The patrol, so far, had been going good, for the most part. There had been a disagreement with one of the village men about letting a woman lead the patrol, but it didn't last long. Especially not after Nancy told him to put his few gold nobles where his mouth was and threatened him to a dual to sort out their differences. After encouraging from his friends to step down, the man stopped his whining and the patrol went off without a hitch.

That damage to the forest was minimal, well, to an extent. Nearly a few hundred acres had been burned, but it was nothing compared to what was in danger of being destroyed. If the mercenaries hadn't showed up when they had, the chances of containing the fire would have been slim to none and the village would have had to wait for the fire to put out itself. That would have meant threatening the stores of food, the fields, and even parts of the town. If they had waited, there was no way the town would have been able to make it through the winter without the generosity of other towns or the monarchs. Even then, it would have still been a struggle.

They'd been in the forest, checking for new planet growth or still areas where there was burning, for about three hours. All of them were covered in a layer of sot and ash, but it was the smell of smoke that would still linger on their clothes, not that many had managed to get it out in the days following the fire.

Jay heard it as he was turning his horse around. They were done. Everything they needed to see, they had seen. It was time to go home and start the long task of getting clean again. Even Jay was smiling at the thought of somewhat clean clothes and perhaps a bit of food, since they had missed lunch. At first it sounded as if someone was whispering something behind him, but when he looked, he saw he was in fact behind the rest of the group. Was he hearing things…And then, very loudly, it came to him:

"JAY!"

And he became a very good acquaintance with the ground.

"Jay? What'd you fall of your horse for?" Nancy asked, concern in her voice as she stopped her horse to peer at Jay with worry. She still couldn't hide her slight smile, though, but she was doing a better job then the rest who'd dissolved into laughter at the site of him suddenly on the ground.

"I wanted to see how the soft branch felt on my back," he answered sarcastically, grabbing a hold of his saddle to pull himself to his feet, but then he heard it again.

"Jay! You better answer me this second or I will hang you before Jonathon of Conte can even get his hands on…"

Quickly grasping the stone around his neck, he mentally hit himself. Of course! How could he have been such an idiot? The communication device. He'd only finished them this morning. He didn't have long to soak in his embarrassment, as the words rang in his ears. What had she meant by that? The thought set of a wave of anxiety that he tried his best to hide from the rest of the members of the patrol who were now staring at him with worry. They must really think he was crazy…

"I need a rest, I think," he lied, figuring being considered a sissy was better then having them all hear strange voices coming from his hand. "You go on, I'll catch up in no time."

"Are you sure? We could always—"

"Positive. I remember the way back. Go."

With a few shrugs and grumbles, the group turned their horses. Jay waited until he was sure they were out of earshot before pulling his hands off of the stone and pulling it to his mouth.

"Well at least I know you're locket works fine. I'm sure all of Yellowfax could have heard you, not to mention any scout who's got his arrow aimed at my back."

"Or any certain commander of the King's Own, lady knight of the realm, army patrol, or person with a pair of eyes who is aware that you're of 'great interest to the royal family'?"

That, he hadn't been prepared for. One foot had been in the stirrup, ready for when he pulled himself back into the saddle. But he heard her words the moment he started to swing his leg over. It wasn't very good timing, for seconds later, he had his second meeting with the ground, which he was sure added another layer of grime to his clothes.

"Emma, what are you—"

"Save it. We'll discuss that later. For now, don't speak a word to anyone else. You hear me? Not a word. Pull your hood up, keep it up. As soon as you get back to camp, come straight to my tent. Also, how good are you at appearance illusions?"

"I can pull them off, but any trained mage will surely—"

"Good. We'll talk about that later, as well. Remember, NOT A WORD."

And with a word, she was gone. He called her name a few more times, but with no avail. No more sound came from the gem around his neck and he was left there to sit in shock. She must have found out. Why else would she be acting like that? It still made no sense to him. He could understand what Raoul had to do with this. Or Alanna, or did she mean Keladry? He'd never met her before, but he'd certainly heard her name enough. They hadn't come for him…had they?

The anxiety wave was back in full force, making him sick to his stomach. The sensible side of his head was telling him to run, run while he still could. If Raoul was really looking for him, there was no chance of not being caught. Going back to camp would only make him easier to spot. Then again, if it was true that knights as well as the army was looking for him, what chance did he have outside the mercenaries? Slim to none.

Sighing, he finally pulled himself back onto his horse; weary the entire time of loud noises that might spook him. At least he could be thankful for an easy mannered horse, he thought in sad cheerfulness as he guided his horse back through the woods, pulling the hood of his cloak up as he did.

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"Now see, this is why we need a mage," Emma stated simply, holding up her locket to show to Bubba who merely chuckled. For an entire second as she cut communication with Jay, she forgot that she'd just lied to a very influential noble and that any second she might have her head served to her on a platter. No, for the time being she was content in marveling at the wonders of the Gift that they'd been missing out on. "Very useful. I suspect they will save us a lot of time and from a lot of yelling across long distances."

