with a bad case of the shakes as the adrenaline wears off.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched a sympathetic chuckle, &ldquo;I understand...&nbsp;&nbsp;It took three ales for the shivering to stop, the first time Carlon tried to serve a warrant and they resisted arrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing can ever really prepare you for your first taste of combat and its reminder of your own mortality.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ah, here he comes; we&rsquo;ll get you to where you can feel safe soon enough.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek answered the door, a bit confused at the knock so shortly after he and the ladies had gotten home... and blinked at the stranger in uniform, hovering protectively over his blood-drenched friend.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Your Majesty!&rdquo; he called over his shoulder, then turned back to bow, &ldquo;Whatever happened... you have my gratitude for returning Beckah safely to us.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCarlon shook his head with a faint smile, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t do much...&nbsp;&nbsp;What you see are the results of her defending herself, and none of the blood or other bits are hers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Simply for her comfort after being ambushed, just outside of my house by lucky coincidence, I&rsquo;ve escorted her back here.&nbsp;&nbsp;I should probably get back and help the night shift sort body parts for identification...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked and nodded, but it was the queen, coming up behind him, who replied, &ldquo;Whether you think it was &lsquo;much&rsquo; or not, you have our thanks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tell the sergeant out there your name and unit, and don&rsquo;t be surprised when there&rsquo;s a bonus in your next pay pouch.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Easing around her big bodyguard, she held out a hand, &ldquo;Beckah?&nbsp;&nbsp;Please, come in so we can get you cleaned up, then tell us what happened...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe vulpine guard nodded and saluted, turning away as the cat stepped inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;From down the hall, Pria called out, &ldquo;I can smell the mess from here...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve got the tub filling, though it&rsquo;s not hot.&nbsp;&nbsp;Time for a little more practice with fire-energy, but gently; you need a bath, not a boiling.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe shivers that had been running up and down her body during the walk started to fade as Beckah let her friends lead her deeper inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;These people, she knew, she&rsquo;d always be safe around, and her instincts seemed to realize it too.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;There were some... people, who I noticed following me when I was about halfway home,&rdquo; she explained, working at the ties of her cloak as she walked.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of them were wizards, but they did have magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;One of them was almost invisible to my sight... but once I deduced his presence from the others&rsquo; leap-frogging tactics, I was able to make him out.&nbsp;&nbsp;Another had something they called a &lsquo;spellbreaker,&rsquo; which wasn&rsquo;t pleasant at all when it shattered the motion-wall I&rsquo;d thrown up to block the invisible one&rsquo;s charge.&nbsp;&nbsp;I gave them a choice after that first man bounced, leave or die, and... they didn&rsquo;t leave.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d reached the bathroom by that point, and slipped the opened cloak from her shoulders, then had to snort at how quickly the liger behind her averted his gaze.&nbsp;&nbsp;He couldn&rsquo;t have seen more than her upper back before turning around, and his head didn&rsquo;t so much as twitch in a hint of another peek.<br /><br />\tPria helped her out of her cloak with a roll of her eyes, murmuring, &ldquo;I noticed that too...&nbsp;&nbsp;Too much a gentleman for his own good, or for yours, but this attack is just the excuse I needed for those helpful plans I mentioned.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just in case you&rsquo;ve ever wondered, though... you&rsquo;re very pretty, bordering on beautiful.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve lusted after enough women to be a fair judge, I&rsquo;d think, and you&rsquo;re certainly the sort I wouldn&rsquo;t mind taking to bed.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah nodded as she poked one finger into the tub&rsquo;s cool water, judging by that touch as she added energy until just the faintest hint of steam started to rise, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d... wondered, but I&rsquo;d touched many other faces and sets of curves to later carve them, so it was only natural to touch myself and compare.&nbsp;&nbsp;I knew, at the very least, that I wasn&rsquo;t ugly.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setting aside her blindfold, she climbed into the tub and relaxed into the warm water with a sigh.<br /><br />\tSerra nudged the sodden, sticky pile of the cat&rsquo;s cloak with one foot, &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re going to have to burn this... which is a pity, as it looks a bit finer than most.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can loan you one of mine in the short term, but it will be a bit scratchier against a bare body.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer lupine girlfriend shook her head, &ldquo;Clothes are rather secondary at the moment...&nbsp;&nbsp;The important thing is the attack itself, as well as its implications.&nbsp;&nbsp;Our enemy might not have the numbers it would take for a frontal assault of this house, so instead they&rsquo;ve tried attacking a known associate of ours.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beckah... I think you should stay here tonight, then when the night guards trade off with the morning shift, let them earn a little overtime, escorting you to your home and back for your possessions and artworks.&nbsp;&nbsp;Walking that route twice a day as you did was probably the biggest reason they chose you for a target, since our other business has been too random and scattered to get an ambush team into position in time.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I think that would work, though Mistress Thora, who owns the boarding house I&rsquo;ve got a room in, will be disappointed to lose a years-long, well-behaved tenant.&nbsp;&nbsp;The chairs in your sitting room are comfortable enough to sleep in, I&rsquo;m pretty sure.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra and Pria exchanged a glance, the queen musing, &ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t planning to inflict that sort of &lsquo;bed&rsquo; on you... were we?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe Agent shook her head, chuckling as she passed over a rag for the cat to scrub herself with, the water already a faint pink, &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;&nbsp;A couple of my comments and questions, lately, have been probes, but your answers make it clear enough that you have no sexual interest in women, so sharing our bed is probably not an option.&nbsp;&nbsp;That huge one that takes most of Jerek&rsquo;s room, though... he mainly needed its length, so half the width is free if you&rsquo;d be comfortable sharing it with him.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah quirked a brow high, though the sky-blue eyes beneath it were unfocused, &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t mind... but he might.&nbsp;&nbsp;The obvious assumption from what I don&rsquo;t wear under the cloak would be right; I sleep just as naked, and he evidently has something against the view.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I can hear you girls, you know,&rdquo; the captain&rsquo;s voice called from the very room in question.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;We can probably get you a light nightgown tomorrow; for now, I&rsquo;ve got the lamp out and I&rsquo;m in bed myself, so it will be too dark to see once you&rsquo;re clean and dry.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria snickered very softly, then murmured, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really &lsquo;peek,&rsquo; but my own periodic sweeps of the house with mage-sight showed that he sleeps in naught but fur, himself, though he&rsquo;s brought out a spare blanket and wrapped himself completely in the regular one, this moment.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll just have to see how he reacts in the morning, when being half-asleep and unused to sharing a bed might give him a good view despite his best intentions.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s smile was more than a bit wicked as she simply nodded and scrubbed.<br /><br />Chapter 8<br /><br />\tJerek opened his eyes to blink at the light streaming through his window&rsquo;s closed shutters, his mind somewhere between the present reality, foggy memories, and rapidly-fading dreams.&nbsp;&nbsp;The present took the fore very quickly, though, when he moved to stretch, only then noticing the body cuddled up behind him.&nbsp;&nbsp;His blanket had slipped somewhat, and either Beckah&rsquo;s had too or she hadn&rsquo;t bothered with any warmth beyond his own body, as he could distinctly feel a pair of nipples poking him below his shoulderblades.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Beckah?&rdquo; he rumbled.<br /><br />\tHe felt the girl behind him shift sleepily, then stiffen, only to relax the next moment and slip her arms around his broad chest, &ldquo;Jerek...&nbsp;&nbsp;No wonder I felt so safe and comfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those men I killed... they kept coming back, in my dreams, but you were there too, and they died again, several more times, sometimes at your hands, while other times we slew them as a team.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those dreams... tried to be nightmares, but they failed, because of you.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tStill less than fully awake himself, the liger&rsquo;s first reflex was to roll over and hold her in return, until a shifting of the soft breasts against his fur, and his blanket sliding against a rare case of morning wood, reminded him of the proprieties involved.&nbsp;&nbsp;Relaxing back down onto his side, he gave the upper of the hands around him a gentle pat, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m... glad I could be here for you, if it made the difference you say.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can hear the ladies waking up, though...&nbsp;&nbsp;If you want to go borrow one of their cloaks, please close the door on your way out so I can dress too.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve my word that I&rsquo;ll keep my eyes closed as you depart.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah giggled faintly as she squirmed a bit higher to nuzzle the back of his neck, &ldquo;My big, silly kitten... do you think I&rsquo;d even be here, if your look or touch were anything but welcome?&nbsp;&nbsp;I shall do as you ask, this morning, simply because you have duties that I&rsquo;d be a poor friend indeed to interfere with, but you can&rsquo;t escape forever.&nbsp;&nbsp;Blow out all the lamps you want; I&rsquo;m a mage now, and I can make light.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger was left with mixed feelings as she did, indeed, pull away and pad out into the hall, latching the door behind her.&nbsp;&nbsp;He still firmly believed he had no business looking, and the concept of touching frightened him on some level... but his back where her breasts had been pressed against him now seemed awfully cold in the morning air...<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThe cloak Beckah attended breakfast in was a bit big and loose on her, cinched with an incongruous silk sash that one of the ladies had dug up.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even as Jerek settled onto the well-built stool that complained the least about his weight, Serra was saying, &ldquo;Half the platoon needs sleep too badly, but that still leaves a squad for escort duty, and unless you own a lot more stuff than I think, they should be able to carry everything in one trip.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe white cat shook her head with a smile, her blindfold back in place, &ldquo;Just my two spare cloaks, a few things to wear beneath in deep winter, five small carvings that I kept when a customer changed their mind and wouldn&rsquo;t pay, and three or four silver marks worth of savings.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since my rent included basic meals, I don&rsquo;t even own any dishes.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek took a sniff at the air as they talked, then mused, &ldquo;Fruit porridge again...&nbsp;&nbsp;It looks like we need to shop.&nbsp;&nbsp;Should I accompany Beckah, or did you want me to carry bundles at the market again?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria handed him a bowl of the porridge in question even as she grinned, &ldquo;The latter.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re low on meats of all kinds, and you&rsquo;ll need to haul home another bag of powdered limestone for the privy; it&rsquo;s getting a bit rank.&nbsp;&nbsp;I hate using you as a menial, but you&rsquo;re the only one who can carry the whole load alone, letting the rest of our escort focus on doing their jobs and watching for trouble.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded and picked up a spoon, stirring his breakfast to help it cool, &ldquo;Alright...&nbsp;&nbsp;Speaking of that sort of trouble, though, do we have any new information about those idiots who attacked Beckah?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;&lsquo;Idiots&rsquo; is right,&rdquo; the Agent grinned broadly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I slipped out as soon as she&rsquo;d gone to bed and took a look at the scene...&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;d been equipped to counter a minor mage.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was that spellbreaker she blew up,&rdquo; and she glanced to the cat, &ldquo;which was excellent work, by the way; one of those can ruin the day of even an archmage.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah simply mumbled something around a blush.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Then there was the mage-sight shroud, which was still working since it wasn&rsquo;t in line with those final cuts...&nbsp;&nbsp;Unusually good work, that one; it was set into a belt buckle with a rotating disc holding several power crystals, and the shroud it was projecting was only one of several defensive shields it could create, depending on which stored energy-blend it was fed, and it was a body-wrap rather than a basic sphere.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other three fellows had simpler, reactive shields that would have sprung up if she&rsquo;d started flinging fire around...&nbsp;&nbsp;We have to assume that there&rsquo;s a wizard on the other side, custom-making their tools, as the combination wasn&rsquo;t anything you&rsquo;d find even in the best-stocked magic shop.&nbsp;&nbsp;At least one dagger on the scene had a shield-penetrating spell, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;My conclusion is that the other wizard was working as well as he could, from hearsay evidence, but hadn&rsquo;t actually witnessed any of our training sessions.&nbsp;&nbsp;If his information had been better, we&rsquo;d be scheduling a funeral, not enjoying a meal.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSeveral grim looks were exchanged, Serra speaking as she sat down for her own meal, &ldquo;We have a powerful foe, and we cannot count on his or her ignorance for a defense.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria, you help with the shopping as you know what we need.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be spending the day with the count and his staff, trying to find some common thread that might help us identify additional enemies who blend in perfectly until they make their move, as they&rsquo;re citizens in good standing who&rsquo;ve spent their entire lives here.&nbsp;&nbsp;This is a danger faced by the victor in any conquered territory.&nbsp;&nbsp;The war of two and a half years ago... isn&rsquo;t really over.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll also make a point of talking to his court wizard, to see if we can think of just what the enemy mage&rsquo;s motive is, whether he&rsquo;s in charge and after something in town or in the castle, or whether he&rsquo;s simply a major player in an organized insurgency.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded, &ldquo;Alright...&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re already overstraining our available guard force with these trips, so let&rsquo;s combine two for safety; one squad on overtime with Beckah, one squad on duty at the house, and the last squad can escort you to the keep before we take them shopping.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t<br /><br />\tJerek accepted the package of bacon as the butcher finished wrapping it up, thanked the man and stepped outside.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only things still on the list Pria had dictated were butter, cheese, and limestone, but powdered rock could wait &lsquo;til last so he wouldn&rsquo;t have to carry it for long.&nbsp;&nbsp;Glancing around, he spotted the booth of dairy products... and a slight commotion on that side of the market square, involving a vaguely-familiar figure in armor.&nbsp;&nbsp;Given recent events, any disturbance warranted investigation, so he secured his newest burden and headed that way.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Dame Keria?&rdquo; he asked with a blink as he neared the small cluster of guards.<br /><br />\tSteel creaked as the figure in plate nodded, &ldquo;Novice Jerek...&nbsp;&nbsp;I see you&rsquo;ve been promoted, quite a bit, since we last met.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was just asking these fellows for help finding you or one of your housemates.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s been... an incident at that house.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was nearby when I heard the first clash, and helped the guards there fight off the attack.&nbsp;&nbsp;They told me the... your most prominent companion was elsewhere, and I sent a corporal to tell her to stay there.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger blinked again, then nodded, his muzzle grim.&nbsp;&nbsp;He could guess the parts she&rsquo;d left unsaid, and her choice of words suggested that she&rsquo;d been knighted for far more than her physical prowess.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I guess we&rsquo;ll all join that companion shortly... but I should see the aftermath of this &lsquo;incident.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The rest of my shopping can wait.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Spotting another package-laden form drawing near, he turned, &ldquo;Pria, we need to head home.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I heard,&rdquo; the Agent nodded.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Another of the low-energy, short-term enchantments I&rsquo;m fond of is one to keep an ear on anyone I&rsquo;m teamed up with, even for simple shopping, so long as they&rsquo;re within a couple blocks of me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe house was surrounded by seeming chaos as they drew near, though the frenetic activity sorted itself out as the got close enough to identify individuals.&nbsp;&nbsp;Half of the squad was tending to bodies, mostly strangers in widely-assorted armor but with four familiar figures among the dead being loaded onto three large carts, while one more stranger, tied to Drellar&rsquo;s bench, was being questioned by the lieutenant under the watchful eye of a sergeant with two daggers drawn and ready.&nbsp;&nbsp;The house itself had seen better days; all of the windows on the street side had been broken, the attic grates had been kicked out, and the corner of the sitting room was still smoldering, enough of the wall burned away to make out the remains of furniture.<br /><br />\tJerek&rsquo;s rumble cut through the noise as he neared, &ldquo;Lieutenant Drellar, report!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTurning away from his evident prisoner, the buck marched smartly over and snapped a salute, &ldquo;Sir!&nbsp;&nbsp;We have engaged the enemy, sir!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;At a gesture from the captain, he relaxed to parade rest, continuing calmly enough, &ldquo;There were about thirty of them, sir.&nbsp;&nbsp;An estimated half a dozen groups converged from several directions, but your standing orders proved to be a nasty surprise when they joined up and charged.&nbsp;&nbsp;The archer upstairs slowed them down enough for me to gather the half of the squad watching the rear and for the constables to take their flank, then this fine lady,&rdquo; and he nodded with great respect to Keria, &ldquo;joined in.&nbsp;&nbsp;We suffered four fatalities and two flesh wounds, but it would have been much worse without her help, as the attackers weren&rsquo;t your common thugs or street rabble.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to the survivor I was just having a chat with, they&rsquo;re mercenaries, and fairly good ones at that.&nbsp;&nbsp;They hadn&rsquo;t worked long as a unit, but had enough individual experience to hold a line back-to-back fairly well.&nbsp;&nbsp;Without the knight&rsquo;s help, the tactics you&rsquo;d suggested would have still won the day, but I wouldn&rsquo;t have had even this half-squad left alive when the dust settled.&nbsp;&nbsp;They had at least one magical fire-thrower, but some of the locals showed up with buckets the moment the screaming stopped.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded grimly, &ldquo;This is one more example of our enemy acting on incomplete information...&nbsp;&nbsp;I seriously doubt that they meant to attack an empty house, suggesting that the attack was coordinated at a distance, before anyone realized we&rsquo;d all gone out on errands this morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other half of the platoon should only be a block or two behind us; have them gather whatever possessions can be salvaged from the house, and forward them to the guest suite the count doesn&rsquo;t know he&rsquo;s assigning yet.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He glanced to Pria, &ldquo;I may be exceeding my authority, here, but I think it&rsquo;s time for all of us to move into the castle, including Beckah when she and her escort get back.