The Master at Arms arrived at the castle temple and after a few minutes of quiet reflection at the altar he stood and walked through the doorway to the left and down the hall to the office of the temple Mistress. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," the temple Mistress invited.

Terean opened the door as he quickly stepped inside and closed the door.

"Terean, finally, thank the wise Lady," the Mistress said as she stood and moved around to a chair in front of her desk.

"Sorry Mistress, I wasn't able to get away until now," Terean told her as he took a seat across from her.

The Mistress patted his hand, "Do you think you can intercept Wendell?"

Terean looked at her oddly, "Mistress?"

She held up her hand, "Wendell went home last night before leaving for Scorpion Keep and his Mother convinced him to go straight to Scorpion Keep believing you were trying to cause him to be late so you could fire him."

Terean swore as he stood up abruptly and paced about the office. "It is possible I can get someone to catch up with him, it would just depend on how seriously he tries to get there. But what would we tell him to get him to either give up the summons or to change his route."

The temple Mistress nodded, "Tell him I need him back at the temple immediately. I'll deal with him once he returns. Is this person someone you trust to take over and to take their time delivering the summons?"

"I think so Mistress, I'll dispatch them at once," Terean told her as he stood before her desk and scribbled a message directing Wendell to turn the letter to the bearer of the note and to report immediately to the temple Mistress. He signed it and moved it over for the temple Mistress to sign it. He smiled at her after she signed it as he quickly left her office.


Terean walked calmly out of the castle and journeyed to a local blacksmith shop and checked on an order that he knew wasn't even close to being ready and then left to check out a couple of merchants in the market and once he felt like he was no longer being watched he slipped back down into an alley and followed it into the lower district of the town and went to an alehouse there.

"No, absolutely not, get out of here Terean," the bartender told him as she looked up.

Terean looked about the room and not seeing anyone he stepped up to the counter and plopped a gold sovereign on top. Terean asked, "What, I can't visit an old friend and have an ale?"

She glared at him for a minute before turning and filling a stein with the bitter ale she famously served. She sat it down in front of him and picked up the sovereign, "One and then you get out of here."

Terean picked up the stein and smiled, "I need a favor, a favor I am willing to pay well for Javen."

Javen rolled her eyes, "As I said, no. Last favor I nearly lost an arm. My shoulder still hurts when the weather changes."

Terean drank deeply from the stein as he pulled out a coin purse and dropped it on the counter. "We've got a big problem and this favor is relatively safe. I just can't do it through normal channels," Terean looked at her.

Javen stared at the coin purse when she heard the gold with an almost hungry look.

"I know you have had to notice the men in black armor moving around the city and castle," Terean told her as he took another drink.

Javen licked her lips as her hand involuntarily touched the pouch and gently moved it around as her head nodded.

"They are King Merrick's men and they now have complete autonomy here. Beyon has issued a summons for Lord Walter and we need to delay that summons from reaching him for as long as we can. I sent it by way of my worst courier but apparently his Mother convinced him he needed to ensure he delivered the summons as quickly as possible. I need you to intercept him fast," Terean gave her the letter. "All you got to do is catch up to him, give him this letter and take the summons from him. Go to the town outside of Scorpion Keep and stay at the inn there for two weeks before taking the summons up to the Keep."

The fact that Terean didn't call Beyon Lord spoke volumes to Javen. She read the note as she continued to play with the coin purse, "I'll lose a lot of business if I am closed that long. This isn't nearly enough."

Terean nodded, "There is far more at stake Javen, if I had more I would gladly give it. I promise to make it up to you after we get this resolved."

Javen rolled her eyes, "And how will you make it up if you are dead?" The door opened and Javen looked up and seeing one of her regulars, "Sorry Bishop, we're not open."

Bishop stared at her as he saw Terean with an ale and his eyebrow rose.

Javen poured him an ale and walked over and gave it to him. Pushing him out the door she shut and locked the door.

Terean smiled into the stein as he finished it, "I'll give word to the temple Mistress at the castle and she can make things right with you if I'm unable. Do you still have your mechanical horse?"

Javen nodded as she stepped back behind the bar.

Terean placed a courier badge on the counter.


After finishing the preparation of supper Lord Walter and Allie set it to cooking. Walter picked up a small pot that had water in it along with a scrub brush and walked over to where the stone with the gold vein lie. He carefully proceeded to wash it down to ensure that there was no contamination left on it. After he finished he picked it up and carried it over to the campfire and set it down to help dry it off a bit faster.

Once the rock had dried he took out his stone head hammer, Ralph had stepped over to watch what his Dad was doing. Walter carefully tapped it several times in several places before he brought the hammer down on the edge with all his might and the rock cracked. Fractures radiated out along the rock, seemingly following the points Walter had first beat on. The fractures widened and then separated. Walter broke section by section away from the gold vein until the gold vein was mostly free from the stone.

Ralph stared with a smile on his face at how much gold there actually was there. The surface he had seen had seemed truly impressive but now, seeing how deep the vein had rested inside of the rock he was astonished. "May I touch it Dad?"

Walter smiled as he nodded.

Ralph felt a little bit of a thrill as his fingers slid along the gold. He almost felt like the night in the Inn when he first met Lord Walter, and Lord Walter gave him a few gold sovereigns. "Dad, how much do you think is there?"

"I'm not really sure Ralph, probably more than I weigh in my armor though," Walter told him.

