An Unlikely Company

An Unlikely Company — Galadarn · The Adventurer’s Guild

Original idea by Castlemanic. Fanfic adaptation by AnneAruki. Set in Eldran — Dawn of a Demon Lord. Content note: fantasy violence, abduction, civilian deaths, undead, serious injuries and grief. The story includes the death of a young character.

Faln Stirme put one foot on the bench, lifted his wooden sword, and waited for the hall to grow quiet. A dropped spoon gave him his opening. He drew breath.

Faln Stirme: People of Gadresh! Wherever danger threatens the innocent, wherever the darkness gathers, wherever—

Pella: Wherever that boot has been, take it off my clean bench.

Faln climbed down. Pella slid a stack of notices out of reach of his sword and pointed him towards the training yard. He followed her finger until he saw Fiona beside the door. She had heard everything.

Fiona Aedelmar: You need a shorter opening. By the third wherever, someone would have stabbed you.

Faln Stirme: I hadn't reached the important part.

Fiona Aedelmar: I know. That was the problem.

Selin came through the door behind her, carrying two cups. Fiona took one without looking. Selin waited until Faln had put the sword down before offering him the other.

Selin Anvell: The important part can wait until after breakfast. Have you eaten?

Faln Stirme: I saved some bread. There's enough if you want it.

He opened his snack pouch and discovered that the bread had broken into several pieces. He offered the largest to Selin. She took it as seriously as he offered it, and he stopped checking whether Fiona was still smiling.

At the next table, Hrutvalf Grond was demonstrating the size of something he had killed. Each repetition required more space between his hands. Gorgral leaned back in a chair that creaked beneath him.

Hrutvalf Grond: Big. Bigger than this table. Hit it once. Down it went.

Fiona Aedelmar: A wardrobe? Congratulations. Did it put up much resistance?

Hrutvalf Grond: You want a fight?

Fiona Aedelmar: We had one. Three to one. Perhaps you remember the floor.

Hrutvalf stood, noticed Selin beside her, and caught both amulets at his neck. Selin glanced down at her cup, bewildered. She had not said anything to him that morning.

Selin Anvell: I only made tea.

Hrutvalf Grond: Keep it over there.

Gorgral shoved an empty chair into Faln's path with his boot. Faln stumbled, kept his cup upright, and found himself staring at the beastfolk warrior's axe.

Gorgral: Watch your feet, hero. The thing you're fighting won't move aside for you.

Fiona caught the back of the chair before it struck Selin. She pushed it against the table. Gorgral grinned and began to stand; a cane struck the floor beside the registrar's desk.

Guildmaster Brakka: Sit down. Both of you. If you break another chair, I sell the axe to pay for it.

Gorgral sat. Guildmaster Brakka waited until the chair stopped creaking, then returned to his ledger. Faln looked towards Fiona, expecting an answer to the challenge. She took a long drink of tea instead.

Fiona Aedelmar: Finish your breakfast. Thragann's waiting.

A Sword That Fits — The guild training yard · Later that morning

Thragann Bjorn laid three short swords on a bench. Faln examined them with great care, trying to work out which one a hero would choose. He reached for the longest.

Thragann Bjorn: That one belongs to someone taller. Try the middle one before you start growing to fit the equipment.

Faln lifted it. The steel pulled at his wrist more than the wooden blade had. Thragann moved his thumb, adjusted his elbow, and told him to take three steps without pointing the sword at anyone.

Faln Stirme: It feels heavier than it looks.

Thragann Bjorn: Remember that when your arm gets tired. Put the point down while we talk.

They practiced stepping back. Faln wanted to learn a finishing stroke. Thragann wanted him to stop crossing his feet. When Faln finally kept them apart, the older man nodded and asked him to do it again.

Faln Stirme: Is this how you started?

Thragann Bjorn: I started by knowing better than the person teaching me. You are progressing at a very familiar speed.

Fiona worked with Selin at the far end of the yard. Selin touched a practice weight and lifted it a little above the ground. It drifted towards her knees. Fiona moved the stool beneath it while Selin kept her palm out.

Selin Anvell: Don't push it. If I lose concentration, it'll come down.

Fiona Aedelmar: I'm putting something beneath it. You can look pleased for a moment. Nobody will report you to the academy.

The weight settled neatly on the stool. Selin let out the breath she had held. Fiona began to clap, and Selin immediately checked whether anyone else had been watching.

Abelia Cyro crossed the yard with a rapier at her side. She glanced at Faln's new sword, then at Fiona's training shield.

Abelia Cyro: Still teaching people to stand still? How encouraging. Some of us have progressed to moving targets.

Fiona Aedelmar: Some of us can hit them without describing our technique first.

Abelia Cyro: You should try it. Your descriptions are very loud.

Abelia continued inside. Fiona watched her go, then struck the practice post so hard that Selin picked up her cup before it shook off the bench.

Faln Stirme: Should I ask her to stay and watch? I think you want her to see you do well.

Fiona Aedelmar: I want her to stop talking. Those are different things. Face Thragann before you lose a finger.

Thragann tested Faln's guard with two light taps. The second turned his blade aside. Instead of striking the opening, Thragann stepped past him and tapped his shoulder.

Thragann Bjorn: There. You watched my sword and forgot where I was going. Look at the whole person.

Faln tried again. This time he moved with him. Thragann stopped, adjusted the belt holding the scabbard, and made an extra hole so it would sit securely at Faln's hip.

Faln Stirme: I can take it?

Thragann Bjorn: On the approved job. It's a loan. I'd like the sword back, and I'd particularly like you to be carrying it.

Faln took his father's wooden sword from the old belt. The handle had been worn smooth by a larger hand. He wrapped it in a spare shirt and put it in his pack, where it would not knock against the new blade.

A Report from the Border — The guildhall · Before noon

Dridia had pinned a fresh report low enough that Faln could read it without stretching. Pella stood beside her, correcting the date on a second copy. Fiona stopped at the words missing families.

Three farms near the wetland road have missed their regular deliveries. A carter found doors open, tools left outside, and no one answering. Patrol report: possible bandits. Guild inquiry requested. Speak to Dridia before accepting.

Dridia: The carter came in yesterday. He thought somebody would already have reported it. They hadn't.

Fiona Aedelmar: We'll look. Selin knows how to read magical traces, and I know what to do about bandits.

Selin Anvell: I know when something doesn't look right. That's a little different.

Faln Stirme: I'll come too. We can bring the families home.

Brakka emerged from behind his ledger before anyone could sign. His eyepatch strap disappeared into the grey fur at his temple. He put one broad hand over the bottom of the report.

Guildmaster Brakka: You can bring me information. If you find people who need help, help them. If you find more enemies than you can handle, you come back and tell me.

Fiona Aedelmar: I can recognize a bad fight.

Guildmaster Brakka: You recognize them after starting. I'm asking for a different order this time.

A cough came from the bench beneath the window. The old man sitting there had a green tunic, a short pipe, and a toad settled beside his collar. He had spent most of the morning looking offended by the noise.

Master Mael: If these are the investigators available, no wonder the last lot vanished.

He rose with several complaints about the bench. Raven adjusted his feet on the old man's shoulder. Faln stepped back to give them room.

Master Mael: Master Mael, the one and only. I hired people to find a cult. They failed to return. Apparently I must now investigate their incompetence myself.

Faln Stirme: You think the cult took the farmers?

Master Mael: I think I require evidence, and this report contains almost none. An excellent opportunity for improvement.

Brakka asked which spells he could use on the road. Mael stared at him as though the question required several volumes to answer. Then he noticed Brakka had not removed his hand from the contract.

Master Mael: Protection. Interruption. Restraint. More than enough to keep these oafs from dying while I examine something.

Guildmaster Brakka: Good. Stay together. Pella, give them the route copy and the reporting points.

Faln read the contract before signing. He had to ask where the wetland road joined the border trail. Pella showed him. Then she made him point out the route back without her finger helping.

Faln signed beneath Fiona’s name. Selin waited with the ink pot.

[Picture: Faln Stirme]

[Picture: Fiona Aedelmar]

At the door, Dridia pressed a packet of clean bandages into Selin's hand. Fiona had already begun describing how quickly they could finish. Selin tucked the bandages beside her spell components and asked whether they had enough water.

Faln Stirme: If there are people missing, shouldn't we leave now?

Master Mael: We leave when our bags contain food. I refuse to perish because you find lunch insufficiently heroic.

Faln ran back for the bread. By the time he returned, Fiona had taken two steps outside and three back inside to collect things Selin reminded her she had forgotten. Mael lit his pipe with flint while Raven watched.

The Road Through Elgolis

The Road Through Elgolis — East of Galadarn · The following day

The road narrowed beneath branches still dripping from overnight rain. Faln had begun the morning walking at the front. By midday he had discovered that the front also reached every spiderweb first. Fiona let him change places without comment.

Master Mael: Somebody has deliberately arranged all the roots across the path.

Fiona Aedelmar: I shall send a complaint to the trees.

Master Mael: Send it to whoever failed to build a road. The trees appear to be doing their job.

Selin stopped to scrape mud from one shoe. Faln waited with her while Fiona checked the next bend. He had a question about the academy and had been trying to make it sound casual since breakfast.

Faln Stirme: Did they ask you to leave because you wanted to go on adventures?

Selin Anvell: No. I asked to leave. They tried to persuade me to stay for the examinations.

Faln Stirme: But you were good at it?

Selin Anvell: They thought I was. Fiona thought I could learn things outside a classroom. I thought she would go without me if I took much longer deciding.

Fiona Aedelmar: I would have come back and complained about the waiting. You know that.

She had returned with a strip of cloth caught around two fingers. It was stretched between low branches beside the track, smeared with green dye. Mael bent close enough to inspect it and held Raven away from the wet stain.

Fiona Aedelmar: Someone wanted travelers looking at this. I don't like the ground behind it.

Faln leaned sideways. Leaves covered a rectangle that was too even at the edges. Beyond it, a branch trembled although the air had gone still. He put his hand on the steel sword and looked at Fiona before drawing.

Fiona Aedelmar: Slowly. Selin, behind me. Faln, stay where you can see my shield.

A small green head rose above a fern. The goblin wore a pot lid tied over its chest. It lifted a shortbow, noticed all four travelers looking at it, and shouted towards the opposite ditch.

Three more goblins sprang up together. One tangled its foot in another's bowstring. Their quarrel lasted just long enough for Fiona to put the tree on her left and the party behind her.

Faln Stirme: We don't want your camp. Move out of the road and let us pass.

The answer was an arrow. It struck bark beside his cheek. Fiona pulled him behind the tree before a second bow twanged. The goblin with the pot lid yelled at the others to stop shouting and was immediately shouted over.

Fiona Aedelmar: Negotiation concluded. Keep your head down.

Two goblins with scimitars came around the tree from different sides. Fiona met the first with her shield, knocked its wrist aside and cut its upper arm. It dropped the weapon. The second went for Faln while he watched her.

He remembered Thragann's feet and stepped back without crossing them. His blade caught the goblin's scimitar badly, scraping almost to the hilt. He pushed away before the edge reached his fingers and stumbled into a bush.

Faln Stirme: Fiona!

She could not reach him without exposing Selin. The goblin came on, laughing at the bush holding his coat. Faln let the coat tear, turned his shoulder, and slashed across the creature's leg. The laugh stopped.

It fell back howling. He stood where he was, both hands on the hilt, until another arrow struck the ground at his feet. Selin raised her hand in reflex. A brief pale ward flashed around her as an arrow glanced aside.

Selin Anvell: There are more on the slope!

Master Mael: Yes, and they are using the same tree every time. Observe before announcing.

Mael snapped his fingers at the nearest archer. The goblin flinched, dropped its bow and clawed at its eyes. He pointed Selin towards a low rock where she could crouch without blocking Fiona's retreat.

A second archer tried to take its companion's bow and discovered the blind goblin had stepped on it. They began pulling in opposite directions. Fiona glanced up, saw the struggle, and moved towards Faln.

Fiona Aedelmar: Can you walk? Then come to me. Stop looking at the one you hit.

He obeyed. His knees felt loose. Behind them, a goblin ran out of cover to join the fight and stepped straight onto the disguised pit. Its feet broke through. For a moment its arms stuck out of the leaves; then it disappeared with an indignant shriek.

Raven croaked. Mael gave the toad a brief, approving nod and turned back to the slope. The pot-lid goblin had decided that shouting orders from behind the pit was safer than carrying them out.

Master Mael: At least one participant understands the importance of position.

He closed one hand. The goblin stopped mid-step as his telekinetic grip held it in place. Its scimitar waved uselessly in the air. Two companions rushed to help and collided at the narrow crossing between the pit and the ditch.

Fiona Aedelmar: Do they practice that?

Fiona kicked the dropped scimitar away and struck the next attacker with the flat of her shield. Faln moved beside her, keeping his point between them and the goblins. Nobody seemed impressed by the stance, but nobody rushed onto it either.

Selin found a torn sack beneath the rock. She touched it, concentrated, and let it rise above the goblins' heads. Something inside rolled against the fabric. The bag tipped and spilled stolen onions down the slope.

The blind goblin screamed when one struck its helmet. Its companion saw the floating sack, looked at Mael, and fled. Others followed, trampling through the very ferns that had hidden them. Fiona let them go.

Faln Stirme: You made it rain onions.

Selin Anvell: I thought there was a stone inside. I was trying to distract them.

Fiona Aedelmar: They look distracted. Excellent work.

Mael released the trapped leader only after Fiona collected its weapon. It ran towards the pit, stopped in time, and fled around the other side. The goblin below shouted after it. None of its companions returned.

Arrows lay across the road among torn leaves and scattered onions.

Faln lowered his sword. Blood marked one side of the blade. He looked at it, then at the injured goblin dragging itself away through the bushes. Fiona put a hand under his elbow before he could follow it.

Fiona Aedelmar: Let it leave. We need to check whether we're hurt.

Selin's ward had stopped one arrow; a second had cut her sleeve and left a shallow line across her forearm. Faln's coat was torn. Fiona had a bruise forming where the shield rim had struck her wrist. They counted arrows before moving out of cover.

Someone Else on the Road — Elgolis · After the fight

A man with red hair stepped out farther down the track. He held both hands away from the knives on his belt. Pointed ears showed beneath his hair, and a neat goatee moved when he smiled.

Klark Kessern: I thought I heard an argument. Was the sack yours or theirs?

Fiona Aedelmar: You waited until it was over to introduce yourself.

Klark Kessern: I came around that bend when the onions did. A memorable welcome. Klark Kessern, guild contractor. You can lower the sword a little without losing any of its charm.

Faln realized he was pointing it at him. He lowered it, then looked at Fiona to see whether that had been a mistake. She asked Klark for his guild token. He produced it slowly enough that she could watch both hands.

Master Mael: An elf with a beard. This road becomes more questionable by the hour.

Klark Kessern: I grew it myself. Very difficult to blame anyone else.

He helped Selin knot the bandage around her arm. Then he knelt beside the pit and peered down. The goblin had found a root to cling to and refused to look up until Klark rolled a long branch over the edge.

Faln Stirme: It tried to kill us.

Klark Kessern: It can try again after climbing out and deciding whether it enjoyed the first attempt. We needn't stand here for that part.

They collected the arrows they could reach safely and continued. Klark walked beside Fiona until she asked why he was following them. He looked at the border report in Faln's hand before answering.

Klark Kessern: Missing farmers? I came past a cart abandoned on the other road. No horse, no driver. I expected to find them at a settlement.

Fiona Aedelmar: And now you're curious.

Klark Kessern: Terribly. Also, five people carrying water make a more cheerful investigation than one man discovering he packed too little.

Fiona asked what he could do. Klark drew a knife, caught it by the point and tossed it into a dead stump. Before Faln finished watching the first blade, a second struck the same pale patch of wood.

Master Mael: Can you make a fire without throwing utensils at it?

Klark Kessern: On my better evenings. Shall I show you?

The First Camp — A dry rise beside the road · That evening

Klark chose ground with two ways out and moved their packs away from a hollow that would collect rain. Faln helped stretch a cloth between branches. When one knot came loose, Klark showed him again without taking the cord from his hands.

They ate from the same pot. Mael complained about the lentils, the spoon and the length of time water required to boil. Raven received a fly Selin had caught under an empty cup and appeared satisfied with the arrangements.

[Picture: Selin Anvell]

[Picture: Master Mael]

Faln Stirme: Is he really called Raven?

Master Mael: That is his name. It was entirely appropriate before I transmuted him.

Faln Stirme: He used to be a bird?

Master Mael: Of course. Do you think I name toads at random?

Faln Stirme: Can you turn him back?

Master Mael: When I recover the rest of my powers. Nekdos reincarnated me and sealed away a thoroughly unreasonable portion of what I knew. I intend to complain in person.

Selin Anvell: You mean the god Nekdos?

Master Mael: Do you know another Nekdos who goes about reincarnating wizards? If so, I have questions for that one as well.

Fiona hid her smile behind her bowl. Klark asked who would take first watch, and the conversation became practical. When Faln offered to stay awake all night, everyone objected at once. He settled for the watch beside Klark before dawn.

Empty Houses

Empty Houses — The border farms · The next afternoon

The first farm had washing on the line. A shirt had slipped from its peg and dragged in the mud. Beyond it, three goats stood against a gate, bleating whenever someone approached. Faln expected the noise to bring somebody out of the house.

Fiona Aedelmar: Stay outside until we've checked the yard. Selin, watch the windows.

Klark went around the stable. Mael checked the well, then the back of the house. Fiona knocked on the open door with the rim of her shield. When nobody answered, she called again, louder.

Faln Stirme: We're from the guild. We came about the missing deliveries. If you're hiding, it's all right to come out.

He waited beside a table set for two. One cup lay on its side. The bread on the plate was hard enough that a fly could walk across its broken crust without moving it. Someone had pulled the chairs away from the table in a hurry.

Fiona found a bloody handprint beside the back door. It was low on the frame. She crouched to examine it, then looked out towards the animal pens. A strip of torn cloth had caught on a nail in the gate.

Fiona Aedelmar: Someone went this way. Faln, don't touch the latch yet.

A scraping sound came from beneath the kitchen floor. Faln stopped with his hand above the cellar ring. He called down before moving it. The scraping stopped. After a moment, a woman asked how many of them there were.

The Farmer: Say your names. All of you. And leave the door open when you lift it.

They obeyed. She stood at the bottom of the steps with a pruning knife in her hand. Her ankle was wrapped in a stained apron. She leaned against the wall until Selin offered an arm, then set the knife down where she could still reach it.

