"You will not regret my prose! I will do you all fine justice." Tommy sat down with a fierce purpose. He pulled out his various tools of the scholarly kind and began jotting down ideas for his poem.

Just to tease, Nimbus gave Vala a wink just as she faced out to walk for wood. "Maybe you can sing it and show it off on Brun and Vala's wedding."

That was sure to give the old girl a nice twitch of her eyes. Nimbus comfortable ruffled her feathers, preening them. Between slips of her beak she would pop her head back up with another quip about Vala and Brun. "The love-birds will have to let us know when their first bear-cub comes along, don't you think Tommy?"

An ink-marked nose poked from behind his papers. "I will have to know a name as well, for the childs song."

=

Cirians frown defined his disappointment. These men and women seemed to lose their battle-skills by the hour. It was probably due to Naris, but it seems by association his friend Yunawen was suffering the same plight of lacking proper competence.

But not everyone can be a Cirian, so maybe he had to forgive that. However, it still frustrated him that so many things were slipping through their fingers.

"Why did you come back?" Cirian asked, as if it would have been better that they find she had been lost too, maybe for the reason of still looking and tracking. Placing his sarcasm aside, Cirian went on with another question. "Where is the Orc? What did he look like- any defining marks?" He asked curiously.

"Pfeh, of course we don't know everything," Brun replied. "We are not gods, we can't live long enough to learn everything. But you are not wrong, we can try to understand mysterious things. The gods already know, having made all things, but it is up to us to learn all that we can. Like, are you having the rest of that rabbit? Serious question, I am hungry."

Brun let the question go unanswered as Vala and Tom arrived, with Vala bearing a sizable pouch of food scraps. Before anyone could say anything however, Tom seemed possessed by the bardic spirit and looked fit to create an entire saga, or something of that nature.

In the spontaneity of the moment Brun was happy to indulge him. "Ha ha ha ha, yes!" he roared with approval. "Are you drawing or writing? Ah, doesn't matter, just do it!"

Vala's lips became a straight line as she looked on and said after a moment's pause, "So I brought food for you two, though I can see you've already taken care of yourself, Nim. Here you go, shape changer."

Brun accepted the food with a ridiculous show of courtesy, taking the pouch in one hand and placing the other over his chest as he replied, "My thanks, dear heart."

Ignoring it, Vala continued, "So I guess this is where we'll make camp. Everyone stay here while I collect firewood and be ready to return my armour, Tom. I want to inspect it for damage later."

As she set off towards the woods that were surrounded by tree stumps, she wondered what her son was up to at this very moment.

~~~

Some men yelled out in alarm as they saw the elf's transformation, but Ashnak only cocked an eyebrow as he said, "Perhaps there are some other things we should keep quiet too, but in any case, it seems we are of one mind on the matter. Now then, what have you to report, Arnolf?"

The one eyed warrior came at a trot and pointed his axe towards the gate as he replied, "It's bad over there, you don't want to go outside. We were following the she-elf when a strange orc joined our party then started attacking everyone as soon as we got beyond the wall. Looked like a foreigner, but whatever he was, he killed four of us, wounded a few more and then fled. The elf's gone after him."

"And you didn't help?"

Arnolf shook his head with regret. "The elf didn't want us to. Said we were outmatched, so she told us to stay put until her return... oh, there she is now."

Yunawen had a black expression on her face as she came through the gate with a broken sword in hand. Her hair was disheveled, her quiver was empty and her bow was missing. Overall, she looked a thorough mess with all the signs of a battle hard fought.

"I lost him," she said as she stopped in front of Ashnak and Cirian. "I lost the assassin, I lost the orc, by the gods, I lost my weapons too. What is up with our enemies today? Fighting like demons."

"Fare enough, that strange things happen in the world." Nimbus was heard speaking. Her feet rested on the body of, what seemed to be, a rabbit. You could make out the paws and the long ears, but the face was pecked away. Blood seeped from the sockets. "But that doesn't mean we can't discover why, by just putting it up to some kind of random invisible being in the sky. Saying "Mysterious" all the time, coupled with "gods" isn't a convincing argument with me. You can't use 'god of the gaps' Brun. If anything, it should be called "We don't know, science will tell us later."


Of course they would be arguing, what else can sustain these warriors? Beer, beef, cheese, and bread? Sure, but a little raw rabbit and a bicker or two, and they would be revitalized!


Tommy's disappointment for the lack of info from Vala made him wonder what kind of stories the others might have. He tramped through snow and plopped beside them.


"Hello fellas!" Tommy beamed, pulling out his material. "Want me to immortalize you two?"


=


"So then a set up for sure?" Naris feet shuffled against the ground, wondering about a few things. "We should keep it to ourselves, do you think? How much good will come if we don't? Who do you THINK it is actually?" Naris asked.


Before he might ask another question, the darkness seemed to creep onto Ashnak and Naris. The elf's clothes seemed to fill out, and his shoulders squared taller than they were before as if he straightened up. A voice answered in reply for the boy, in a tone that was firm and cool.


"Of course it's ridiculous to think that Ericcson would point the finger at himself. What do we know about our target? Would he, with his gifts and evasion, be as foolish as to discard such evidence in our presence? I think not." Cirian stood, silver eyes onto Ashnak. "Not only do I think Ericcson is innocent, I think that Seer is leading us on a goose chase. I think he wants us to expose our knowledge as well. We should keep it quiet and not disclose this. Or, perhaps, even tell them that it was someone other than Ericcson. If we can, let it be the true transgressor."

Vala looked at Tommy, wondering if it would be wise to tell him. He seemed harmless enough, but the lad was a storyteller. It would be foolish to trust him with secrets and in any case, the less he knew the better. There was no telling what might happen in their journey.

"Best you not ask," Vala said as she ate a spoonful of stew. "Some stories are better left untold, some heroes best left unsung. Mine's is a tale that can only have an unhappy ending and if you are wise, you'll leave before then. Whatever happens, let it not be said that you weren't warned."

What little good it might do, Vala thought as she took a sip of water. She could see that the lad was undeterred.

"In any case, you've already finished your meal so I'll have to save the rest of mine for the others."

Vala slurped the soup from her stew and tipped the rest onto a square of linen, filling it with chunks of meat and vegetables before tying up the corners into a bag.

"Let's go," she said when she was done and stood up to leave, wondering how Nimbus and Brun were faring outside the town. If the gods were good, they wouldn't be bickering over philosophical matters again... but the gods were seldom good, as Vala learned for herself when she found the bird and beastman conversing by a stream.