"Your voice and everyone's ears will thank you for it," Bubba chimed in.

Emma chuckled quietly as they made their way slowly across the fields to their encampment. She'd made quite sure that they were out of earshot from any stray villager or any member of the guard that had been posted outside the tavern before she started to call Jay's name into her necklace. It had taken him a long enough to answer. At least Maverick answered far more quickly and with much more enthusiasm.

"Emma. I don't care if the Black God himself is beckonin' ya home. Stop calling me name or I'll shove this stupid key right up yer—"

"Now, Mavy. Is that anyway to talk to a little girl?"

"Little girl my…"

"You're starting to sound like Prewt,"Emma informed him with a little giggle.

"That's it! This here key is goin' where the sun don't—"

"Oh, hush up and listen to me for a second," she ordered sternly and was rewarded with silence, which she took as his submission. Whether she was correct in assuming that or not, didn't matter. She was going to talk anyways. "We've had a visit from some nobles. Trying to push around some royal influence and the like. It seems they're looking for a certain black haired friend of ours."

"Well that's interesting."

"Yes, very. Send it around to our people, only our folk, that to outsiders, Jay is no longer Jay. Tell them he is…a mute. Yes, a mute mage who has been traveling with us for months. If a villager or anyone else asks about Jay, simply ask them 'Jay who?' Understand?"

There was a pause and then an uncertain, "Kinda. I'm sure you ain't gonna tell me what all this is about, so I'll spread the word 'round."

"Thank you, Maverick."

"What shall his name be, lass?"

That took a second of thought and a glance at Bubba for some help, but finally she answered, "Sullivan."

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By the time Jay had reached Emma's tent, he was fairly certain she must have talked to someone else, if not everyone. From the second he dismounted, he was greeted with a nod and a quick 'G'day, Sullivan' from Bile. At first he thought to question, but as Bile's nod turned into a shaking of the head, he knew it wasn't a good idea.

So making sure to keep his hood up as he walked, he set himself off to find Emma's tent.

About twenty more 'Hello, Sully's later, Jay finally got himself through the narrow alleyways made between the tents and found himself rapping his knuckle on a pole that held up Emma's tent. He knew which one was her's. Not because it was any different from the rest or had a flag to tell you which one it was. Emma was not so stupid as to 'have a sign saying the commander sleeps here, come kill her if you must', as she had only informed him a week ago. No, he only knew where her tent was, for it was the one most crowded on any other day or hour. At this moment, though, not one soul could be seen for a few tents around. It seemed as if for once the commander had shooed away her constant barrage of visitors.

"Come in, Sullivan."

Jay waited for the tent flap to close behind him before he finally pulled his hood back from his eyes. Even on an overcast day, it was still too hot a day to have one's hood up. Taking in a deep breath of relief, he glanced around her tent, letting his eyes adjust to the light before he finally saw her. Like he suspected, she wasn't alone. Nancy had found her way here and was sitting at the end of one bedroll as Emma sat at the other end, appearing to be concentrating intently on sharpening her dagger. Bubba was here, of course, sitting on another bedroll across the tent, seeming to be very interested in the polishing of his boots.

"Sullivan?" he had to ask, raising an eyebrow at Emma as he stayed where he was.

"Shh!" was all that came out of Emma's lips. All eyes were on her, even Bubba, who'd set down his boots to wait for her to speak. Being Emma, however, she kept them waiting. It was a full minute before she finally attached her dagger back to her belt and was pleased enough to look back at Jay.

"Listening spell," she ordered lazily, resting back on her elbows as she waited for him to fill her request.

He rolled his eyes, but that didn't stop the blue flames from flaring up around every side of the tent. It was a simple enough spell, one he'd learned at University. Not in the classroom, but instead it'd been one he'd picked up himself. It was a necessity if you ever wanted to work in private without the threat of a classmate stealing your spells. It also happened to come in very useful during private conversation with friends, specifically female 'friends', that you didn't want getting back to your parents.

Nancy and Bubba both jumped at the sudden ignition of blue flames, but little to Jay's surprise, Emma didn't so much as flinch, her stare not moving from Jay. It was the same, unnerving stare as always. It was the same one he was slowly starting to get used to, very slowly.

"Lets get a few things straight," she started in a voice he'd only heard her use when she talked to Prewt. That thought scared him alone without her even having to say anything else. He was certain Nancy heard it, too, for she sat up a little straighter and looked between Emma and Jay with a concerned face. He must not have been the only one who wasn't quite sure what Emma had found out.

"Your life means nothing to me when compared with the safety of this group."

The frown that appeared on Jay's face let on how much those words hurt. He'd been getting spoiled for the past two weeks. Being around people who treated him as an equal was such a luxury that he'd nearly forgotten what he actually was supposed to be concentrating on. He was a runaway. He most likely had the entire country looking for him, yet here he was acting as if he was a normal person. He'd nearly believed it himself, but more then that, he'd led them to believe it. Now that she'd realized that he was a threat to her and her people, this charade was over.