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;You are,&rdquo; Pria nodded, then grinned, &ldquo;but I happen to agree with you.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Looking back over the carnage, she sighed, &ldquo;It was a good house, and it served us well... as did its guardians.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lieutenant, inform your unit&rsquo;s clerk to disburse double death benefits to the families of your soldiers who fell today, and a week&rsquo;s war-pay for the survivors, yourself included.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll confirm it in writing on my Agent&rsquo;s authority when I have the chance.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tDrellar blinked, then snapped to rigid attention with an academy-perfect salute, &ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am!&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;This, in a word, sucks,&rdquo; the queen grumbled as she settled down for a late lunch.&nbsp;&nbsp;This particular set of guest rooms had been built for Atherian trade representatives, back when Southwall had been a border-crossing for Vivenge, and it included its own small kitchen so poison was one less thing a delegation had to worry about.<br /><br />\tPria nodded, none of her usual wry humor visible this time, &ldquo;We missed the fight itself... but the house was a mess even if the attackers never made it inside, and there were a lot of bodies in the street.&nbsp;&nbsp;I agree fully with the count&rsquo;s suggestion that it would be... unwise for you to go see it in person.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded, sullen but resigned, &ldquo;I know...&nbsp;&nbsp;If they could get thirty mercs into town without raising an alarm, there&rsquo;s no reason they couldn&rsquo;t get sixty.&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, the fact that they used mercenaries, coupled with the attack&rsquo;s execrable timing, suggests that the five locals we&rsquo;ve killed so far might be thinning the numbers of available &lsquo;patriots.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;I certainly hope so, anyway, as we seem to be finding enemies every way we turn, and I&rsquo;m getting tired of looking over my shoulder.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want to find whoever&rsquo;s behind this and stop the troubles at the source.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Regarding that,&rdquo; the Agent mused, &ldquo;the surviving attacker was quite forthcoming...&nbsp;&nbsp;He has no personal stake in this little conflict beyond what he was paid to do, and he&rsquo;s fairly certain that he met the man in charge when he was handing out pay and enchanted stones.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve got the city guard keeping an eye out for a very tall, slim white wolf with a bit of a pot belly and a preference for mage-robes.&nbsp;&nbsp;That is, ever so coincidentally, the species of the last Imperial Count Southwall&rsquo;s family.&nbsp;&nbsp;He doesn&rsquo;t match the description of the count, his son, or his brothers, but we didn&rsquo;t take any cousins into custody during the war.&nbsp;&nbsp;Could this really be as simple a matter as familial vengeance?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe tigon started to nod, then paused and shook her head, &ldquo;No, because the notion of a wizard related to the old count rings a fairly major bell after my conversations with the court wizard this morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tell me... do you know anything about rune-magic?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth other cats looked blank at the question, evolving to confusion at the growl it immediately fetched from the wolf, &ldquo;Yes... yes, I do.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Glancing around at her companions, Pria settled back in her chair to explain, &ldquo;There are three commonly-recognized &lsquo;tiers&rsquo; of magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;Most mages never make it past the first tier, which covers your basic projections of motion, fire, and the like, as well as some fairly advanced spells cast by combining those elements.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even reactive enchantments, such as turning cloth into armor that only manifests during an actual attack, are a first-tier effect.&nbsp;&nbsp;The second tier is where things are either exponentially more complicated than even that, or where things are flatly dangerous without enough training and practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Use of thought-magic without adequate safeguards can kill the casting mage quickly, though it&rsquo;s more likely to simply leave them a brain-dead vegetable.&nbsp;&nbsp;For the complicated stuff, there&rsquo;s magical trackers that can take one of someone&rsquo;s furs and use it to precisely trace a years-old path they happened to follow.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her mood lightened enough for a faint grin, &ldquo;Trust me... if I tried to explain just how that works, you&rsquo;d get a headache.&nbsp;&nbsp;I certainly did when I learned...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah swallowed a bite of lunch then gestured with her fork, &ldquo;If the second tier is so dangerous and complicated... what could possibly qualify for a third tier?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf was looking grim again, &ldquo;Things that allow one mage to threaten entire nations.&nbsp;&nbsp;Permanent or temporary gates that can move an army hundreds of miles in mere minutes, for one example.&nbsp;&nbsp;The extremely difficult twist that can convert an object into pure energy... though no mage in history has managed that with anything larger than a pebble, and even fewer have survived the experience as that pebble can level an entire city.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally... there&rsquo;s rune-magic.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one knows how or why runes work, or how they were first discovered, but they&rsquo;re... versatile.&nbsp;&nbsp;They can be used to perform first-tier effects of virtually any complexity or power-level, but at very little cost to the casting wizard.&nbsp;&nbsp;They can render gates unnecessary, causing someone to disappear and instantly reappear elsewhere.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s really very little they can&rsquo;t do, and most of the usual limits go right out the window... if the runes are scribed right.&nbsp;&nbsp;Utterly perfect penmanship, the ability to draw a letter so similarly that, a hundred tries in a row, an impartial reader would swear they all came off of the same press rather than from a pen, is the minimum basic requirement for a rune-mage.&nbsp;&nbsp;If they get it wrong... then this nigh-unlimited power turns on them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Several hundred miles southwest of Drachath is a place known as the Plain of Glass.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing grows there, though time and weather have reduced the once-perfect bowl to sharp shards, but it&rsquo;s a landmark mages from every nation in the world have heard of, because it was formed when someone drew a rune just a little bit wrong, or used the wrong rune, or just used the right one in the wrong order.&nbsp;&nbsp;The town that was once there was simply and utterly annihilated, and the very earth was melted in a perfect circle.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra chewed a bite of saut&eacute;ed beef while everyone digested the lesson, then swallowed and explained, &ldquo;There is a room in this castle&rsquo;s basement that used to belong to the prewar court wizard.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was mage-locked, but in a fairly conventional fashion, and a group of combat wizards in the initial invasion was able to pick its defenses apart, but they took one look at a steel box in the middle of the room and decided to leave it alone... because it&rsquo;s covered in runes.&nbsp;&nbsp;A Guild branch headmaster was sent, able to read runes even if he couldn&rsquo;t create them, and it&rsquo;s a much more comprehensive version of a magical lock, with some fairly nasty effects built in should anyone try opening it wrong.&nbsp;&nbsp;The headmaster was able, with his understanding of just what those defenses reacted to, to scry a vague image of its contents, which appear to be a single, large book.&nbsp;&nbsp;Our guess is that it&rsquo;s a book about rune-magic, and we already know that the wizard on the other side is very, very good at conventional magery.&nbsp;&nbsp;He just might think he&rsquo;s good enough to try runes, which would make everything we&rsquo;ve dealt with so far a diversion.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whether he can start a civil war or just weaken us enough for a quick smash-and-grab, his end goal is almost certainly that box, which is still exactly where it was found given the risk even touching it would entail.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria nodded and pushed away her half-finished plate, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be back for this... but with what you just said, there&rsquo;s something I have to do right now.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not even in shouting distance of the power it&rsquo;d take to build a gate myself, but I know how they work, and there are some tricks I can put in place that will keep that room secure from such.&nbsp;&nbsp;If our would-be rune-mage thinks he&rsquo;s got our side&rsquo;s magicians distracted enough to pop a gate into that room... some of it will bounce like light from a mirror, creating a partial fold-back loop that will bode ill for anyone nearby.&nbsp;&nbsp;The contents of that room will be destroyed, as will anyone within fifty yards of the wizard himself.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you feel the castle shake from an explosion, that means both our foe and his prize are no longer a concern.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlinking a bit at the implications, Jerek suggested, &ldquo;Check the guard posts in that basement, and directly above... and move them to a safe distance if needed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s not go sacrificing our own if we don&rsquo;t have to.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf chuckled as she padded toward the door, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry, I was already planning that... even though this principled precaution probably won&rsquo;t be necessary.&nbsp;&nbsp;The fact that we haven&rsquo;t already had an invasion by gate suggests that our foe isn&rsquo;t actually tier-three quality, or that he doesn&rsquo;t know exactly where the room and box are.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She blew a kiss to the queen, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be back within an hour, love.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tOther than a few pages dropping off reports on subjects the queen had left standing orders about, there wasn&rsquo;t much for the group to do that afternoon.&nbsp;&nbsp;Serra and Pria retreated to their room of the suite to &lsquo;test the bed&rsquo;s suspension,&rsquo; while Jerek picked one of the simpler-looking books from the shelf of entertainment to practice his reading.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beckah, for her part, simply unpacked the large figurine she&rsquo;d been working on, already recognizably feline, and worked on refining it, happy to have her model close at hand where she could examine him in minute detail without his even realizing it.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d briefly toyed with the notion of including the erection he probably hadn&rsquo;t realized she could see every detail of through his blanket, that morning... but had discarded it, not just for his sake, but because thinking about it enough to sculpt it would probably get her worked up enough to start making demands that could sour their current friendship.<br /><br />\tAs the early sunset of the cusp between autumn and winter faded, the ladies returned, freshly bathed, to start making another meal, though they were almost immediately interrupted by a knock at the door.&nbsp;&nbsp;Loosening his swords in their sheaths, Jerek moved to answer it, peeking out through the spy-hole then opening it wide as the colonel they&rsquo;d met earlier stepped in.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sir, ma&rsquo;ams... I&rsquo;ve just gotten some disturbing news.&nbsp;&nbsp;A merchant caravan was stopping for the night, about a day&rsquo;s ride southeast of here, when they found a stray horse near a well-known camping spot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The horse had a royal brand, so they hunted around a bit more, and eventually found the body of a courier in royal livery.&nbsp;&nbsp;His pouch was nowhere to be found, though some grass and brush had been recently burnt, nowhere near the designated fire pit.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tQueen and Agent both frowned, the tigon voicing the obvious conclusion, &ldquo;That... was probably my husband&rsquo;s reply to a message I sent last week, but before our little conflict had started heating up so he had no reason to take extra precautions.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ll want to have the mage-relays report the non-delivery, at a min... oh, no...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Four sets of ears perked curiously at the sudden pain in her voice, and she had to blink away tears before asking, &ldquo;Are you certain no one has tried to deliver any other messages to me, here or to the guard we left at the house?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe fox blinked, then shook his head, &ldquo;No, your Majesty.&nbsp;&nbsp;Were you expecting one?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded sadly, &ldquo;Yes...&nbsp;&nbsp;We should have had a reply from Duke Urenhold by now, unless something happened to the bat I sent.&nbsp;&nbsp;We should have had it hours ago, even!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned toward the gasp that had come from behind her, &ldquo;Beckah... please guide a platoon to your friends&rsquo; house.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whoever&rsquo;s there deserves to be told that someone&rsquo;s murdering couriers, and if he&rsquo;s alone, Crellan should probably join us.&nbsp;&nbsp;Have him bring his pigments.&nbsp;&nbsp;If my worst fears are true, he&rsquo;ll be too distraught to use them... but their familiarity may help his recovery, once the initial pain is past.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe colonel noted, &ldquo;As chief of the guard, I&rsquo;m informed of all comings and goings of flighted folk... and, yes, two bats were mentioned in yesterday&rsquo;s evening report, one going north, the other east, at pretty much the same time.&nbsp;&nbsp;I haven&rsquo;t yet received today&rsquo;s copy of that report, but none of the earlier ones reported a return.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTears were further darkening the black cloth of Beckah&rsquo;s blindfold as she set down her sculpture and stood to brush off the shavings, and her voice was stiff with the over-control of someone holding agony at bay by pure will, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go...&nbsp;&nbsp;Whoever was sent north may still turn up, but I share your fear about the other, and their son will need me now.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tBeckah stepped out of the bathing room in the nightgown she&rsquo;d borrowed from one of the castle maids, just as the glow of Jerek&rsquo;s arms finished the senseless-seeming bob and weave of knotting the pants that had once belonged to a short, fat man, but now served as shorts, just a little too tight over his muscles but unlikely to tear as he moved.&nbsp;&nbsp;She couldn&rsquo;t summon the effort it&rsquo;d take to &lsquo;see&rsquo; the cloth itself, but Crellan needed their company, their comfort and understanding, while they all awaited even the slightest hint that either of his parents might still be alive.<br /><br />\tJerek&rsquo;s noon-time &lsquo;triumph&rsquo; over having a suite with enough rooms that he needn&rsquo;t share a bed... had been discarded without hesitation with the evening&rsquo;s bad news.&nbsp;&nbsp;&lsquo;Escaping&rsquo; another night of sleeping naked with a woman was meaningless beside the child&rsquo;s need, and he knelt by the chair where Crellan sat, picking up a nearby rag to dab at the moist trails down his dark-furred cheeks.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Th... thank you,&rdquo; the bat managed, then sniffed again.<br /><br />\tSlipping around the other side of the chair to hug him, wings and all, Beckah murmured, &ldquo;Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast... I&rsquo;m going to go to the office your folks worked at.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ll tell me everything they know, even if I have to scare them a bit,&rdquo; and she held up one cupped palm, filled with harmless but intimidating light-energy.<br /><br />\tEyes wide at the first display of magic he&rsquo;d ever seen up close, Crellan nodded, &ldquo;Please...&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s not knowin&rsquo; for sure that&rsquo;s the worst.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe someone got sick, or just hurt a little, but the folks at the office didn&rsquo;t think it was &lsquo;mportant &lsquo;nuf to tell us about.&nbsp;&nbsp;I keep thinkin&rsquo; of ways they coulda died, or ways they could still be alive, an&rsquo; neither one&rsquo;s much fun.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek stood to blow out the lamps by the door, then turned down the adjustable-wick one closer to the bed before climbing in with a rumble, &ldquo;If you want to scare them, I&rsquo;d be willing to come along, possibly with three or four of the bigger Warkin... but it can still wait &lsquo;til morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;C&rsquo;mon, Crel; let&rsquo;s all get some sleep.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 9<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Pria&rsquo;s still asleep and the door guard says Serra&rsquo;s re-interrogating the prisoner,&rdquo; Beckah reported as from the kitchen nook.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You two just have some tea, you look like you need it, then you can try my first-ever attempt at making breakfast.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek glanced down at the young bat, &ldquo;I dunno... are we brave enough for that, Crel?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA night&rsquo;s sleep had done him a great deal of good.&nbsp;&nbsp;His dark eyes twinkling with amusement, Crellan gave the issue mock-serious thought, &ldquo;She&rsquo;s not really blind no more, so she might not poison us...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat snorted, &ldquo;Very funny, boys.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s just leftover steak strips over fresh boiled barley, and a bit of sliced fruit on the side.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even I can&rsquo;t screw that up.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth &lsquo;boys&rsquo; teased her throughout the meal, despite its being perfectly edible, and all three diners looked up when Serra opened the door and stepped in just as they were finishing.&nbsp;&nbsp;She padded over to the table to set down two small squares of parchment before speaking, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just had an... enlightening conversation with that captured mercenary, regarding the other side&rsquo;s standing orders.&nbsp;&nbsp;These are the delivery forms that Pria recovered from Crellan&rsquo;s house during another one of her late-night trips.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned her gaze on the little bat, eyes full of sympathy, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always thought it was better to tell someone bad news directly...&nbsp;&nbsp;It hurts, but not as much as not knowing...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan blinked, then nodded for her to continue.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Your mother was sent to the southeastern duchy with my orders for the duke.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your father&rsquo;s form, though, says &lsquo;verbal message: contingency thirteen.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;According to the hired soldier I talked to, this means &lsquo;kill the bearer of this message.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m afraid that your dad is dead, for no more crime than being known as my ally.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat managed one more stunned blink, then leaned over to grab Jerek around the waist before sobbing into his leathers.<br /><br />\tBeckah hissed, the look on her face murderous, &ldquo;Does it say who sent that message?&nbsp;&nbsp;If it does... they&rsquo;re dead too, and I won&rsquo;t be quick about it...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra shook her head, &ldquo;That part of the form is blank, but my chat with that fighter jogged loose a memory.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I was placing my own order for courier service, there were two men in the office, a horse... and a white wolf, the same species as the purported wizard.&nbsp;&nbsp;He didn&rsquo;t match the rest of the description we&rsquo;d been given, but it&rsquo;s all too likely he&rsquo;s related.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s time to visit that office again.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tEven as he gently patted the shuddering child clinging to him, Jerek volunteered, &ldquo;I should do that... with a few guards for backup.&nbsp;&nbsp;I know Beckah would be willing, even eager, and almost certainly effective, but I&rsquo;m not a national treasure.&nbsp;&nbsp;If the other side has a contingency plan for a confrontation there, I&rsquo;m the logical one to send.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe white cat still looked furious as she turned toward him, but his level gaze and a moment to recover from shock calmed her enough to admit, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re probably right...&nbsp;&nbsp;Both the ambush I met and the attack on your house showed signs of hastiness, but if they do make the connection they&rsquo;ll probably be better prepared this time.&nbsp;&nbsp;You aren&rsquo;t going alone; if you hadn&rsquo;t already mentioned taking more soldiers with you, I&rsquo;d have to insist on going along.&nbsp;&nbsp;As things stand... all I can say is stay safe, and if you meet the guilty, make them hurt for it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded very firmly, &ldquo;I promise you exactly that, on my honor and in Tarragh&rsquo;s name.