After a quarter of an hour of pacing the camp and looking menacing, Drizelda was beginning to wonder if she had done the right thing. If she had misjudged him, and he had simply ran off back to the next post for reinforcements, then this was the end of the line. But, he soon put those thoughts to rest as he came riding up to the camp, an unreadable expression on his face.

"No luck?", she called sarcastically. In answer, he simply dismounted, his head hung low, and offered his hands to be bound. He offered no resistance, to the shocked looks and growls of the rest of the group. However, when she led him over to the rest, they quickly stopped their growling. Unbeknownst to her, the boy had simply winked.

After he was securely tightened, she asked him, "Does this horse know the way back?"

"Back to where?" he asked innocently. She made to strike him with the mace, and he yelped out, "Yes! Yes, he does, and you better not try anything, because he knows the way to a post where your little baiting tricks won't work! Go ahead and try to follow him!"

This drew approving nods from the rest of the prisoners, but Drizelda simply laughed. "I am quite sure we know where all your ill concealed hideouts are by now."

The boy looked crestfallen. "Then, why…" She cut him off with a gag.


For the next hour, they watched her dismantle some tents and crates, and she put a back on their little supply wagon. It was crudely done, but it was the best she could do. The boy finally spit out the gag she had neglected to tie around his head. "What are you going to do with that?"

She turned around and glared at him. "I thought I gagged you."

"Because, if you're taking us away for experiments, then please, I beg of you, you still have some human remaining in you-"

"Silence!" She cut him off, and looked around at the rest of the captives. The thought of 'experiments' had set them to struggling again. "I'm not taking you for experiments. In fact, I'm not taking you anywhere."

At this, she got some strange looks and decided that, since she had them where she wanted them anyway, she could afford to tell them, and it wouldn't matter if they believed her or not at this point.

"The Forsaken hate the Scourge as much as you do, and I hate being this way even more, if you can imagine that. I was ordered to get rid of you before you caused too much trouble. But, I'm not going to let the Forsaken win out over my human side. So, I'm getting rid of you in a different way." She gestured to the cart. "I hope you're ready for a long ride. And, you had best tell your superiors whatever you need to so that they don't come back here, because many of the Forsaken are simply soldiers, and chances are the next person they send won't be as controlled. So, consider yourselves lucky to be alive, and get assigned to fighting the real enemy, the Scourge. The Forsaken are doing the same thing."

The boy had looked puzzled through out the entire explanation. "So, if you hate this form so much, why not kill yourself, and be done with it?" She looked at him then at the rest. "Good question. Because of this." At that, her arm glowed with fire, and everyone's eyes, widened. "I used to be a cleric of Hathor. When I first woke up like this, I was ready to do just what you said. But, I still have my powers. So, for some reason, Hathor needs me here to do something. I don't know what that is, but I'm going to do it. And I'm not going to kill anybody along the way. So…" Here she paused to grab one of her prisoners and haul them over to the wagon. "This wagon is going to be pretty cozy, but I think you'll all fit." Most of the prisoners were dumbfounded partly by her explanation, but mostly by her show of power, and so they offered no resistance.

'Could it be that one of the hated Forsaken had kept their cleric powers for some greater design?' That thought kept them from struggling as she heaved them into the wagon.

Suddenly, the boy got an odd look on his face, and boldly stated, "I don't believe you."

She turned to him. "Oh? And why not?"

"That aura could have been faked."

Drizelda rolled her eyes. "I could leave you here, if you like."

"Just heal the bruise on my head, and I'll be satisfied."

She chuckled softly as she walked over to him. "Doesn't look like you're in much of a position to be satisfied." she mumbled to him, but did as she was asked, if only to prove her point. As she was focused on the healing, something struck her from behind, and she fell into blackness.


She awoke to find herself bound, and the girl, Lialah, crouching next to her, a smile a mile wide on her face. "So, he found you, then left you there, to come back at the right time. Good trick."

Lialah jumped at her awakening, but then glared back.

Drizelda continued., "And that 'heal my bruise as proof.' That was a nice distraction."

Lialah snickered. "You baited us. How do you like a taste of your own medicine?"

"Under the circumstances, it seems a little ungrateful."

Lilah's smile fell, and she jerked her head over to the others, free now, who were talking among themselves. "We're not quite sure what to do with you."

Drizelda sighed. "What more do you want me to do?", she said, loud enough for the others to hear. Once their conversation stopped, she continued, "I still have my powers, you fools!" Drizelda knew she was becoming agitated, and might say something stupid, but she couldn't stop herself. "What more do you want? How else can I prove it?! I'M NOT LIKE THEM!!! Don't you SEE?!", she practically shrieked.

At that, she broke down, and the feelings she had kept trapped inside for so long came bursting out. It didn't take her too long to get herself back under control, but in that brief moment, she had tried to cry, just like she had at first, and no tears had come. She took a moment to collect herself, then said, simply, "Look at my necklace."

Taken aback at what they had just seen, most of the group looked bewildered. Lialah gingerly lifted the necklace from under her shirt, and they all saw Hathor's sign. Drizelda steadied herself before saying, "My betrothed gave that to me. If I have my way, I'll see him one last time, before this is all over. I just want to hear his voice. I don't want to be here, but while I am, I'm going to try. So, if you want to kill me, then do it now."

The tough one, the one she had taken down first, spoke up. He had gained no small measure of respect for her for taking him down, even though she had tricked him. And with that respect came a measure of fear. "We'll consider it." he sneered. "But, until then, let's not hear from you for a while." he said, and then smashed her over the head.


When she awoke some time later, she was still bound, but the Crusaders, and most of their camp, were gone. She sighed in relief. It hadn't worked out quite the way she had planned, but she had done it. She used her powers to sever the bonds, then sighed again and made for Deathknell.

Lialah and the boy had stayed behind, hidden, to watch her reaction. Once they saw it, they knew they had done to right thing, and they walked off after the caravan, both of them quite a bit stronger. The entire band, in fact, had been drawn closer together by Drizelda's escapade, and were much more ready for their first confrontation with the Scourge.