"Emma, look. I—"

"Let me finish," she hissed in the same chilling voice that made all three of the tent's other occupants stop breathing for a second. Here it comes, he thought, his eyes falling to the floor. Looked like he was going to see Tusaine after all. It was better this way, of course.

But in the middle of his mind coming up with a brilliant plan to change his name one more time and slip off to Tusaine, words came to his ear that brought him back into reality.

"Since you have become a member of this group, we will offer you protection. Under a few circumstances."

It took Jay a second to realize that his mouth had fallen open before he shut it and simply blinked at her in astonishment. She knew. She knew who he was, and yet she was offering to help him. This girl who had to worry about the safety of hundreds of people was willing to worry about him. He felt flattered for a short few moments, even after he heard her say:

"This is partly only because we need a mage."

Smiling gently, he shook his head as he let out a sigh. "If I'll be too much of a burden, I will leave. I don't want to be too much trouble."

"No, we really do need a mage," Nancy said with a serious nod.

"Yes, we do," Emma agreed, her stern voice leaving her as she instead looked at Jay with almost pleading eyes. "Whatever it was that you did to the royal family, they'll forget about it in time. They'll declare another war. Raise taxes. They'll find something to keep themselves busy."

Their son will go missing. Jay gulped. So she didn't know anything after all. Barely.

"What is it you did exactly?"

All the blood drained from his face as he choked on his own words before finding a few more and stumbling them out as they came. "Well…I didn't really…I actually only…I mean…"

"Perhaps it's best if you don't tell us," Emma suggested, causing Jay to sigh with relief and the other two to nod in agreement. "From now on, around others you are mute. Not a word. You're name is Sullivan, you're a mage who's traveled with us for a long period of time. Understand?"

Jay nodded. "You said something about illusions…"

"Ah, yes. That's right," she started before appearing to have gone into deep thought. "You said you could do them, correct?" she asked, but without waiting for an answer she went on, "You'd just need a specific one for when outsiders are around. If it's just in the camp or at night, it won't be needed. They've got descriptions of you, I'm sure. If you want to refrain from getting yourself and us caught, I suggest you make it a good one."

"But see, I'm not very good at them. Any amateur would believe them, but say if a black robe looked at me, he'd see through it in a second." He'd learned that from experience. While appearance illusions were useful tidbits of knowledge to help you sneak out of the palace, they weren't much use if your 'uncle' was Numair Salmalín. He couldn't count how many times he'd been caught in the palace hallways on his way to a tavern only to have his disguises rudely removed, and sent grumbling back to his quarters.

"Well it's a good thing you won't be around many black robes, isn't it? Besides, you'll have me. Don't worry. All you have to do is come up with one."

Jay wasn't so convinced. He opened his mouth to argue, knowing it was a risk just to attempt an illusion in front of a trained mage or someone with the sight, but Emma and the other two seemed sure. Why shouldn't she be? She only was convinced that she was the messenger of Mithros. Then again, if that didn't say she was insane, he didn't know what would.

"Why do I have the feeling I'm getting myself in over my head?"

Nancy was quick with an answer, "It's exhaustion, love. You've tired yourself out today."

"You're free to leave at any time," Emma reminded him as he sighed again. If only things were that simple.

"Perhaps we should start working on that illusion."

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It took another two grueling hours to get his disguise just right. The first one he tried made him look only slightly older but with blonde hair and brown eyes. Nancy thought that one hadn't changed his bone structure enough. Emma thought he still looked too young. The second made him look about in his early fifties with brown graying hair and green eyes. This one was too old for all their tastes.

"First too young, then too old! Will you make up your mind!"

Finally, after another hour of tweaking and complaints, they found one that was just right. This one made him look like a man in his late twenties or early thirties. His hair was blonde, both eyes were still blue, but a lighter shade, while one was glazed over as if he was blind in one eye. A long scar ran down his cheekbone, that had been Bubba's idea, while his skin appeared a shade darker then it normally did.

The illusion, as Emma had made clear, was to stay on until he entered his tent to sleep that night. Whenever he left the confines of his tent, the illusion was to be in place.

Grumbling, Jay made his way out of the tent, itching in annoyance at the scar and seeing no way how he was going to get used to looking like a maimed old mage. He wasn't vain, by any means, but it hadn't been ten minutes of having it on and he was already starting to miss his old looks. The day they left this town couldn't come any sooner.

"OH, JAY! JAY! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for—Ah!"

As Jay turned instinctively to the sound of the squealing girl, he couldn't have been more pleased to see the disgusted look on her face as she saw that it wasn't 'Jay' under this cloak, but the new Sullivan. At least this was going to be good for something. This girl from the village had barely left him alone since he'd arrived at Yellowfax. Van constantly joked, saying perhaps she would ask him to marry her rather then leave with the mercenaries when they went, but Jay didn't find it very amusing.

He was about to open his mouth to tell her to blow off, but then he remembered. He was a mute. The girl wasn't letting him walk away any time soon, and it was a miracle when Nancy came out of the tent behind him and was quick with a: "Jay who?"