~~~

"Hm, it's as I said before," Ashnak replied, rubbing his heavy jaw thoughtfully. "What kind of assassin is fool enough to wear the mark of his employer? Perhaps it's Ericsson's idea of sending a message, but if that is so then surely he is aware of the fate that awaits him, if he is responsible for everything."

The blood eagle, he left unsaid. The cruelest of punishments reserved for traitors and the most hated enemies. A gruesome way to die, but the most spectacular of sights as Ashnak had seen once or twice before in his life.

"He's not weak I'll grant, but he's not untouchable neither. Only an utter fool would risk the enmity of the realm... and me. Hm, Uldric's wife too for that matter. A shieldmaiden that one and of the north before settling down with that southron jarl. You can be sure she's not going to take news of her husband's death very well."

As Ashnak reached the end of the alley, the city wall came into view with Arnolf and a handful of men at the gates, but no sign of Yunawen.

A big grin spread on Tommy's face. The boy was such a sticker for the scrolls in his burlap sack, that it was a surprise he pulled out his lute for the kids to see, warning them not to touch the broken cord. They gleefully strummed the lute, until their parents called them back. Setting his things aside, Tommy's hands fell upon his bowl, but halfway to his mouth with the spoon, he stopped and said, "Grace!", then into his mouth went the heap of stew.


He chowed it down speedily, slurping up water from the wooden mug that was given to him. When the bowl was cleaned of stew, the lad dropped the spoon into it, making a clack, and rested his hand on his belly.


"Whoo, that was good." He sighed with satisfaction. "Do you think Nimbus and Brun would want some, or perhaps they have their own meal going? By the way, where did you guys come from? An Eagle, a lady, and a tattooed man....sounds like a good story, actually." He mused, scatting his bare chin. Not even a single hair poked on his jaw.


=

"Doubts?" Naris looked up at him.

As evening was gaining closer, he could feel his brother coming stronger. Cirian had doubts too, making his feelings clear, but Naris felt differently a bit. Maybe it was stress. It was certainly not easy being himself, with Cirian having another thing to hound the man for. Naris had indeed failed again. Ash pointed it out, and he meant no hard feelings. Naris wanted to say "YES, I know! I'm reminded of it all the time." But he didn't. He forgave Ashnak. It was more than Cirian would do for Naris.

The Elf felt days search weighing on his shoulders. He looked weathered, a bit thin faced. "Ashnak, I'm tired of things tripping up around me. What doubts could you have? It was plain as day..."