Selin Anvell: Can you put any weight on it? We can bring a chair down if the stairs are too much.

The Farmer: I can do stairs. I couldn't do the ditch. That's where I fell. My husband pushed me back towards the house, and they took him instead.

Klark brought a kitchen chair to the top of the steps. The woman sat in it, breathing through her mouth. Faln fetched water. He filled the cup only halfway after Selin noticed her hands shaking.

The Farmer: There were people in the yard. I knew one of them. We buried him after the fever. I saw the burial. He came through that gate wearing the same coat.

Fiona Aedelmar: How many?

The Farmer: Six here. More on the road. A cart full of people, all tied together. There was a soldier telling them where to go.

Master Mael: A living soldier?

The Farmer: Black armor. A sword as long as my husband is tall. I didn't stay to ask him.

Mael accepted that answer without comment. Selin washed the woman's ankle and checked the swelling. Nothing about the wound suggested she could walk quickly. Fiona carried the chair outside while Klark watched the road.

The Burial Ground — Behind the second farm

They moved together to the next house, with the farmer leaning on Selin. The goats followed as far as the fence. At the second farm, the front door had been barred from outside with a length of timber.

Klark stopped Fiona from lifting it. Through a gap in the boards, something scraped slowly against the inside of the door. Then a hand came through the gap. Two fingers were missing, and the skin above the knuckles had turned grey.

Faln Stirme: Is somebody trapped in there?

Master Mael: Back away from the door. That person is dead.

The hand clawed at the air. Fiona pushed Faln behind her. Mael raised his own hand, held it still, and the body inside stopped striking the wood. Its fingers continued to twitch. He told Klark to check the shutters before his grip failed.

Klark Kessern: No one else in the room. Door's sound if we put the brace back properly. We can leave it shut.

Fiona Aedelmar: We can't leave someone's father in there like this.

Master Mael: We have someone alive who cannot run. Keep the door shut and mark it. Bring people equipped to deal with what's inside.

Fiona looked at the farmer. The woman had turned her chair to face away from the house. Fiona put the brace back into its slot. Klark added a second bar from the woodpile, then tested both before Mael lowered his hand.

Behind the house, three graves had been dug open. Soil covered the path, including lumps containing pale roots. One coffin lid lay in two pieces beside its hole. There were no valuables scattered among the broken wood.

Broken coffin boards lay beside the open graves.

Selin Anvell: They didn't come here to rob graves. They took the bodies.

Faln counted the graves twice. The farmer pointed out a shallow place beside the fence where her neighbors had hidden their tools. A spade was still there. Its blade was caked in the same wet soil.

Klark Kessern: They made the captives dig. These prints lead away together. Boots, bare feet, cart wheels. Whoever did it brought enough people to move the prisoners and the dead.

Fiona Aedelmar: Then we follow them.

Master Mael: We report them. The contract is already larger than the one we accepted.

Fiona Aedelmar: Her husband's on that cart. By the time we go back to Galadarn and find somebody important enough to listen, where will he be?

Mael opened his mouth, then looked at the farmer. She had gripped the arms of the chair. He walked away to examine the tracks himself. Fiona followed him as far as the broken coffin and waited there.

Master Mael: We need a way out before we need a way in. We cannot carry a whole village along an unknown road.

Klark Kessern: There's a charcoal track joining the westbound road. I passed its turning yesterday. It avoids this stretch and leads into Elgolis. We can check it before dark.

The farmer knew the track. She drew its first turns in the soil with her knife: fence, split oak, old charcoal platform. She stopped at the fourth turn and rubbed it out. That branch ended at a flooded cutting.

The Farmer: The right-hand track. It looks worse, but the ground stays firm. People use the left one in summer. This isn't summer ground anymore.

Return route: through the west fence, past the split oak, then RIGHT at the old charcoal platform. The left track reaches a flooded cutting. Join the westbound road through Elgolis towards Galadarn. Second farm: one walking corpse confined inside; door barred. Do not open it.

A Place to Wait — An abandoned charcoal shelter · Evening

The shelter still had a roof. Klark checked the floor and the space behind the stacked timber while Fiona cut a dry walking stick for the farmer. They moved a bench beside the door so she would not have to cross the room to see anyone approaching.

Selin unwrapped the bandage on her own forearm. The cut had opened again while she helped the farmer walk. Fiona took the clean strip from her and made her hold still.

Fiona Aedelmar: You should have said it hurt.

Selin Anvell: Your hands were full. It isn't deep.

Fiona Aedelmar: That's why I didn't notice. Tell me next time.

Selin held out her arm. Fiona bound it more gently on the second attempt. Across the shelter, Faln was dividing their remaining bread into pieces. He gave the farmer his portion and tried to hide the empty bowl behind his pack.

Klark Kessern: Excellent. We have discovered a boy who runs on water. Very economical. Unfortunately, I need to see it demonstrated before relying on it tomorrow.

He broke his own piece in half and put one half into Faln's bowl. Faln started to object, saw that the farmer was eating at last, and ate his share. Klark went back outside before anyone thanked him.

Mael sat beside the doorway with Raven on his knee. Selin approached him with the notes. He corrected one turn from memory, then made her describe the barred door and the tracks without guessing who had made them.

Selin Anvell: But if they're walking corpses, isn't it a necromancer?

Master Mael: Possibly. You saw the corpses. You heard about the knight. You have not seen the person giving him orders. Write what you know, or the guild will prepare for your guess.

She crossed out one line. Mael watched her do it, then shifted his stool so she could sit nearer the remaining daylight. When Fiona asked whether he was coming to scout, he carefully returned Raven to his pouch.

The farmer caught Faln's sleeve before he followed. She described her husband's grey beard, missing front tooth and green work coat. Faln repeated all three details back to her. He started to promise that they would find him.

The Farmer: If you see him, tell him I'm here. Don't make him come back to the house.

Faln Stirme: The charcoal shelter. I'll tell him exactly where you are.

Fiona left a water bottle within the woman's reach. Then the four others waited while Faln checked the latch from inside and outside. They set off along the fence, keeping the route notes folded in Selin's satchel.

The Harvest

The Harvest — A timber yard near the wetlands · Before dawn

Klark found the carts first. Their wheels had cut deep channels through a low field, then turned towards a timber yard beside a drainage channel. He led the others behind a bank of earth left by the digging. From there, they could see through the rails.

Prisoners sat in the yard with their wrists tied. One group was fastened to a cart by a longer rope. Others waited beside shovels and an open trench. Among the guards, Faln recognized the grey skin he had seen through the farmhouse door.

A man in a green coat knelt beside an older prisoner. When she could no longer hold her head up, he supported her against his chest. A dead guard pulled at the rope until both stumbled to their feet.

Faln Stirme: That's him. The farmer's husband. Look at his coat.

Klark Kessern: Quietly. We found them. Now we find every guard.

Fiona counted the figures near the carts. Selin watched a gate on the far side of the yard. Mael studied the trench. It contained bodies, laid close enough together that their shoulders overlapped. He told Faln to move back before the boy tried to count those too.

There were more guards than Fiona had first seen. Two waited motionless beneath the loading platform. Another stood behind the prisoners. None ate, talked or shifted position to ease their feet.

Fiona Aedelmar: We can take the ones by the carts. Klark cuts the ropes, we send people through this side gate, then we leave.

Master Mael: And the guards under the platform attack your back while you do it. Look again.

She looked. The narrow gate opened against a stack of timber and had been secured with an iron pin. Outside it, a path followed the drainage channel towards the split oak. It would get the prisoners off the road and onto the route they had already checked.

Selin Anvell: I could lift the pin. If I can reach it first. It won't help with the whole gate.

Klark Kessern: You won't need to. I'll move it by hand. Fiona takes the near guard, Mael keeps the next one still. Faln, you help me with the prisoners.

Faln Stirme: I can fight.

Fiona Aedelmar: We know. You're also the one who can tell that man where his wife is. Get him moving before he decides to go back for her.

Faln looked through the rails again. The man in green had put himself between the older woman and a guard. Faln nodded, then asked Klark where to stand when the gate opened.

The Yard Commander — At the far gate · Sunrise

A larger figure came out of the mist beyond the yard. Black armor covered him from neck to heel. He carried a greatsword in both hands, its point clear of the wet ground. The guards turned towards him together.

The knight inspected the prisoners, stopping beside each cart. At the trench, he stopped beside a guard that was dragging a body by one ankle. With a small movement of his sword, he directed it towards an empty cart instead.

Harbu: The living travel first. Keep the road clear. No one leaves the column.

One prisoner tried to stand. He made it as far as the end of his rope before a guard seized his collar and pulled him down. Harbu watched until the man stopped struggling. Then he walked through the far gate with four of the dead behind him.

Faln Stirme: Was that their captain?

Master Mael: Something more difficult. We wait until he's gone past the bend. We do not challenge him here.

Fiona Aedelmar: Agreed. We have a gate to open.

The knight disappeared from view. Klark watched the bend for another minute. Then he took Selin's satchel so it would not scrape along the fence and led her down the bank. Fiona waited until Selin had both feet on the ground before following.

At the gate, Selin slid two fingers between the rails and touched the pin. She closed her eyes. The pin rose a finger's width, caught against a rough edge, and stopped. Klark pressed the gate inward to take the weight off it.

Selin Anvell: I can't get it straight.

Klark Kessern: You have it. I'll shift the wood. Keep doing exactly that.

The pin rose again. Selin caught it before it fell and held it against her coat. Klark eased the gate open. Fiona went through first, shield forward. Her sword struck the closest guard beneath its jaw before it could turn fully towards her.

It caught her wrist anyway. She put her weight into the shield and drove it against the timber. Mael stepped past Selin, held the second guard with a clenched hand, and told Klark to move. Faln followed him through the opening.

Cut the Ropes — The prisoners’ carts

The man in the green coat flinched when Faln approached with his sword. Faln stopped and turned the blade away. He told him about the cellar, the injured ankle and the charcoal shelter. Only then did the man hold out his bound wrists.

Faln Stirme: She's waiting there. We have a route. Help me get everyone through the little gate.

Klark cut the long rope at the cart. He put a knife into the man's free hand, pointed him towards the other prisoners, and moved to the next knot. Selin stood outside the gate, guiding people onto the channel path in groups.

Fiona's first opponent finally fell. She dragged it clear of the opening with her shield arm and met the one coming from beneath the platform. It took the edge of her blade across the chest without slowing. She changed her footing and struck at its knee.

Fiona Aedelmar: Mael! The other one under the platform!

Master Mael: I have hands, Fiona, not a committee!

He released the guard he had restrained, snapped his fingers at the new attacker, and stepped away from its grasp. The creature reached towards a sound it could no longer see. Fiona shoved it into the guard behind it and backed towards the prisoners.

Faln helped the older woman off the cart. Her foot caught in a rope. For a moment, he pulled in the wrong direction and made it tighter. He stopped, set his sword down, and used both hands to work the loop over her heel.

A guard grabbed his pack. The straps pulled him backwards. Klark cut one strap and dragged him out from under its arm. Faln snatched up his sword before the guard's foot came down where his hand had been.

Klark Kessern: Leave the loose strap. Keep moving.

The prisoners crowded the gate. Selin made two men step away from it, then asked them to support the older woman between them. Once they had a task, they stopped trying to force their way past everybody else.

Beyond the yard, a command sounded from the road. Harbu had returned. His guards came through the far gate at a run. Fiona pushed Faln towards the escape path and put her shield over his back as an arrow struck the loading platform.

Harbu: Close the main road. Drive them towards the carts.

Faln Stirme: They're leaving! We're from the Adventurer's Guild. My name is Faln Stirme, and you're not taking them back!

Harbu looked directly at him. Faln held his sword up despite the shaking in his forearm. Fiona caught the back of his collar and pulled him through the side gate before he could say anything else.

Fiona Aedelmar: You can introduce yourself while running!

Mael backed through last. A guard seized the gate behind him. Fiona struck its exposed wrist, and Klark rammed the gate shut. He dropped the iron pin back into place before they both ran along the channel.

The iron pin shuddered in its bracket as something struck the other side of the gate.

At the next bend, Faln looked back. Harbu had reached the fence. The first blow of his sword split a rail. The second opened a gap wide enough for a man. By then, the prisoners were climbing the bank among the trees.

Klark sent everyone across a narrow plank used by the timber workers. He waited for Mael, then hauled it off its supports. The water below was deep enough to slow a walking man. Harbu stopped on the opposite bank and watched them leave.

Beyond the Yard — The checked return path · Later that morning

They did not stop until the timber yard was well out of sight. Nearly two dozen people had reached the path. Several had rope burns. One man had been carried the last stretch. Selin counted them while Fiona checked the rear of the group.

Fiona Aedelmar: There were more at the trench.

Klark Kessern: Dead. I checked before we left the carts.

Fiona wiped her blade with grass, then with the cloth from her belt. She kept rubbing after the blood was gone. Mael asked for the head count. Selin gave it twice because he had already turned to study the wet road behind them.

Faln Stirme: What was that knight?

Master Mael: A core guardian, unless I've forgotten how to recognize one. Which I have not. Someone has bound a formidable servant to a demon core.

Selin Anvell: So there's a demon lord here?

Master Mael: That would explain the commander, the dead and the prisoners. It is enough reason to send a warning. We can argue about names once we're somewhere with walls.

The farmer's husband pointed towards the swamp. During the night, he said, the guards had taken one cart that way. It had been full of living people. The empty cart had returned before sunrise, and new walking corpses had entered the yard behind it.

Faln looked down the path they had just climbed. There was no route from here to the swamp that did not pass the enemy again. He asked the man to repeat what he had seen to Selin so she could write it down.

When they reached the shelter, the farmer tried to stand too quickly. Her husband crossed the last few steps before she could fall. He caught her around the shoulders and kept saying that he had looked for her. Faln stopped outside to give them room.

Klark put the older rescued woman on the bench and asked who could still walk. Fiona filled every bottle from their remaining water. Mael trimmed a forked branch with Klark’s knife to make a crutch, then began arranging the departure.

A Name in Abisu

A Name in Abisu — The westbound road · That evening

They walked until several of the prisoners could no longer keep up. Fiona wanted to reach the main road before dark. Klark showed her the blood inside one man's shoe, then helped him sit on a fallen trunk. They made camp within sight of both approaches.

Faln brought wood while Selin cleaned rope burns. Mael divided the group into those who needed help and those who could provide it. He gave the farmer's husband a water bottle and sent him around the camp, checking that everybody drank.

There was no pot large enough for all of them. Fiona supervised three small fires and pretended not to notice when Klark scraped half the contents of her first attempt off the bottom. By the second pot, she accepted his instructions.

Klark Kessern: Stir it before it sticks. Once it's black, stirring only distributes the mistake.

Fiona Aedelmar: If you want something perfectly cooked, we can all go back to the guild.

Klark Kessern: That is precisely the recommendation I planned to make after dinner.

The farmer laughed, then pressed a hand over her mouth. Her husband gave her a puzzled look. She shook her head and laughed again, more quietly. Fiona handed her a bowl and made sure the next serving came from the top of the pot.

People sat beside the cooking fires with their shoes off and their blankets around their shoulders.

Later, the group moved another short distance to a dry clearing. Clouds broke above the track, letting enough moonlight through for the people at the back to follow. Klark walked beside the older woman rather than asking her to hurry.

[Picture: Villagers carry their bundles away from a settlement under moonlight.]

An Ordinary Lesson — The clearing · Before the first watch

Faln found a clear patch of ground and practiced the movement Thragann had taught him. On his third attempt, Fiona tapped his elbow with the flat of her scabbard. He lowered it and tried again.

Fiona Aedelmar: Better. You don't have to lift your whole shoulder to move the sword.

Faln Stirme: I lost it for a moment. In the yard. If Klark hadn't been there—

Fiona Aedelmar: He was there. Next time, put it somewhere you can reach without kneeling under an enemy. Or ask someone else to cut the rope.

Faln practiced setting the blade down beside his front foot, then picking it up without looking away. Fiona made him do it slowly. At the other end of the clearing, Selin watched Mael place a pebble on an upturned cup.

Master Mael: Touch it. Lift it to the height of your hand. Hold it there.

Selin Anvell: I can do that part.

Master Mael: You can do it while nobody is speaking. I am going to complain about your technique. Your task is to leave the pebble where it is.

Selin touched the stone. It rose above the cup. Mael criticized her wrist, her breathing and the fact that she had chosen a pebble with an irritating shape. She started to answer the last complaint. The stone landed with a sharp tap.

Selin Anvell: You chose it.

Master Mael: Excellent memory. Poor concentration. Again.

On the second attempt, the pebble stayed in place. On the third, Raven climbed onto the cup. Selin caught the toad before it pushed the cup over. Mael took him back, grumbling that amphibians had very little respect for structured learning.

Fiona laughed. Selin waited until Mael had turned away, then made the pebble rise beside Fiona's shoulder. Fiona tried to look at it without moving her head. Faln lost his footing while watching them and had to start his drill again.

When they finished, he sat beside his pack and repaired the severed strap with a piece of cord. His father's wooden sword slid out of the shirt wrapped around it. He put it back before anybody could tread on it.

Fiona Aedelmar: Was it his?

Faln Stirme: He made it. Said I should learn where the point was before anybody trusted me with a sharp one.

Fiona Aedelmar: Sounds sensible.

Faln Stirme: I wish he could see this one. I think he'd say it's too long, even if it wasn't. Then he'd show me how to hold it.

Fiona sat down to work a stone out of her boot. She did not ask him to explain what had happened to his father. After a while, Faln took the wooden sword out again and showed her where he had worn the grip smooth.

[Picture: Faln Stirme]

[Picture: Fiona Aedelmar]

The Core Below the Swamp — Abisu · The Throne of Darkness

Harbu entered the throne chamber with mud drying on his armor. Behind him, two servants of the core dragged in a body. Haruka sat sideways on her throne, one boot against its arm. She straightened when she saw how little they had brought.

Haruka: Where are the others?

Harbu: Taken from the timber yard. Adventurers opened a side gate. They led the prisoners into the forest.

Haruka lowered her boot to the floor. Beside the throne, light moved inside the demon core. The body lay close to it. A hand that had hung loose against the stones began to curl. Harbu kept his attention on Haruka.

Haruka: How many adventurers?

Harbu: Five. Two swords, two mages, an elf who used knives. One of the swordsmen was a boy.

Haruka: Five. You let five people take an entire yard from you?

Harbu: They struck while I inspected the road. The prisoners had an escape route prepared. We should strengthen the collection points before sending more patrols away from them.