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve had enough breakfast; as soon as I go fetch my swords, it&rsquo;s time for... a little chat.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gently, he disengaged the slim arms around his waist, and his voice still carried a hint of his previous oath as he told Crellan, &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if you&rsquo;re old enough to understand revenge... but you have my promise that the one who sent your father off to die, if he&rsquo;s there, will not escape justice.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan blinked away tears as he looked up at the liger, tips of sharp teeth showing around his lips as he nodded, &ldquo;I know you&rsquo;re not as scary as you look, to normal people like me...&nbsp;&nbsp;Can you be, when someone deserves it?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe soldier smiled grimly, &ldquo;In a word, yes.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was asking a bad guy questions a few nights ago, just like I&rsquo;ll be doing this morning, and the fellow made the mistake of calling the queen a whore.&nbsp;&nbsp;I hit him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once.&nbsp;&nbsp;He died.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good!&rdquo; the boy nodded once more.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Hit someone again... hit them for my daddy.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Off sick my ass!&rdquo; Jerek roared as he stormed back into the suite.&nbsp;&nbsp;Four bodies cringed, and he closed his eyes and shook himself before settling into an armchair where he took a deep, calming breath.<br /><br />\tThe queen&rsquo;s voice was more amused than accusatory as she pointed out, &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t exactly sound like &lsquo;mission accomplished...&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;It was a dead end,&rdquo; he sighed, &ldquo;and I&rsquo;m sorry for that, Crellan.&nbsp;&nbsp;That horse was there, but the wolf didn&rsquo;t come in to work yesterday or this morning.&nbsp;&nbsp;I showed the guy there the &lsquo;contingency thirteen&rsquo; order, and he agreed that it was one of his forms and in the wolf&rsquo;s handwriting, but there was no matching record in the office, nor any employment records that mentioned a residence to look for him at.&nbsp;&nbsp;I made a bit of a mess, having a literate sergeant go through his papers then breaking open the wolf&rsquo;s locked desk, with nothing to show for it save fresh evidence of our enemy&rsquo;s basic cowardice.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSeveral heads nodded sadly, Beckah musing with a sigh, &ldquo;I guess it&rsquo;s a good thing I didn&rsquo;t come along.&nbsp;&nbsp;I wouldn&rsquo;t have left the building standing, most likely.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not quite out of leads yet,&rdquo; Pria noted.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;We have, basically, three options right now.&nbsp;&nbsp;The most obvious is to simply wait for the enemy to make the next move,&rdquo; and she smirked faintly at the collection of scowls this earned her, &ldquo;which is just as obviously not the most popular choice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Option two is to follow the same order that got Reldek killed.&nbsp;&nbsp;That wolf had to provide legitimate directions to a co-conspirator... but it&rsquo;s across the fairly hostile border with Vivenge, in the second-largest town of the neighboring barony.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I wanna do that,&rdquo; Crellan chimed in, &ldquo;but I dunno if we can.&nbsp;&nbsp;They probably gots a whole army there, lookin&rsquo; for folks like us.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded, &ldquo;About half again their prewar garrison, yes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not an entire army, but certainly more soldiers than we could deal with.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBrows arched, Jerek pointed out, &ldquo;So you&rsquo;ve outlined what we either can&rsquo;t or won&rsquo;t do... meaning they&rsquo;re not really options at all.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hopefully your third idea will be more feasible.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf grinned, &ldquo;Keesanrel should have made you a sergeant...&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that you&rsquo;ve had some time to learn the difference between training and the real world, you&rsquo;re starting to think like one.&nbsp;&nbsp;My third, or one real, suggestion is that we let Beckah take a look at that box downstairs.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned to face the surprised-looking cat, &ldquo;You use magic at an almost instinctive level, and your carvings show just the sort of detail and precision necessary to safely work with runes.&nbsp;&nbsp;I urge you to be careful, and not try anything active without discussing it with me first, but there&rsquo;s a chance, I can&rsquo;t really guess how much of one, that you might be able to get somewhere with a lock no one else dares touch.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah chuckled, &ldquo;I can look at it, I guess...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m just having a &lsquo;what the hell?&rsquo; moment, wondering how the blind girl begging on the temple steps got to this point.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m in the middle of an international wizard-war, seeking vengeance for my dearest friends, living with an Agent and a queen, and now you want me to go poking something that could leave this entire city a smoking crater.&nbsp;&nbsp;If a fortune teller had described this situation to me a few weeks ago, I&rsquo;d have quietly called for the healers, as they&rsquo;re obviously insane.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSlipping out of his chair, Jerek padded over to kneel to her eye level, &ldquo;But you are not...&nbsp;&nbsp;The wrenching my reality suffered when I emerged from basic training to meet my king face to face... was nothing compared to the changes in your life.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone else might very well have been driven mad by these events.&nbsp;&nbsp;Never doubt the strength of your spirit, for it is greater by far than my own strength of arm.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve been... humbled, and honored, to do what I can to aid you these past days.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat patted her blindfold to absorb a few stray tears, but she was smiling as she replied, &ldquo;You, sir, just crossed the line...&nbsp;&nbsp;Showing me that degree of respect, when you have to have a pretty good idea of how I already feel about you... well, you&rsquo;ve got two options.&nbsp;&nbsp;Either pack your things and go home, or marry me.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek blinked hard, a sudden stab of panic shooting through him, followed almost instantly by shame at his first reaction.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, he knew how she felt, but he wasn&rsquo;t used to thinking of her in a similar way... because he&rsquo;d very deliberately avoided those thoughts, out of respect.<br /><br />\tSerra took his confused pause as a chance to mention, &ldquo;She&rsquo;s right, about your options.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here in the middle of a well-guarded keep, we hardly need you as an escort, so don&rsquo;t go thinking you can use duty as an excuse.&nbsp;&nbsp;Either tell her &lsquo;yes,&rsquo; or be marching back to Atheria City after lunch.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger&rsquo;s half-exasperated eye-roll shook a giggle loose from Crellan, and he leaned closer to wrap his arms around his friend... no, fianc&eacute;e.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; he murmured simply into her neck-fur.<br /><br />\tBeckah hugged him back, a contented purr rumbling in her voice, &ldquo;Thank you...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grinning mischievously, then, she pulled back just a little, &ldquo;When we&rsquo;re done with the mission here, but before I follow you wherever your army job next leads... there are just a few visits I&rsquo;d like to make, to some childhood friends who became something else as we hit our teens.&nbsp;&nbsp;I could hear the gloating pity in their voices when talking about their boyfriends or husbands, as obviously a mere &lsquo;blind girl&rsquo; would never catch their like, and now I&rsquo;d like to hear them gnawing their own livers under words of well-wishing when they see just who and what I did &lsquo;catch.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek had to laugh softly as he finally let go, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll make sure to wear one of the captain&rsquo;s uniforms I was told will be ready by tonight.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s just one more detail I&rsquo;d like to settle, though, before we go play with dangerous magic in the basement...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His voice grew firmly serious, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a liger.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ligers are infertile.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can never give you children of your own.&nbsp;&nbsp;That said, if we receive confirmation that these bastards also killed Ferria... could we adopt Crellan?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat&rsquo;s already-large eyes got huge at that notion, and before anyone else could reply he&rsquo;d launched himself from his chair with a half-flap of his wings to hug both cats at once.<br /><br />\tBeckah smiled gently as she wrapped an arm around the child, &ldquo;I think we just did.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tCalling it a &lsquo;box&rsquo; didn&rsquo;t do the thing justice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sitting in the exact center of the room was a polished, apparently seamless cube of steel, nearly three feet on a side.&nbsp;&nbsp;Its only markings were the mentioned runes, strange shapes etched in thin lines covering the uppermost surface, while the sides could have served as a decent mirror.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dirt and dust had built up around the lower edges, bespeaking how long it had sat there, but there wasn&rsquo;t a hint of rust despite the cellar being moderately dank and damp.<br /><br />\tA servant finished setting up the four stacking chairs he&rsquo;d brought in, and two more set down a sturdy bench with a sigh of relief before filing out again.&nbsp;&nbsp;The wolf, three cats, and bat (who&rsquo;d flatly refused to let his new parents out of his sight, so soon after losing his birth family) took seats in a rough semicircle around the artifact, and Pria spoke up first, &ldquo;There it is...&nbsp;&nbsp;What do you &lsquo;see,&rsquo; Beckah?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Very little, actually.&nbsp;&nbsp;As you already know, I&rsquo;m sure, the whole thing is covered with the sort of barrier you taught me to make, but for just the depth of the runes&rsquo; etchings, I can make out... well, I&rsquo;m not sure how to describe it.&nbsp;&nbsp;There are pairs of runes at the four corners; one of each is a power source for a specific element, while its partner is a power limiter tied to that source.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless I&rsquo;m seriously misinterpreting things, without those limits the first runes would be generating effectively infinite power.&nbsp;&nbsp;The rest of the runes are what does something with that power, such as maintaining the shroud, and another effect that I&rsquo;ve only seen one parallel to...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She faced Pria and pointed, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen something similar, inside your right hand.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer other companions blinking in confusion, the wolf simply smiled and fished a gold-rimmed, rounded stone of black onyx out of her vest pocket with her left hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;Holding her right palm up, she set the stone there and, a moment later, the air rippled, a translucent copy of the king&rsquo;s personal crest forming above the stone.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;This is my Agent&rsquo;s badge,&rdquo; she explained, &ldquo;and there&rsquo;s a small gem embedded in my flesh with a signature-spell that the badge reacts to.&nbsp;&nbsp;These spells are basically a very small energy line tied into a very, very complicated knot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The outer layers obscure the inner, so not even I can duplicate it, but the inner knots have to be exactly right or the badge won&rsquo;t work.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, the stone itself is special, &lsquo;tinting&rsquo; the spell in a fairly unique way, so even if someone realizes it&rsquo;s a yellow sapphire instead of the topaz it looks like, they&rsquo;d need to know exactly where it was mined to get a duplicate.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah nodded her understanding, and held out her own hand, &ldquo;May I see the badge for a moment?&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d like to try something... on a safer target than that box.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think I&rsquo;ve read its defensive mechanism accurately, and there&rsquo;s a reason it&rsquo;s made of steel, which conducts lightning.&nbsp;&nbsp;That&rsquo;s exactly what we&rsquo;d get if we opened it wrong; it&rsquo;ll char anyone within twenty feet.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria surrendered her badge, taking a shrewd guess at just what her student was about to attempt, but kept her muzzle shut.&nbsp;&nbsp;An old saying ran through her mind, &lsquo;The man who says something is impossible should not interrupt the one who&rsquo;s doing it.&rsquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat&rsquo;s brow furrowed as she focused on looking past her teacher&rsquo;s own, living glow to the spell within, her mental &lsquo;angle&rsquo; swinging wildly as it grew ever larger in her mind&rsquo;s eye, capturing every nuance...&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, she lifted her other hand and slowly, carefully fed a trickle of magic into the air, shaping it, folding it, and wrapping the mote of energy in an almost gauze-like variant of her mage-sight shroud spell, so thin and diffuse that it mirrored the almost undetectable muting of the original spell&rsquo;s physical stone.&nbsp;&nbsp;No one so much as twitched, realizing her degree of concentration, though Pria&rsquo;s eyes steadily widened as she kept glancing between her own hand and Beckah&rsquo;s, unable to tell the slightest difference between the two spells by the time she finished and held the badge near, the illusory crest forming anew.<br /><br />\tSerra lurched forward in her seat, barely staying on the edge as she blurted, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s bloody impossible!&nbsp;&nbsp;Some of our kingdom&rsquo;s highest security is based on the fact that no one can... well, can do what you just fucking did!&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Is a queen s&rsquo;posed to have that dirty a mouth?&rdquo; Crellan whispered to Jerek, who fought to keep his expression straight.<br /><br />\tBeckah grinned as she passed the badge back, its illusion stuttering as it traded off between the two copies of the signature, &ldquo;Jerek?&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan?&nbsp;&nbsp;I think we&rsquo;re going to have to move to Atheria City when this is all done.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if the queen here doesn&rsquo;t tell anyone else, I doubt they&rsquo;d trust me, or risk me, anywhere another nation might get their hands on me... or my loved ones.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded glumly, &ldquo;And I couldn&rsquo;t protect you from the army they&rsquo;d damned well send to get you, if word got out that you can do that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tWith a nod of her own, his prospective wife stood up and padded toward the box, stopping a foot away as she carefully spied out parallels and congruences between its runic spell and the signature verifier in the badge, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll worry about that sort of thing later.&nbsp;&nbsp;For now, I&rsquo;ll need another moment of silence while I concentrate.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek&rsquo;s and Crellan&rsquo;s muzzles both opened in protest, but a stern look from both other ladies stilled them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria gave them an encouraging smile as she saw a fresh, tiny mote spring into being at the end of one white-furred finger, and relaxed back into her seat.&nbsp;&nbsp;The liger simply closed his eyes and silently prayed, commending his soul to Tarragh should he die in the next minute and asking that his new family be allowed to join him in the War God&rsquo;s heaven.<br /><br />\tBeckah reached toward the box, that single finger extended, then paused with a faint frown.&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking two steps around it, she faced it at a new angle... then touched the very center of the top with her fingertip.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her three companions jumped in their seats, and her son let out an involuntary squeak, as one side of the box simply fell off with a loud clang, right where her toes would have been if she hadn&rsquo;t moved.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bending down, she casually lifted out the thick, leather-bound tome inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;This,&rdquo; she mused, &ldquo;is not your average book.&nbsp;&nbsp;Only about half the pages have ink on them; the rest are &lsquo;illustrated&rsquo; with magic, bound to the parchment and perpetually refreshed by the runes on the front cover.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That,&rdquo; Pria amended, &ldquo;is possibly the single most dangerous item in the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s an old saying, &lsquo;the only thing more dangerous than knowledge is ignorance.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;That book, though, is an exception to the rule.&nbsp;&nbsp;With the knowledge it contains, a mage would, most likely, kill themselves and everyone around them.&nbsp;&nbsp;If they succeed and survive, though, they could conquer the world.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tLittle Crellan, of all people, asked in his piping voice, &ldquo;Does that make us the bad guys?&nbsp;&nbsp;In all the stories I hear, &lsquo;bout adventures and battles and valor and such, the bad guys are always tryin&rsquo; to take over the world...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tMost of the adults blinked, then smiled indulgently.&nbsp;&nbsp;Serra shook her head and told him, &ldquo;My husband, the king, has enough trouble just dealing with these two counties our army conquered for us.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conquest... is a lot of work, and who&rsquo;d want to have all those headaches for the entire world?&nbsp;&nbsp;No, we&rsquo;re happy enough with one little kingdom to call our own.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHefting the book for emphasis, Beckah noted, &ldquo;It looks like whoever wrote this shared some of Pria&rsquo;s fears about its potential use.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a single, simple spell in the spine; if you push on all three of these indentations at once, the book will incinerate itself, while shielding whoever had the courage to destroy it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria looked torn, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m tempted... very tempted to just invoke that spell and be done with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;We already have two similar tomes in the kingdom, one in the Mages&rsquo; Guild headmaster&rsquo;s private, and very well-protected, library, and another in the royal vault.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tShaking his head, Jerek pointed out, &ldquo;But would the enemy wizard believe us if we did that and found a way to tell him?&nbsp;&nbsp;While I was growing up,&rdquo; and he winked to Crellan, &ldquo;and up, and up...&rdquo; before continuing more seriously, &ldquo;every thug, bully, and cheat I met seemed to share a common blind spot.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their first assumption about what anyone else would do... was based on what they&rsquo;d do, and a wizard hungry for power would almost certainly assume that others share that hunger.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;d never seriously considering destroying such a vast source of power... except, possibly, with his dying breath to spite a potential rival.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Luckily,&rdquo; Pria mused, &ldquo;that&rsquo;s not a decision we have to make immediately.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let me work a quick spell, then it&rsquo;ll be time for lunch.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Everything obviously valuable had already been taken when the keep was first conquered, but this had still been a wizard&rsquo;s workroom, so it wasn&rsquo;t hard for the wolf to find a stray, blank piece of quartz and a canvas bag.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even as everyone agreed with her proposal, punctuated by a rumble from Crellan&rsquo;s midsection and several grins, she cast a quick, fabric-infusing mage-sight shroud on the stone, then dropped it into the bag and held it open.<br /><br />\tBeckah nodded, understanding immediately, and slipped the book carefully into the bag, spine up, then took one more moment to pick up the beveled square of steel and press it back against the open side of the box, where it locked firmly into apparently-seamless place once more.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;This is actually safe to touch and move,&rdquo; she noted, &ldquo;except for the middle rune on top.&nbsp;&nbsp;Contact there, physical or magical, by anything not bearing the right signature will set off the lightning.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Something to keep in mind, as it could serve as a weapon under the right circumstances,&rdquo; her tutor agreed.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was Jerek&rsquo;s belly&rsquo;s turn to rumble, then, far more ominously than the little bat&rsquo;s could manage, so she set the discussion aside in favor of leading the way toward lunch.<br /><br />\tLike most suites of its kind, just outside of their rooms and to one side of the guards flanking the door was a page&rsquo;s bench, and three messengers sitting on it were looking all too happy about their arrival.