There were other questions that Cirian felt needed to be paid attention too, but Naris wasn't talking with him at the moment. Stress was getting too much. Apart of him wished to follow after Yunawen.

Completely nonplussed, Vala could only stare down at the child without any idea of what to do. She had never experienced the silliness of toddlers before, having adopted Rorik when he was half a man grown and unusually mature for his age.

Certainly, they were mother and son, but their relationship was also that of master and apprentice, of discipline and respect for life in the cold, hard north. There was never a time when Vala had been badgered by her son for a toy, particularly in the manner of the little toddler currently attacking her knee.

Vala looked up at Tommy with an almost helpless expression as the beef stew came around.

"Hellooooo," the innkeeper crooned as he smiled at the toddler. "Well, here are your meals. Enjoy."

~~~

Ashnak stood looking around the alleyway for all but a second before turning to Yunawen and saying, "Track him."

"What?" the elf replied. "He'd be long gone from here by now."

"Are you not a ranger? Track. Him."

The orc's tone brooked no argument and Yunawen had to admit, it was clever of him to say are instead of were, as though acknowledging that there was no such thing as a former ranger.

Yunawen knew that such an implication would appeal to her sense of pride and it worked more often than not. In this case, it did and the elf only nodded in response before heading off with brisk strides to range ahead.

Ashnak then said to Naris as he followed, "First Jorgen, now Uldric, both by the same hand and twice escaped from you."

Letting out a frustrated roar, Ashnak punched the stone wall of a house and breathed deeply until he was relatively calm again. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but you must understand that I am... vexed. Actually, no, piss on that, I want to see blood. I want to see that rat son of Hel bleed in my own hands as I rip the lungs out from his throat! I still can't believe he was here all along!"

Possessed as he was with violent rage, matters of the moot was the last thing on Ashnak's mind, but he had not forgotten about the assassin's brooch and the sigil it bore.

"And after that, I'll be sure to do the same to Jarl Ericsson, if he is responsible. I have my doubts."

The boy slumped his shoulders with a sheepish smile on his face. Two stews was a quaint meal, but fine. You know, if you're not looking to fill up too much. Tommy tapped the toes of his feet together in modest attempt at humility.

"Well, no. I don't have much money." He shrugged. "This morning I was playing a song, but surprisingly, no one paid me for it."

Was it much of a surprise? How much did Tommy really know about his voice? Maybe there was a way to convince him to stick with instrumental. Speaking of which, a child or two had come up to see it closely. One of them wanted to touch it, so, the toddler slapped Vala's knee excitedly. In the fashion of youngsters, she was unaware of how to restrain such blows.

"Miss! Can I touch?" She asked.

=

"Now hold on. She didn't do anything wrong, Ashy." Naris stood up to calm things. "I might have a wounded hand, but I can handle it." He placed the unharmed palm onto Yunawens shoulder to reassure her. "I think Ashnak is right. Lets go lead him back."

He insisted on bringing the Orc to the very spot that he and Yunawen had their little encounter. Along the way, he worried on what this might mean for the moot. What kind of trouble had this Seer done to all of the world that they knew?

Naris took a glance at Ashnak. Would it still be best to stay? Or track the Seer? He wondered how far Nimbus was, and if she would come soon with any news. Apart of him felt this was his fault. If he was better, he might have gotten that murderer.

Vala had suddenly lost all interest in Tommy's past as she narrowed her eyes in annoyance. All the food he ordered had better be a joke, because there was not a chance in helvete that Vala was going to pay so much for a meal.

"Two bowls of beef stew and that's it," she said to the innkeeper in a tone of finality.

Nodding to her with deference, the innkeeper went to the kitchen to tell the cook of the order then returned to guide Vala and Tommy to their seats, which were uncomfortably close to the drafty front door.

"Your meals will be ready in just a moment, hope you enjoy," he said before returning to the counter.

"Thank you," Vala said as she sat at the rectangular wooden table and then to Tommy, "I don't know if you can tell, but I don't exactly have a lot of money with me, so you'll have to pay for your own meal. As Nimbus said, you must provide for yourself if you wish to travel with us... You do have money, don't you?"

~~~

Yunawen shrugged as she replied, "Who knows? Just be glad that he didn't."

Ashnak was still boiling with impatient fury as he took the brooch from Naris to examine it more closely. The orc was anxious to go out and hunt for the rogue seer himself, but upon recognizing the mark of Jarl Ericsson on the brooch, he admitted that this finding couldn't be ignored.