She stood and approached the core. Its light brightened across the metal fittings on her clothes. The dead servant on the floor pushed itself onto one elbow, then rose at a movement of her hand.

Haruka: They came to see a few empty farms. Send them home frightened, and every road will be full of people running from me. That will make the next collection easier.

Harbu: They have already seen the dead. They will warn the guild. Its soldiers will come looking for the core.

Haruka: Then let them look. You've killed better warriors than some boy. Did he even have a name?

Harbu: Faln Stirme. He shouted it across the yard.

Haruka repeated the name once. She picked a small piece of dried mud from Harbu's gauntlet and dropped it onto the floor. Her fingernail left a clean line across the black metal.

Haruka: Was I supposed to recognize it?

Harbu: He wanted the prisoners released.

Haruka: And you let him tell you that. In front of everyone.

Harbu did not lower his head. He kept the greatsword upright beside him, both hands resting on its hilt. The newly raised servant waited against the wall. Haruka glanced at it, then back at him.

Harbu: The core is here, my dark mistress. Our strongest defense should remain close to it. Let me hold the border roads. We can stop the investigation without exposing you.

Haruka: I'm not hiding down here because a child made a speech. Find them before they reach their guild. Bring me news worth hearing.

He bowed once. Haruka stayed beside the core as he left. When the doors closed, she ordered the new servant closer. It obeyed without hesitation. She made it kneel, then stand, then kneel again.

A Message West — A guarded waystation · The next morning

At the main road, they found two grain carts waiting for an escort. The drivers had stopped after hearing about the missing farms. Their guards cleared space under the awning while Klark helped the oldest refugees onto the empty sacks.

Fiona showed the guards her guild token. Selin gave the senior driver a written report addressed to Brakka and asked him to deliver it with the survivors. Mael added his own name beneath hers, complaining that there was barely room for it.

To Guildmaster Brakka: We found empty farms, opened graves and organized walking dead. Nearly two dozen captives have been freed and travel with this convoy. A black-armored commander directs the abductions. A demon core may be involved. Prepare aid and a proper response. Selin Anvell; Master Mael.

Selin kept her route notes and a copy of the report. The farmer climbed aboard with help from her husband. Before sitting, she asked Faln to come close enough that she did not have to shout.

The Farmer: He told me what you said. About the shelter. Thank you for remembering.

Faln Stirme: It was only a few things. I wrote them down.

The Farmer: He was afraid I was still at the house. He would have gone back there.

She pressed a small packet of dried apples into his hand. He tried to give it back until her husband showed him the second packet. Then he tucked it into his coat and helped secure their bundle beside the wheel.

The last people to board had come from a mill farther along the border road. Two of their companions had hidden in its storehouse during the raid. They had not been brought to the timber yard. No one knew whether they were still there.

Fiona Aedelmar: The mill road branches off before the farms. We can check it without going near the yard.

Master Mael: We have sent our warning. That does not oblige us to volunteer for the next disaster.

Fiona Aedelmar: They have no warning. If the dead come back, they won't know where to go.

Klark asked the mill workers about the storehouse, the doors and the ground behind it. Selin marked the answers beside the route already in her notes. Mael listened with his arms folded, then demanded to see the drawing.

Master Mael: We approach from the trees. If the road is held, we turn back. If the building is full of enemies, we turn back. I want agreement before we leave.

Fiona agreed. So did Faln. Klark filled their bottles from the waystation well while Selin watched the carts depart with their guards. The farmer lifted one hand from beneath the awning. Faln waved until the road turned.

They returned along the narrower track. Near the mill turning, Klark found fresh boot marks crossing the path in a straight line. No cart had made them. He crouched beside the nearest print and signaled for everyone to stop.

The Black Knight

The Black Knight — The mill turning · Afternoon

Klark laid his fingers inside one of the fresh prints. Water had barely begun to collect in the heel. He checked the opposite verge, then stepped back onto the packed center of the path.

Klark Kessern: Armored feet. At least four. They crossed towards the main road, then came back this way. I don't like it.

Fiona Aedelmar: How far to the storehouse?

Klark Kessern: Close enough to see it from the next rise. I'll look. The rest of you stay here, and if I wave you back, go.

He returned without drawing a weapon. The mill was empty. In the storehouse, somebody had packed the remaining flour and taken the tools. A message scratched onto a loose board said the two workers had left with westbound charcoal carriers that morning.

Selin checked the writing against the directions the rescued mill workers had given her. The names matched. Fiona asked whether there was any sign of a struggle. Klark shook his head and held up the board so she could see the fresh shavings beneath the letters.

Fiona Aedelmar: Good. We go back to the waystation. They might have reached it by now.

Mael was already turning around. Raven shifted in his pouch when he tightened his belt. Faln looked once towards the mill, relieved that they would not have to search it room by room. Then something struck wood behind them.

An arrow stood in the trunk beside Selin's head. She ducked. Two dead archers rose from a ditch across the path. Farther back, a third shape moved out of the trees and blocked the direction from which they had come.

Harbu stepped onto the track. He carried his greatsword low in both hands. Mud marked his greaves, and one of the rails he had cut at the yard had left a pale scrape across his armor.

Harbu: Faln Stirme.

Faln Stirme: You remember me.

Harbu: Put down the sword. Your companions too.

Fiona moved in front of Faln. Klark took one step towards the edge of the path, keeping his hands away from his knives. Mael glanced from the knight to the archers and drew Selin closer with two fingers hooked around her sleeve.

Fiona Aedelmar: Let us pass. The people from the yard are already gone. You won't catch them by keeping us here.

Harbu: I did not come for them.

Fiona changed her grip on the shield. A second arrow came from the ditch. Selin raised her staff, and a brief ward broke the arrow's path before it reached her chest. She gasped at the impact and backed against Mael.

Master Mael: Off the road. Together. Fiona, give us space to move.

Fiona advanced instead. She kept her shield high and angled towards Harbu's sword arm, looking for the side of his armor. Faln followed because she had moved, then stopped when Mael shouted his name.

A Fighter’s Distance — The road beside the mill

Fiona Aedelmar: He's slower in that armor. Klark, take the other side.

Klark Kessern: Fiona, back up!

Her first strike met the flat of the greatsword. Harbu barely moved his feet. She changed direction and cut towards his thigh. He turned the blow away, stepped into her reach, and struck her shield hard enough to drive its edge against her shoulder.

Fiona stumbled. She recovered before he could follow, shortened her stance and tried to draw his next blow wide. For an instant, it seemed to work. His blade went past her shield. She stepped forward to answer it.

He brought the greatsword back before she finished the step. The edge cut beneath her raised arm, deep into her left side. Fiona dropped to one knee. Her shield slipped from her hand and struck the road.

Fiona’s shield lay face down in the mud. Blood ran between her fingers beneath her ribs.

Faln Stirme: Fiona!

She tried to stand with her sword still raised. Her left leg folded. Selin took a step towards her, then stopped. Harbu stood close enough to strike again. Fiona's blood had reached the belt at her waist.

Selin Anvell: Fiona. Fiona, get up. Please get up.

Mael told Selin to move behind the bank. She did not turn towards him. Her lips moved through the first words of a spell, stopped, and started again. The staff shook against a stone in the path.

Klark's first knife struck Harbu's upper arm and glanced off the plate. His second forced the knight to turn his head. Klark ran towards Fiona while the archers drew again. Mael thrust Selin behind the nearest trunk and moved into the open.

Master Mael: Look here, you armored oaf!

He snapped his fingers. Harbu checked his step and turned towards the sound. A moment later, he faced Fiona again. Mael caught the knight with his other spell, gripping his own wrist as Harbu strained against the restraint.

Faln rushed past him. He struck at the arm holding the greatsword. Harbu broke free of the spell and knocked the small blade aside. His next blow caught Faln across the ribs with the flat. The boy fell hard onto his left shoulder.

For a few seconds, Faln could not breathe. He tried to get his knees beneath him. The sword lay under his arm. Harbu stepped past it without looking down, moving towards Fiona as she dragged herself backwards through the mud.

Faln got one hand around the hilt and pushed himself up. His legs shook. He put himself in front of Fiona, holding the sword across his chest with both hands because one would no longer keep it level.

Faln Stirme: Stay away from her.

Harbu knocked the blade down. The hilt struck Faln above the eye. He dropped against Fiona, who caught his sleeve with her free hand. The greatsword rose above them. Faln bent over her head and shut his eyes.

The blade struck the ground beside his knee. Harbu had turned it at the end of the blow. Faln stared at the cut in the mud, then up at the knight. There was room for him to strike again. He did not.

Harbu held the sword beside Faln. Its edge was clear of both him and Fiona.

Faln could see the knight's eyes. He searched his face for anger, for a warning, for anything he understood. Harbu looked at Fiona's hand gripping the boy's sleeve. Then a knife struck the tree beside his head.

Get Her Out — The ditch and the trees

Klark Kessern: Faln! Move!

Klark reached Fiona and pulled her sword from the hand she could no longer close. He slid it into its sheath at her belt. Then he pressed a folded scarf hard against her left side and made Faln put his hand over it.

Klark Kessern: Hold that. Hard. Whatever else happens, keep pressing.

Mael threw a handful of loose road grit towards the archers and ran across their line of sight. One loosed too early. The other aimed past him at Klark. Mael caught that archer with his grip and clenched his hand as it struggled in place.

The spell held the archer still. It did not stop the other dead from advancing out of the ditch. Klark put one arm behind Fiona's shoulders, the other beneath her knees, and lifted. She cried out once, then pressed her teeth together.

Fiona Aedelmar: My shield.

Klark Kessern: Leave it.

Faln kept his hand against the wound until Klark had Fiona settled against him. Klark used the weight of her body to pin the cloth in place, then told Faln to keep a hand over it as they moved. They crossed the ditch at an angle, slipping on the wet bank.

Selin stood beside the trunk where Mael had left her. Faln caught her sleeve with his free hand. She looked at his face, saw the blood above his eye, and made a sound he could not answer. He pulled again.

Faln Stirme: Walk with me. Selin, please. Klark needs us.

She followed. At the top of the bank, she held a branch away from Fiona's face while Klark passed. Then she held the next one. Mael released the archer and climbed after them, using roots to pull himself up.

Behind him, Harbu ordered the dead into the trees. Mael did not look back. He found the narrow place between two trunks and waited until the first pursuer reached it. His restraining spell stopped the corpse in the gap, blocking the two behind it.

Master Mael: That will not hold them long. Keep going!

Klark took them off the obvious path and down a shallow run of water. He stepped from stone to stone until Faln's breathing grew ragged, then turned into thick brush. Selin used both hands to keep the branches from catching Fiona's legs.

Faln had to let go of the cloth to climb a bank. Blood covered his palm. He tried to wipe it on his coat, missed, and smeared it across the repaired pack strap. Klark stopped just long enough for him to put his hand back in place.

Inside Elgolis — Dense woodland · Late afternoon

They reached a hollow screened by fallen branches. Klark lowered Fiona onto his cloak while Mael watched the route behind them. Selin knelt beside her and stared at the soaked scarf. Faln pushed a clean fold of cloth into her hands.

Faln Stirme: Dridia gave us these. We still have these.

Selin put the fresh cloth over the old one and pressed with both hands. Fiona opened her eyes. She tried to say Selin's name, stopped to breathe, and managed it on the second attempt.

Fiona Aedelmar: Selin. Here.

Selin Anvell: I'm here. I've got it. Stay still.

Klark checked Faln's ribs with careful fingers. Faln flinched but pushed his hand away and pointed to Fiona. Klark looked towards Mael. The wizard had returned without a pursuer behind him, but he shook his head when Klark began to ask.

Master Mael: I can keep something off us. I cannot mend that wound. We need a healer, and we need one now.

Faln looked at the path they had left. He could not hear armor or footsteps. That did not tell him how far Harbu was behind them. He remembered the sword in the mud beside his knee and could find no reason for it.

Fiona's fingers loosened around Selin's wrist. Selin leaned close to check that she was still breathing. Klark lifted her again before anyone suggested waiting. Mael chose the opening between two dense stands of hazel and led the way.

Faln secured his steel sword, checked that the wooden one was still inside his pack, and followed with the remaining bandages. Selin walked beside Klark, keeping the fresh cloth pressed against Fiona's side.

An Old Wanderer

An Old Wanderer

Klark stopped when his arms began to shake. He lowered Fiona beside a root, keeping her head against his shoulder. Faln took over pressing the cloth while Selin folded a cloak beneath her head. He kept both hands in place.

Faln Stirme: She was talking a little while ago. Fiona? We stopped. You can complain about it now.

Her eyes moved beneath their lids. Nothing else. Mael crouched with a hand against the tree, breathing through his mouth. Raven crawled from his collar and settled against his wrist. Behind them, a branch snapped.

Klark Kessern: Stay there.

He drew a knife without standing. A man with a long beard came round the trunk carrying a basket and a walking stick. His boots were muddy. A patch on one knee had been sewn on crookedly.

Bram: That cloth needs changing. Keep pressing while I put this down.

Klark Kessern: Who are you?

Bram: Bram. I live here, more or less. Clean water in the basket. The bottle with the blue string, please.

Klark kept the knife low. Bram knelt where he could see both hands and eased two fingers against Fiona’s neck. He waited, counting. Then he looked at Selin, whose hand was still wrapped around Fiona’s sleeve.

Bram: I can help her. You may stay beside her. But I need room on this side.

Selin Anvell: She’s lost so much. We couldn’t stop—

Bram: I see. Hold the bottle while I wash my hands.

Selin nearly dropped it. Bram steadied the bottom with one palm and let her pour. He washed the dirt from his fingers, dried them on his own sleeve, and placed his hands over the soaked dressing. Faln tried to move away. Bram shook his head.

Bram: Stay until I tell you. You’ve been doing the right thing.

He began to hum. The tune wandered badly. A low warmth reached Faln’s fingers through the cloth; when Bram lifted its edge, the bleeding had slowed. The torn skin beneath drew together in small, visible movements. Fiona inhaled sharply.

Selin kept hold of Fiona’s sleeve.

Fiona Aedelmar: Don’t sing.

Selin gave a startled laugh and immediately began crying. Bram stopped humming. He examined the wound again, laid a clean cloth over it and guided Faln’s cramped hands away.

Bram: A harsh review. I’ll accept it from a patient. Now lie still; you’ve had an extremely unpleasant afternoon.

Fiona Aedelmar: Where’s the knight?

Klark Kessern: Behind us. We got you out. Keep looking at me if that helps. I’m prettier.

Fiona tried to answer and coughed instead. Bram held the bottle to her lips for one careful sip. Mael moved closer, studying the edge of the new dressing. His mouth opened. Bram handed him a blanket before he could speak.

Bram: Under her knees, please. Gently.

Master Mael: I know how to place a blanket. I was examining your work. There’s barely any—

Bram: Later. Her feet are cold.

Mael tucked the blanket under Fiona’s knees. Klark finally put his knife away. A distant clatter came from beyond the trees, followed by another branch breaking. Everyone looked back along the route they had taken.

Bram: We’ll move somewhere quieter. She shouldn’t be carried far.

He took them between two mossy trunks. Faln looked back once: Bram had lifted his stick, and branches were bending across the narrow opening behind them. Leaves brushed together until Faln could no longer see the route.

Faln Stirme: Did you do that?

Bram: Yes. Watch your footing. There’s a step just here.

That evening

They carried Fiona into a small clearing with a dry bank and a spring. Bram spread blankets on the bank. No tents appeared, no attendants came running; Klark gathered firewood, and Mael spent several minutes finding a place where he could sit without a root beneath him.

Master Mael: There used to be proper roads through forests. I remember designing one that adjusted itself to the traveller’s preferred gradient.

Klark Kessern: Was it paved?

Master Mael: Naturally.

Klark Kessern: We should have gone there.

Mael glared at him. Klark returned to the spring with the water bottle. Fiona had fallen asleep under Bram’s blanket, breathing steadily enough that Selin had stopped counting each breath. Faln sat beside her boots with his borrowed sword across his knees.

Bram: I’ve closed the worst of it. She still needs food, sleep, and time. Tomorrow she may feel well enough to be foolish. Please discourage that.

Selin Anvell: I’ve been trying for years.

Bram gave her a small honey-cake and left another near Fiona’s hand. Selin broke hers in two. She offered half to Faln; he shook his head, then accepted when she continued holding it out.

Faln Stirme: He could have killed me. He had his sword right there. I thought he was going to. Then he just stopped.

Klark Kessern: I saw the opening. I didn’t see why he gave it to us.

Faln Stirme: Did I do something? Something he—

Klark Kessern: I don’t know, Faln. I wouldn’t count on him stopping again.

Faln turned the sword over. Mud had dried against the guard. He scraped it away with a twig until Klark gave him a rag and showed him how to keep the cutting edge away from his fingers.

Faln Stirme: Thragann said to clean it after rain. I forgot.

Klark Kessern: He’ll forgive that. He’ll be less pleased if you cut your thumb off cleaning it.

Bram cleaned the cut on Faln’s brow, checked his bruised shoulder, then examined Mael’s arm. Mael insisted it had been worse before he was born. Bram asked him to straighten the elbow. He did, with considerable complaint.

Abisu — the same night

Harbu stopped below the throne. Mud had dried in the seams of his black armor. Haruka waited until he looked up before she rose, one hand closing around the hilt at her hip.

Haruka: Where is he?

Harbu: They escaped into Elgolis.

Haruka: You found them. You found the boy, you had your sword, and you came back alone.

Harbu did not answer. Haruka descended one step. Behind the throne, the core brightened; red light reached the edges of the steps, then faded.

Haruka: Faln Stirme. That’s his name. I want him dead. Is that difficult to understand?

Harbu: The guild will come in force. We can withdraw the hunting bands. Keep what is here.

Haruka: Keep what is here? Hide underground because some little hero shouted at you?

Harbu: More villages will empty before our soldiers reach them. The survivors are warning the roads. This campaign is bringing every blade in Gadresh towards you.

She crossed the remaining steps and shoved his breastplate with both hands. He moved back a pace. Her fingers stayed flat against the metal for a moment before she pulled them away.

Haruka: You’re a servant. My servant. You don’t decide when I’ve had enough. You go where I tell you.

Harbu: My dark mistress—

Haruka: Don’t say it like that. Don’t stand there being sorry for me. Bring me that boy.

Harbu lowered his head. She watched until he turned towards the door. Then she called him back, too quickly for him to have reached it.

Haruka: And the others. If they keep standing in front of him, kill them first.

Two mornings later

Fiona made it three steps before her legs shook. Selin caught her elbow. For once Fiona accepted the help immediately, though she objected when Faln brought the blanket as well.