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lunch, obviously, would have to wait.<br /><br />\tThe one man in a private&rsquo;s uniform, his companions both in county livery, stood up and saluted, &ldquo;Sir, ma&rsquo;ams... I bring good news from Rusty Gorge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Incidents of vandalism and anti-Atherian propaganda have faded to an effective nil in that county.&nbsp;&nbsp;When I rode out two days ago, it had been three days since any genuinely new incidents; the only things we&rsquo;d been finding were older and just hadn&rsquo;t been noticed or reported immediately.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra frowned slightly, &ldquo;I suppose that&rsquo;s good news in the sense that we won&rsquo;t need to go calming things down in person, there... but it&rsquo;s because of some bad news.&nbsp;&nbsp;The acts you refer to were part of a conspiracy, and those behind it know who and where I am.&nbsp;&nbsp;If they&rsquo;ve stopped in the other county, it means they&rsquo;re consolidating their remaining resources, and I&rsquo;m the obvious target since my death would cause far more disruption than a few provocative slogans.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe young tiger blinked, then shrugged, &ldquo;Sounds like something way above my pay grade, ma&rsquo;am.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t even know who you are, but I was told to give you that message and I have.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll go head to the barracks for some grub and a bunk before riding back, by your leave.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAt the queen&rsquo;s dismissing gesture, he turned and marched down the hall, and the second messenger stood up, &ldquo;Message from the mage relays, your Majesty.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The private still in earshot hit the floor as he stumbled over his own two feet, and he scrambled back up to continue in double-time to the sound of Crellan&rsquo;s giggle.&nbsp;&nbsp;The standing mink fought to keep his own expression serious as he continued, &ldquo;This one&rsquo;s also from Rusty Gorge.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a pass over White Mountain heading north that&rsquo;s usually used by anyone wanting to avoid the new official border crossing and its customs inspections.&nbsp;&nbsp;A rather seedy fellow showed up at Count Rusty Gorge&rsquo;s castle this morning; they&rsquo;re pretty sure he&rsquo;s a smuggler, but he&rsquo;s also either a patriot or simply doing better for himself under our administration than Vivenge&rsquo;s, so in the interests of keeping things stable he reported an abandoned camp at the far end of some fairly major tracks.&nbsp;&nbsp;His best guess is somewhere between forty and a hundred people recently marched into Atheria by that route, and his count informed our count on principle since those tracks led to a swamp that crosses their mutual border and there&rsquo;s no telling where they came out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded, &ldquo;Tell our count to muster the reserve and enough armor and weapons for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;They might be needed soon.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe mink simply nodded back then stepped around the group to move deeper into the residential wing.<br /><br />\tThe third messenger, a ferret, stood and reported, &ldquo;Another message from the mage-relays, from Duke Urenhold.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;d fronted the budget overrun you&rsquo;d endorsed, to be returned by the same courier who brought the order.&nbsp;&nbsp;That courier&rsquo;s body was found the evening after she left, with four crossbow bolts in her and several additional holes through her wings.&nbsp;&nbsp;The diplomatic pouch was absent, and the ground nearby had been churned up by hoofprints.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah knelt as Crellan&rsquo;s eyes filled with tears, and pulled him into a gentle hug as he wept.<br /><br />\tThe queen had to wipe her own eyes, too, before replying, &ldquo;That courier... was this boy&rsquo;s mother, and we&rsquo;d already discovered that his father had been murdered, probably by the same group.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her frown deepened, from sadness to a smoldering anger, as a thought surfaced, &ldquo;She stayed overnight... which was long enough for a man on a fast horse to get there and intercept her return flight, but a large group would have attracted attention.&nbsp;&nbsp;They obviously already had men there, that far south, for their messenger to gather for the attack, which suggests that even the &lsquo;bandits&rsquo; we met on our way here were part of this conspiracy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Someone has either a very long arm and a great deal of influence, or is spending money like water to buy the loyalty of those who&rsquo;d sell it.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ve also had time; it must have taken months to get all these pieces into place...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNone of this sounded like anything he&rsquo;d need to carry a message about, so the ferret simply bowed, then tilted his head questioningly.&nbsp;&nbsp;At her nod, a bit belated as her mind was busy, he turned and headed back down the hall.<br /><br />\tThe guards finally snapped to attention and saluted as the group moved to open the door, and Jerek paused to return the gesture before stepping around the rest of his companions toward the kitchen.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;ll fix the meal,&rdquo; he mused in passing.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Our royals need to consider the news and its implications, and my son needs his mother.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan looked up, blinking, at his emphasis, and some of the agony faded from his expression as he realized just what the liger had implied.&nbsp;&nbsp;He may have lost his birth-parents... but these two people, one a long-time friend and the other simply amazing to him for several reasons, would make sure he&rsquo;d never be alone again.<br /><br />Chapter 10<br /><br />\tDearest Serra and Pria, another mage-relayed message, delivered on parchment during breakfast, read.<br /><br />\tI will have to skip some of the more... descriptive endearments I&rsquo;d included in my original, intercepted and destroyed reply, as they would likely do the on-duty wizard here a mischief at his age, and we wouldn&rsquo;t want that.&nbsp;&nbsp;I understand the conflicting duties whose pressure you feel, but I agree with your proposed plan.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re both smart enough, and realistic enough, to seek out more help and protection should you and our child need it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stay safe, return when you can, and may your efforts bring about happier times for everyone but the playclub&rsquo;s slaves who were so relieved when you stopped coming by.<br /><br />\t&mdash; Yours forever, Keesanrel IV<br /><br />\tSerra smiled as she set down the short letter, &ldquo;I do miss him so... but it&rsquo;s nice to have permission, however belated, for what we&rsquo;re already doing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;And what are we doing today?&rdquo; Jerek asked curiously as he buttered two slices of bread then passed one to his son.&nbsp;&nbsp;That was a concept he was still getting used to, as he was less than twice the boy&rsquo;s age, but the relationship was proving to be surprisingly comfortable.&nbsp;&nbsp;Besides, the kid&rsquo;s need for comfort at night meant that Beckah was still wearing that nightgown to bed, delaying things he wasn&rsquo;t quite comfortable with... yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;His virginity&rsquo;s days were numbered, he knew, but he occasionally found himself wistfully looking forward to the loss, and more time would probably leave him even better prepared when the moment actually came.<br /><br />\tThe queen shrugged, &ldquo;Not much, unless the other side makes a move or we get news sooner than I expect.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the reserve&rsquo;s fully mobilized, we&rsquo;ll reinstate the full road patrol schedule and add scouting forays into the countryside, looking for places a force like the smuggler reported might rally before an attack.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve told them to be careful about it, given how cowardly our foe has proven to be.&nbsp;&nbsp;Scouts are to work in pairs at a minimum, and keep one or two hundred yards between them so if one stumbles into a fresh ambush, the other will probably get away.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded, &ldquo;Even if I dislike the notion of offering a sacrificial goat for the other side, it&rsquo;s good that you&rsquo;re thinking in terms of ambushes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every single fatality on both sides of this little conflict has been part of some sort of sneak attack, even that vandal I hit too hard, to be honest.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was the one sneaking that time, I guess.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;If that&rsquo;s the extent of our plans,&rdquo; Pria mused as she finished reading Keesanrel&rsquo;s letter for herself, &ldquo;I should grab a few more stray crystals from downstairs and let Beckah practice enchanting them.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She glanced over at the cat, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of only two subjects left in &lsquo;the basics&rsquo; I promised I&rsquo;d teach.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other, we can cover at the same time, and that&rsquo;s projecting energy from a remote point, rather than a line coming from your person, and you&rsquo;ll have to get used to concentrating on a point in space if you&rsquo;re going to make a spell stick to a rock for long.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah chuckled and wagged a finger in Crellan&rsquo;s direction, &ldquo;I saw those ears perk...&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, you can watch if you want, but some of it will be boringly invisible to normal sight, I&rsquo;m thinking.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded with a soft chuckle, &ldquo;Indeed... but I can choose some relatively spectacular effects to drill you on, so the results will be more fun to watch once the &lsquo;staring at rocks&rsquo; part is done.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Just so you have something useful to do,&rdquo; Serra suggested to Jerek, &ldquo;why don&rsquo;t you go visit your temple, then an armorer that they recommend?&nbsp;&nbsp;With the loss of the house and its ongoing rent, though the owner will be reimbursed by the crown eventually, our only remaining &lsquo;mission expense&rsquo; is food, and we could skip even that just by taking meals with the count.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since the money I&rsquo;d promised the colonel was stolen, I&rsquo;ll replace it from my own purse, including what we&rsquo;d budgeted for your armor.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer former escort nodded, &ldquo;I can do that...&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh!&rdquo; and he turned back to his family-to-be, &ldquo;Thinking about the crown and such raised a thought... or, rather, it put an old worry to rest.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan... when I first met Beckah, the only reason we still assumed she&rsquo;d be living here, even after carving a few things for the king, was that we didn&rsquo;t want to take her away from you, and your family here.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re your family now, though...&nbsp;&nbsp;Never forget your real mother and father, as they were very good people who worked hard to raise you right and let your talent with paints shine through.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, though... how would you like to live in Atheria City?&nbsp;&nbsp;There are a lot of very rich people there, nobles gathered for the king&rsquo;s court, and they would pay you gold, gold that&rsquo;s yours to keep or spend, for the kind of colors on Beckah&rsquo;s carvings that I saw the night we met.&nbsp;&nbsp;Also, you&rsquo;d be living in a much better neighborhood, with guards around to make sure no one ever tries to take what&rsquo;s yours.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat&rsquo;s eyes had scrunched shut at the reminder of his parents&rsquo; absence, but they grew wide and very bright at the rest of his suggestion, &ldquo;That&rsquo;d be neat!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra interrupted, &ldquo;Neighborhood?&nbsp;&nbsp;Forget that right now.&nbsp;&nbsp;I can promise you three a small suite in the palace, permanently.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Royal Carver, and her Royal Painter,&rdquo; and she shot the boy a wink, &ldquo;deserve nothing less.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan blinked once more, then nodded with a grin, &ldquo;And my new dad, the Royal Kicker of Butt!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek couldn&rsquo;t help but laugh at that &lsquo;endorsement,&rsquo; &ldquo;Maybe...&nbsp;&nbsp;On the journey here, I did kick someone who needed kicking, but it wasn&rsquo;t in their butt.&nbsp;&nbsp;They died, of course.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be sure to save the royal butt-kickings for those who deserve them.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s gentle smile drew his gaze, a sight he hoped he&rsquo;d never grow tired of seeing, and she half-purred, &ldquo;We are a family, to each other... but let&rsquo;s not forget to make it official at some point.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll need a wedding, once the threat of impending attack is past, and some formal adoption or guardianship proceedings, both, hopefully, before we spend weeks moving south.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer affianced nodded, &ldquo;Since my armor will be paid for by the crown, and it&rsquo;s almost time to collect my next month&rsquo;s wages from the army, I shall endeavor to purchase the best wedding rings seven florins can buy.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra winced, &ldquo;Since marrying a rich man, myself, I&rsquo;ve done a fair bit of jewelry shopping... and you&rsquo;re not going to get two decent rings with gemstones at that price.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria?&nbsp;&nbsp;If our natural mage here does as well at enchantment as she&rsquo;s done everything else she&rsquo;s set her fine mind to, see if you can angle the lesson to result in a few high-value, salable stones.&nbsp;&nbsp;She can wholesale them to the local magic shop and double, or maybe triple, the ring budget,&rdquo; and she cast a mock-suspicious glance across the table, &ldquo;unless, of course, her prospective husband has some hang-up about having to buy everything himself.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I feel as if I&rsquo;m missing something, here,&rdquo; the white cat mused half-whimsically.<br /><br />\tJerek looked a bit abashed, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just an old argument from the journey north, before I met you, dear.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was... a bit stuffier, though with cause I still think.&nbsp;&nbsp;It sort of boiled down to a form of protest against pressures which I really didn&rsquo;t deserve to be the focus of.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria translated, &ldquo;In other words, your words actually, he was being a soldier, not a gigolo.&nbsp;&nbsp;He didn&rsquo;t win the financial argument, as I fight a lot dirtier than he does, but he won the other half, and will be delivered to your nuptial bed a virgin despite our best efforts.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger snorted, &ldquo;And thank you so much for mentioning that...&nbsp;&nbsp;C&rsquo;mon, let&rsquo;s settle down and eat; you have magic lessons and I have shopping, and the morning&rsquo;s not getting any younger.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t say a word,&rdquo; the burly otter working the forge&rsquo;s bellows said before Jerek had even straightened from ducking through the door.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You have to be the one Sir Goral was talking about, when he came by so I could fix that dent you left in his armor.&nbsp;&nbsp;He sounded very confident that you&rsquo;d be able to afford my wares soon, so I had him describe your size, and I&rsquo;ve been extending a hauburgeon I already had in stock in my spare time since.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that you&rsquo;re here, I can get the more precise measurements I&rsquo;ll need before starting on a proper breastplate to go with it, but you&rsquo;ll be wearing my finest chainmail before you leave.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlinking a bit, the liger nodded and pulled the small purse he&rsquo;d been given out of his belt, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re right enough, I guess.&nbsp;&nbsp;I don&rsquo;t see myself becoming a knight any time soon, so what you&rsquo;ve proposed should suit my needs handily.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have...&rdquo; and he had to open the purse and check, &ldquo;ten florins to work with, today.&nbsp;&nbsp;How much more will I need for the plate?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe smith tilted his head as he mentally sized the big man, &ldquo;The suit of chain will run you eight... and I&rsquo;m told you&rsquo;re a man of honor in the direct service of the queen, so I&rsquo;ll forgo my usual &lsquo;half down&rsquo; policy.&nbsp;&nbsp;The chain&rsquo;s actually more work than the plate, though the latter uses just a bit more raw metal, so it&rsquo;ll be six florins when it&rsquo;s ready.&nbsp;&nbsp;Should take four or five days, and I know someone who&rsquo;ll make a well-padded gambeson to go under it all for about a monarch.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t Jerek nodded, and dumped the purse&rsquo;s contents on the counter at the less smoky end of the shop, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll get another four florins to you as soon as I can, and we can check the fit of the hauburgeon after your next quench... or were you going to keep heating that blade forever?&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s already orange; time to start hammering, if I&rsquo;m remembering my own work with horseshoes right.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe otter yelped, and grabbed the tongs to move the almost-overheated metal to the anvil.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Thanks!&rdquo; he called out between hammer strikes, &ldquo;I almost... let my eagerness... for one job... ruin another!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tWhen he&rsquo;d gotten his captain&rsquo;s uniforms the evening prior, they&rsquo;d held two surprises... that they were made of durable cloth without any leather reinforcement, and that nothing was in just one piece, sections joined by adjustable straps despite being made to his exact size already.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was coming to realize, now, that the uniforms were meant to be worn equally well by themselves, or over the very armor he&rsquo;d been discussing, as officers generally had something a bit better than his old leathers when they went into battle.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;d be carrying the new chainmail home, though, after visiting the tailor to order the necessary padding.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wearing the armor over his uniform, instead of the other way around, would quickly wear out any fabric not specifically designed for it, but wearing it &lsquo;properly&rsquo; without the padded gambeson would tear half his fur out before he&rsquo;d walked a mile in it.&nbsp;&nbsp;The shopping trip as a whole, at least, seemed like it would be both faster and more immediately fruitful than he&rsquo;d first assumed when setting out.<br /><br />\tA loud hiss woke him from his musings as steam boiled out of a water barrel near the forge, and the smith set the half-forged blade aside to step over and collect his coins.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got your new suit in a bottom drawer here...&nbsp;&nbsp;Weighs a good bit even for mere chain, it does; I didn&rsquo;t skimp any, as I&rsquo;m sure you can take the weight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s just get it shaken out and held up to be sure it&rsquo;ll fit.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek had to smile as the scent of oiled steel filled his nostrils, looking down at the suit he held against his chest with one hand while the other stretched out an arm of it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;This is excellent-looking work, master smith,&rdquo; he rumbled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You said you extended it, but I can&rsquo;t see a divide; no wonder you had three knights, one of them a high priest, all directing me here.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe otter snorted, &ldquo;A half-assed extension is just another way of saying &lsquo;obvious weak spot.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The quality of my work can mean your life or death, and I&rsquo;d prefer that you stay alive to shop here again.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Given that I&rsquo;ll still need a shield and a bigger sword at some point, you&rsquo;re quite right to see it that way.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here, let&rsquo;s get this rolled up so I can carry it over my shoulder on the way to the tailor.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJerek blinked at the rather odd assortment Pria and Beckah were unloading from an old box they&rsquo;d found in the basement.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was still some time before supper, so he stepped closer and asked, &ldquo;Just what did you manage to make, today?&nbsp;&nbsp;That looks like a charlatan&rsquo;s crystal ball, and the... tiaras?&nbsp;&nbsp;Headbands?&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever they are, they&rsquo;re a bit strange.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;The ball works, Daddy!&nbsp;&nbsp;I tried it myself!&rdquo; Crellan proclaimed proudly.<br /><br />\tPria gave the kid an indulgent head-ruffling, then looked up to grin, &ldquo;The sprout&rsquo;s got it right, actually.&nbsp;&nbsp;The classic concept of a crystal ball is actually quite viable, but it&rsquo;s dependent entirely on how far the enchanter can personally push a remote projection-point.