"What kind of idiot assassin wears the mark of his employer?" Ashnak snarled. "Hm, no matter, there will be an accounting soon enough. Right now, we must find the killer. We cannot let him get away!"

Pocketing the brooch, Ashnak pointed to Arnolf and said, "Go to the walls with anyone you can find along the way and search every exit. If the bastard's already escaped, I want to know. And you..."

Pointing to Naris this time. "Lead me to where you saw him last. I want to find that cowardly rat myself and strangle him to death with my bare hands."

"But he's in no condition!" Yunawen protested.

Ashnak whirled on the elf and glared at her as though being contradicted was the highest offense at this moment.

"Only because of you," the orc replied in a measured tone of contempt.

"Well, I don't want to impose." Tommy smiled modestly. "But maybe a cut of beef off that cow side turning on the spit?" He asked, feeling his stomach growl. Before the Innkeeper could turn, the boy added. "And if it's not too much trouble, a mug of ale, perhaps a side of fried veggies? If that's what you have. You know, you can cut some cheese for me too, if you have it, maybe a few slices of buttered bread and a spoon or two of gravy, possibly a bowl of mashed potatoes-" He had a pause, but again, he made a gesture for attention.


As thin as Tommy looked, you'd think he was making a joke, but the boy was serious here. He made himself comfortable as he made more demands with that sweet smile of his. The question was, did Vala even have the money? Or the patience?


"Oh, a chicken leg or two would be good as well. Do you have salt and pepper? That always tastes good with corn. Yeah, corn on the cob, a bit of hash, some florets in sauce with noodles, that would be great sir."


It seemed maybe now he was done, but he had just ONE more thing to say. "After that, we can have desserts! I'd like apple pie, if you have that, with a scoop of ice cream." He beamed. Tommy looked at Vala. "What are you gonna get?" oh so modest indeed.


~~~


"He ran off, after pinning my hand down with an arrow, after I had lunged at him on the roofs." Naris wearily explained what had transpired, gently setting a hand on Ashnaks sword, to lower it. "And we have this..." he showed him the brooch. "Ericsson."


There was one thing on Naris's mind. He wondered how far Vala was, or if Nimbus might come soon to see them. He hoped maybe this news would reach the Seers mother. He didn't like the thought that he was chasing a shadow through the forests and that the man he wanted was RIGHT under his nose this whole time. Naris walked into the home, sat down, and stared at the floor with a cold gaze.


"Something is so off." He sighed. "He didn't kill me. Why didn't he kill me?" He muttered to himself. Naris

Vala was shocked to hear Tommy's story. To have gone through so much, so young... becoming an orphan was one thing, but being kidnapped into slavery as well was like some cosmic joke. Just how long had the boy been fending for himself, before and after this 'Jonesy' had come into his life?

It was true that slavery sometimes still occurred in Atamor, but it had long been deemed illegal since the land was unified under the sword of the first king, Ors the Great Wolf, and under Jorgen's rule it had been effectively stamped out, though not entirely so if Tommy's past was any kind of proof.

Indeed, there were entire clans here and there that still clung to the old ways of raiding for resources and slaves, their existence tolerated by whatever local jarl had use for them or simply didn't care enough to bother with. Vala had been born into such a clan, but that was a different lifetime ago, a different Vala. She had learned much since then.

Thinking of such thoughts however, Vala became so lost in the dusty memories of the past that she didn't notice the return of the innkeeper, not until he was clicking his fingers in front of her face.

"What's wrong with her?" the man asked Tommy as Vala returned to her senses.

"Sorry, my mind was... somewhere else," she apologized.

"So what do you want?"

"Are there any rooms available?"

"No."

Vala was not surprised. "Then a hot meal at least?"

"Yes, that is possible. Anything in particular?"

"Hm, what would you like, Tommy?"

Perhaps it was the lad's story or his bright spirit, in spite of everything he had been through, but Vala's attitude towards him had softened somewhat. Were it not for his singing, he'd have been more than simply tolerable. For now at least, Vala was interested in his story.

~~~

"Come inside," Ashnak promptly replied as soon as he opened the door. "I heard what happened to Uldric, this is troubling news indeed."

Walking towards the hearth where Arnolf was standing nearby, Ashnak turned to Naris and said, "What happened to your arm?"

"We went after Uldric's killer," Yunawen said.

She went on to recount the pursuit and the orc's eyes widened upon hearing that the killer was a seer.

"It can't be," he said, giving Naris an astonished look. "He was still inside the city the whole time? He was STILL HERE?"