Fiona Aedelmar: I’m standing up. I haven’t turned into furniture.

Selin Anvell: Then stop trying to move like you’ve got wheels.

They lowered her onto the bank. Her face was pale beneath the dirt Selin had missed behind one ear. Fiona studied the others: Klark’s scraped hands, Faln’s torn sleeve, Mael asleep upright with his pipe cold.

Fiona Aedelmar: I remember telling you we could take him.

Selin Anvell: I remember.

Fiona Aedelmar: You can say it.

Selin Anvell: I don’t want to. I wanted you to wake up.

Fiona looked down at their hands. She shifted hers under Selin’s grip and held on. Neither spoke until Raven jumped from Mael’s knee, landed badly and sat glaring at the grass.

Fiona Aedelmar: I’m awake. And I’ll listen when you tell me to stop. You may have to say it loudly.

Near the spring, Klark helped Bram wash the empty bottles. He waited until Fiona’s laughter reached them before speaking quietly.

Klark Kessern: There are stories about an old man in this forest. People get lost, then come home with food they didn’t pack.

Bram: They ought to pack better.

Klark Kessern: You knew we were here.

Bram: You were making quite a noise.

Klark set a bottle down carefully. He looked towards the path Bram had concealed, then back at the old man. Bram reached for the next bottle without offering an explanation.

Klark Kessern: Once, I ran from men who were taking people away. Someone let me sleep behind a kitchen. Didn’t ask what I’d stolen or whether I could pay.

Bram: A sensible person.

Klark Kessern: These four would have opened the front door and shouted at the men. I thought I should come along.

Bram handed him the clean bottle. Klark wiped it dry and returned to the others. Fiona had borrowed Faln’s shoulder for another attempt at standing. Selin stayed close, carrying neither sword nor blanket this time.

Fiona Aedelmar: When I can walk, we go to the guild. They need to know what’s coming.

Master Mael: Excellent. Chairs. A roof. Someone else preparing the tea.

Faln Stirme: And we tell them everything? Even the part where we ran?

Fiona Aedelmar: Especially that part.

Klark picked up Fiona’s pack. Bram walked ahead of them to check the path, humming the same badly wandering tune. When Fiona called for him to stop, he obliged after only one extra note.

The Muster

The Muster

Pella saw Fiona through the open guild doors and came out from behind the desk. She was smiling until she saw how slowly Fiona crossed the floor. Then she pushed two chairs apart, cleared a bench and called for water.

Pella: Sit. I’ll tell Brakka you’re here. No, you can tell me on the bench. I can hear you perfectly well from there.

Fiona Aedelmar: Everyone’s become very bossy while we were away.

Pella: You’ve been a bad influence.

Guildmaster Brakka: The grain convoy arrived. Your first report too. We’ve found beds for the people you brought out. Now tell me what happened after they left you.

Faln put their report on Brakka’s desk himself. His writing grew smaller towards the bottom, where he had tried to fit the ambush onto the last sheet. Brakka read it twice, asking him to point out places where he had seen something and places where he was guessing.

Guildmaster Brakka: This knight let you go?

Faln Stirme: He didn’t finish the strike. Klark got us out while Master Mael distracted him. I don’t know why he stopped.

Guildmaster Brakka: Then we’ll leave the reason out. The part about his reach stays. So does the part about the dead following orders.

Brakka called Dridia over and gave her the report. She took it to the table where incoming contracts were sorted. Three village names already lay beneath weights there. She added Faln’s sheet without putting it on the ordinary quest board.

Dridia: I’ve sent to Medel. They’ve seen refugees on the lake road. We need people who can escort them, not another solitary hero heading for the swamp.

Faln almost began describing how many they had saved. Instead he asked where the refugees were sleeping. Dridia passed him a second sheet, and he stayed at the desk until he understood the directions.

The training yard — the next afternoon

Hrutvalf had taken over a bench by the yard wall. He was lifting a heavy stone from the ground to his knees, setting it down and doing it again. Fiona stopped to watch. Selin stood beside her with a folded blanket that Fiona had failed to lose.

Hrutvalf Grond: You look bad.

Fiona Aedelmar: You look the same. I’m sorry about that.

Hrutvalf Grond: Black knight did it?

Fiona Aedelmar: Yes. And you can stop looking pleased. He’d cut through you too.

Hrutvalf set the stone down. He asked how big the knight was, how he held his sword, whether he favored either leg. The questions were unexpectedly sensible until he reached the last one.

Hrutvalf Grond: No curses?

Fiona Aedelmar: There was plenty of magic. Why don’t you ask Selin? She saw it.

He looked at Selin and closed a hand over his amulets. She stared back, then slowly unfolded the blanket. Fiona sat on it before either of them could say anything more.

Hrutvalf Grond: I’m still having that rematch. When you’re better.

Fiona Aedelmar: You owe me three victories before you start choosing the date.

On the other side of the yard, Gorgral caught a recruit’s practice shield and yanked it down. The recruit stumbled. Pella, crossing with a roll of bandages, stopped beside them.

Pella: Give it back.

Gorgral: He lets go that easily, he won’t need it for long.

Pella: Then tell him where to put his hand. You’ve demonstrated the falling-over part.

Gorgral bared his teeth. Pella waited, the bandages tucked under one elbow. He shoved the shield back at the recruit, turned it and forced the loose strap through its buckle.

Gorgral: Here. Tighten it. You’re carrying a shield, not a tray.

The recruit tried again. This time he kept his footing. Pella continued into the hall. Gorgral watched her go, then told the recruit to stop looking so pleased with himself.

Visitors from Medel

Elin Ralth arrived with mud up the legs of her white trousers and a bag over one shoulder. She dropped the bag at the end of the long table, accepted Pella’s cup and drank before asking which person had described the enemy as unkillable. Valmuth’s report named the queen Haruka and her knight Harbu, identified by escaped prisoners.

Elin Ralth: Because that usually means somebody hit it badly.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lord Harbu is quite capable of being struck. Remaining alive while doing so appears to be the difficulty.

Valmuth had arrived that morning. His dark greatsword rested against his chair, within easy reach. Elin looked him up and down, apparently deciding whether the courtesy was a joke.

Elin Ralth: You’ve fought him?

Valmuth De Laurentis: Not yet. Lady Fiona has. I recommend asking her about his second stroke. The first was not what brought her down.

Fiona moved her chair to make room. Elin listened without interrupting as she described the fight. When Fiona finished, Elin raised both empty hands.

Elin Ralth: I don’t carry anything for him to knock away. That’s one advantage.

Fiona Aedelmar: He doesn’t need to disarm you. Please don’t try catching the sword.

Elin Ralth: I’m a brawler, not an idiot.

Faln laughed before he could stop himself. Elin pointed at his sword, then at the space beside her. She showed him where an opponent could catch his wrist if he crowded too close. He tried escaping her grip three times; on the fourth she let him finish the movement.

Elin Ralth: Better. Keep your elbow near you. And don’t announce which direction you’re going.

Faln Stirme: I wasn’t going to.

Thragann Bjorn: He’s reduced it to a warning before every other stroke. Remarkable progress.

Thragann placed a bowl of stew in front of Elin. She released Faln immediately to take it. He remained beside the table while she ate, asking questions about fighting without a weapon. By the time Pella came to collect cups, he had forgotten to drink his tea.

The warning

Brakka gathered the people who had volunteered for the border. Abelia arrived last, smelling of wet leather; she had been helping escort a cartload of displaced villagers through the eastern gate. Fiona shifted on the bench to make space for her.

Abelia Cyro: Did you save the comfortable end for yourself?

Fiona Aedelmar: I’ve been stabbed. It comes with privileges.

Abelia Cyro: Apparently including being impossible to argue with. Shift your elbow.

She sat close enough that Fiona could rest against the bench back without leaning on her wound. Neither acknowledged the adjustment. Valmuth spread a rough route sketch across the table and placed a cup over one curling corner.

Valmuth De Laurentis: We have reports from settlements that lost their dead before their living were attacked. Haruka is choosing ground she has already prepared. A quiet village may contain more soldiers than a defended one.

Guildmaster Brakka: You think the calls for help will be false.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Some will be real. That is the problem. She can leave survivors where we will have to approach them.

Dridia set down a wet scrap carried in by a messenger. The ink had run along one edge. A guild scout sent to check the swamp-fringe settlements had failed to return; the messenger had last heard him calling from a village beside the causeway.

Swamp fringe. People still alive in the village. Our scout was taken. Heard him calling from behind the houses. Dead on the lower road. The causeway was clear when I left.

Klark Kessern: When you left. That’s the useful part. We don’t know what’s there now.

Hrutvalf Grond: We go look. Bring them out.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Yes. With a retreat prepared before anyone enters a house.

They argued over numbers until Brakka made them consider the people who would remain to guard the city. Thragann wanted a broad escort; Dridia needed riders to warn other settlements. They divided the available people between the rescue, the road and Galadarn.

Pella: I’m coming with the carts. Sister Wend can keep the infirmary. If we find people hurt, I can help before we get them all the way home.

Guildmaster Brakka: You stay at the rear with the bandages. You don’t run after somebody because you recognize their coat.

Pella: I know what my job is.

He looked at her for several seconds, then pushed the supplies list towards her. She checked off water, clean cloth, blankets and rope. When she reached the last line, she went to find another cart.

Before departure

Thragann fitted Fiona with a replacement guild shield and tested her balance in the yard. She managed the first turn cleanly and faltered on the second. He stopped her before she could try again.

Thragann Bjorn: You’re riding. You’re staying close to the carts until we know the ground. And if you can’t lift that shield, somebody else takes your place.

Fiona Aedelmar: Abelia will enjoy that.

Thragann Bjorn: She can enjoy it while keeping you alive.

Selin watched from the steps. Fiona went to her instead of returning to the practice line. For a moment she seemed ready to argue with a second person; then she sat down and set her shield between her boots.

[Picture: Selin Anvell]

[Picture: Fiona Aedelmar]

Fiona Aedelmar: Tell me if I do it again. The part where I stop listening.

Selin Anvell: I will. You have to let me finish saying it.

Inside, Faln found Hrutvalf helping Pella lift a crate onto a cart. Gorgral stood by the traces, complaining that someone had packed the heavy supplies on the wrong side. Elin was tying her bag down. She checked Faln’s sword strap when he climbed up beside it.

Elin Ralth: You can reach that buckle?

Faln Stirme: Yes.

Elin Ralth: Good. Try it with your eyes shut.

He did. She gave the strap one last pull and moved aside so Thragann could check the cart. Pella came out with the final blanket, counted heads, and handed Brakka the list of everyone riding.

The Guild’s Blood

The Guild’s Blood

They reached the village after a slow approach along the raised track. Thragann sent two riders to examine the verge and kept the carts at the fork. Beyond a fenced orchard, a narrower path returned to the same road. Klark checked it on foot and tied a strip of cloth where it joined.

Water stood in the empty fields. A door knocked against its frame with each gust. There was no smoke from the houses, but someone was calling from behind them, a hoarse voice pausing to breathe between cries.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Fresh earth beside the well. And along that wall. Lady Fiona, remain with the carts. Lord Klark, come back from the houses.

Klark had already turned. The voice called again, asking them not to leave. Faln could see a sleeve moving through a broken fence, then a hand. A living person was there. He looked at Thragann rather than running towards it.

Thragann Bjorn: I see him. We go together. Watch the ground.

The bell rang once. Its cracked note cut off sharply. Beside the well, a figure pushed upright with earth still sliding from its shoulders. Another pulled free beneath the wall. Behind the carts, hands broke through the verge the scouts had just crossed.

Wet earth slid off the dead as they climbed onto the road.

Pella: Behind us!

The rear riders turned to meet them. One cart horse reared, wrenching the shafts sideways. Pella seized its bridle; Gorgral dragged her clear when the horse struck out. The cart tipped into the ditch, scattering blankets across the water.

Gorgral: Leave the horse. Get the people out of its way.

Thragann reached the captured scout with Faln at his heel. Rope held the man to a post behind the fence. His mouth was bleeding from the repeated cries. Faln cut the wrist bindings while Thragann kept two dead villagers away from them.

Faln Stirme: Can you stand? Lean on me. This way.

The scout tried and fell. Faln caught an arm, nearly falling with him. Elin stepped through the broken fence, kicked a corpse away from Thragann’s knee, and took the scout’s other side. Together they dragged him towards the orchard.

Elin Ralth: Short steps. Don’t try lifting all of him.

Harbu came through the gap between two houses. Hrutvalf turned towards him, lifting his weapon. Behind the knight, more dead entered the lane in rows, their feet striking the wet ground almost together.

Hrutvalf Grond: You! Come here!

He struck before Harbu could answer. The blow rang against the greatsword and drove the knight back half a step. Hrutvalf followed, roaring, and swung again. Harbu let the stroke pass his shoulder. Both his hands shifted on the greatsword’s grip.

Fiona Aedelmar: Hrutvalf, get back!

Harbu drove the blade into him. Hrutvalf’s weapon fell. He caught the knight’s forearm with one hand, still trying to hold himself upright; Harbu pulled free, and Hrutvalf dropped onto the track. He did not move again.

Fiona stared at Hrutvalf’s body.

Fiona was already past the carts. Faln saw her coming and left the scout with Elin. He reached Hrutvalf first, but Harbu stepped over the body, cutting him off. Faln backed towards Fiona with both hands tight around his borrowed sword.

Harbu: Stand aside.

Fiona Aedelmar: You’ll have to move us.

She took the first stroke on an angled shield and stumbled as her injured side tightened. Klark’s knife struck the edge of Harbu’s breastplate. The knight turned towards him, giving Fiona time to recover her feet. Faln struck at the exposed side and hit armor.

Klark Kessern: Don’t stay there! Faln, left!

Faln jumped back. Harbu’s sword cut through the space beside his shoulder and struck the gatepost. Chips hit Fiona’s face. She pressed forward while the blade was low; Klark threw another knife at the knight’s hands. It glanced away.

The carts

Pella had the scout on a blanket near the fallen cart. She pressed her hands against his wound. Behind her, two inexperienced adventurers struggled to carry a man who could not put weight on his leg. The dead were reaching through the spilled supplies.

Pella: Orchard path! The fence has a gate. Take him through there!

Gorgral shoved the overturned cart across the narrowest part of the track. Its wheel caught in a root. He braced one shoulder beneath the frame and hacked at the hands coming over it with his axe.

Gorgral: Move! Stop looking at me and move!

One of the young adventurers lost his grip on the injured man. Pella left the scout long enough to help him up. Gorgral’s boots slid in the mud. A corpse forced its head beneath the cart and seized his ankle.

He stamped down and cut again. Pella dragged the injured man beyond the orchard gate. When she turned, Gorgral was holding the cart with both hands. His axe lay out of reach. More dead had come through the ditch behind him.

Pella: Gorgral! Leave it!

Gorgral: Get them through.

He tried to turn, but the cart shifted onto his hip. A dead soldier thrust from the other side. Gorgral jerked, lost his grip and sank against the wheel. Pella started towards him. Thragann caught her around the waist and pulled her through the gate as the cart fell flat.

She fought his hold until she saw Gorgral beneath the bodies, his yellow eyes open and still. Thragann set her down beside the scout. She stayed on her knees, one hand reaching back towards the road.

The orchard wall

Elin had cleared a gap where part of the fence had broken. She drove a knee into a dead man’s chest, shoved him into the next and beckoned three trapped riders across. The last rider’s boot caught in the wire. She bent to free it.

A hand caught her ponytail from behind. She struck backwards with her elbow, missed, and went down against the wall. Faln heard her shout. He looked away from Harbu for half a second, and the knight’s next stroke knocked his sword arm sideways.

Klark Kessern: Stay with us!

Elin rolled onto one knee and punched the corpse holding her. Another seized her wrist. She kicked, trying to make room to stand; hands caught her legs from the ditch. Her voice rose once, calling for help, and then stopped beneath the cluster at the wall.

Abelia reached her too late. She cut through the nearest dead and tried to pull Elin by the shoulder. Elin’s head fell back. Abelia let go when a blade struck her right arm. Her rapier dropped into the mud.

Fiona Aedelmar: Abelia!

Fiona broke away from Harbu. Klark stepped into the space she left and slashed at the knight’s wrist, then retreated before the greatsword could turn. Faln backed with him, watching Fiona reach the wall.

Abelia had a second wound in her side. Fiona hooked her left arm beneath Abelia’s good shoulder and dragged. A dead hand caught Fiona’s shield strap, wrenching it backwards; another blade cut her forearm. She lost her footing and fell beside her rival.

Abelia Cyro: Go. You can’t lift me.

Fiona Aedelmar: I can drag you. Help me do that.

Abelia pushed with her heels. Fiona managed a yard before her injured side seized. Thragann reached them, drove the nearest attackers back and hauled Abelia upright. Fiona clung to his belt as he brought them towards the orchard gate.

The gate

Haruka stood beside the well, dark vapor curling around her sleeves. Her gaze moved past the wounded towards Faln. Mael saw her lift one hand and pulled Selin down beside the gatepost.

Master Mael: There. Look at the little show she’s putting on. All that smoke, and she still needs to see where she’s aiming.

Haruka: You think I need advice from you?

Master Mael: Desperately. Your casting hand is doing half the work twice.

Black shapes gathered above her palm, spreading into a dense swarm. They turned towards the gate, where the wounded were bunching up. Mael snapped a short phrase and closed his fingers. The gathering swarm broke apart before it could reach them.

He staggered against the post. Blood ran from one nostril. Selin reached for his arm, but he pointed to the narrow gate beyond them, still barred across the orchard’s far exit.

Master Mael: The bar. Go round, open it. They can’t climb that fence.

Selin Anvell: There are dead on the other side. I can’t—

Master Mael: Shield yourself first. Then keep close to the fence. You need one clear moment to lift it. Watch the hand coming through, not all of them at once.

Selin’s shield formed around her just as a corpse lunged through the broken fence. Its blow glanced off. She stumbled, recovered and ran along the inside of the orchard, counting the posts until she reached the far gate.

She lifted the bar with both hands. It stuck against a swollen bracket. Behind her, Pella was trying to make the scout stand. Selin braced one foot against the post and pulled again. The bar came free, tearing skin from her palm.

Selin Anvell: Here! It’s open!

Thragann brought Abelia through first. Fiona followed with Pella, gathering the people who had stopped when the route narrowed. Klark shouted to Faln, threw his last ready knife and ran. Faln followed him into the orchard.