&nbsp;&nbsp;The exact process would be meaningless to a non-mage, so let&rsquo;s just call it &lsquo;very difficult&rsquo; and mention that the effort goes up with range.&nbsp;&nbsp;On a good day, I can manage eight feet with most sorts of energy, as my strength has always been in my subtlety, not my raw power.&nbsp;&nbsp;Light-energy, which is what the ball uses, is a bit easier to work with, enough so that I could send a glowing line nearly fifty yards if I wanted to enjoy a headache, but the ball itself can still only be imprinted with the same level of power and effort that the enchanter&rsquo;s capable of.&nbsp;&nbsp;We had to pause the lesson for a cup of willowbark, as Beckah finally found her limit and got a headache of her own for her troubles, but this thing&rsquo;s range is somewhere between four and five miles.&nbsp;&nbsp;The little crystals around the base are part of the spell too, and control the point you&rsquo;re looking at through the glass.&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course, your bride-to-be wouldn&rsquo;t have been able to try her own new toy... without these,&rdquo; and she held up the iron circlets, each with an inset, faceted octagon of yet another kind of crystal.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pausing to examine small marks on the inner rims, she handed one to the liger, &ldquo;Here, put this on with the crystal at your forehead, then close your eyes, and don&rsquo;t open them again until the spell ends.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBlinking a bit, Jerek complied, settling onto the floor with his legs folded.&nbsp;&nbsp;Nothing happened, at first, but then he saw... himself!&nbsp;&nbsp;The angle was odd, and the view was anything but steady, swinging around to show both ladies from below, and he realized, &ldquo;Crellan?&nbsp;&nbsp;Am I seeing through your eyes?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe view bobbed wildly as the bat nodded, &ldquo;Yup!&nbsp;&nbsp;These things are neat!&nbsp;&nbsp;But you don&rsquo;t wanna open your eyes while on the receivin&rsquo; end, &lsquo;cuz seein&rsquo; two things at once is just too much.&nbsp;&nbsp;Made me dizzy when I tried it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tChuckling, Jerek lifted the circlet free, opening his eyes the moment the loaned view faded, &ldquo;So these will work for anyone...&nbsp;&nbsp;Very nice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, what are those hemispheres?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria&rsquo;s tone was a bit more serious this time, &ldquo;These... are weapons.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ll notice that the rows are on opposite sides of the box; they need to stay that way, and I&rsquo;ll be marking one set when your son lends me some paint.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once that&rsquo;s done, you take any one marked one, and an unmarked one, and put the flat sides together...&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ll stick to each other, after which you have exactly five seconds before it explodes.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d advise throwing it at someone you don&rsquo;t like, in that time.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s a refinement of one of my own father&rsquo;s inventions, years before I was born, while he was still in training himself.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan piped up, &ldquo;The farmer Momma practices near had a stump he didn&rsquo;t want.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s gone now.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His big ears splayed at the memory, &ldquo;It was loud.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;That it was,&rdquo; the wolf agreed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;In any case, these were the things I thought we&rsquo;d find most useful, ourselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;We already sold the normal stuff to the magic shop, which is run by a wizard only a little stronger than me, but quite experienced at identifying and evaluating enchantments.&nbsp;&nbsp;We showed him a few things like window alarms, weight reducers, and variable-focus lights, fairly standard effects but requiring above-average skill to make well, and he bought the whole lot then and there.&nbsp;&nbsp;The materials we had to work with were a bit crude, but he&rsquo;ll be fancying them up so they look &lsquo;real&rsquo; to the rich, ignorant fools who buy that kind of thing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got all the gold we&rsquo;ll need for a couple of decent gems,&rdquo; Beckah purred, &ldquo;but that&rsquo;s all we&rsquo;ll really have to buy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Pria told me of her own parents&rsquo; wedding rings, which her father made out of gold coins.&nbsp;&nbsp;Compared to what I worked with today, simply levitating a bit of metal, melting it in place, and holding a shape around it &lsquo;til it cools will be child&rsquo;s play.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek smiled fondly, &ldquo;I&rsquo;d prefer it that way, but not because of the money.&nbsp;&nbsp;I... oh.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was just about to say &lsquo;I love you for you, not your power,&rsquo; only to realize I&rsquo;d never said it in so many words... but I do love you, the first girl who didn&rsquo;t prejudge me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Maybe there&rsquo;s something to that old saw about love being blind...&nbsp;&nbsp;The power you&rsquo;ve grown into is simply a bonus, and that you&rsquo;d use it to make the very symbols of our union... it touches me, deep within.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Dinner&rsquo;s almost ready, you lovebirds,&rdquo; came the call from the kitchen.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Get that ratty box off the table so we can eat.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCareful not to tip it and get the half-explosives too close to each other, Beckah lifted the box down to the floor then brushed its dusty footprint clean with the sleeve of her cloak, just to give the so-good ache in her throat time to fade.&nbsp;&nbsp;When she could, she replied, &ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s the &lsquo;real me&rsquo; you came to respect and befriend.&nbsp;&nbsp;And I know that it was purely reciprocal, from me getting to know the &lsquo;real you,&rsquo; but it was your reaction to my reaction that drew me closer to you, even before you showed up with royalty and turned my life upside-down.&nbsp;&nbsp;I get a little dizzy when I try to map out just how our bond grew, but love was never meant to be analyzed too closely...&nbsp;&nbsp;Simply accept that it exists, and is real.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek wiped his eyes and nodded as he took his seat at the table, but the only comment to be had was from Crellan, muttering about &lsquo;talking in mushy circles&rsquo; just as the queen brought out the first steaming dish.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Now you&rsquo;re starting to look like a soldier,&rdquo; Serra approved as the liger stepped out of his bedroom.<br /><br />\tHe&rsquo;d picked up his finished gambeson that morning, two days after ordering it, then stopped by the smithy as well to pay the balance on his in-progress breastplate.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan was staring, clearly impressed by the sight of the armor and uniform tunic, the latter still crisp and new, and at a nudge from his mother he scrambled to put on the circlet that was a little too big for him so she could see too.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;I agree,&rdquo; Beckah said with a smile.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re looking very sharp, and you can&rsquo;t even blame your swords since you&rsquo;re not wearing them.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you&rsquo;d been in that when I first saw you, and if I&rsquo;d had my present experience in seeing people for comparison, I&rsquo;d have considered you way out of my league.&nbsp;&nbsp;I might have tried to sell you a carving, as you look like you can afford it, but pursuing romance?&nbsp;&nbsp;Never.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek chuckled, &ldquo;Dear... you are, quite possibly, the most powerful living mage in the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;You could have just about any man, or woman for that matter, you want.&nbsp;&nbsp;That you&rsquo;d settle for me is...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHe hadn&rsquo;t yet thought up a suitable adjective when she burst into laughter, &ldquo;Settle?!?&nbsp;&nbsp;Gods and Goddesses, the humility of the man!&nbsp;&nbsp;Just you wait &lsquo;til our wedding night, Mister, and I&rsquo;ll show you just how much I&rsquo;m not simply &lsquo;settling&rsquo; for anything!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tRather than let the conversation continue into territory best kept in privacy, he padded the rest of the way over to peer at her morning&rsquo;s work, &ldquo;Damn... those bands are a lot nicer than I&rsquo;d thought they&rsquo;d be when you were talking about &lsquo;simply&rsquo; melting down coins... and just how much did you get from the magic shop?&nbsp;&nbsp;Those diamonds are not small!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah brightened as he took an interest, but had to warn him first, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t touch them yet, they&rsquo;re solid but still hot...&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyway, the tapered band with filigree in the middle was a spur-of-the-moment thing, since just holding the basic ring shape was almost boringly easy.&nbsp;&nbsp;I took the pattern from the lace of the queen&rsquo;s blouse cuffs.&nbsp;&nbsp;The diamonds... were a bargain I got in return for the first enchantment I wholly invented myself, with no help or instructions from anyone.&nbsp;&nbsp;The jeweler I found mostly trades finished gems, but he cuts his own too, fairly well as he made these.&nbsp;&nbsp;For his usual trades, though, he now has a device that will make sure he&rsquo;s never sold a fake again.&nbsp;&nbsp;Give it any two gems, such as one he&rsquo;s buying and another he knows the pedigree of, and it will indicate, decisively, whether or not they&rsquo;re made of the same substance.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if the scam&rsquo;s more complicated than the usual colored glass, it won&rsquo;t work on him, and in thanks he sold me these stones at the price he&rsquo;d paid for the uncut roughs.&nbsp;&nbsp;In effect, we made a straight trade, labor for labor.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded, &ldquo;Wise and fair, on so many levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a novice of Tarragh, I particularly like the fact that you&rsquo;ll be reducing successful dishonesty in the future.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat had to chuckle, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s an acolyte of Molinden, himself, and said very nearly the same thing.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She paused, stiffening in her seat, &ldquo;Crellan!&nbsp;&nbsp;Move the ball&rsquo;s view back about fifty yards the way you came; I think I saw something.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She and her son were still wearing the circlets, but when she&rsquo;d started explaining her latest exploit he&rsquo;d gone back to scrying the countryside with his favorite new toy.&nbsp;&nbsp;The countryside, of course, was nowhere near as interesting as the city... but some rather firm orders had been issued on the subject the second time his view wandered into an occupied bedroom.<br /><br />\tHis father stepped closer to peer into the globe too, &ldquo;I see it...&nbsp;&nbsp;Smoke, but diffuse, like a campfire with a woven-branch baffle over it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just a little closer... there!&nbsp;&nbsp;I can see two, no, three helmets poking out of bushes at even increments.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sentries... and those helms aren&rsquo;t army-issue.&nbsp;&nbsp;We should try to get a count&mdash;blast!&nbsp;&nbsp;Why&rsquo;d it just go black?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah took off her circlet so she could better examine the ball&rsquo;s spell-structure, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still working... or trying to.&nbsp;&nbsp;The remote point disappeared and won&rsquo;t manifest again, even though it&rsquo;s not out of range.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think we just hit someone&rsquo;s shield against just this sort of scrying.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crel, can you remember which way you sent it?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat nodded, &ldquo;I started from the crater where that stump used to be, then went north, and a little west when I got bored with grass and wanted to see that forest.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tIf only from the amount of practice he&rsquo;d put in, Crellan was the best in their group at the deft, gentle touch needed on the ball&rsquo;s control-crystals, so Serra took him at his word as she opened the cupboard under the bookcase and pulled out a map of the local area.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;d barely finished spreading it on the floor when she rumbled, &ldquo;Got it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Corporal Nellan!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The suite&rsquo;s front door opened a moment later, the guard in question blinking curiously.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Get to the colonel,&rdquo; she snapped like the soldier she&rsquo;d once been herself, &ldquo;and tell him that the enemy&rsquo;s rallying at Shady Pines.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Ma&rsquo;am!&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, ma&rsquo;am!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen turned to Jerek, &ldquo;And you, put on your swords.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;re not going anywhere... but I want to &lsquo;patrol&rsquo; with that crystal once it&rsquo;s working again, keeping an eye on the battle but also making sure no one&rsquo;s using it as a diversion.&nbsp;&nbsp;With as many men as that little forest could conceal, they&rsquo;ll probably be turning out half the city guard to meet them, and someone might want to take advantage of the reduction here in town.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 11<br /><br />\tBy the time the liger was properly armed, his fianc&eacute;e had gotten her spell restarted, and Pria had rushed back in from collecting daily reports from various people around the castle.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;How bad is it?&rdquo; she asked as she threw herself into a seat and peered intently into the crystal.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;It could be a lot better,&rdquo; Beckah groused.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I thought I&rsquo;d made this thing subtle enough... but the shield that knocked it out must have triggered an alarm, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;By the time I had the view back, there was just a dissipating puff of steam; they&rsquo;ve put out the fire that first attracted my attention, and their sentries either moved or just hid a lot better.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the range I have to keep the spell at, I can&rsquo;t see any of them now.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan stroked two of the crystal&rsquo;s in the ball&rsquo;s base, one a lot harder than the other, and with only a tiny additional adjustment they could see the forming ranks of friendly soldiers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sheesh,&rdquo; he breathed, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s... I count twenty across, and it&rsquo;s ten lines deep and they&rsquo;re still comin&rsquo; out!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He touched another control, spinning his finger a half-circle around an onyx stud, &ldquo;And there&rsquo;s the bad guys...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA similar formation to the guards&rsquo; was forming up as men spilled from the forest, but the Atherians had seen them too, and helmets came into view as the troops started to march.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan advanced the view again for a better look, and it seemed that the smuggler&rsquo;s guess had been pretty close.&nbsp;&nbsp;Perhaps eighty men in motley armor had emerged from the trees, a white wolf in a maroon robe leading from the front rank.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Oh, shit,&rdquo; Serra breathed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Crel, that&rsquo;s the baddest of the bad guys, right there, and if he&rsquo;s pressing the attack when we outnumber his troops three to one...&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re still a mile and a half apart, but I have a very bad feeling about this.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria stood and padded to the door, opening it to address the remaining guard, &ldquo;Activate contingency plan Charcoal.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be barring the door while you&rsquo;re gone, so don&rsquo;t worry about us.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;They could all hear his boots as he sprinted down the hall, until the door closed and the Agent lifted its iron bar into place.<br /><br />\tReturning to her seat, Pria answered the obvious question, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just as worried as you are... but this emergency plan of mine should put a serious crimp in their routine if they get too close.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crel,&rdquo; and her gaze was serious as the bat looked up, &ldquo;this is the group that murdered your parents, and their leader.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I tell you to do something that will hurt or even kill them, will you have a problem with that?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan&rsquo;s lips curled in a snarl far beyond his years, &ldquo;No, ma&rsquo;am!&nbsp;&nbsp;You just tell me what to do, and the more of them that die, the better!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth royals nodded, satisfied, and Serra rumbled, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got ten minutes or so &lsquo;til the lines meet... but I want to see them again in five.&nbsp;&nbsp;See how quickly you can check our own hallway, the main hall of the castle, and as many major roads in town as you can hit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Look for anyone acting sneaky.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat cracked his knuckles with panache, then hit the ball&rsquo;s &lsquo;reset&rsquo; control, the image shifting instantly to the group&rsquo;s own suite in an overhead view before he started putting it through the requested paces.<br /><br />\tThe magical &lsquo;patrol&rsquo; turned up nothing suspicious, but that didn&rsquo;t make anyone feel particularly better, given that nothing the enemy had previously done had been blatant or obvious.&nbsp;&nbsp;They located the converging forces again with a minute to spare from Serra&rsquo;s schedule, the guards&rsquo; twelve ranks to the mercenaries&rsquo; four, but they were still nearly a quarter-mile apart when the Atherian guards, in twos and threes, started clutching at their necks and keeling over.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their tidy formation shattered as some soldiers rushed to help their comrades, others turned tail and ran, and still more kept inexplicably dropping to the ground.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Darts!&nbsp;&nbsp;Magically-delivered darts!&rdquo; hissed Pria.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve used them myself, as they&rsquo;re a great way to take down an armored foe, even at the very limits of your range...&nbsp;&nbsp;Mine were coated in a knock-out serum, but I somehow doubt our foe is that merciful.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;s certainly shown no hesitation about killing anyone else; I doubt he&rsquo;d bat an eye at poisoning the entire force.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan choked back a sob, the vision he shared with his mother blurred by tears as he watched men on his side, some with faces he knew from around town, die with no chance to defend themselves, one after the other.&nbsp;&nbsp;His fingers, though, remained steady on the crystals, the view never wavering as the ragged, outnumbered force swarmed over the tumbled bodies, checking for any quick thinkers that had faked being struck and simply thrown themselves down.&nbsp;&nbsp;They found two, and the results weren&rsquo;t pretty.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Take us back,&rdquo; Pria murmured.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Set the view to the north gate, downwards toward the road from just over the wall.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSeveral sets of eyes widened as that road came into view, a very familiar steel cube now occupying the middle, some thirty feet out from the wall.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Oh,&rdquo; breathed Beckah, &ldquo;that is slick.&nbsp;&nbsp;If there&rsquo;s anything in the world that bastard would stop for, you&rsquo;ve just handed it to him... and I can certainly guess what comes next for &lsquo;plan Charcoal.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf nodded grimly, &ldquo;Crellan...&nbsp;&nbsp;This is the tricky part.&nbsp;&nbsp;I need you to position the view directly over the exact center of that box, but don&rsquo;t get too close to it yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;When you&rsquo;re there, rotate it back up so we can see the bad guys coming, without moving it an inch from the point it&rsquo;s above.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAs her son worked, Beckah explained, &ldquo;Remember what I said about that rune in the middle?&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the scrying spell is in the right place, if it&rsquo;s lowered down it will count as magical contact... and it does not have the signature to make things safe.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan briefly freed an arm from his work to wipe his eyes, which were suddenly very fierce, &ldquo;I get it...&nbsp;&nbsp;Plan Charcoal!&nbsp;&nbsp;Just tell me when!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah reached out to lay a hand on the ball, brow furrowed as she concentrated, &ldquo;At this range, this is gonna be tough... but I&rsquo;m adding a mage-sight cloak around the observation point.&nbsp;&nbsp;It won&rsquo;t affect our view at all, but it&rsquo;ll keep that wizard from noticing that he&rsquo;s being spied on.