Unsheathing his sword, Ashnak bellowed, "WHERE IS HE?"

"Yes Ma'am, a stranger from the East, where the sand burns the feet." He made one more offer to sing, before she insisted it was very much fine that he didn't, and so the lute was slung on his back when he was finished re-stringing it.

"Eh, off the counter." A waiter eyed Tommy. The lad made an apology and slid onto the stool instead.

"It's been sometime since I have seen its sea of beige and tan." He said poetically. "I was taken here by force, really. One in a handful of young kids. I worked under a harsh man before I escaped that. It's after that when I met Jonesy. He was a really good man. He told me that song was gods food, and to get fat off of it with the money it provided. I haven't made much, but I am guessing it's just because I am starting out."

And of course, it had nothing to do with his voice, right?

=

Elvish eyes blinked, reaching out to pull it to his vision to see if he was crazy or not. He didn't have to. Yunawen could see it, plain as day. Still, apart of him wanted to disconfirm her. This was no good. Besides that, Naris felt a new flash of anger, and one more target made itself in his mind, if this was true. "Ashnak." Naris said sternly. It wasn't even a question.

Ignoring passerby's, and waving off questioners, Naris realized there was a kind of hush here and there, or an increase in murmurs when people saw him. Right then he realized he could be seen. They saw him. Naris, the one who failed to protect the King. He quickly pulled the scarf over his face, blushing in shame or perhaps his cheeks had color from the rush of the chase?

By Yunawens insistence, and because it made sense anyway, Naris stopped by to get his hand fixed before making the rest of the way to Ashnak at the house he and Yunawen had walked away from.

"Ashy!" Naris called out when he opened the door. The brooch in one hand, and his other wrapped in a bandage.

Where others had grimaced and covered their ears, Vala could only stare in frank fascination as Tommy sang whilst playing the lute. Was there ever a bard with such a horrifically terrible singing voice? And... was he playing with his eyes closed? If so, that would've explained his seeming blindness to the other people's reactions, but could he not hear his own voice? It simply boggled the mind.

By some blessed miracle of luck, one of the strings on the lute broke and Tommy immediately stopped singing, but he was going to continue as soon as he restrung his instrument. Someone had to stop him!

"Don't," Vala said as she seized Tommy's wrist. "Please don't... I think I get the idea. You come from the East."

Letting go, she continued, "When you mentioned hot sand, did you mean a desert? There are no such places here in Atamor, so are you a foreigner then?"