Haruka stepped closer to the fence. Her mouth moved; Faln suddenly could not make himself approach the gate. He saw Hrutvalf falling again, though the body was behind him. Selin was calling his name. His knees would not straighten.

Master Mael: No. You don’t get a second one.

Mael thrust his hand towards Haruka. Her fear-hex broke mid-casting. Faln lurched forward as the pressure eased. Mael dropped to one knee, blood spilling onto his beard. Selin ran back, caught him under the arm and called Klark to help.

Haruka: Faln! Harbu, stop him!

The knight reached the near gate as Valmuth backed through it. Their greatswords struck. Valmuth gave ground towards the open exit, keeping the knight’s blade away from the people passing behind him. Thragann doubled back to take Mael’s other arm.

Klark pulled Faln onto the path. Selin followed, carrying Raven against her chest. At the fork, the cloth Klark had tied still marked the way. Pella tore it free and ran after the last moving cart.

The Survivors

The Survivors

They stopped beyond a bend where the raised road crossed firmer ground. Klark went back far enough to watch the approach. Thragann helped Pella lower Abelia from the cart. Fiona climbed down without asking for help and had to sit immediately.

Abelia Cyro: My arm. Don’t pull that arm.

Pella: I won’t. Let me see your side first. Fiona, keep this cloth pressed here. Your good hand, please.

Abelia bit the edge of her sleeve while Pella cut away the soaked fabric. Fiona looked at the wound, then at the road, then back at the wound. She placed her palm where Pella showed her.

Fiona Aedelmar: Nana will be furious about your clothes.

Abelia Cyro: She’ll be furious with me. The clothes are innocent.

Fiona laughed once, breathlessly. Abelia managed a small smile before Pella began. The healing closed enough of the wound to slow the bleeding. Her injured arm still lay at an awkward angle. Pella made a sling and tied it carefully beneath her good shoulder.

Pella: That needs proper attention at the hall. This will hold it for the ride. Tell me if your fingers start feeling different.

Abelia Cyro: They already feel dreadful.

Pella: Tell me if they feel dreadful differently.

Mael sat against the cart wheel, holding a cloth beneath his nose. Faln offered him water. He drank without criticizing its temperature, which frightened Faln more than the blood on his beard had.

Faln Stirme: Will you be all right?

Master Mael: Yes. Stop looking at me as though I’ve misplaced half my organs. I’m tired.

His hand shook when he returned the bottle. Faln took it by the bottom so Mael did not have to tighten his grip. Raven crawled across the old man’s knee and settled there, unusually still.

Taking names

Pella laid Brakka’s list across a flat board. Water had blurred several ticks. She asked each person to say who they had seen leave the village. When two reports disagreed, she wrote both in the margin and left space beside them.

Hrutvalf Grond — killed by Harbu. Gorgral — killed at the carts. Elin Ralth — killed beside the orchard wall. Abelia Cyro — alive, badly wounded. Scout — recovered. Remaining missing: confirm from witnesses; do not mark dead without evidence.

Pella: Who saw Elin?

Abelia Cyro: I did. I reached her. She was dead before I reached her.

Pella wrote it down. She stopped halfway through Elin’s surname to sharpen the point of her pencil against her knife. The first shaving broke. She tried again, more slowly.

Faln Stirme: He asked me to get out of the way. Harbu. After he killed Hrutvalf. As if he hadn’t just—

Faln could not finish. Fiona took the board from Pella while she worked on the pencil. There was mud beneath Fiona’s fingernails. She rubbed one thumb against it, leaving a dirty streak beside Hrutvalf’s name.

Fiona Aedelmar: He wanted a rematch.

Selin Anvell: I know.

Fiona Aedelmar: I was going to beat him again.

Selin moved closer on the cart step. Fiona kept looking at the name. Farther down the road, Thragann was asking the least injured volunteers to take turns walking so more people could ride.

Pella: Gorgral told me to go. I kept trying to get back to him. I might have—

Thragann Bjorn: The cart fell. I had hold of you. You couldn’t have reached him.

Pella: I know what you did. I’m trying to remember what I did.

Thragann sat down beside her. He did not offer another answer. She wrote the last few names, counted the people on the cart, and counted again when Valmuth appeared at the bend with two stragglers.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Harbu has returned to the village. The dead on the road are still following, but slowly. We should move before they close that distance.

One straggler had lost a boot. Klark gave him cloth to wrap around the foot, then took the front of the cart. Faln joined him at the wheel when it stuck. Behind them, Pella folded the list and put it inside her coat.

The next day

From a rise beside the route, Klark watched a column emerge on a distant track. He had hoped to see another group of survivors. Then he recognized the pale blue of Elin’s tunic and the dark fur beside it.

Elin walked with one arm hanging loose. Gorgral followed a few paces behind her, head inclined at an angle he had never held while alive. Neither looked towards the people calling from the edge of the road. Both kept the pace of the dead around them.

Elin and Gorgral kept walking with the dead.

Klark crawled backwards below the rise before standing. He told Valmuth what he had seen. Valmuth asked about the direction, the distance and whether any living captives were visible. Klark answered each question, then wiped both hands on his trousers.

Klark Kessern: We can’t go back for them.

Valmuth De Laurentis: No, Lord Klark. We cannot reach them with the people we have.

They changed the cart’s route. Thragann took the rear; Selin walked beside Fiona, watching for exposed roots. Faln carried Pella’s satchel because her shoulder had begun to cramp. No one asked for a heroic speech.

The pilgrim

The old man was sitting on a fallen trunk with his basket between his boots. He was singing quietly to himself. Fiona heard him before she saw the beard and shut her eyes for a moment.

Fiona Aedelmar: Oh, thank goodness. It’s him.

The Pilgrim: You’re carrying more people this time. Set the cart here. There’s dry ground beneath those leaves.

He looked at the injured one by one. He washed his hands, changed dressings and made people drink. With Abelia, he was very gentle. She tried to refuse the honey-cake until he said there were enough for everyone.

Abelia Cyro: I thought you were about to tell me sugar would cure this.

The Pilgrim: No. But you haven’t eaten since yesterday, and I’m told these are less offensive than my singing.

When his fingers rested beside her wounded arm, the swelling began to ease. Abelia watched without speaking. The pilgrim adjusted the sling afterwards and told her plainly that the arm still needed rest.

The Pilgrim: You won’t be fencing tomorrow.

Abelia Cyro: I wasn’t going to ask.

Fiona Aedelmar: She was.

Abelia looked at her. Fiona raised her good hand in surrender, then accepted the fresh dressing the pilgrim passed her. He treated the cut on her forearm and made her stop trying to hold all the bandages herself.

The Pilgrim: You’ll get another pair of hands sooner if you ask for them.

A crack of wood came from deeper in the forest. The old man looked up. He touched the trunk beside him; branches farther along the track bent across it, thickening until Klark could no longer see through. Their resting place remained open and dry.

Klark Kessern: You’ve done this before.

The Pilgrim: Several times. I wish fewer people arrived needing it.

Klark sat beside him. For a while they watched Pella passing cups. She knew which people could hold their own and which needed help before she reached them.

Klark Kessern: Men from the Church took my mother. I ran before they could take me too. I keep thinking I should have gone back sooner. Then today I couldn’t go back at all.

The Pilgrim: How old were you?

Klark Kessern: Small enough to fit through a kitchen window. That’s how I got away.

The pilgrim pushed the basket closer. Klark took a cake, broke it and held half without eating. Beyond the cart, Faln was adjusting the scout’s blanket so it would not catch beneath the wheel.

Klark Kessern: I don’t know why I told you that.

The Pilgrim: You don’t have to tell me anything else.

Klark ate slowly. When Faln came looking for another water bottle, he stood to help him fill it. He did not look rested when he returned, but his hands had stopped shaking.

Leaving the resting place

Thragann asked the pilgrim whether he could come to Galadarn. The old man looked towards the forest paths beyond the cart, where more travelers might still be coming, and shook his head.

The Pilgrim: There are others out here. I’ll find whoever I can. Take these people home.

Faln Stirme: We’re going back to fight her.

The Pilgrim: Then eat while the road is quiet. You’ll need your strength. And let someone look at that shoulder before you try carrying another person.

Faln shifted the satchel to his other side. He helped Pella settle the scout, then checked the loose wheel lashings Klark had shown him. Fiona climbed onto the cart with Selin’s help. Abelia moved her good hand to give her room.

[Picture: Selin Anvell]

[Picture: Fiona Aedelmar]

Fiona Aedelmar: You’d better not tell the guild I spent the journey sitting beside you.

Abelia Cyro: I intend to say you begged for the privilege.

Pella gave the pilgrim one of the empty cups. She tried to thank him and stopped. He took the cup, squeezed her hand once, and went to lift a branch clear of the track while the cart passed.

Before the Gates

Before the Gates

Brakka came down the steps when the cart reached the guild. Pella handed him the folded list before he could ask. He read the first three names, looked over her shoulder at the cart, and called for the infirmary doors to be opened.

Sister Wend took Abelia inside. Old Garn brought bowls, water and a chair for Mael, then went back for more. The wounded who could walk helped those who could not. Faln stayed beside the wheel until Brakka laid a hand on his uninjured shoulder.

Guildmaster Brakka: You can come in too.

Faln Stirme: There’s another cart behind us.

Guildmaster Brakka: I’ll meet it. Go and eat.

In the hall, someone had left Hrutvalf’s heavy stone beneath the training notice. Faln looked at it while he washed his hands. Pella stopped beside the board, reached for a fresh pin and put it down again. She took the list into Brakka’s office herself.

Castle Galadar — the following morning

Areon listened without interrupting. He sat with one hand on the arm of his chair, barely moving as Valmuth described the trap. At the mention of the raised guild members, his fingers tightened against the carved wood.

Areon: How many can we still put on the walls?

Thragann Bjorn: Fewer than yesterday. Some of the people who came home can carry a spear. Most need a bed.

Areon: And the villages along the road?

Valmuth De Laurentis: Those we reached have been warned. There will be people we did not reach, Your Majesty.

Areon rose and went to the map table. A captain moved the markers showing the latest sightings. Several stood beyond settlements Faln remembered from the journey. The king studied them long enough that Fiona shifted impatiently beside Selin.

Fiona Aedelmar: They’re already moving. We saw them.

She had spoken too sharply. Faln stared at the king, waiting for a reprimand. Areon turned towards her and looked at the bandage on her forearm.

Areon: Yes. They are. Open the western road for evacuation. The wounded leave first, with escorts. Bring the outer stores inside and put water at every gate.

Thragann Bjorn: Keep the escorts moving back and forth. If every armed person rides out with the first carts, the last people won’t have anyone.

Areon: Agreed. You will have the captain’s support. Tell him what you need.

Faln had expected a speech. Instead, the king began asking about wheels, food and where the infirmary could move if the eastern quarter was lost. When Faln mentioned the narrow road near the guild, Areon asked him to show it on the map.

The castle chapel

Treona was folding clean cloth beside a window. Talarn had spread a plan of the castle across the next table and was trying to keep its corners flat with cups. Both looked up when Areon brought the party through.

Areon: The chapel will receive casualties. You may help here while the outer defenses hold. When I send for you, you come immediately.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: We could take people through the garden corridor if the main stair gets crowded. It’s wider at the turn. I’ve measured it.

Areon: When?

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: This morning. I thought you would ask.

Treona reached across to save a cup before Talarn’s sleeve knocked it over. She moved the folded cloth away from the map and offered the pile to Pella.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: Are these useful this size? I can cut them smaller. I wasn’t sure.

Pella: These are good. Keep some wide enough for a sling. And put another stack where people coming in can see it.

Treona carried half the pile to the door. When a wounded soldier arrived leaning on a companion, she pulled a chair out of his path before speaking. Her first question was so quiet that he had to bend to hear it; the second was clearer.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: Your name, please. I’ll write it down so your friends can find you.

Pella passed Treona her pencil.

Pella watched her take the name. She passed Treona the pencil she had sharpened beside the road and showed her how to leave room for a destination beside each entry.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: Father thinks I’ll run onto the walls because I’ve read about battles.

Selin Anvell: Will you?

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: No. I wanted to. Before you came back.

Selin looked at the map. Talarn showed her the chapel door, the lower court and the passage leading to the inner keep. She knew which stair turned too tightly for a stretcher and which side door stuck when it rained.

The guild infirmary

Abelia was furious about the sling. She had persuaded someone to bring her rapier, only to discover she could not close her right hand around its grip. Fiona found her trying with the left.

Fiona Aedelmar: That’s a very elegant way to drop it on your foot.

Abelia Cyro: I was checking the balance.

Fiona Aedelmar: With your elbow?

Abelia put the rapier down. Fiona took the chair beside the bed. She had meant to make another joke; seeing how carefully Abelia moved her arm stopped her.

Abelia Cyro: You shouldn’t have come back for me. You nearly went down too.

Fiona Aedelmar: I did go down. Thragann can complain about both of us when you’re better.

Abelia Cyro: I told you to leave.

Fiona Aedelmar: I heard. I was busy.

Abelia looked towards the window. In the yard, people were loading the evacuation cart. Fiona picked a loose thread from the blanket and wound it around one finger until it snapped.

Abelia Cyro: Thank you.

Fiona Aedelmar: You’re welcome.

They sat without speaking for a while. Before leaving, Fiona put the rapier on Abelia’s good side and moved the water cup where she could reach it. Abelia stopped her at the door.

Abelia Cyro: If you come back with another wound, I’m counting it as a loss.

Fiona Aedelmar: You’ve changed the rules.

Abelia Cyro: Yes. Don’t make me change them again.

Four days of preparation

The days brought more travelers and fewer clear reports. Carts carried the badly wounded out by the western road. Abelia left with a healer and a driver who promised to stop when the ruts hurt her. Pella checked the sling once more before handing over the supplies.

Fiona slept whenever she could. Thragann made her practice only short bouts, stopping when her shield arm began to sag. She disliked the stops and obeyed them. Faln practiced beside her, learning to retreat without crossing his feet.

Thragann Bjorn: Again. Slowly. You’re not racing the man beside you.

Faln Stirme: What if he’s faster than me?

Thragann Bjorn: Then give him something other than you to run into. Door. Corner. Shield. Me, if I’m standing there.

Faln repeated the movement until he could do it without looking at his boots. Afterwards, he carried water to the people filling sandbags. He kept his sword belted on, though the bucket knocked against it at every step.

The chapel courtyard

Selin practiced her shield while Mael sat on a crate. He had stopped bleeding, but he still tired quickly. His pipe lay cold beside him; he had tried lighting it and abandoned the effort when his hand shook.

Master Mael: Don’t brace for a blow that hasn’t come. You’re exhausting yourself before you’ve cast anything.

Selin Anvell: I keep seeing the knight. When I close my eyes.

Master Mael: Then keep them open. Watch my hand.

He tossed a small cloth bundle towards her. She flinched and lost the spell. The bundle hit her shoulder and fell. Mael waited while she picked it up. On the next attempt, she watched his fingers release it; her shield deflected it onto the paving.

Selin Anvell: Again.

He threw it three more times before telling her to rest. She sat on the step, flexing the hand she had scraped at the orchard gate. Mael passed her the bottle without making her ask.

[Picture: Selin Anvell]

[Picture: Master Mael]

Selin Anvell: I opened it. The gate. I keep forgetting that part.

Master Mael: I haven’t forgotten. I had to walk through it.

The last evening before the attack

Klark stood beside Faln on the battlement, checking arrows by touch. Below them, the last daylight carts passed towards the western road. Farther east, watchers had begun calling distances to one another.

Faln Stirme: Are you going to leave?

Klark Kessern: I’ve been offered several excellent opportunities. None with as much carrying involved as this one.

Faln Stirme: That isn’t an answer.

Klark put the checked arrow back in his quiver. He looked at Faln’s borrowed sword, then at the square where people were moving water barrels into place.

Klark Kessern: I’m staying. If I have to run, I’ll tell you where. You do the same for me.

Faln Stirme: All right.

A horn sounded from the eastern watch. Below, the captain began clearing civilians from the approach to the gate. Klark took his bow from his shoulder. Faln moved to the stair as instructed, leaving space for the archers coming up.

Castle Galadar Falls

Castle Galadar Falls

The first dead reached the eastern defenses before dawn. The archers shot until bodies lay across the road below. Those behind climbed over them. On the stair, Faln passed bundles of arrows upwards and tried not to look at the faces in the ditch.

Klark moved between two openings in the battlement. He aimed carefully, waited for a clear line and fired. Beside him, an archer loosed too quickly and reached for another arrow with shaking fingers.

Klark Kessern: Take mine. Breathe while I draw. We’ll alternate.

Below, Fiona stood with the soldiers guarding the inner face of the gate. Selin waited beside the steps, where she could see Fiona and Mael without standing in the defenders’ way. Each impact against the wood shook dust from the stonework.

Faln Stirme: They’re bringing a ram.

Several dead soldiers dragged a stripped tree trunk between them. The first impact landed low. The second struck the brace. Thragann sent two people for another beam and waved Faln away from the gate’s center.

Thragann Bjorn: Behind that post. If it breaks, the pieces come straight back.

Faln moved just before the third impact tore a splinter from the crossbar. It struck the paving where he had been standing. He looked at it once, then helped the soldiers drag the replacement beam across.

The morning assault

The ram broke. For several minutes the pressure at the gate eased. Then the watch called another warning. Haruka was coming along the road with Harbu beside her; ranks of dead parted to let them through.

She stopped beyond bowshot, looking up at the defenders. Her black hair lifted in the wind. When she raised her hand, the nearest dead began dragging bodies towards the base of the wall, packing the ditch beneath the damaged battlement.

Fiona Aedelmar: They’re making steps.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Yes. Captain, move your reserve to that section. They do not need the gate if they can climb over it.

The reserve reached the stair as the first dead hands caught its outer edge. Klark shot one climber through the head. The body fell across the ledge; another used it to pull itself higher. Soldiers thrust with spears until their arms began to tire.

Another dead soldier climbed over the body lodged on the battlement.

A shout came from the far end of the wall. Dead soldiers had reached a damaged corner beyond the archers. One defender stumbled backwards down the steps, and three people behind him fell. Faln set down the arrow bundle and ran to the bottom.

Faln Stirme: Move your foot. I can get it out if you move your foot. Here—hold the rail!

The fallen soldier caught the rail. Faln pulled the trapped boot free from beneath a broken tread. Thragann covered them while the man limped down. Above, the captain sounded the withdrawal and sent runners towards the market streets.

The streets below the castle

They gave ground through the city in short stages. Soldiers held each turn while the people behind them moved to the next. A cart had overturned beside a narrow junction; Fiona and Faln dragged its broken shaft clear so the wounded could pass.