&nbsp;&nbsp;We can&rsquo;t count on him being too distracted by his &lsquo;prize&rsquo; popping up in plain sight to check... but the spell that makes checking pointless won&rsquo;t fool those runes.&nbsp;&nbsp;In fact, it&rsquo;ll probably set them off just a tiny bit sooner, so let&rsquo;s wait until as many of them are close as possible.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria shook her head, &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t wait too long, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;He probably has the original enchantment-key that you forged the other night, so if it looks like he&rsquo;s getting close enough to touch the box... drop the spell, Crel.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe nearest mercenaries were already close enough to see the box, pointing at it as their muzzles moved, clearly calling out though the spell didn&rsquo;t relay sound.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving at a steady lope, the white wolf pushed his way through his men, finally pausing as he broke through the last of them to stare at the stuff of his dreams and the goal for which he&rsquo;d spent money and blood with such abandon.&nbsp;&nbsp;After several seconds of blinking, he shook himself free of his fascination, threw his head back, and howled in triumph, but he still, obviously, suspected some sort of trap.&nbsp;&nbsp;His gestures indicated troops and directions as he gave a steady stream of orders, and the mercs with bows formed up tight around him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Groups of ten took up formation at perhaps twenty yards, guarding the flanks against any sort of ambush, and they paid particular attention to the fringes of the slums and the cover they offered.<br /><br />\tHis close-in guards holding back just enough to keep a good firing angle on the walls, not that the battlements were manned this time, the wizard drew nearer, rubbing his hands together and clearly cackling with glee.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sheesh,&rdquo; Jerek muttered, &ldquo;could this guy be any more clich&eacute;?!?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t knock it,&rdquo; Serra grinned.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Clich&eacute;s are predictable, and a predictable foe is their own worse enemy.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan blurted out, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s reaching!&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m dropping!&rdquo; a scant second before the room was filled with a blinding light.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beckah flinched, and all four people with working eyes closed them and turned away, but when the light vanished five seconds later they looked back instantly.&nbsp;&nbsp;The archers and at least twenty other nearby mercenaries were blackened corpses, some still standing, and every bit of metal armor in view was glowing, anywhere from a sullen red to a dull orange.&nbsp;&nbsp;The wizard himself was still there, blinking futilely to restore his vision as he stood on a perfect circle of ordinary dirt surrounded by lightning-lashed black.<br /><br />\tPria groaned, &ldquo;Shit, he had a shield up, and it was a damned good one if it survived that.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wait... I think he&rsquo;s blind from that flash, at least temporarily!&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good,&rdquo; Beckah purred around a smirk, &ldquo;let him try it on for size...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf grinned back, &ldquo;Yeah, it&rsquo;s&mdash;oh shit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crel, show me his hands!&nbsp;&nbsp;Fuck!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe others barely had time to make out the metallic disc covered with runes that he&rsquo;d pulled out of his belt.&nbsp;&nbsp;By the time he&rsquo;d finished tracing a fingertip around its etchings, disc and wizard alike simply vanished.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Damn it!&rdquo; Pria swore, pounding her fist on the table.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I may be wrong... but I think that was just the sort of runic disappearing act I talked about the other night, probably linked to a second disc.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s no real range limit, so he could be back at the camp in the woods, all the way back to Vivenge, or anywhere else he&rsquo;d feel safe.&nbsp;&nbsp;All it takes is leaving the matching disc on the floor or ground, and in an emergency he can pop back to that spot in an instant.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan, as the wolf spoke, had lifted the view-point of the ball upwards, then angled it down, &ldquo;Whoa...&nbsp;&nbsp;I got at least thirty of the bad guys, but the rest seem confused.&nbsp;&nbsp;None of them are gettin&rsquo; anywhere near the box, though.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra chuckled, &ldquo;Would you, in their place?&nbsp;&nbsp;From the way they&rsquo;re stumbling, it looks like the flash got them pretty good, too.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe bat grinned impudently, &ldquo;Nope!&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not that stupid... hey, look.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re looking up, and some of them are putting their hands behind their heads...&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good, the guards remembered the second half of plan Charcoal,&rdquo; Pria growled.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I had them clear the walls for their own safety, but now that the light show&rsquo;s over some archers are coming back.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ll hold the survivors until foot troops come out to arrest them... not that we have many of those anymore.&nbsp;&nbsp;Damn him.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA knock came at the door, and the count&rsquo;s own voice called through it, &ldquo;Your Majesty?&nbsp;&nbsp;I... I have some rather bad news.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek was closest, so he stepped over to pluck the heavy bar free and open the door, standing out of the way and bowing.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Thank you, Captain,&rdquo; the rat nodded graciously as he stepped inside, then turned and blinked at the cluster of bodies surrounding an obvious scrying device.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Maybe it&rsquo;s not so much &lsquo;news&rsquo; as I thought,&rdquo; he guessed.<br /><br />\tSerra shook her head, &ldquo;We watched the whole thing, from deployment, to murder, to that rather spectacular finish.&nbsp;&nbsp;The wizard who&rsquo;s after our book of runes probably can&rsquo;t scribe them himself, or he wouldn&rsquo;t be after the book, but that box wasn&rsquo;t the only runic artifact his family had.&nbsp;&nbsp;He used another one to escape, and our trap didn&rsquo;t do nearly enough damage to balance the losses your troops suffered.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCount Southwall nodded, then frowned at a passing thought, &ldquo;About that trap... I must protest your use of the rune-cube as bait.&nbsp;&nbsp;If my functionaries&rsquo; speculations are correct, that box is the why behind every single trouble my holding has suffered, and its contents are worth the incredible expense our enemies have shouldered.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just over half of the soldiers under my command, many of them from my own employees back when I was a merchant &lsquo;prince,&rsquo; are dead because of that box, and the notion of just handing it over, or even the risk of its easy capture, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria shook her head, &ldquo;Your Highness... the box is empty.&nbsp;&nbsp;Its &lsquo;impossible to pick&rsquo; lock was picked, and I&rsquo;ve got the book that was inside in a safe place now.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, there was a risk that the wizard on the other side would get it intact, but it would have gained him nothing, and as things turned out it was the only bait that could draw him out personally.&nbsp;&nbsp;He still escaped, true, but not completely unscathed, and we struck at least one, telling blow in partial vengeance for your soldiers&rsquo; lives.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe rat blinked, &ldquo;How did you ever... no, wait, I doubt I&rsquo;d understand if you told me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, please accept my humble apologies for doubting your wisdom and resourcefulness.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sometimes, when meeting an Agent in flesh and blood reality, it&rsquo;s hard to remember that the unbelievable legends about them... are based on truth.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;There are a few more forces involved, here, than even a legendary Agent,&rdquo; Serra mused with a faint smile as she stood, then took one step over to lay a hand on Crellan&rsquo;s shoulder, &ldquo;and I think it&rsquo;s time to acknowledge one of them.&nbsp;&nbsp;This child... was the only one paying enough attention, with his hands on the crystal ball&rsquo;s controls.&nbsp;&nbsp;Two seconds before the enemy would have gotten their paws on that box, empty or not, he triggered the blast that cost our enemy as many lives as their side had lost throughout the entire previous conflict!&nbsp;&nbsp;He also hurt their leader, and forced him to reveal one more resource we&rsquo;ll be much better prepared to counter, next time.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe count&rsquo;s brows were high by the time she&rsquo;d finished, and he gave the boy a crisp half-bow, head dipped in respect, &ldquo;You have my personal thanks, young one, and I&rsquo;ll talk to my troop commanders to see just what sort of medals or other honors we have established for civilians who play a crucial role in our defense.&nbsp;&nbsp;You shall be given the highest of such that is available.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan nodded solemnly back, &ldquo;Thank you, sir.&nbsp;&nbsp;I only did what I had to, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;Those people killed my family, and it was my turn to hurt them!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThis fetched a blink and a faint smile, &ldquo;Feisty one, isn&rsquo;t he?&nbsp;&nbsp;But it&rsquo;s just that sort who&rsquo;ll grow into a fine man and a credit to the kingdom.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He turned to bow again to the queen, &ldquo;I must go see to the disposition of our prisoners.&nbsp;&nbsp;As mercenaries, there&rsquo;s always a chance they might enlist on our side next, and we&rsquo;re seeing just how many can pass a test with a Truthstone.&nbsp;&nbsp;Good day, your Majesty.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek interpreted the glare his son directed at the noble&rsquo;s back as he left, and stepped over to murmur, quietly but firmly, &ldquo;Mercenaries... are like weapons, Crel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone can use them so long as their money&rsquo;s good.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you see one of the men who attacked us today, but guarding the town just like the soldiers who died did, it&rsquo;s not a betrayal... or, at least, not a betrayal of you or us.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone who promises good service, while holding a stone that tattles when they lie, is one more blade on our side, that our enemy can&rsquo;t use to hurt us with anymore.&nbsp;&nbsp;What would you have us do, line them all up and cut their throats?&nbsp;&nbsp;Just for following the orders they were paid for?&nbsp;&nbsp;Remember, we&rsquo;re supposed to be the good guys.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra smiled gently at the mental and emotional turmoil visible on the child&rsquo;s face, &ldquo;Welcome to the real world, little one...&nbsp;&nbsp;The right answers aren&rsquo;t always as simple as they are in the stories.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAs the bat finally sighed and nodded, conceding the teens&rsquo; point, Pria suggested to Beckah, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s take a quick walk out through the north gate.&nbsp;&nbsp;While I highly doubt we&rsquo;ll find anything, on principle we should check for any magical residues that disc left when the wizard vanished.&nbsp;&nbsp;There&rsquo;s a chance, be it ever so tiny, that he left a trail we can track.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding as she set aside her circlet, the cat stretched, &ldquo;After the strain of cloaking our scrying, and after being cooped up in this castle for days, I could use a chance to stretch my legs a bit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let&rsquo;s go see the carnage.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen nodded, &ldquo;You two do what you can, but try not to be gone long.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be working on lunch while you&rsquo;re out.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tPria was just about ready to head back.&nbsp;&nbsp;As she&rsquo;d judged likely, there wasn&rsquo;t any sort of trail leading from the odd residues in the dirt left by lightning and a departing teleport, and the citizens and soldiers gathering charred corpses in half-melted armor were trampling any physical evidence that might have been found otherwise.&nbsp;&nbsp;She turned to call Beckah, but paused... because the cat was on her knees in the middle of the unburnt circle in the road.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Did you know,&rdquo; she mused as a single claw brushed at the dirt with every bit of the delicacy she used when carving, &ldquo;that years-long practice with, and exposure to, magic can leave your very body lightly enchanted?&nbsp;&nbsp;At least, that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m guessing from what I&rsquo;m seeing...&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s the only guess I can make as to why this shed fur,&rdquo; and she finally pulled a single, short hair from the dust, &ldquo;is glowing faintly to mage-sight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Without that residue, even I couldn&rsquo;t have found this.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf blinked hard, then closed her eyes and concentrated...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I can see it now that I know what to look for, but that is faint.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your own glow practically drowns it out, and I&rsquo;d never have noticed its contrast among even earth-energies.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;A detached fur shouldn&rsquo;t glow at all, though,&rdquo; her student noted.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Just from the fact that it does, however dimly, I think we can make a pretty good guess at who it came from.&nbsp;&nbsp;That shield may have stopped the lightning, but it had to get pretty windy around here with the heat and air currents, and if the shield blocked air it&rsquo;d be kind of hard to breathe inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;That&rsquo;s probably what blew this loose.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria&rsquo;s voice was speculative, &ldquo;That wizard... has to be at least second-tier, so he&rsquo;d know the threat of magical trackers and probably has himself thoroughly groomed before any confrontation.&nbsp;&nbsp;I lack the strength to make those trackers, but I know the mechanics of the spell.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I show you the matrices, and you provide the power I lack...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s slow smile showed a great many sharp teeth as she nodded, and promised the circle where her enemy had stood, &ldquo;You can run... but you can&rsquo;t hide.&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\t&ldquo;You&rsquo;re smilin&rsquo;... what&rsquo;d you find?&nbsp;&nbsp;Is it in that pouch?&nbsp;&nbsp;Do we know where the bad guy went?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan&rsquo;s rush of questions shook a laugh from both ladies as they stepped back into the suite.<br /><br />\tPria ruffled his headfur in passing, &ldquo;Calm down, kid...&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, we found something, but it&rsquo;ll take at least a day to do anything with.&nbsp;&nbsp;The wind when you let loose the lightning... blew off one of the wizard&rsquo;s furs, and we found it, but we&rsquo;ll need some shopping and an entire new level of magic lessons to do anything useful with it.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stepping over to the bookcase, she placed her right hand against a particular patch of blank wall, then reached through another section to deposit the pouch on top of the tome already there.&nbsp;&nbsp;The hidden nook was no part of the original construction and didn&rsquo;t appear on any records, but it was the absolute best combination of visual and tangible illusion and magical cloaking that her experience and Beckah&rsquo;s impossibly-detailed strength could create.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless a well-cloaked spell was triggered by her embedded Agent&rsquo;s gem, that wall was real, light and motion magics combined to match the exact shape, color, and texture of the original wood paneling.&nbsp;&nbsp;There was nothing obvious to mage-sight, and almost nothing that a nigh-microscopic examination would spot... and, behind the illusion, there were several lethal defenses in place, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;The only weak point in the illusion was that knocking on the fake wood produced no sound, but Beckah was already experimenting with a few ideas to make up that lack too.<br /><br />\tThe white cat, for her part, sniffed the air and smiled as she joined the folks already at the table, &ldquo;Pan-fried chicken... and you&rsquo;ve been experimenting with spices again, your Majesty.&nbsp;&nbsp;This smells like it will be one of your more successful tests.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra shrugged as she set the steaming platter down and took her own seat, &ldquo;It gives me something to do, as I&rsquo;m pretty useless where magic&rsquo;s concerned.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think I&rsquo;ll be surprising my husband when we get back...&nbsp;&nbsp;As a queen, and before that as an embassy guard, I wasn&rsquo;t really allowed to cook my own meals, and I&rsquo;d fallen out of practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that I&rsquo;ve rediscovered this particular joy, though, I think I&rsquo;ll have to insist on adding a kitchen to the royal wing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Speaking of seasonings,&rdquo; Pria mused as she completed the group around the table, &ldquo;there&rsquo;s one I&rsquo;ve been meaning to try...&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s called an &lsquo;assassin pepper,&rsquo; because it sneaks up on you, usually more than a minute after the first bite, and if you use too much it&rsquo;ll probably feel like you&rsquo;re dying.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just a little, though, if you like spicy foods, can be wonderful.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen blinked, &ldquo;The castle cook I&rsquo;ve been borrowing spices from has some of that, I think.&nbsp;&nbsp;The concept, at least, would explain the bright red bottle covered in warning skulls and sealed with lead, as it&rsquo;s unlikely they&rsquo;d have actual poison right between the garlic powder and the basil.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah smirked to her &lsquo;boys&rsquo; as she reached for a drumstick, &ldquo;And you two were worried about my cooking!&nbsp;&nbsp;Watch out for anything these two menaces would like you to &lsquo;just try.&rsquo;&rdquo;<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tPria was panting as she stepped out of the spare room she&rsquo;d turned into a wizard&rsquo;s workshop, and leaned against the wall when she reached the sitting room.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m for the bath, then bed,&rdquo; she told the others gathered there.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Save me some dinner, but I&rsquo;m too tired to eat it right now.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAs she shambled back down the hall with her tail dragging on the floor, Beckah stepped around her to settle between her fianc&eacute;e and son where they were playing a game of draughts on the carpet.&nbsp;&nbsp;She shook her head with a sigh, &ldquo;The last step on this thing was kind of rough on her... but she&rsquo;ll be fine after some rest and food.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra set aside the reports she&rsquo;d been reading, most of which boiled down to &lsquo;no action, no ideas, and no progress,&rsquo; and padded over to peer at the odd creation in the cat&rsquo;s hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen trackers before,&rdquo; she noted, &ldquo;and that doesn&rsquo;t look anything like them.&nbsp;&nbsp;What new, impossible wonder have you and my wife come up with this time?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah shook her head, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing new here, except the approach we took to the problem.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She held up the brass-rimmed and -backed oval of agate, and pointed to the amethyst set into its very center, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not interested in following the enemy&rsquo;s path, especially when he can use those rune-discs to interrupt that path on a whim.&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus, the main stone is similar to the trackers you&rsquo;re used to, and will glow brighter as you get closer.&nbsp;&nbsp;The middle stone, though... it simply watches the main one, but with a sensitivity it would be hard to describe and impossible to overstate.&nbsp;&nbsp;The man&rsquo;s probably a dozen leagues away right now; if you move a few feet closer, you wouldn&rsquo;t notice the difference in the proximity glow.&nbsp;&nbsp;The second stone will, though.&nbsp;&nbsp;Reacting only to increases in light that are too faint for even me to sense magically, it will light up whenever you&rsquo;re moving directly toward your target.&nbsp;&nbsp;In a way, that&rsquo;s actually more effective than the usual path-tracers, as you don&rsquo;t have to find his path to begin with.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ll always know just which direction he&rsquo;s in, regardless of your starting point, and when you get close enough for the agate&rsquo;s glow to be visible you can judge the range more traditionally.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen blinked hard, &ldquo;The Magistrate General of the kingdom would give you half his annual enforcement budget for that...