Judging by the lad's dark skin, Vala guessed that she should have thought so from the start, but then again orcs and elves weren't native to the land, and yet quite a few were born and raised Atamorians. It might have been the same in Tommy's case.

~~~

"If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me," Yunawen replied. "I'm the one who went after him in the first place, and right after I blathered on about the kind of people we shouldn't chase. Talk about eating my words."

As Yunawen rounded a corner into an alleyway leading towards the market, she glanced up and noticed a triplet of lines scored into the rock of a second storey balcony. Had the fugitive used some kind of tool to climb onto the rooftops so quickly? Yunawen didn't recall seeing one, but she didn't discount the possibility.

"So that was him, wasn't it? The one who killed the king. Gods, I can see how he might have slipped past you. Even I couldn't keep up... anyway, I don't see anything else he might have left behind, other than that cloak. We better take a closer look at it."

Taking the garment from Naris, Yunawen straightened it out and looked down as something shiny fell off. She picked it up for closer inspection and then showed it to Naris.

It was a brooch in the shape of a two headed dragon, the mark of nobility, and on the pin was a sigil that could only be affiliated with Jarl Ericsson, one of the candidates for kingship in the coming moot.

Yunawen looked at Naris as the unspoken meaning of this hung in the air.

"Oh, from-" Tommy stopped, then a grin spread across his face. The lad plopped that sack of his onto the table, but not the lute, which he held firmly in his left hand. The boy hopped to sit beside his sack and crossed a leg. Tommy set the lute on his lap, positioning himself to play. "Any story worth telling, is worth singing!" He insisted.

The patrons of the tavern were not expecting anything less than entertainment. It's up to you, to judge if this was what they got, when Tommy strummed his fingers across those cords. It was obvious he played very well, but when that mouth of his opened, one might as well have clawed a dry chalk board to make a better sound.

"I traveled from the East
Far, far across this land
Father, mother, brother
away from the hot sand

On the snowy shore
We were acttacked!
Fire, steel, and wood
our things were sacked.

Blood stained the paper
I took when I fled
Only to find me alone
My family lost their head

The days were dreary
I couldn't see the sun
Till Jonsey came and
my adventure begun

We went around the land
danced, sang, and joke
Then one day Jonsey died
That's when my heart broke

But I kept on going,
Knowing Jonsey was there
In spirit I will go on,
Till the day I have no air-"

TWANG

More than one pair of hands cupped their ears, and it was only good fortune that a cord snapped, relieving them of his voice. Tommy stopped abruptly, having to fix this snag.

"Oh well damn." He mumbled, rummaging through his sack. "I'll get this fixed and keep going, hold on." Unless distracted, he was the kind of guy who would follow through with that promise.

=

"Yeah, he is still alive too!" Naris lamented, and he kept on with it shortly, until he ended his disquiet with a gruff sigh. His hand was bandaged, but he felt it might as well have stayed to fester. It was deserved. "Again, Yunny." He said, lowly. "It happened twice now." His shoulders stiffened and he walked just as tightly towards the edge of the roof, looking out at line of trees.

He stared, but didn't see a thing that would help him. Shaking his head, Naris walked with Yunawen back towards the market, when he looked at the cloak he had grabbed. Picking it up, he wondered if it might help him in anyway. "Anything else he could have dropped, do you think?" He asked her. Naris swallowed, and then faced Yunawen with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, by the way..." He cast his eyes down in shame.

When Tommy blustered with indignation, Vala was half amused to see the lad standing up to her in such a manner... Brun was more so.

As the group split apart before the town, the shapeshifter still howling with laughter, Vala had to admit that Brun was right. The lad had spirit, but singing was probably not his strong point, as the people within earshot made quite clear with their annoyed expressions.

The caterwauling was mercifully brief and Vala sighed with relief as she entered a different inn from before, this one not so full, but just as busy. Wiping snow and dirt from her boots on a mat, Vala stepped up to the counter to speak with the innkeeper, but he was too busy with other customers to notice.

After a while, the innkeeper turned to Vala and just when it seemed he was ready to speak, an assistant in an apron came calling for his attention.

"Sorry boss, but there's something wrong with one of the barrels. The spigot just won't stay on."

"Just a moment," the innkeeper said as he went away with the assistant.

Standing awkwardly at the counter, Vala looked sidelong at Tommy and asked, "So... where do you come from?"

~~~

Yunawen was at first stung by the sheer frustration in Naris's voice, but then her eyes hardened upon remembering that once upon a time, she had been captain of the Ranger Corps and her highest priority had always been the men under her charge. That did not change after the dismantlement of the corps, nor did it now.

"He's gone," Yunawen said brusquely as she crouched beside Naris and dug through her waist bag. "We tried and failed, now shut up and let me bind your wound. This is no mere scratch you can just ignore."

Taking out a paper packet, piece of rope and bandages, Yunawen set them aside on the hem of her cloak as she unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and washed out the blood that was leaking out of Naris's hand.

Ignoring his pain, Yunawen then applied a tourniquet with the rope and emptied the paper packet into wound, filling it with green powder that immediately congealed and turned yellow as it absorbed the blood.

Finally covering the wound with the bandages, Yunawen clapped Naris on the shoulder as she stood up and said, "Let's get out of here. We messed this one up, but at least we're still alive."

"Put this in my sack?" Tommy blinked, feeling the heavy metal shirt in his hands. He held it like he was raising up a bowl of soup. "What? No! These are quills and inks in this sack. My paper is in here, lady!" He turned up his nose and held it out to her.




Nimbus was taken by some surprise. She didn't think Tommy was going to be so fussy about that. He looked so rough-hewn, by the clothes he wore, you would have thought he was less thoughtful when it came to carrying chain mail in a sack.


"I will not break, smudge, or snap any of my precious scribe tools with this manly metal-knit apparel." Tommy stated.


"Put that thing in your sack before you're sent away, Tommy, we mean it." Nim set her eyes firmly onto him. Er, eye.


The boy's shoulders raised, his black eyes fluttering in indigency. "Bu-but."


"Now!"


"....FINE."


Tommy took out his things, shoved the shirt at the bottom and then carefully put his parchment, quills, inks, and such on top of that, with a few odds and ends. "Uncultured" he sighed at them in a mumble.


The Eagle flew ahead with Brun, until she circled around and found a good spot, where they were near a clear flow of water. She swooped down at the side, on the rock that was wedged between the stream and the small clearing there.


Tommy trailed after Vala, working on a song that he was singing in an unattractive voice.


Morning rises, so do we
Masters of our fate,
us the glorious three!