Fiona Aedelmar: Don’t lift it. Pull towards me. On three.

Her left arm gave way before three. Faln held the shaft against his hip until Klark reached them. Together they moved it. Fiona stepped back, pressing her forearm to her side, furious at the pain.

Klark Kessern: You can shout instructions just as offensively from over there. Go on.

Fiona Aedelmar: Left! Take the wounded left, there’s room beyond the cart!

Selin followed a pair carrying a stretcher. A loose paving stone turned beneath her foot. She caught herself against the wall and saw a dead soldier step out from a doorway ahead. Her shield formed as it struck; the blow slid aside. She backed away, calling the others to turn.

Selin Anvell: This street’s blocked. Use the next one. I’ll come behind you.

Mael reached the doorway and fixed the dead soldier in place with a clenched hand. It strained against his telekinetic grip. He waited only until Selin had passed, then let go and followed. Sweat ran down the side of his face.

Master Mael: All this effort, and no one thought to put a chair halfway up the hill.

He stopped beside the next wall. Selin stayed with him until he could move again. Klark watched the corner behind them, arrow ready. The soldiers farther down were still holding; the pauses grew shorter as more dead entered the streets.

The royal courtyard — Late afternoon

The castle gates admitted carts, soldiers and civilians until the approach was almost empty. Areon stood inside with a captain, asking for the western-road reports. He had sent his daughters towards the lower court with an escort, but the route ahead of them had filled with wounded.

Talarn saw a stretcher catch at the stair turn and stopped to guide its bearers through the wider garden corridor. Treona helped clear chairs from the passage. By the time the stretcher passed, the escort was being called back to the gate.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: We’re here. Tell Father where we are.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: There are still people in the chapel.

A soldier ran to fetch them. Another horn sounded from the gatehouse. The outer doors were closing on a stream of stragglers, and beyond them the city street was crowded with dead.

Areon: Keep it open. Those are our people.

The captain sent shields forward to cover the last group. Faln saw a woman fall on the ascent and started towards her, but Thragann was already there. He brought her in over one shoulder as the final cart wheel crossed the threshold.

The doors shut. The first blows landed before the bar was seated. Areon turned from the gate towards the lower court and found his daughters still helping the wounded through the corridor.

Areon: Inside the keep. Both of you. Now.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: Father—

Areon: I know. I have seen them. Go with the captain.

Treona took her sister’s hand. They climbed the steps with the escort while Areon remained at the lower landing, issuing orders to the soldiers moving between the court and the wall.

The breach

The brace cracked as the escort climbed the last flight. A narrow opening appeared between the doors, wide enough for a black-armored shoulder. Harbu drove through with his greatsword held before him.

Fiona saw him and went cold. The captain’s spear struck his breastplate and slid off. Harbu cut the shaft in two, shouldered past its broken end, and forced the defenders back from the opening.

Thragann Bjorn: Fall back to the court! Don’t crowd the stair!

Faln caught Fiona’s sleeve. She had stopped beside the wall, staring at the knight. When he pulled, she turned sharply towards him, then looked at the route he was pointing to.

Faln Stirme: This way. We’re going this way.

She followed. Behind them Haruka entered through the broken doors. Dark shapes gathered around her arm and rushed into the soldiers blocking the stair. The formation broke. She climbed through the gap with Harbu close behind.

Areon reached for the captain beside him as the man fell. His daughters had not yet crossed the upper landing. Treona turned at the shout. Talarn tried to pull her onwards, but Haruka was already between them and the keep door.

Haruka: There you are.

Areon moved up the last steps. Harbu brought the greatsword across his path. The king stopped with the blade close to his chest. Haruka caught Talarn by the sleeve and hauled her towards Treona.

Areon: They have done nothing to you.

Haruka: You sent your guild. You put all these people in my way. Now you can watch them run.

She looked down into the courtyard. Faln stood near the chapel arch, half concealed behind a soldier’s shield. Her expression changed. She leaned forwards, pointing directly at him.

Haruka: That one. The boy. Don’t let him leave.

Faln backed towards the chapel arch.

Valmuth pulled Faln behind the arch before the first attackers reached it. Thragann blocked the opening while Klark led Fiona, Selin and Mael into the passage. Pella held the chapel’s side door open, waving the wounded through.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lord Faln, help them shut it. Now.

They pushed the door together. The bar dropped into its brackets. Something struck the other side hard enough to shake dust from the frame. Faln remained braced against it until Pella put a hand on his arm and asked him to move for a stretcher.

The captured throne room

Areon, Treona and Talarn were brought before the throne with their wrists bound in front. Haruka made the king stand while she sat in his chair. Talarn kept close to her sister. Treona’s breathing was quick and audible.

Haruka: You’ve got an awfully big house for somebody who can’t keep people out.

Areon: Let the wounded leave. Whatever you intend for us, they cannot oppose you.

Haruka: Still giving orders?

Areon: Asking.

Haruka leaned back. She watched him for a moment, then glanced towards Harbu at the door. He had kept the dead guards several paces from the royal family. Blood marked one sleeve of the king’s robe, but he remained upright.

Haruka: Keep them alive. I want him to see what happens to his lovely kingdom.

Harbu: They will remain alive.

Haruka rose when noise reached the corridor beyond the chamber. She crossed to the doors and looked along it, impatiently tapping her fingers against the frame.

Haruka: Where is it? I ordered them to bring it before we marched.

Harbu: The escort has reached the castle.

Haruka: Then bring it up. I’m staying here.

The lower court — dusk

The chapel’s second door opened onto a sheltered court beneath the inner keep. Thragann had found a way from there to the outer works; small groups of wounded were leaving with escorts. Pella remained inside to treat those who could not yet be moved.

Faln and Klark watched the main courtyard through a narrow gap beside the passage. A guarded cart had entered through the broken gates. Its load was covered and braced with iron fittings. Harbu came down the keep stair to meet it.

When the covering was pulled back, a sphere shone beneath it. Its surface shifted between dull darkness and a deep red glow. Two guards unlocked the braces. Four bearers lifted the frame together while the others cleared their path.

Klark Kessern: Mael. Valmuth. Come here.

Mael looked through the gap and stopped complaining about the cold. Valmuth crouched beside him. The bearers passed beneath a lantern; red light from the sphere reached the paving around their feet.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Her core. She has brought it into the keep.

Faln Stirme: You’re sure?

Valmuth De Laurentis: The external core described in the reports. That escort is protecting it, and Harbu has come to receive it himself. Watch where they take it.

They carried it through the inner doors and up towards the throne room. Harbu followed. Above the courtyard, the remaining blue in the evening sky darkened to red. Selin came to the gap and looked up without speaking.

Red light spread across the sky above Castle Galadar.

Beside the throne

The bearers set the core in its frame beside the dais. Haruka inspected each support before sending them away. Beyond the windows, the sky was red. Treona turned towards the light, then back to Talarn, who was working one thumb beneath her wrist rope.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: Stop. They’re watching.

Talarn let her hand fall. Haruka sat down again, one elbow against the throne arm. Areon moved closer to his daughters until a guard blocked him. He stayed where both could see him.

Below the inner keep

Klark closed the shutter over the gap. Fiona sat on the lowest step, resting her shield on her knee. Selin helped Mael settle beside her. Valmuth listened at the passage door, then checked the bar once more.

Faln Stirme: We don’t have to go back to the swamp.

Klark Kessern: No. We have to get past everything between here and that room.

Thragann returned from the outer court with Pella. He told them which passage remained clear and which door now had dead soldiers beyond it. Klark knelt and drew the turns in dust with the point of a knife. Faln moved the lantern closer so the others could see.

Under Occupation

Under Occupation — Castle Galadar · The lower court

They left the passage to check the approach to the inner keep. A patrol forced them behind an overturned stone trough. Faln crouched as the nearest dead soldier passed. Mud filled one ear. It carried a spear level with his face and continued towards the gate without turning.

Klark held two fingers against Faln's sleeve until the patrol passed. Across the court, a strip of red light showed beneath the inner keep's doors. The men who had carried Haruka's sphere inside had not come out again.

Faln Stirme: We saw where they took it. How many doors between here and the throne?

Valmuth De Laurentis: More than we can force without warning her, Lord Faln. We require someone who knows the service passages.

Fiona sat with her back against the trough and eased the strap of her shield. Her injured arm had begun shaking. Selin reached towards the buckle, stopped to ask, and loosened it when Fiona nodded. The skin beneath was swollen.

Fiona Aedelmar: I can hold it. Don't look at me like that.

Selin Anvell: I'm looking at the strap. You pulled it tight enough to stop your fingers moving.

Fiona flexed her hand, found that Selin was right, and made no reply. Mael leaned over the trough to inspect the upper windows. Klark caught the back of his tunic and pulled him down before a second spear appeared in the gateway.

Master Mael: If you stretch that seam, you can mend it.

Klark Kessern: Gladly. I'll even add a loop so you're easier to catch next time.

A side door opened behind them. Thragann came through carrying a wounded guard beneath one arm. He saw their drawn weapons and stopped, then lowered the guard onto a bench with more care than his hurried entrance suggested.

Thragann Bjorn: Chapel's still ours. We can get people down through the garden court, if they can reach us. Pella sent me to find anyone who'd stopped bleeding and fancied being useful.

Fiona Aedelmar: Abelia?

Thragann Bjorn: Still with the healers on the western road. The last rider said she was complaining about the cart, the bandages and the people driving. I found that encouraging.

Fiona closed her eyes for a moment. Thragann examined her loosened shield strap, then the blood on Faln's sleeve. Faln showed him the shallow scrape beneath it before he could ask. The older man nodded and looked towards the keep.

Thragann Bjorn: The royal family?

Valmuth De Laurentis: Taken inside alive. Haruka has moved her core there. If we reach it, this may still end before she finishes the city.

They moved through the side door in pairs. Beyond it, the chapel passage smelled of hot water and damp wool. People sat along both walls. A man held a folded cloth against his own shoulder while a woman tore another strip from a ruined shirt.

Pella was kneeling beside a guard with a splinted leg. Her quill was still behind her ear, though the contracts beneath her belt had been replaced by bandages. She looked up, counted their faces, and stood so quickly that she had to catch the bench.

Pella: If you're walking, don't block this door. We have six more coming down. Two need to be carried. No, Master Mael, I don't mean you.

Master Mael: I had not yet proposed it.

Faln helped Thragann lift a casualty onto a stretcher. The man's hand closed around his wrist when they raised him. Faln waited until Pella had checked the bindings before moving. They carried him as far as the garden door, where two waiting guards took over.

Outside, smoke rose above roofs below the castle. A woman stood by the gate calling names into the line of arriving people. Each time someone answered, she crossed a mark off the slate in her hand. Several names received no answer.

Faln Stirme: How long can you keep this way open?

Thragann Bjorn: Until they find it. Longer if we stay quiet and don't drag the whole army through after us. I'll hold the outer door. You come back to this one if you can.

A kitchen porter drew a route on the blank back of Pella's old contract. He had fled the keep when the guards died. His first line crossed another; he rubbed both out and started again while Klark asked him to describe the turn aloud.

Chapel passage → linen stair → upper service landing. Take the narrow door beside the broken water jar. The gallery beyond joins the royal audience chamber. Return to the chapel; the garden gate is held.

Klark Kessern: Does that narrow door lock?

The porter nodded and produced a ring of small keys. Only one fitted, he said, and he had tied a bit of cord around it. Pella thanked him, wrote his name on her remaining scrap of paper, and sent him towards the garden with the next group.

Selin Anvell: What happens when we reach them? The king and his daughters, I mean. We can't fight around them.

Valmuth De Laurentis: We find them cover and a way out. Lady Selin, watch for the royal guards. A guard who has survived inside may know where to take them once their bonds are cut.

Fiona Aedelmar: I'll draw her away from the throne.

Klark Kessern: If she lets you. She's been rather interested in Faln. We should prepare for her to choose her own target.

Faln looked at the route again. He had wanted to know how many doors. Now he traced the bends with one finger, finding where a wounded person could pass and where two people would have to turn sideways. Thragann watched without interrupting.

Faln Stirme: If she comes for me, I keep her away from them. I don't stand still to answer her. Selin, can you see from behind me if I'm here?

Selin leaned over the paper. She moved his finger a little to the side and showed him how a pillar might obstruct her view. They could not know the room until they entered it. Faln nodded and folded the route small enough to put inside his tunic.

Cut armor straps and abandoned shoes lay beside the chapel beds.

The Captives — The royal audience chamber

Treona kept her wrists together to hide the skin rubbed raw beneath the rope. Talarn sat beside her, looking at the iron stand the soldiers had placed near the throne. The sphere inside it pulsed red. Each brightening lit the edges of the guards' armor.

Areon stood between his daughters and Haruka. His own wrists were bound in front of him. Haruka had made him remain standing while she tried his throne, shifting against the high back until she found a position she liked.

Haruka: It's uncomfortable. Why would you choose a chair like this?

Areon: My family has more pressing complaints about your visit.

She laughed once and leaned forward. Areon did not move when she brought the curved blade beneath his chin. Treona's hands clenched. Talarn stopped watching the sphere and stared at the point of the sword.

Haruka: You can still speak to me properly. I haven't decided which of you will watch the others die first.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: Then let him sit. If you're keeping us here, he can sit.

Haruka turned towards her. Treona's voice had been quiet, but she did not look away. After a moment Haruka lowered the sword and waved at the floor. Areon sat beside his daughters, slowly, keeping himself between them and her.

Talarn pressed her shoulder against Treona's. Beneath her cuff, a small metal pin protruded from the edge of the binding. It had come from Treona's loosened hair. Treona bent her head to hide it while Talarn tried to work the pin beneath a knot.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: There's another door behind the last statue.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: I know. Don't look at it again.

Their father moved his bound hands onto his knees, blocking Haruka's view of Talarn's fingers. The knot was wet and too tight. Talarn worked until the pin bent. She stopped before it snapped and kept the bent metal in her palm.

Haruka rose. A corpse at the entrance had turned its head towards a sound beyond the doors. She waited for it to settle, tapping the flat of her sword against her leg. When it faced forward again, she returned to the throne without sitting.

Haruka: He'll come. Faln Stirme. He won't leave without trying something splendid in front of his friends.

Areon: You could leave the city now.

Haruka: And let him tell people he drove me out? No. You can watch him try.

The Linen Stair — Inside the keep

The first stair was clear. The second held a dead guard lying across three steps. Klark knelt to inspect him before anyone passed. Finding no movement, he turned the man's spear aside and made room for Fiona's shield.

Mael stopped halfway up and gripped the rail. Selin waited beside him. He waved her on, then thought better of it and held out the satchel containing Raven. The toad peered over the flap as she took its weight.

Master Mael: Don't squeeze him. He becomes unbearable when insulted.

Selin Anvell: I wonder where he learned that.

Mael looked at her. She climbed before he could answer. At the landing, Klark found the broken jar, selected the key with the cord, and eased it into the lock. Faln braced a hand against the door so its weight would not make it swing.

They entered one at a time. Behind them, Valmuth closed the door and checked the latch. Ahead, red light reached the passage through a row of high, narrow windows. They could hear something heavy being dragged across the floor in the next room.

Klark put the key back in his pocket. He counted the doors they had passed and touched the wall beside the last one, remembering its position. Then he drew a knife and went ahead. Faln kept close enough to see his hand signals.

Hold the Passage

Hold the Passage — The service gallery, Castle Galadar

Klark stopped beside the next doorway. The dragging sound had stopped. He raised two fingers, pointed Faln toward the opposite wall, and leaned forward just far enough to see inside. Faln saw the change in his face before he saw the sword.

Klark Kessern: Back!

Harbu came through the doorway with both hands on his greatsword. Klark twisted away from the first cut. The blade struck the wall, showering stone chips over his shoulder. Faln ducked as Klark shoved him sideways.

There was no room for Klark to draw his bow. He threw his knife at the gap beneath Harbu's arm. It struck a plate and fell. Harbu turned with the impact and brought the sword back across the passage.

Klark nearly cleared it. The tip caught his right side below the ribs, cutting through cloth. He struck the doorframe with his shoulder and folded against it. His hand went to the wound. Blood ran between his fingers.

Faln Stirme: Klark!

Harbu: Go no farther.

Faln raised his borrowed sword before Harbu could reach Klark. Fiona caught the next blow on her shield beside him. The impact drove its rim against her left forearm. She cried out and forced the shield up again.

Fiona Aedelmar: Take him! Take him now!

Mael caught Klark beneath one arm. Selin took the other. Klark tried to walk with them, but his knees gave way on the second step. They dragged him back while Fiona and Faln blocked the narrowest part of the passage.

Harbu advanced without hurrying. Faln tried a cut toward his leg. The greatsword knocked his blade aside and struck the wall close enough to his head that he felt fragments hit his cheek. He retreated behind Fiona's shield.

Fiona Aedelmar: Don't meet it straight. Move when I move.

She pushed forward instead of waiting for the next swing. Faln followed on her right. Harbu had to pull his weapon closer to keep its edge clear of the wall. Fiona cut at his wrist. He turned the blade, caught her sword, and forced it down.

Her left knee buckled. The old wound under her ribs hurt when she tried to straighten. Faln thrust at Harbu's face, making him release her blade to defend himself. Fiona backed away two short steps, breathing through her teeth.

Harbu: You can still leave.

Faln Stirme: You keep saying that after you hurt somebody!

Harbu's gaze moved past him to Klark. Faln could not tell whether he was checking the injury or judging the distance. He raised his sword higher. Behind him, Selin was calling for the door to be opened.

Valmuth reached them from the rear of the group. He took Klark's weight from Mael and backed into the linen room. Selin swept fallen shelves aside with her foot. The room had one door to the gallery and a narrow opening onto the stair.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lady Selin, call down for Lady Pella. Lord Mael, put pressure here. Keep him on his side until we can see the wound.

Klark Kessern: I can get down the stairs. Just give me a—

His breath caught. He gripped Valmuth's wrist, hard enough to stop him withdrawing it, and stared at the blood on Mael's hands. Mael pressed a folded sheet against the cut. Klark made a small, involuntary sound.

Master Mael: You can complain when someone answers her. Until then, save your breath.

Selin ran to the stair opening. Her first call came out too weakly. She took a breath and shouted Pella's name again, then the words wounded and bleeding. Someone answered from below. She stayed until she heard feet on the steps.

In the gallery, Faln's sword jarred against the wall. Harbu struck Fiona's shield again. The strap slipped over her swollen forearm; she caught it before it fell, but the shield hung too low. Faln moved between them without time to think through a better plan.