&nbsp;&nbsp;You may call it &lsquo;a new approach,&rsquo; but it&rsquo;ll damned near revolutionize the way we track particularly heinous criminals.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other nations would happily make you rich just to let their archmages spend five minutes examining that, if it works the way you say.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tA little flushed from the praise, Beckah shrugged, &ldquo;There&rsquo;s only one way to find out if it works... and that&rsquo;s to use it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan?&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;The bat looked up, and she smiled, &ldquo;My next invention, that I&rsquo;ll work on this evening, is a special belt for you to wear...&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;ll have shields against everything I can think of, because we don&rsquo;t know how fast you&rsquo;ll need to be moving for the amplifier stone to register changes.&nbsp;&nbsp;The obvious way to test it, then, is to let you fly with it, but I want to make sure you&rsquo;re safe up there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Arrows, mage-fire, or even going through a storm and being struck by genuine lightning, the defenses I&rsquo;ll send you with won&rsquo;t even be bothered.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve even invented a few attacks, just to figure out ways to block them, and you&rsquo;ll have those shields too.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger beside her moved one of his pieces on the board, commenting wryly, &ldquo;Beats the heck out of the breastplate I was planning to pick up this afternoon...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra chuckled, &ldquo;Duplicating high-security signatures, being able to find someone anywhere in the world, and now an invulnerable flier... this kingdom doesn&rsquo;t currently have an archmage, just three or four headmaster-grade wizards in the Guild and my uncle-in-law Tyron, nominal leader of our magic users just because he&rsquo;s court mage for the king.&nbsp;&nbsp;I think, Beckah, that the only way you can ever live without nobles and nations being pants-shitting scared of you is if you take the post of Archmage of Atheria, with its attendant oaths of loyalty.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat&rsquo;s head dipped back, the equivalent of a blink of surprise in one who&rsquo;d never used their own eyes, but she thought about the offer for a long moment...&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I have relatively little to go on, in my experience,&rdquo; she mused as she raised her head again.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m talking about those oaths, and whether I can expect them to be abused by those they&rsquo;re sworn to... but I do have some examples to judge by.&nbsp;&nbsp;First, there&rsquo;s Vivenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;Before this county changed hands, one of my routine expenses was for a license to put out a begging bowl, and another to sell artwork, the latter requiring a signed attestation from the high priest of Malia to prove that I wasn&rsquo;t using minimal talent as cover for a less legal, but more lucrative, profession.&nbsp;&nbsp;Next would be the nobles of the empire in question; I heard little of the count or his family before the war, but now that family is murdering my friends, attacking a home that was mine however briefly, and generally breaking every rule of civilized behavior just to get a book they think will lead to the sort of power even an honest man shouldn&rsquo;t be trusted with.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek interjected with a snort, &ldquo;Nice country.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even without the recent war, from that little synopsis I&rsquo;d try to avoid the place.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis fianc&eacute;e nodded with a soft laugh, then went on, &ldquo;Now let&rsquo;s apply the same judgments to Atheria...&nbsp;&nbsp;The whole licensing system was dismantled in favor of a slightly larger guard presence in the streets.&nbsp;&nbsp;They didn&rsquo;t worry about proving anything to some jaded bureaucrat, even if they did keep an eye on me, and anyone else, just to see if anything suspicious cropped up.&nbsp;&nbsp;The general economy improved in ways even I could notice, as more people could spare a copper to drop into the bowl in exchange for a peek at my current artwork, and perhaps half again as many people as before could buy one of those carvings.&nbsp;&nbsp;The savings we recovered from my old boarding house were almost all amassed in the last two years; before that, I had about the same number of coins, but none of them were silver.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving on, there&rsquo;s the Atherian nobility...&nbsp;&nbsp;Our current count, much like the last, is an effective nonentity at &lsquo;my&rsquo; level of society, though my more recent experiences show him to be a fairly decent sort, perhaps just a hair too pragmatic for my personal tastes, but that&rsquo;s hardly cause to condemn the man.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if I couldn&rsquo;t see it, he had to be some part of the driving force behind the economic upswing, so he&rsquo;s obviously doing his job adequately.&nbsp;&nbsp;Then there&rsquo;s the queen I still can&rsquo;t quite believe I met, much less moved in with,&rdquo; and she shot Serra a grin.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re a good person...&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve occasionally been hard and cold in some of the orders you&rsquo;ve given, but you had to be, to prevent worse to those you rule and feel some responsibility for.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re friendly, open, and not even slightly snobbish.&nbsp;&nbsp;Can you imagine the lady of even the most run-down barony, doing her own cooking?!?&nbsp;&nbsp;Much less feeding her guests and friends with the labors of her own hands...&nbsp;&nbsp;Once again, I have to try pretty hard to find even the mildest critique about you, and this time it&rsquo;s that you&rsquo;re a bit blas&eacute; about money, though in your defense you&rsquo;ve done your best to see that those whose money you&rsquo;re spending get either fair value in trade or eventual reimbursement.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She quirked an odd little half-smile, &ldquo;Unless I want to live on a mountaintop where my power can&rsquo;t hurt anyone, I&rsquo;d probably have to take some sort of oath, just to live a relatively normal life... and if there&rsquo;s a choice to be made, I&rsquo;d rather choose you and the dynasty you represent.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re royalty that I can live with, in the deeper philosophical sense rather than just having a bedroom across the hall from yours.&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, I&rsquo;ll take the oaths necessary for that post.&rdquo;<br /><br />Chapter 12<br /><br />\tIt was the fourth morning after the abortive raid on the city gates.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan&rsquo;s experimental flight had been a great deal of fun for him, even though it had proven technically unnecessary.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once Pria had woken up to unlock the hidden nook and get that fur to feed to the tracker, they&rsquo;d found that a brisk walk in a wide circle was enough to determine that the enemy wizard was roughly north by northeast of them, but not particularly close.&nbsp;&nbsp;As breakfast drew to a close, Beckah asked both royals, &ldquo;Was there anything new in this morning&rsquo;s reports?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBoth ladies shook their heads, Serra answering, &ldquo;Nothing major.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;ve finished interviewing the surviving mercenaries, and a little less than half of them passed their magic-assisted test, so we swore twenty new soldiers into the army to replenish a bit of the lost guard force, and they&rsquo;re still hemming and hawing over which units to reinforce us with from Frostcrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;We caught that city&rsquo;s Guild branch headmaster on a brief vacation, they finally bothered to tell us, so it&rsquo;ll be at least another day before he can get here to formally evaluate you before administering your oaths.&nbsp;&nbsp;Other than those relative non-events, there&rsquo;s no news at all.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat nodded, &ldquo;I figured as much...&rdquo; and turned to Jerek.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Since I&rsquo;m between carvings at the moment while Crellan paints the one of you, and I&rsquo;m sure we&rsquo;re all tired of just sitting around waiting for something to change, let&rsquo;s get married.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTo her surprise, for once he didn&rsquo;t even blink.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Alright.&nbsp;&nbsp;As one of the Warkin, my armor and uniform are considered &lsquo;formal wear&rsquo; for all situations, but to balance that out with your own leanings we should hold the service at Malia&rsquo;s temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;Should we do it before or after lunch?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s smile seemed to glow, at his ready acceptance after so much resistance, but it was Pria who replied first, &ldquo;After.&nbsp;&nbsp;Definitely.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s only polite to give the priests at least a little warning, and I&rsquo;m not going to see a friend of mine married in either that cloak or what she&rsquo;s got under it.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll need to shop for a proper dress.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra nodded her emphatic agreement, &ldquo;Yes, something to match her eyes, and I&rsquo;m sure we can scare up a little jewelry to accent things...&nbsp;&nbsp;Hell, mount that tracker on a chain and it&rsquo;d make a pretty pendant.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThat fetched the confused blink from Jerek that his prospective wife hadn&rsquo;t manage to shock out of him, &ldquo;You know what color her eyes are?&nbsp;&nbsp;I... think I failed somewhere in my duties as a man, since I don&rsquo;t know that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf chuckled, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s your own fault.&nbsp;&nbsp;She took off the blindfold when we bathed her after that ambush, and you&rsquo;d already blown out the lamp when she climbed into bed without it.&nbsp;&nbsp;They&rsquo;re sky blue, for the record, and very pretty if you can get used to them wandering in odd directions.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNodding, the soldier leaned back in his seat to sing softly to himself, &ldquo;Eyes like the sky, my mouth it went dry, as I loved her more and more... she lifts me so high, &lsquo;midst blue I can fly, up where my heart can soar...&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He shook himself and glanced around, three faces staring at him while his bride&rsquo;s jaw hung open.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sorry, that just shook loose a memory of one of the minstrels who stopped by the inn I grew up in.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not the best-scanned verse in the world, but it seemed to fit.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Has anyone ever bothered to mention,&rdquo; Beckah asked when she had control of her voice again, &ldquo;that you have perfect pitch and meter?&nbsp;&nbsp;And that chest of yours lends... a moving resonance.&nbsp;&nbsp;I would dearly love to hear you sing at full volume some day.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger chuckled, &ldquo;For you... you have but to ask.&nbsp;&nbsp;Please, though, don&rsquo;t mention it to Dame Keria.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;s been trying to get a choir together at the temple, but everyone she&rsquo;s asked so far is either tone-deaf or has a voice roughened by years of yelling orders over the noise of battle.&nbsp;&nbsp;If she discovers my modest little talent, I&rsquo;ll probably have to fight her to get out of the city when we head home.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan piped up, &ldquo;I can sing too!&nbsp;&nbsp;Most bats can, between ears like we gots and the animal-types usin&rsquo; squeaks to see at night, even if we two-leggers can&rsquo;t do that.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah simply smiled, &ldquo;I was trained by Maliites in more than just carving.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll have to find a song to learn, one that lends itself to three-register harmonies.&nbsp;&nbsp;For today, though, I&rsquo;ll need to dictate some names and addresses to one of the senior pages for invitations, then go shopping.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whoever goes with me will need to bring the circlets; this is too important to go into without at least seeing what I&rsquo;ll be wearing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Something for your son, too,&rdquo; Serra suggested as she stood up.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go fill a purse for you, then visit the records office for the forms we&rsquo;ll need before the day is out.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria nodded, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go along for the shopping; I learned this city pretty damned well, after my hunts for vandals, and I know just which tailors the locals consider the best.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tNone of them had completely finished breakfast, but there were suddenly more important things to think about, and the group scattered.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tJust over half of the diminished city guard surrounded the Temple of Arts and lined a fair distance along the streets on all sides.&nbsp;&nbsp;To those who knew her well, Serra&rsquo;s pregnancy had just started to show, along with enough of a &lsquo;glow&rsquo; that not one soldier questioned their need to be there; their queen, and quite possibly their next king, needed their vigilance as she attended the hastily-arranged wedding that was about to start.<br /><br />\tMost of the in-residence Maliites packed the pews in the chapel, all looking pleased and proud of &lsquo;their&rsquo; blind girl, while a small flock of chattering, teenaged girls had gathered near the back, earning more than one glare from one priest or another, which they simply ignored, as they whispered wilder and wilder speculations about just who the husband might be.&nbsp;&nbsp;The front two pews on the right side were reserved for the queen and Agent, the rest of the space filled by the count&rsquo;s personal guard, while he and his seneschal sat in the front row on the left, seeming bemused to be &lsquo;just regular guys&rsquo; for a single afternoon.<br /><br />\tThis temple, at least, had no problem supplying a choir, and the basses began the traditional wedding hymn in a low, almost inaudible hum.&nbsp;&nbsp;Conversations gradually faded as the music grew in volume, and even the &lsquo;magpie brigade&rsquo; had quieted down by the time the tenor soloist&rsquo;s chest swelled and he sang the first praise to love.&nbsp;&nbsp;The whole temple seemed to vibrate as, with the next line, the choir joined him en masse, needing no conductor to direct their practiced voices as their harmony traded off between registers.&nbsp;&nbsp;The gasps of Beckah&rsquo;s &lsquo;friends&rsquo; were, thankfully drowned out by the singing as doors opened to either side of the altar and the happy couple stepped through, Jerek resplendent in his polished armor and dark blue uniform, and his bride like no one had ever seen her before, in a pale blue, sleeveless gown, tastefully accented with more ornaments than just her tracker.&nbsp;&nbsp;Both cats stood in place as the third and fourth verses rolled through the audience, then stepped toward the altar during the fifth, and there wasn&rsquo;t a dry eye in the house as the glorious sound faded and little Crellan stepped out of line, his clear soprano concluding the last verse solo.<br /><br />\tThe couple and priest at the altar waited another moment so the bat could scamper over and, at her leg-patting invitation, climb up on the queen&rsquo;s lap.&nbsp;&nbsp;The cats turned back to face the lupine high priest, and he smiled fondly as he opened his book of services.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Friends and comrades, patrons and devout, lords and ladies in the kingdoms of our own lives... you are welcome.&nbsp;&nbsp;We gather here today to bear witness to a love we can only hope to find the like of for ourselves, and to celebrate the joyous fortune of this fine couple, for finding it in each other.&nbsp;&nbsp;It is the duty of any priest to counsel, to judge, to advise, and I did mine, speaking with and learning of each of these sterling examples of their kind.&nbsp;&nbsp;Both come from among the humblest possible of beginnings, yet both have risen higher than any imagination might have predicted.&nbsp;&nbsp;The times of recent days have been of strife, with these two fine felines standing at its very center, yet here they stand now, unbowed, unbroken, ready to face their next challenge from even greater strength, as the two shall be as one before it, a whole far greater than the sum of its parts.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He lifted a ring from one of the two ribbons dangling from his book, normally simple bookmarks but he&rsquo;d found them uniquely handy at weddings, and he placed it in the groom&rsquo;s hand, &ldquo;Do you, Jerek, captain in the Atherian army, royal escort and guard, and novice of Tarragh, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?&nbsp;&nbsp;To love her, honor her, and fail not her slightest trust, so long as you both shall live?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded as he slipped the ring, tiny-seeming in his hand, onto one of her slim, strong fingers, &ldquo;By my life, my honor, and my soul, I do.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He blinked, then, and held up his just-freed hand to interrupt the priest, &ldquo;I do... but the ceremony may have to wait.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beckah... your tracker is glowing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tMost of those gathered, the priest included, were confused, but Pria recovered from surprise almost instantly and barked, &ldquo;Guards, on your feet!&nbsp;&nbsp;Defend the temple!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tOne of the double doors at the far end of the red carpet slammed open, and the white wolf in his robe a shade darker stepped onto it with a sneering smirk, &ldquo;The Agent has the right idea... or would if you poor fools could touch me.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m tired of playing games, of sending fighters who arrive too late or are intercepted by luck... so I&rsquo;ve decided to take matters into my own hands and end this.&nbsp;&nbsp;The guards outside are simply unconscious, as I have only one real desire, and the route to its fulfillment is right here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Give me the box, or your precious, pregnant queen dies today.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tBeckah stepped down from the altar&rsquo;s dais, shooting her fianc&eacute;e a quick smile for knowing better than to get between her and another wizard, then addressed her foe, &ldquo;You and those you command murdered the best friends I had in this city, attacked my newer companions, and even assaulted me.&nbsp;&nbsp;Now you burst in on my very wedding and expect to issue demands?&nbsp;&nbsp;You have earned death many times over for your crimes, but before I allow you to die, I must tell you... the box is empty.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was empty when you needlessly slaughtered hundreds, taking the pretty bait like a fool.&nbsp;&nbsp;I opened the box, and I have the book you lust after, but it shall never be yours.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;You lie!&rdquo; the wizard roared, one hand lashing out, but his eyes widened as she raised her palm just as quickly, the attack no one else could see simply vanishing.<br /><br />\tThe guards and several armed clergy were all trying to get at the invader, but invisible walls of force blocked them, keeping the back of the room and the central aisle clear.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I will give you one chance to surrender,&rdquo; the cat offered, &ldquo;because defeating you might damage this fine temple.&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, I seek the title of wife.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tomorrow, I will have another title as well...&nbsp;&nbsp;Archmage!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wolf shook his head, &ldquo;Impossible!&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re just a blind beggar girl; even now, the eyes you&rsquo;ve finally bared clearly can&rsquo;t focus.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve obviously been given some magical trinkets and toys, to block my first attack, but my power comes from within!&nbsp;&nbsp;No toy can match a proper mage!&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Both hands rose, sleeves billowing, as he gathered a sphere of energy that was visible to all, and he heaved it down the aisle, only to watch it fade as her brow furrowed, and the next moment that same defense became an attack, his outermost shield unraveling as its blended energies were isolated and pulled apart.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Fool,&rdquo; she growled, &ldquo;fool and blind, blinder by far than I...&nbsp;&nbsp;I was born a mage, you idiot!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe first hint of genuine fear flickered across his features as his second shield crumbled, and he closed his eyes to concentrate, reinforcing the third with all of his considerable power and calling as well upon the array of crystals that lined his cloak.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not even an archmage could break that shield, and within it he gathered still more power for a narrow, focused thrust that would reduce her to a half-cooked spray of mist.&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever force was sucking energy away from his defenses, though, suddenly appeared in duplicate, a remote point emerging right between his hands despite the &lsquo;impenetrable&rsquo; shield, amidst the very thunders as he gathered them to strike, and his augmented powers flowed through it like water down a drain.&nbsp;&nbsp;The girl was starting to visibly glow, and to his mage-sight she was nearly blinding, as the last dregs of his strength were stolen from him and he stood in a fancy robe that was suddenly no more than the cloth it seemed.