Sing a song of Tommy!
Vala and Brun two!
Nimbus, a great birdy!


If Nim was here to hear that, she'd have cringed.




=


Didn't want to kill him?


"Well I want to kill you!" He made sure that was clear. Naris tried to make a grab for the man, but his words about the South caught his attention. What was he doing? Was this a trap?


"AH!" Naris grit his teeth when the pain of the arrow held him down. He used one hand to grab the shaft, to pull it out. "No, no!" He breathed in a raspy yell, watching the Seer run off. When Yunawen came to his side, he was furious.


"Don't bother with me! RUN! GET HIM!" He pointed in a flurry at the fading figure. "Don't be such a girl, Yunny, get the man!" A few angry tears formed in Naris' eyes.


Did he lose him again?


Oh, brother...don't be angry.

"Very good," Vala replied. "Go with Brun to reserve the place by the stream... hm, you better put something on to hide those tattoos. Here."

Removing her cloak and revealing the chainmail covered tunic underneath, Vala tossed it to Brun, who caught it then inhaled deeply as he pressed the garment to his face.

"Mm, I do like your scent very much," he said with a broad smile.

"Ugh... just put it on and keep the hood up as well."

Running a hand through her short silver hair, Vala made a rough effort of tidying it up before removing her chainmail and handing it to Tommy.

"Might as well make yourself useful now that you're with us," Vala said. "Put this in your sack and then follow me into town. We're going to buy some supplies, maybe a hot meal too and a room if we can find one."

~~~

The rogue seer had seen the desperate maneuver coming, but Naris managed to hobble him nonetheless, catching one foot in a vice like grip. He struggled for a moment before kicking the elf twice in the head and then crouching down with dagger poised to strike.

"I don't want to kill you," the man said, eerily serene.

In that moment, Yunawen fired another arrow, but the man deflected it with his dagger and then returned his attention to Naris. With his free foot, the man stomped down hard on the elf's wrists then twisted loose, but he didn't continue running just yet.

Looking down calmly into Naris's hateful eyes, the man said, "You will find the answer to your curse in the lands to the south. Travel there some day when you are ready."

Another arrow came flying to the seer, which he caught this time and used to pin Naris's left hand to the ground. Yunawen gave a shocked gasp as she saw it happen, but before she could so much as regret firing that arrow, the man was off and away.

The bounty hunters and market guards had caught up then to continue the chase, but Yunawen slung her bow across her back and climbed swiftly to the roof where Naris was.

"By the gods, I'm so sorry!" Yunawen said as she came running.

The idea of talking about it later made Nimbus inwardly sigh. It would be hard to explain to Vala why she decided to bring Tommy along. Maybe it was he poor condition that the boy was in, maybe it was something he said. He didn't mean to be a burden, and he picked up his feet in their company.


Nimbus noticed how often the young lad would pop up with his notebook when he found something interesting to jot down. Tommy didn't even stop when they were looking for a place to bunker down.


"I can." She nodded, shooting off into the sky. Nim circled around a few times, seeing two spots read for the taking. The Golden Eagle saw two clearings, one full of gopher hold, so they other was decided upon. When she went down to them, she perched on Vala's shoulder this time. "To the left, there are two clearings. One was near a stream."


=


Naris didn't look to see what Yunawaen would do, or what she might say. He ignored the possibility that she might, in fact, hit hime.


"NO!" He yelled.


Scrambling up the walls, he latched his fingers onto every crevasse as he went up and over, seeing no way to get this man other than the crazy thought in his mind, Naris sucked in breath, launched himself, and screamed so loud, his voice echoed. His arms outstretched, Naris wanted to grab the figures two legs, where he might hold him down.

"Very well then," Vala replied, not quite believing Nimbus's decision.

She had hoped that the eagle would have more sense than to accept travelling companions, much less someone so young as Tommy. Now there would be no way of getting rid of him, not without using force. Vala was well capable of doing that for the boy's own good, but she was tired and sore, and couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

Resigning herself to Tommy's presence, Vala walked on with Brun soon catching up and falling into step at her side. Vala was beyond caring about that too, despite how repugnant the smiling savage was. It was just as well since Nimbus, riding on Brun's shoulder, was brought close enough to speak to.

"We'll talk about this later," Vala said to her and then to everyone else. "Before we enter the town, we should find a spot outside in case all the inns are full. I was told we might be better off setting up camp out here."

"We can make space," Brun chuckled mischievously as he shifted his hand into a claw.

Vala thwacked her staff against Brun's leg. "None of that now. So Nimbus, can you fly up and find an area for us?"