He saw Harbu shift his hands for a downward blow. He could not step back without colliding with Fiona. He put both hands on his short sword and braced it above his head.

A second greatsword met Harbu's blade before it reached him.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lord Faln. Behind me.

Faln stumbled aside. Valmuth turned his blade and pushed Harbu's sword toward the floor. Steel scraped against steel. Neither man gave way at first. Then Harbu stepped back, taking enough distance to raise his weapon again.

Harbu: You should have stayed with the wounded.

Valmuth De Laurentis: They have assistance coming.

Harbu: You do not.

Valmuth placed himself between Harbu and the linen room. His cape was caught beneath his boot. He pulled it free with one hand, fastened it out of his way, and returned that hand to his sword.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Then you and I can settle this without striking anyone else.

Harbu answered with a cut at his neck. Valmuth moved inside its widest arc and forced the blade upward. Faln ducked as the point scraped stone over his head. Valmuth shoved Harbu back through the doorway he had emerged from.

Valmuth De Laurentis: The far passage. Go while he is occupied.

Fiona stayed where she was. Her sword arm shook. Through the doorway, Harbu's blade struck a low bench and split it. Valmuth stepped over the broken wood before Harbu could trap his foot beneath it.

Fiona Aedelmar: There are six of us. We could—

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lady Fiona. The queen has the royal family. Please go.

She looked toward the sound of Pella climbing the stairs. Selin appeared in the linen-room doorway and beckoned urgently. Fiona lowered her sword long enough to get through the door.

Leave Him With Me — The linen room

Pella knelt beside Klark and moved Mael's hand only far enough to inspect the cut. A chapel attendant held a lamp over her shoulder. Klark tried to turn his head toward Fiona, then shut his eyes as the movement pulled at his side.

Pella: Keep looking at me. I need you awake.

She set her palm above the wound. Light showed beneath her fingers, and the bleeding slowed. Klark's next breath came a little easier. Pella kept her hand there until the light faded, then reached for the cloth the attendant held ready.

Selin Anvell: Can you close it?

Pella: Enough to stop losing him here. He needs proper care downstairs. He won't be following you.

Klark Kessern: Wasn't planning on running anywhere.

His attempt at a smile failed. Pella pressed the dressing into place and told the attendant to fetch a carrying board. Selin held the clean end of the bandage while Pella passed it under Klark's back.

Klark's bow and two loose knives lay beside the bloodstained key.

Faln picked up the key. He looked at the stair opening, then at the gallery door. From the other room came a crash, a scrape of armor, and another hard strike. He could no longer see either swordsman.

Faln Stirme: We shouldn't leave you here.

Klark Kessern: You aren't leaving me alone. Pella's here. And she's much worse at being argued with than you are.

Pella: Correct. Stop trying to sit up.

Klark let his head sink back onto the folded linen. Faln knelt close enough that Klark did not have to raise his voice. His own hands were trembling now that he was no longer holding his sword.

Klark Kessern: Listen. The gallery bends right. Keep your eyes on the doors, not just whatever she's put in front of you. That's all I've got.

Faln Stirme: I'll bring your things back.

Klark Kessern: I'd prefer all of you. The bow can wait.

Fiona crouched beside him, keeping her shield against the wall. She touched his shoulder once. Selin put his knives within Pella's reach, out of the path where the attendant would have to lift him.

Fiona Aedelmar: Stay put for her. We can't come back and find you've wandered off to show somebody a trick.

Klark Kessern: No tricks.

He said it without the usual joke. Fiona got up slowly. Mael wiped his hands on a strip of ruined sheet and checked that Raven's satchel was fastened before taking it back from Selin.

Master Mael: Pella, that gallery door has a bar. Once we're through, close it. The stairs are your exit.

Pella nodded. She had already moved a stool out of the way of the door. Faln gave her the key and rose. He made himself look away from Klark before Klark had to tell him again.

The four of them crossed the gallery in a crouch. Beyond the open doorway, Valmuth drove Harbu toward a wide table. Harbu kicked it sideways. Valmuth jumped back as its edge struck the floor, and their swords met above it.

Harbu: Haruka!

He tried to turn toward the passing figures. Valmuth struck at the opening he left. Harbu had to face him again. Fiona caught Faln's sleeve and pulled him around the bend before he stopped to watch.

Behind them, Pella closed the linen-room door. Faln heard the bar drop into place. He kept moving with the others until the fighting grew muffled and they reached a pair of tall doors with red light beneath them.

Selin put a hand against the wall to steady herself. Mael bent close to the gap between the doors. Fiona reset her shield strap as far as she could bear and looked at Faln. He drew his sword, leaving enough space beside him for her to stand.

The Throne Room

The Throne Room — Behind the audience doors

Through the narrow gap, Faln could see the queen, the sphere, and one of the bound princesses. He could also see two dead soldiers beside the statues. Their spears were pointed toward the royal family. Haruka sat sideways on the throne, her curved sword across her knees.

Mael moved back from the gap and touched Faln's shoulder. He pointed to the statues, then to Fiona, and held up two fingers. Selin crouched beside him. They had to put their heads close together to hear each other over the noise from the courtyard.

Master Mael: I'll get their attention. You two reach the captives. Selin, stay near cover until you can see what needs doing. Nobody stands in the middle waving.

Faln Stirme: If she comes straight for me?

Fiona Aedelmar: Go toward me. Give me her side.

Fiona tried her shield strap once more. Faln could see blood soaking through the bandage on her left forearm. He began to say something, but she shifted the shield to a position she could hold and nodded for Mael to begin.

Mael pulled one door inward. Its lower edge scraped the stone. Haruka sat upright before it was halfway open. He stepped through with his hands raised, making certain that she could see him.

Haruka: Where is he?

Master Mael: Which one? There are rather a lot of men running about your new house.

She stood. Black flame gathered around her free hand. Mael snapped his fingers. A sharp report and a flash burst beside her face. She flinched, raising her forearm over her eyes. He moved immediately behind the nearest stone column.

Master Mael: Now!

Faln and Fiona ran left. The nearer dead soldier turned its spear toward them. Fiona struck the shaft aside; Faln cut across the back of its knee. As it fell, she drove her sword down through the gap beneath its helmet. The second guard advanced on her exposed side.

Faln had to duck its spear rather than finish the first. The point scraped the statue behind his head. He caught the shaft under his arm and pulled. Fiona stepped past him, struck the guard across the neck, and shoved it over with her shield.

Princess Treona Galadarnis: Father, here!

Treona pulled Areon behind the statue as the guard fell. Talarn held up her bound hands toward Faln. He put his sword down within reach and took the small knife at his belt. Her wrists were raw where she had been working the rope against the edge of a bent hairpin.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: It's loosened here. Please don't cut toward my hand.

Faln Stirme: Hold still. I've got it.

Across the room, Haruka lowered her arm. Mael's flash had given them seconds. She saw Faln crouched with the princess and lifted her sword. Black fire struck the floor beside the statue, throwing chips against his back.

Haruka: There you are!

Fiona pulled him down before the next burst. Talarn's rope parted. She took the knife from Faln and moved behind her father to cut his bonds. Selin ran along the wall toward them, keeping the statues between herself and Haruka.

Selin Anvell: The door behind you leads out. Don't open it yet. We don't know who is on the other side.

Areon: There should be a guard post beyond it.

Selin Anvell: Then call softly. Wait for somebody to answer.

Haruka came down the steps from the throne. Faln picked up his sword and moved right, drawing her away from the captives. He wanted the door, the columns, and Fiona in view. He nearly tripped over the fallen spear and kicked it aside without looking down.

Haruka: You keep running away. Do your friends know how often you do that?

Faln Stirme: They were there.

She struck before he finished speaking. He turned his shoulder and felt the curved blade catch his sleeve. Fiona cut toward Haruka's sword arm. Haruka withdrew with a speed that left Fiona swinging into empty space, then kicked her shield hard enough to send her back.

Faln tried to cover Fiona's retreat. Haruka's next cut rang against his sword and numbed his hand. She followed it with a burst of flame. He threw himself behind a column. Heat reached his face through the gap between his raised arms.

Fire spread through a fallen banner. Burning cloth curled away from its broken pole.

Selin reached the base of the throne while Haruka pursued Faln. The sphere stood in a fitted iron cradle beside the steps. A heavy hoop held it down, fastened by a pin near the floor. Red light brightened inside it with each slow pulse.

She pulled the pin with both hands. It moved a finger's width, then stuck. She looked back. Fiona was trying to force Haruka away from the column. Mael was approaching along the other side, one palm raised.

Selin Anvell: There's a fastening. I can get it open.

Haruka turned so abruptly that Fiona's sword missed her shoulder. She looked from Selin's hands to the sphere and raised her free hand. Mael stopped within a few strides of her and closed his fingers.

Haruka's arm stopped halfway up. Her feet scraped against the floor as she tried to turn. Mael held his hand steady. Blood appeared beneath one nostril. He wiped it with his sleeve without taking his eyes off her.

Master Mael: Pull the pin straight, girl. It's binding against the hole.

Selin crouched lower and eased the hoop toward the pin. The pressure released. She pulled the pin free, set it down, and pressed her palm against the iron hoop. It rose slowly, dragging against the sphere before it cleared the widest part.

Haruka strained against Mael's hold. Her boot moved, then her knee. He stepped closer, trying to maintain the spell. Faln got to his feet behind the column. Fiona put herself between Haruka and Selin.

Haruka: Get your hands off it!

Haruka tore free. Mael stumbled backward and caught the edge of the throne's lowest step. Haruka ran past Fiona before Fiona could turn fully. Selin released the floating hoop and threw up her hands as the curved sword came toward her.

A pale shield flashed around Selin. Haruka's blade skidded along it, close enough that Selin heard the steel pass her ear. The force knocked her against the cradle. She fell to one knee, and the iron hoop settled onto the floor behind her.

Selin Anvell: Fiona!

Fiona caught Haruka's next cut on her own sword. She could not push it back. Faln struck at Haruka's wrist from the other side, forcing her to draw away. Selin scrambled behind the throne, clutching her elbow.

The sphere was exposed. Faln swung his sword against it. The edge struck hard enough to hurt his wrist. A thin crack spread over the surface, bright red inside, then began to close. He hit it again before the first mark disappeared.

Faln Stirme: It's mending!

Master Mael: Then don't give it time!

Haruka sent flame across the steps. Faln had to jump back. It caught his boot and he stamped it out, coughing. Fiona drove toward her, but her shield arm faltered when she tried to take another blow. The curved sword cut through the loose strap.

Her shield fell between them. Haruka kicked it away. Fiona backed down a step, holding her sword in both hands now. Blood dripped from her left sleeve onto the hilt. Faln moved toward her instead of returning to the core.

Fiona Aedelmar: Go! I'll keep her here!

Faln Stirme: You can't hold that side. Turn with me.

He stepped toward Haruka's sword hand. Fiona moved the other way. Haruka tried to keep both of them in front of her, retreating from the throne until a fallen guard blocked her heel. She looked down for an instant.

Mael snapped his fingers again. This time she jerked her head aside before the flash could blind her. It still made her hesitate. Faln used that second to strike the core, leaving a fresh crack across the first.

Haruka: Stop it!

She abandoned Fiona and lunged at him. Faln saw the blade coming and backed onto the step, bringing his sword across his body. Haruka's cut struck his guard and drove him against the cradle. He could not get his feet beneath him.

Fiona came from Haruka's left. Haruka began to turn toward her too late. Fiona's sword went beneath her raised arm and deep into her side. Haruka's mouth opened. The black flame around her hand flared, forcing Fiona to pull away.

Fiona withdrew her blade and nearly fell. Haruka stumbled against the steps. She pressed a hand to the wound. Blood ran over her fingers and down the belts at her waist. She looked at it, then reached toward the core.

Haruka: No. No, you don't—

A strip of black fire crossed the floor toward Faln. Selin seized his collar and hauled him down behind the iron cradle. The flame struck the throne instead. Mael pulled Fiona away from the burning step and caught her before her knees gave out.

Master Mael: Faln, the sphere. While she's down!

Faln got his hands around the sword hilt again. He could see where the cracks had almost closed. He struck the same place twice. A piece broke loose, fell into the cradle, and stopped glowing. Behind him, Haruka tried to get to her feet.

Selin grabbed the edge of the iron hoop and pushed it between Haruka and the step. It was clumsy and heavy without the spell. Haruka's foot caught beneath it. She fell onto one knee, still reaching past Selin toward Faln.

Selin Anvell: Fiona, now!

Fiona climbed beside Faln. She reversed her grip and drove the steel pommel of her sword into the broken place. The crack widened. Faln struck before it could close. Fiona hit it again from the other side, putting both hands and her weight behind the blow.

The sphere broke apart in the cradle. Red light burst through the gaps and went out. The impact threw Faln back against Fiona. She caught his tunic with her injured hand, swore, and held on until he found the step beneath his boot.

The iron cradle held broken fragments. None of them moved or glowed.

The black fire vanished from Haruka's hand. Across the room, the dead guard that had been crawling toward the royal family collapsed beside a statue. Its spear slid onto the floor. It did not reach for it again.

From the courtyard came several heavy impacts, then shouts in living voices. Faln looked toward the windows. The red light outside had faded. Someone below was calling for stretchers, and someone else was answering.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: They're down. Father, all the ones at the door are down.

Areon kept Treona behind him while he looked through the side door. A living guard beyond it answered his call. Talarn leaned against the statue, the cut ropes still hanging from one wrist. All three of them were standing.

Faln turned back toward the steps. Haruka had stopped trying to rise. She sat with one shoulder against the throne, both hands pressed over her wound. Her curved sword lay beside her foot. She looked at the broken sphere and began shaking her head.

Fiona lowered her sword. Mael sat heavily on the bottom step, breathing through his open mouth. Selin moved to Fiona's side and supported her left arm. Faln stood a few paces from Haruka, unable to think of anything to say.

Harbu

Harbu — The broken throne steps

Haruka tried to lift her sword. Her fingers could not close around its hilt. It slipped from her hand and struck the stone. She looked toward the doors, breathing quickly, with blood spreading over the front of her clothes.

The red in her eyes faded. Her shoulders narrowed as the demonic form failed, and the hand pressed to her wound grew smaller. The torn school uniform hung loose around her. She pushed her hair away with one shaking hand, leaving blood on her cheek.

Haruka: Harbu?

No one answered. She searched the room, turning her head toward every sound. Fiona lowered herself onto the step beside Selin. Faln stood still with his sword pointed at the floor.

Haruka: Harbu — Harbu-san! Where are you? Don't — don't leave me alone —

A blade scraped against stone beyond the doors. Harbu came through them with one hand against the wall. His armor was dented at the shoulder and cut across the waist. He dragged the point of his greatsword behind him.

Fiona tried to rise. Selin caught her elbow. Harbu passed them without looking at their weapons. He went straight to Haruka, set his sword down, and knelt with difficulty beside her.

He gathered her against his chest and supported her head with one armored hand. She seized the edge of his arm, pulling herself as close as she could. Her feet shifted against the floor, then stopped.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Harbu: I'm here. I'm here, my dark mistress.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Haruka looked up at him. Her breath kept catching before she could finish it. Harbu adjusted his arm beneath her shoulders. She held tighter, as if he had started to move away.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Haruka: I'm scared. Harbu, I'm scared — don't go —

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Harbu: I won't. Not yet.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

He bent his head close to hers. Faln could barely hear him over the voices outside the chamber. The guard at the side door began to enter. Areon held out an arm to stop him.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Harbu: You were never just a monster to me. Rest now. You don't have to be big anymore.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Haruka tried to answer. Her lips moved before the words came. She kept her eyes on his face, and her fingers tightened once more around his arm.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Haruka: Harbu don't go. You're... my only... friend.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Harbu held her without moving. Faln watched her hand because he could not look at her face. After a while, her fingers loosened. They slipped from the edge of Harbu's armor and rested against his wrist.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Harbu waited. He lowered his head until his forehead nearly touched hers. The dark light along his greatsword flickered once and faded. He looked at the weapon, then back at Haruka.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

Haruka's hand lay still against Harbu's wrist.

[Picture: Harbu kneels on broken stone and holds the dying Haruka against his armor.]

He laid her down carefully on the broad step. He straightened her arms, folded her hands, and moved her curved sword beside her. When he rose, he had to brace one hand against the throne before he could take up his own blade.

Faln stepped back. He remembered that sword above Fiona in the forest, then above Hrutvalf in the village. He looked at the main doors, where Klark should have been standing with them.

Harbu lifted the greatsword in both hands. The tip shook before he steadied it. He turned away from Haruka's body and faced the open part of the chamber.

Harbu: She is gone. I remain — while I remain. Come.

An Offer — The royal audience chamber

Valmuth appeared at the main doors. A cut beneath his left arm had darkened his cape, and he was limping. He stopped when he saw Haruka on the step. Then he looked at Harbu's raised sword.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lower your weapon, Lord Harbu. I will accept your surrender.

Harbu stood with his feet apart and his shoulders drawn back. He glanced once toward the shattered sphere. Valmuth moved into the space between him and the exhausted group beside the throne.

Valmuth De Laurentis: You will answer for those you killed. But if you lay that sword down, I will see that you receive care. No one will strike you while you are under my protection.

Harbu: There is little time for care. My life was bound to hers. The core is broken. She is dead.

He paused to draw a breath. His gauntlets tightened around the hilt. Valmuth held his sword low, leaving him room to set his own down.

Harbu: I would face you once more. One opponent. No others.

Valmuth De Laurentis: You can spend what remains of that time beside her.

Harbu looked back. Haruka lay where he had placed her, her hair caught beneath one shoulder. He set his sword point on the floor long enough to free the strands. Then he returned to the open space.

Harbu: I have made my choice.

Valmuth looked toward the king. Areon drew his daughters through the side door to the waiting guard. Selin helped Fiona farther behind the throne. Mael stayed sitting on the bottom step, too tired to conceal how badly his hands shook.

Valmuth De Laurentis: Lord Faln, join the others. Please.

Faln obeyed. He put his sword beside Fiona's fallen shield and kept his hands empty. Valmuth waited until everyone was clear before taking his weapon in both hands.

Harbu made the first attack. It was a direct cut, delivered with enough force to drive Valmuth back a full pace. Valmuth turned the second aside and struck at Harbu's unprotected shoulder. Harbu brought his blade across to catch it.

The sound was painfully loud in the chamber. Faln flinched at each impact. He had watched sword practice and fought goblins on the forest road. Here, neither man wasted movement looking toward the doors or threatening anyone behind his opponent.