<br /><br />\tBeckah&rsquo;s head screamed with pain as she struggled to hold onto the power she&rsquo;d taken.&nbsp;&nbsp;If she lost control now, she&rsquo;d be but the first of many it would kill.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every lesson, every passing comment on magic she&rsquo;d ever heard, filtered through her desperately racing mind, but only one, tiny tidbit seemed to fit her need to deal with this much energy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Trusting the instincts that had guided her for far longer than she knew, she made one last, desperate grab at that power, and twisted...&nbsp;&nbsp;Unimaginable relief flooded her being as that maelstrom contracted, condensing down to a tiny, single point, and when the last mote had faded, a single, white-hot grain of sand fell from between her fingers to land on the carpet, a tiny wisp of smoke rising and fading.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Impossible!&rdquo; the white wolf breathed.&nbsp;&nbsp;He&rsquo;d heard, of course, of the very rare wizard who&rsquo;d survived turning matter into energy... but she&rsquo;d just turned energy, his energy, into matter!<br /><br />\tLifting her sweat-drenched head, Beckah released the barriers that had protected and restrained the rest of the gathering, her voice wan as she commanded, &ldquo;Guards... place him under arrest.&nbsp;&nbsp;His enchantments are dead, including his rune-disc, and he&rsquo;s overstrained his own gift; an ordinary Wizardbane collar can contain him, from now &lsquo;til the morning he hangs.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe captain of the count&rsquo;s guard carried just such a collar, and handed it to his lowest private before turning and saluting with profound respect, &ldquo;Yes, ma&rsquo;am!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat mopped her brow with one arm as she turned to step shakily back up toward the altar.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I believe,&rdquo; she murmured wearily, &ldquo;that you had something to ask me, good priest...&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHe nodded, but before he could get his mind back onto the interrupted ceremony, he was drowned out by the crowd that started cheering.<br /><br />* * *<br /><br />\tThey gathered in the room that had been the first thing Beckah had ever seen, the queen, the Agent, the newlyweds, and the young bat.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Crellan will start growing up in just another few years,&rdquo; Serra mused, &ldquo;and you two are fairly young, yourselves... so the records clerk I consulted suggested that you not adopt him.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead, I&rsquo;ve got the form to make you his legal guardians until he turns fourteen, instead, though you can still call each other parents and son if you wish.&nbsp;&nbsp;The legal distinctions are subtle, and effectively meaningless next to how you feel about each other.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek exchanged one glance with his wife, and it was enough.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Just show us where to sign,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Yes!&rdquo; Crellan chirped, and all four adults grinned as they passed around quills and two identical sheets of press-printed parchment, Beckah managing a far neater job than usual with her husband leaning over her shoulder and Pria&rsquo;s helpful circlets in play.<br /><br />\tThe queen signed each copy as witness, then mused, &ldquo;Since the &lsquo;threat to the stability of the kingdom&rsquo; is currently in gaol, and will hang tomorrow morning without need for a trial, our work here is pretty much done.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve got enough money for a good carriage, we&rsquo;ve still got the horses we rode and the tent we came with for additional shelter on the road, and we can certainly afford to stay at any inns that are convenient...&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking personal responsibility for paying reservists we very much needed to activate, though, left a big enough dent that we&rsquo;ll be returning to the palace with only a few silver marks to spare.&nbsp;&nbsp;Wedding presents, I&rsquo;m afraid, will have to wait until I can swipe Kees&rsquo; key to the treasury again.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek thought for a moment, then shrugged, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m coming home with a beautiful wife.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you seriously think you can give me anything even more valuable, you&rsquo;re going to have a graffiti problem again, this time saying &lsquo;the queen is nuts&rsquo; if I can spell it right.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe wife in question slipped an arm around his waist and smirked, &ldquo;I shouldn&rsquo;t have to list the great many, priceless things you&rsquo;ve given me.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll want at least one more day before leaving, to watch a murderer die and to avoid wasting the trip that headmaster is making, but I&rsquo;ve still got my personal savings, your promise of a room I won&rsquo;t be paying rent on, and I&rsquo;m sure the job of archmage is not a volunteer post.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll be comfortable enough, just having each other and something useful to do, with money to spare to flesh out the big gifts with little ones.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Your first job will probably be building Atheria a proper, inter-duchy gate network,&rdquo; Pria noted.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;By yourself, you should have no trouble building the gate-spells themselves after a little practice, but you&rsquo;ll have half the Guild following you around to help open them.&nbsp;&nbsp;It&rsquo;s hard to describe the sheer quantity of power that takes.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe cat nodded, sighing her reluctant agreement, &ldquo;I can believe it...&nbsp;&nbsp;Today, even more than that headache, was a reminder that even I have limits.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;She mimed a guilty glance up at her husband, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still feeling pretty weak after that duel...&nbsp;&nbsp;Whatever tradition says about wedding-night activities, I&rsquo;m not sure I&rsquo;ll have the strength for it.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek shrugged, though his rumble was serious, &ldquo;Your love and your embrace are all I need.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d be content even if we never got around to that particular detail... though I&rsquo;m fairly certain you wouldn&rsquo;t, so I won&rsquo;t argue when you&rsquo;re ready.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tSerra spoke up again, &ldquo;You do still need an assignment, unless you feel like resigning your commission and living off of your wife&rsquo;s income.&nbsp;&nbsp;Just to avoid potential conflicts, I should note that the kingdom&rsquo;s archmage is traditionally assigned a personal guard, officially for the dignity of their position as they tend to be fairly apt at defending themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;The real duties tend to be along the lines of an aide and &lsquo;gofer,&rsquo; much like you were for Pria and I.&nbsp;&nbsp;It would be a violation of common sense to assign anyone but you to that post.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded, then turned his gaze on his son, &ldquo;In her copious free time, your mother will probably still be carving things, and you&rsquo;ll still be painting them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Any nation&rsquo;s capitol, though, tends to attract the very best and brightest in any profession, so we&rsquo;ll be introducing you to the folks at the very large temple of Malia, there, to see whether they can improve even your painting, as well as anything else they have to teach that you&rsquo;re good at.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan nodded eagerly, &ldquo;That&rsquo;ll be neat!&nbsp;&nbsp;I didn&rsquo;t get to go to temple very often, &lsquo;cuz... &lsquo;cuz my folks,&rdquo; and he had to pause to wipe his eyes, &ldquo;could have to fly off at any moment, an&rsquo; someone had to watch the house or our stuff&rsquo;d be gone when they got back.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m gonna miss a lotta things &lsquo;bout Southwall, but that neighborhood won&rsquo;t be one of &lsquo;em.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tPria nodded, her muzzle grim, &ldquo;I agree...&nbsp;&nbsp;This mission was interesting in several ways, particularly the people I got to meet and even teach,&rdquo; and she winked to Beckah, &ldquo;but the enemy this time was just nasty.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ll be glad to get back home.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tTilting her head, the queen asked, &ldquo;Speaking of that... what&rsquo;s the final score?&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Two for me, one half for you, either two and a half or thirty-one and a half, depending on whether you count the results of plans, for Jerek, five for Beckah by tomorrow morning, thirty-six for Crellan... and two hundred and forty-seven that I know of, for the enemy.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;It took the other three a moment to realize she was talking about kills.<br /><br />\tSerra winced, &ldquo;Definitely time to call the case closed.&nbsp;&nbsp;We won, but the price was too damned high.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan was blinking hard, &ldquo;How do you get half a kill?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis father chuckled, &ldquo;Remember that guy I said I kicked, but not in the butt?&nbsp;&nbsp;I kicked him in the belly, which he would have died from a day or two later, but the queen cut his throat so he wouldn&rsquo;t suffer.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;His ears drooped faintly, &ldquo;Sometimes, &lsquo;mercy&rsquo; can be a fairly ugly thing.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAll three ladies nodded solemnly, the Agent pointing out, &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t send folks like me or Serra on the easy jobs.&nbsp;&nbsp;When life gets ugly, sometimes the only way to survive is to get uglier.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;m still glad it&rsquo;s over, though, and I&rsquo;d hate to meet anyone who wouldn&rsquo;t be.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek left one arm around his wife&rsquo;s waist as he knelt down, motioning Crellan over to pull into a hug, &ldquo;We still have our honor, and our souls...&nbsp;&nbsp;Yes, we &lsquo;got ugly,&rsquo; because that&rsquo;s what it took to stop someone who very much needed to be stopped.&nbsp;&nbsp;The difference between us and the enemy is that we don&rsquo;t stay that way, once the job is done.&nbsp;&nbsp;If I&rsquo;m needed again, I&rsquo;ll rise, or descend, to the level necessary, but all I want right now is a place to call my own and my family in my arms.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe queen patted her belly with a poignant smile, &ldquo;I envy you, that you have exactly that... and I&rsquo;m looking forward to being able to claim the same.&nbsp;&nbsp;At least for a while, my adventures are very much over, but the new &lsquo;adventure&rsquo; of motherhood awaits.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHer friends all nodded, but Beckah paused mid-motion to note, &ldquo;If you take a deep sniff, it seems that the culinary artists of the temple have the reception feast just about ready, and there&rsquo;s someone coming up the stairs to fetch us now.&nbsp;&nbsp;Unless they&rsquo;ve run off after the little show I put on, I&rsquo;ve still got some childhood &lsquo;friends&rsquo; to tease mercilessly about their use of the word &lsquo;hunk&rsquo; in describing their conquests, as their definition would be invisible in bright light next to my husband!&rdquo;<br /><br />\tAt several chuckles and nods, the group started migrating toward the door, but Jerek caught his son&rsquo;s hand to hold as they followed at the rear of the group.&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;I just realized, son,&rdquo; he murmured, &ldquo;that you may end up being the best-behaved boy your age in the entire kingdom.&nbsp;&nbsp;Every mother has &lsquo;mommy magic&rsquo; to tell when someone&rsquo;s misbehaved, but have you taken any time to think about the fact that your mother can see through walls?&rdquo;<br /><br />\tCrellan&rsquo;s eyes were wide, but he couldn&rsquo;t help but giggle anyway.<br /><br />Epilogue<br /><br />\tThe king settled into the seat across from the huge man, that size pretty much the only thing about him that hadn&rsquo;t changed since their last meeting.&nbsp;&nbsp;The uniform, armor, and empty claymore scabbard across his back were only part of it; there was confidence and contentment, not confusion or blind eagerness to please, in those eyes this time, but only a hint of shadow from the less pleasant events he&rsquo;d endured.&nbsp;&nbsp;That scabbard... he&rsquo;d have to talk to his guards about that.&nbsp;&nbsp;If the written reports he&rsquo;d been given were at all accurate, there were few men in the world he could better trust, and it was an insult to insist he be unarmed in the royal presence.<br /><br />\tJerek returned the man&rsquo;s gaze levelly, and could see the evaluation going on behind those eyes, as well as the glance and ever-so-faint grimace, followed by resolve.&nbsp;&nbsp;The blade had been a wedding gift from his kin at Tarragh&rsquo;s temple, and it was the source rather than the item that gave him pride, so he looked forward to his guessed-at freedom to carry it in the future.<br /><br />\t&ldquo;So,&rdquo; Keesanrel finally spoke, &ldquo;we had what started as typically Imperial thinking, an attempt to destabilize the holding and reduce confidence in the count&rsquo;s ability to rule...&nbsp;&nbsp;That would never have worked; only in Vivenge do they hold a tradition that the first decade or so of any new noble&rsquo;s reign is also a period of probation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Our very response to it offered a new option, though, and they shifted to attacking targets we must defend, to weaken the guard force enough for a successful raid before they could be reinforced, with particular emphasis on couriers who might summon those reinforcements... and, in that, they came damnably close to success.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, with his mercenaries defeated, the mastermind lost patience and tried to make it a simple matter of exchanging a hostage for that book he sought... a book which, even now, rests in the innermost chamber of this palace&rsquo;s vault.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe liger nodded, &ldquo;That fairly well sums it up, your Majesty... or, at least, sums up the enemy&rsquo;s plans.&nbsp;&nbsp;Things didn&rsquo;t exactly work out that way in the end, though.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tHis liege smiled faintly, &ldquo;No, they did not...&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve met and talked to your wife, and if she wasn&rsquo;t such a sweet, charming thing I&rsquo;d be terrified after the reports I&rsquo;ve read of what she can do.&nbsp;&nbsp;Her oaths to Malia to never knowingly work against the interests of Atheria, though, settled the matter rather conclusively.&nbsp;&nbsp;I rather like her, as a friend, and as a king I couldn&rsquo;t ask for a better archmage.&nbsp;&nbsp;She&rsquo;s already planning a total revamp of the palace defenses, and some of her ideas for that have Tyron still in shock.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once word of what happened to that white wolf gets around, I doubt we&rsquo;ll ever have trouble with Vivenge again for as long as she lives, unless some general is foolish enough to try invading without magical support, as any mage he asks would resign their post rather than face our guardian.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek smiled grimly, &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t mind being a fly on the wall for some rather stern words their mages are likely to endure, for failing to realize the treasure they had in their midst.&nbsp;&nbsp;She may be blind, but they were the ones who couldn&rsquo;t see past her begging bowl.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was mere coincidence that your Agent was there to spot what they missed; all I saw was the first girl I&rsquo;d ever met who&rsquo;d seen, or at least perceived, a man, not a monster, when I sat down to chat.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tKeesanrel nodded, his smile broadening, &ldquo;I can just imagine how unique that must have been...&nbsp;&nbsp;My wife... well, wives both remarked on your frustrating stubbornness on the trip there, but I can understand it far better than they.&nbsp;&nbsp;You were simply waiting for the right girl, one who, exactly as you said, could see past the surface, even without eyes.&nbsp;&nbsp;I&rsquo;d envy you for that, if I didn&rsquo;t have a child of my own on the way to distract me.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;He paused, and his ears dipped as he continued with nigh-painful seriousness, &ldquo;You have my undying thanks, for that.&nbsp;&nbsp;You may not think you did much, but around the edges you made a very real difference, keeping the ladies focused, limiting their contact with danger, and making sure they were adequately guarded at all times.&nbsp;&nbsp;The captain of my personal guard has reviewed both your defensive plans for that house and the reports of the battle there.&nbsp;&nbsp;Even if you weren&rsquo;t there to fight it, your precautions held at minimal cost, and had she been there as well, she&rsquo;d still have returned safely to me.&nbsp;&nbsp;As far outside the usual practices as they are, I&rsquo;ve decreed firmly that you&rsquo;re to keep both your captain&rsquo;s rank and colonel&rsquo;s pay in your post as Archmage&rsquo;s Aide.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe soldier nodded, then shrugged, &ldquo;As you say, your Majesty, though I still don&rsquo;t feel that I&rsquo;ve earned either one.&nbsp;&nbsp;Everything I did was almost glaringly obvious, from just my basic training.&nbsp;&nbsp;Think of how the enemy can hurt you worst, then shape your plans to stop that.&nbsp;&nbsp;Weigh every risk against its possible benefit, and if the balance is wrong, don&rsquo;t take the risk.&nbsp;&nbsp;These two precepts cannot cover everything...&nbsp;&nbsp;If we&rsquo;d had better information, for example, we&rsquo;d never have sent Serra, even with her guards, to that courier office to specifically request delivery by bat.&nbsp;&nbsp;If we hadn&rsquo;t... Crellan&rsquo;s parents would still be alive.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;If you hadn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Keesanrel countered, &ldquo;the enemy wouldn&rsquo;t have made the exact moves they did in response, and you may or may not have succeeded as well as you did, in the end.&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;ve still got that one thing to learn, it seems, that a good officer, or even trooper, never second-guesses themselves.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you get bogged down in what might have been, you lose sight of what&rsquo;s happening, what still might happen, and even the good your own not-quite-perfect plans resulted in.&nbsp;&nbsp;Beyond the military aspects, though, you encountered situations where your basic decency made all the difference, such as seeing Beckah&rsquo;s value, even as just an artist and a friend, and bringing them to the attention of those who could see and cultivate the rest of her gifts.&nbsp;&nbsp;We couldn&rsquo;t count on even the best-trained soldier to do the same...&nbsp;&nbsp;You&rsquo;re a good man, and a loyal officer, and for those alone you deserve the kingdom&rsquo;s thanks.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tJerek nodded again, one side of his muzzle quirked in a little smile, &ldquo;As I said last time we were here, I&rsquo;ve sworn to obey you, so it&rsquo;s not my place to argue if that&rsquo;s your official opinion.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe king laughed, slapping the table with one palm, &ldquo;Good man!&nbsp;&nbsp;Now, is the Archmage&rsquo;s Suite comfortable enough for you and your family?&nbsp;&nbsp;Most of the previous holders of that position were bachelors, so the extra rooms had gone unused for anything more than storage.&nbsp;&nbsp;The servants were a bit rushed, getting them ready for an actual family, so let me know if they missed anything.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tShaking his head, the liger&rsquo;s smile broadened, &ldquo;They&rsquo;re more than adequate.&nbsp;&nbsp;Compared to the barracks, a cheap boarding house, and a two-room shack in the slums that the three of us, respectively, are used to, anything done to make them more opulent would actually be counterproductive.&nbsp;&nbsp;We&rsquo;ll probably replace the statuary with my wife&rsquo;s work, as time permits, but that&rsquo;s not the servants&rsquo; fault or concern.&nbsp;&nbsp;Crellan&rsquo;s still not used to having a room of his own, but until the novelty wears off, Beckah and I are... grateful he likes it.&nbsp;&nbsp;We both went to the altar virgins, and it&rsquo;s been... interesting, as we learn one another in ways our son would put a damper on.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;Good,&rdquo; Keesanrel nodded a final time, then stood to extend his hand across the table.&nbsp;&nbsp;As he clasped hands with the huge cat, he grinned, &ldquo;And, to save the best surprise for last... for fatally punching the man who called my wife a whore, I&rsquo;m naming you a court baron.&nbsp;&nbsp;Your formal investiture for the title will be tomorrow morning, but for now you can go tell that son of yours that he&rsquo;s now properly addressed as &lsquo;prince.&rsquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Given his incredibly low birth, I expect him to get quite a kick out of that.&nbsp;&nbsp;When you retire, hopefully at a ripe old age and surrounded by winged grandchildren, I&rsquo;ll see about getting you some lands to go with the title.&rdquo;<br /><br />\tThe new noble could only blink, then gave that hand another careful squeeze along with a nod, &ldquo;Thank you, my liege.&rdquo;<br /><br />\t&ldquo;No, thank you, Baron Jerek, for all you&rsquo;ve done and have yet to do.&rdquo;<br /><br />The End<br /><br /></span>",
  "pools_count": 0,
  "title": "Fantasie Eviscerotique episode 5",
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      "name": "Violence",
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