~~~

The elf's fingertips brushed the back of the fugitive's cloak and then closed into a fist, bunching up fabric. Acting quickly, the man unwrapped his cloak, letting it fall from his shoulders, then spun around and leapt to kick Naris full in the chest. Bouncing off, he turned around again to continue running, barely breaking stride.

Yunawen was astonished to see the fervour in Naris's eyes as he dashed by and even more so at the man's agility. His movements were more like that of an elf than a human being, and it was so jarring to see that Yunawen briefly wondered whether she had imagined it. Shaking the thought from her head, she nocked an arrow to her bow and let it fly as she ran.

It was no good. The man dodged the arrow as though he had eyes in the back of his head and a bend in the alleyway defeated the chance for a second shot. With another arrow to her bow, Yunawen rounded the corner and aimed at... nothing. Where was he?

A thud above her answered that question as the man leapt from a rooftop and onto another. Yunawen loosed another arrow at him, but missed and she continued to follow on the ground.

"Get up there!" she shouted to Naris without taking her eyes off the fair haired man.

Nimbus flicked her eye between the three. Did this boy even know what kind of things happened in adventures? Would be be a burden to haggle with, to feed, or worse, to have to protect in a dangerous situation? Another question was, where did he come from? Who are his parents?

"Kid, might as well go home." Nimbus shrugged.

Tommy's mouth downturned. "I don't have one. I am not from here...I'm an orphan."

"Then go back to Jones." She offered.

"I can't." Tommy sighed.

"Why not?" She asked.

"He's dead." he told her. "All I remember are flames of the past. My life began with the shepherd and his oldest son, Jones."

Nimbus frowned. He really was just a young man, suffering through lifes path and it's twisted sense of humor. "Alright." She agreed quietly. "You can come with us, but don't think you can mooch."

"Right!" he beamed.

"No special treatment, you're a man."

"Absolutely!"

"Ok, ok. Simmer down, you bubbly boy." Nimbus turned her eye onto Vala. She knew she probably didn't really understand why she let Tommy in their group, but it was a little too personal to explain at the time. "Looks like we're ready to go."


=

...not even aware until you saw the killer's eyes shining in the darkness, bright as flame and silver as starlight...

Those eyes. It was the first thing Naris saw, and his heart skipped, squeezing the air in his throat. The rune-crested dagger was more than enough to confirm, and so Naris sped off like the life of the King would be saved, if he only ran his sword into the Seers heart. Yunawen had trouble keeping up with Naris, whose nose flared red with hard breathing.

"Stop him! Stop that man!" Naris shouted to anyone near by. He could hear his brother yelling for him to grab the man. This was the killer! This was his opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his brother, and the eyes of the rest of the world. Naris felt his feet beat the ground as fast as his heart bashed against his chest. The figure was coming closer to his grasp, fingers lunged out and he felt the fibers on the tips of his skin.

Vala threw up her hands in surrender as Brun laughed and nodded with approval. "Good, good!" he said. "You have a great spirit! I think you will have many songs to write by our side."

"But he is just a boy," Vala sternly replied.

Brun's laughter was cut short as his face took on the look of one who had just heard something deeply offensive. "Heart of my heart, why would you say such a thing? He is clearly walking the way of the skald, that is a man's path! Who are you to deny him this?"

Her patience stretched to its limit, Vala gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Nimbus. "Very well, you will have the final say in this matter. What do you think?"

~~~



"Move out of the way!" Yunawen shouted as she ran, her eyes locked on the hooded figure who was moving to the other side of the market.

The people around either stared or hastened to step aside, alarmed to see two elves on the run with weapons drawn. This also drew the attention of the market guards who came to inspect the ruckus.

"What's going on here?" asked one man armed with a spear.

Yunawen slowed down into a cautious approach, but not because of the guards. The hooded figure had suddenly stopped at the other side of the market and began turning to face the elves, though it seemed to Yunawen that he was looking directly at Naris.

Slowly, deliberately, he pulled his hood down to reveal a thin bearded face with long fair hair, pale skin and sapphire blue eyes that began to shine silver as he drew his rune-etched dagger. As soon as he did that, many things happened at once.

Yunawen picked an arrow from her quiver, the market guards called for everyone to get back, several of the bystanders produced their own weapons, shouting about a bounty, and the fair haired man turned around again and fled into an alleyway.

"Let's go!" Yunawen shouted as she began to pursue in earnest, her elven legs striding effortlessly across the frosted cobblestones.