Harbu pressed forward. Valmuth gave ground toward the nearest column, then stepped aside before it trapped him. Harbu's sword struck the base of a statue. He pulled it free as Valmuth cut toward the damaged plate at his waist.

The blade caught the edge of the plate. Harbu twisted away, but his next step dragged. Valmuth's left knee bent too far when he tried to follow. He stopped himself with the point of his sword, lifted it, and faced the next attack.

Fiona gripped Selin's hand. Faln wanted to tell Valmuth about the blood beneath his arm, as though he could possibly have missed it. He bit the inside of his cheek and stayed where he had been asked to stand.

Harbu changed his grip and cut low. Valmuth stepped over the blade and drove him back with a blow to the chest plate. Harbu stumbled onto the bottom step. For a moment, they stood almost close enough to touch, their sword guards locked together.

Harbu: Finish it.

Valmuth pushed him clear. Harbu raised his weapon for another strike. His arms were slower this time. Valmuth turned the descending blade past his shoulder and stepped inside its reach.

His point entered beneath the damaged edge of Harbu's breastplate. Harbu stopped. The greatsword slipped from his hands and struck the floor. Valmuth caught his shoulder before he fell forward onto the blade.

He lowered him beside the step. Harbu turned his head toward Haruka. He tried to move his hand toward her, but it stopped short. Valmuth stayed kneeling beside him until his breathing ceased.

Harbu's greatsword lay flat on the stone. Its dark edge no longer shone.

Valmuth withdrew his sword and set it beyond the bodies. He reached for his cape, unfastened it with bloodstained fingers, and folded it beneath Harbu's head. Then he sat back on his heels.

No one called out. From the side door came the scrape of a stretcher being brought into the chamber. Faln picked up Fiona's shield and moved it out of the bearers' way.

Those Who Came Back

Those Who Came Back — Castle Galadar, after the fighting

The first bearers stopped when they saw Valmuth kneeling beside the bodies. He pointed them toward Fiona. She began to object, tried to stand without Selin, and sat down again before anyone had to argue with her.

Fiona Aedelmar: All right. But I can manage the stairs if someone takes the shield.

Selin Anvell: We're using the stretcher.

Faln handed the shield to a guard. He stayed beside Fiona until the bearers had secured her injured arm. Then he turned toward the main doors. A man carrying a basket of dressings caught his sleeve and asked where the other wounded were.

Faln Stirme: Linen room. Down the gallery, last door before the stair. Pella's with our friend. There's blood on the floor. You'll see it.

The man went ahead. Faln wanted to run after him, but Selin needed help lifting Mael from the step. Mael swatted away his first attempt, reconsidered, and put a hand on his shoulder.

Master Mael: No pulling. I own several joints I would prefer to keep.

Areon returned from the side passage with a guard. He checked both daughters before giving orders: secure the stair, send help to the chapel, and find out which gates were still passable. Treona asked for water for the wounded. Talarn kept the cut ropes until a servant took them from her hands.

Areon: You will all have our thanks. First, tell the healers what you need. They have my orders to treat the worst injuries first, wherever the patients came from.

Valmuth rose to speak to him. He had to steady himself against the throne. The guard moved to help, but Valmuth first pointed out the core fragments and asked that nobody handle them until they were examined.

Valmuth De Laurentis: The sphere is destroyed, Your Majesty. Her wound was fatal, and she has no core left through which to return. The fallen soldiers outside will need to be identified. Some were your people.

Areon looked toward the windows. A stretcher passed between them, carrying a palace guard who was still breathing. The king stepped out of its way, then sent another man to organize the search.

The Chapel — Later that evening

The linen room was empty when Faln reached it. For one terrible moment, he could only see the blood on the sheets. Then he noticed the scrape marks left by the carrying board and heard Pella giving instructions from the stair below.

Klark lay on a narrow bed in the chapel. His coat had been cut open. Clean bandages covered his right side, and his face looked pale beneath the freckles. Pella was washing her hands when Faln arrived.

Faln Stirme: Is he—

Pella: Alive. Keep your voice down. He needs the sleep.

Faln stopped beside the bed. Klark's breathing was shallow but regular. One hand rested outside the blanket. Faln set the elf's bow against the wall where he would see it when he woke.

Pella: We've stopped the bleeding. There will be fever to watch for, and he will need weeks to recover. If he tells you he's fit for a walk tomorrow, you come and find me.

Faln Stirme: He said there wouldn't be any tricks.

Pella: I'll be pleased to witness the first occasion.

She inspected Faln's burned boot and the cut on his cheek. He tried to tell her about Haruka while she cleaned it. The words came out in the wrong order: the sphere, the princesses, Harbu arriving, the way the queen had called for him.

Faln Stirme: She was frightened at the end.

Pella pressed a clean cloth against his cheek and let him hold it there. Behind her, an attendant called for another basin. She looked toward the rows of beds, then back at him.

Pella: I heard. I'm glad Harbu reached her. I wish he'd let more of our people reach theirs.

Faln nodded. Pella squeezed his shoulder and went to the next bed. He stayed with Klark until the bearers brought Fiona down. Selin followed them, carrying Fiona's sword in both hands because she had not thought to put it in its sheath.

Thragann came in from the garden with dust in his beard and a torn sleeve. He stopped when he saw the four of them. Faln stood to tell him what had happened, but Thragann put both arms around him before he could begin.

Thragann Bjorn: There you are. Let me look at you.

He held Faln at arm's length, checked his face, and looked past him to Klark. Pella gave him a short account. Thragann listened without interrupting, then helped the bearers place Fiona where Selin could sit beside her.

Fiona Aedelmar: Did everyone get through the garden?

Thragann Bjorn: Everyone we could bring out that way. They're still searching the west court. I'm going back when I've had some water.

Fiona watched him drink. She started to lift herself on one elbow, then stopped when Selin took the cup from Thragann and handed it to her. She drank too, slowly, while the searchers outside called to one another.

Klark slept with his bow against the wall and his knives wrapped on the bedside stool.

Names for the Clerks — Galadarn, the next three days

The guild's main room became a place for lists. Pella kept the wounded near the windows. Brakka put two clerks by the entrance so people looking for relatives did not have to force their way between the beds.

Faln helped carry messages. He learned to ask for a full name, where the person had last been seen, and who would be waiting for news. He wrote slowly. When he misspelled a surname, he crossed it out once and asked again.

Missing or separated relatives: Leave a name, last known place, and somewhere a messenger can find you. Identification parties are working outside the gates and along the southern road. The clerks will record confirmed news separately from reports still being checked.

Two search parties brought back Elin and Gorgral among the fallen from the army. Klark was awake when the news came. He described what he had seen on the march so the clerks would understand why their bodies had been found far from the village.

Klark Kessern: They were dead before she put them on that road. Write that down properly. Their families shouldn't have to wonder.

The clerk read the account back to him. Klark corrected one detail about Elin's clothes, then asked to stop. Faln took the stool beside his bed and stayed until he wanted water.

Hrutvalf was recovered later from the village where the guild had been trapped. His damaged sword came back with him. No one could confirm whether he had risen with the others. Brakka had the uncertainty recorded instead of filling it in.

Fiona heard the news while Pella changed the dressing on her forearm. She asked where Hrutvalf's sword had been put. When Pella told her, she nodded and sat without speaking for the rest of the treatment.

That evening, Selin found her looking at the guild's practice yard through an open window. The yard had been cleared for supply carts. There would be no matches there for a while.

Fiona Aedelmar: I keep thinking he's going to come in and demand another round. Then I remember how pleased I was the last time I told him no.

Selin Anvell: You'd beaten him fairly.

Fiona Aedelmar: I know. I'd still rather hear him complain about it.

Selin pulled a chair beside hers. They watched two workers try to steer an overloaded cart through the narrow gate. After a while, Fiona called down to warn them that the left wheel was catching the post.

[Picture: Selin Anvell]

[Picture: Fiona Aedelmar]

The Dead — Adventurer's Rest, outside Galadarn

They held the guild service when the first identification parties returned. Some families had bodies to bury. Others stood beside markers while the search continued. Brakka read the names from a page Pella had checked twice.

Fiona stood with Selin, her arm in a sling. Faln carried flowers bought with the few coins he still had. Mael came without his pipe. Thragann helped a wounded adventurer reach a bench before taking his place beside the others.

Pella spoke about Gorgral lifting the broken cart and holding it while she pulled a younger adventurer clear. Her voice failed when she reached the moment he had told them to go. She stopped, drank from the cup Brakka offered, and finished the account.

They remembered Elin arriving from Medel and Hrutvalf arguing in the guild hall. People who knew them better added things the five had never heard. Faln listened. He had known them for so little time that even the familiar stories had gaps.

Fresh earth marked the new graves. A folded guild sash rested beside Elin's flowers.

Haruka and Harbu were buried separately under guard after their deaths had been confirmed. Valmuth attended. He gave the clerk their names, watched the weapons placed in custody, and returned before the guild's evening meal.

Faln saw him at the entrance and approached with a bowl. Valmuth's left arm was bound close to his body. He accepted the food, then waited while Faln tried to decide what he wanted to ask.

Faln Stirme: Were you there alone?

Valmuth De Laurentis: There were the guards and the people doing the burial. I stayed until it was finished.

Faln nodded and sat beside him. He wanted to ask why Harbu had let him live in the forest. Valmuth would not know. After a while, Faln told him that Klark had eaten half a bowl of stew without complaining about it.

Small Distances — The guild rooms, several days later

The patients evacuated along the western road returned once the city could house them safely. Abelia came in a cart with two other wounded adventurers. Her right arm was supported in a sling; she needed help with the step down.

Fiona met her at the door. Neither seemed to know how to begin. Abelia looked at Fiona's bandages, then at the hand Fiona held out to her.

Abelia Cyro: You look terrible.

Fiona Aedelmar: So do you. Come on. The stairs are worse than they look.

Abelia took her hand. Selin went ahead to open the bedroom door. They climbed slowly, resting at the landing without pretending they had stopped for any other reason.

Across the corridor, Klark attempted his first walk with Pella on one side and Thragann on the other. He managed six steps before his face lost its color. Pella brought the chair forward. He sat down and kept both hands on his knees until the pain eased.

Klark Kessern: Six steps. I used to do that hanging from a roof.

Thragann Bjorn: We'll leave the roof where it is.

Klark gave a short laugh and immediately regretted it. Pella waited until he could breathe comfortably, then helped him back to bed. The next day, he tried again. His bow stayed against the wall for another week.

The Guild Again

The Guild Again — Seven weeks after the siege

Brakka had said the celebration would begin at dusk. By midday, three people were already arguing about where to put the tables. The guild's repaired door stood open, and Faln was carrying chairs through it while workers outside laid fresh boards across a damaged drain.

A woman stopped him to ask whether he was Faln Stirme. He shifted the chairs against his hip and said yes. She thanked him for helping her brother out of the border village. Before he could find a reply, she put a parcel of small cakes on top of the chairs.

Faln Stirme: Oh. Thank you. Could you hold those a moment? I'm about to drop everything.

She laughed and carried the parcel inside for him. By the time Faln set the chairs down, two more visitors were waiting to speak to him. He recognized one as a man they had freed before the army reached the capital.

He was pleased to see them. He was also relieved when Thragann appeared, handed the man a stack of plates, and told them all where the food was going. The conversations continued while they worked.

A Proper Visit — The guild's side room

Abelia sat by the window with Fiona. Neither wore a sling anymore. Abelia's right arm still tired before the rest of her did, and Pella had forbidden competitive sword practice until she could hold a full guard comfortably.

Fiona had brought two wooden practice swords and left them beneath the bench. Abelia noticed them when she stretched out her feet. She nudged one with her boot and looked at Fiona.

Abelia Cyro: Is that your idea of following the healer's instructions?

Fiona Aedelmar: They're for later. I thought you might be bored.

Abelia Cyro: I'm extremely bored. I'm still not giving Pella a reason to start again.

Fiona pushed the swords farther under the bench. Abelia watched her do it, then reached for the jug with her left hand. She poured badly enough that Fiona had to put a cloth under the cup.

Abelia Cyro: I remember more of it now. I was very certain I could stand when I couldn’t. You must have noticed before I did.

Fiona Aedelmar: You were very convincing. Until you tried.

Abelia Cyro: Thank you.

Fiona looked down at the wet cloth. Abelia waited instead of adding an excuse. Outside, someone shouted for another pair of hands, followed by a crash and a much louder denial that anything had broken.

Fiona Aedelmar: I kept meaning to come over before that. Before all of it. But I thought if I visited, you'd turn it into another contest.

Abelia Cyro: I probably would have. You'd have stayed to win it.

Fiona Aedelmar: Probably.

Abelia lifted her cup with both hands. Fiona leaned back against the wall and stretched her healing arm. They listened to Brakka tell the people outside that anything broken was coming out of the furniture fund.

Abelia Cyro: Come over tomorrow. No swords. We can sit somewhere that isn't full of people discussing bandages.

Fiona Aedelmar: I'll bring Selin.

Abelia Cyro: Of course you will. She can explain why your version of the story keeps changing.

Fiona threw the dry end of the cloth at her. Abelia caught it with her left hand and looked pleased with herself. They put the practice swords away before going downstairs together.

A Lesson Before Supper — A table near the guild window

Mael had claimed the quietest table and placed a cup of water on it. Selin touched the cup, drew her hand away, and raised it a few inches. The surface trembled. She steadied it before trying to move it toward the empty saucer.

Master Mael: Smaller adjustments. You're hauling it about as if it's a bucket in a well.

Selin Anvell: You told me to move it.

Master Mael: I neglected to demand elegance. A grave oversight.

Selin moved the cup another inch. Mael lifted one eyebrow. She ignored him until the cup was above the saucer, then lowered it carefully. Only a little water ran down its side.

Selin Anvell: There.

Master Mael: Again. And this time, stop when somebody speaks to you without dropping your concentration.

Selin Anvell: You've been speaking the entire time.

Mael reached for his pipe, found it empty, and looked offended by the discovery. Selin hid a smile while she reset the cup. Raven pushed his head out of the satchel on the bench and watched her moving hand.

Fiona stopped beside the table with Abelia. Selin began to lower the cup. Mael held up a finger, and she kept it suspended while Fiona asked when they would be finished.

Selin Anvell: One more. Save me a place by you.

The cup reached the saucer without spilling. Mael checked the tabletop, nodded once, and pushed it toward her. She drank the water. He began packing his tobacco before anyone could suggest a public demonstration.

The cup sat dry on its saucer. Raven watched the plate of cakes beside it.

All the Way Down — The guild stairs

Klark came down carrying a tray in each hand. Faln looked up from setting the table and immediately moved toward him. Klark turned sideways to let someone pass, then finished the stairs without slowing.

Faln Stirme: You could have called.

Klark Kessern: I could. Then you would have arrived with Pella, two chairs, and instructions for a dignified descent.

He set the trays down and stretched his right side. There was no flinch this time. Faln had seen him walking farther every week, then practicing with the bow again. It was still difficult to stop watching for the pain.

Faln Stirme: Does it really not hurt?

Klark Kessern: It really doesn't. Pella checked. Then Thragann checked. Then I checked by going up those stairs and coming down them. I'm quite well.

Pella: He is. Unfortunately, it has restored his habit of making every room an obstacle course.

Pella passed with a basket of clean cloths. Klark took it from her and carried it to the serving table without making a performance of the weight. She watched his back for a moment, satisfied, and went to wash before supper.

Faln handed Klark the last of his knives. It had been found beneath the linen-room bed when the castle staff cleared the temporary ward. Klark checked the edge and fitted it into the sheath at his wrist.

Klark Kessern: You did bring everything back.

Faln Stirme: You left quite a lot of it lying around.

Klark put an arm around his shoulders and steered him toward the food. Faln did not try to help him walk. They reached the table just as Brakka called for everyone to make room near the entrance.

[Picture: Klark Kessern]

[Picture: Faln Stirme]

The Guests — The guild celebration

Areon entered with Treona and Talarn. The room quieted unevenly as people noticed them. The king waited while an injured guard found a seat, then thanked the guild for defending the city and returning his daughters alive.

He named the six who had entered the keep. Valmuth stood near the side wall, his arm free of its binding now. Klark raised a hand when people turned to find him. Mael looked prepared for a much longer introduction than he received.

Areon: There are families here who owe you people their lives. Mine is among them. The crown will continue paying for the wounded's care and the searches for those still missing. The guild should not have had to begin that work alone.

Treona found Selin after the applause. She thanked her for keeping them behind the statues and waiting for a living guard before opening the door. Talarn showed Faln the hairpin she had bent trying to free the ropes. Someone had straightened it, though a small kink remained.

Princess Talarn Galadarnis: It goes through my hair now. It still catches sometimes.

Faln Stirme: It did better than my knife would have done if I'd kept shaking like that.

Treona laughed, and Talarn put the pin away. People began speaking at ordinary volume again. Brakka directed the royal party toward the long table and told everyone else that the stew would not improve by waiting for another speech.

Thragann caught Faln before he sat down. He had the steel sword they had taken to the armorer after the siege. Its edge had been repaired, and the worn grip had fresh wrapping.

Thragann Bjorn: Try that. They kept the balance close to what you had.

Faln took it carefully and tested the weight with the blade still sheathed. He had thought about returning it for weeks. At home, his father's wooden sword lay wrapped beside his things. This one had belonged to Thragann before any of them left the city.

Faln Stirme: I owe you for the repairs. And the loan.

Thragann Bjorn: The repairs are paid for. The sword's yours. Keep turning up to practice, and we'll make sure you can use it without wrecking another edge.

Faln looked at him, then down at the new wrapping. He tried to say thank you and had to clear his throat. Thragann waited until he managed it, then drew him into a brief hug.

Thragann Bjorn: Now put it somewhere sensible. Brakka will blame me if you slice the table.

Faln took the sword upstairs and returned with empty hands. There was a place waiting between Klark and Selin. Fiona moved a plate toward him while Abelia finished disputing some detail of their first meeting with everyone close enough to hear.

Mael reached for a cake and found the plate empty. Raven sat beside it with crumbs stuck to his mouth. For a moment, the wizard looked from the toad to each member of the table, searching for an accomplice.

Master Mael: Who let him out?

Selin Anvell: You did. He wanted to watch the lesson.

Klark laughed. Fiona offered Mael half of her cake, and Abelia pulled the remaining food farther from Raven. Faln passed the stew to Valmuth, took the bread Selin handed him, and asked them to start the story again because he had missed the beginning.