Walter took his bag and carefully inserted gold, checking the bag for any sign of stress from weight. Once the piece was all inside he nodded knowing that for now the weight limit was still safe.

Allie kept trying to adjust the favor of the stew but no matter what she did it just didn't get much better. She looked at Cabe, "I don't know what our Lord put in here, but this not going to be good. It'll be safe to eat but, I really hope you like sour."

Sir Cabe laughed, "Why not throw it out and start over?"

Allie shook her head, "If we leave tomorrow we got just enough food to last us until we get to Harris."

Finally after it had been cooking for about an hour and a half, Allie announced it was ready.


Lord Walter walked into his tent and smiled looking at Paige sleeping peacefully, he hated to disturb her. He knelt down next to her, "Love, supper is ready."

Paige jerked at first but then smiled as she saw Walter kneeling next to her. She reached up and grabbed the front of his tunic and tugged. He bent down and they kissed for several minutes before she released him and finally got up, "I feel much better, how long have I been in here?"

Walter smiled as he helped her put on her boots, "About two hours my Love."

Paige looked at him with surprise, "Really? Well I guess I was really tired, more so than I thought."

They held hands as they walked out of the tent and over to the campfire. Walter thought it was a little strange that everyone was so quiet. Normally dinner was a rather rambunctious time.


Being generous, dinner turned out okay, at best. Of course since Lord Walter had a hand in it no one was willing to comment negatively, at least until Paige took the first spoonful. The love in her eyes as she looked at Walter disappeared as her cheeks sunk into her mouth and her eyebrow went up. Without swallowing, "What in the name of the wise Lady did you do to this?" She said over the food still in her mouth. The face she made as her tongue pushed it back out of her mouth and into her bowl as she swallowed the bit of sauce left in her mouth was hysterical.

Allie sucked her lips into her mouth as her lips curled up in a grin to keep from laughing. Cabe nearly choked on his coffee at her words and while Kaylee, Sylvester and Ralph pretended nothing was wrong, Toby fell over as he started laughing uncontrollably. Happy drew her elbow back after making a fist, "Yes."

Walter ignored everyone else as he looked at Paige shocked, "My Love?"

Paige shook her head, "You heard me. I told you everything you needed to do to finish this."

Walter sputtered, "Well to be fair, you kept falling asleep and half mumbling. I did my best," Walter told her.

"Don't you blame this, this, this disaster on me," Paige demanded.

Walter's eyebrow rose, "I'm not blaming you, I'm just explaining why it didn't turn out as you wanted it too."

Allie began laughing lightly.

Paige grunted as she tried another spoonful and she made a sour face, "You used turmeric instead of thyme didn't you? And you used a heck of a lot more than a tablespoon."

"Turmeric, that's what you added. I just couldn't figure it out," Allie smiled.

Paige shook her head, "Pass the sugar please."

Allie shook her head, "I'm sorry my Lady. Sugar would be a bad thing to add to your system."

Paige stared at her, "Well I sure am not going to eat this without it."

Everyone else started fighting to get the sugar to add to their own dinner.


Lord Walter sighed as he stood and walked over and got a large tray and a small tray for each of the others and a large spoon. He sat the large tray next to the two large water pots. He took out his owl emblem and holding it in his left hand he concentrated for a moment and the white light of Athena pulsed on the tray and the water pots. The pots filled with water. He picked up the trays and spoon.

He walked back over and sat back down. He sat the smaller trays next to him as he held the larger tray in his right hand. They saw a fluffy pink looking substance on the tray.

Lord Walter put his necklace back under his tunic and took the spoon and scooped out a large amount of pink stuff on the tray and put it on one of the smaller ones and handed it to Paige after taking her bowl away from her.

Paige looked at him for a moment as she held the tray. She cleaned her spoon before she tentatively scooped up a small amount and put it into her mouth. Her neutral expression slowly turned into a small smile, "This is good, what is it?"

Lord Walter put a large serving on another tray and gave it to Ralph. He sat the larger tray down, "The clerics call it ambrosia. It is nutritious and filling, but unlike the mythical food, this will not convey immortality." He took Ralph's stew bowl and set it down besides Paige's as he picked up his own bowl.

Toby was first to grab a smaller tray and the larger one and scooped out a large serving for himself.

While the mood of the others improved with the change in dinner, Lord Walter withdrew a bit as he chose to eat the stew rather than eat any of the ambrosia. After quietly finishing his dinner Lord Walter got up and dumped everyone's stew back into the pot. He carried the bowls over and put them into the wash tub. He walked over to the packs and got the shovel and dug a large hole just outside of camp.

He dropped the shovel before he walked over and pulled the pot off the campfire. He carried it over to the hole, being careful not to burn himself. He poured the stew into the ground and covered it up. He got an apple from the stores and walked over to his charger and smiled as she quickly took it and consumed it.

Lord Walter grabbed the stew pot before he walked back over to the wash tub and sprinkled soap powder into the tub. He filled it from one of the water pots. He knelt down as he proceeded to begin washing the dishes.


While Toby was on his third helping, Paige like everyone else was having a second helping of the ambrosia when she had a weird feeling. She began feeling bad, kind of sad but wasn't sure exactly why. She kept talking with everyone but the feeling wouldn't go away. Her eyes looked around the camp and she saw Walter as he washed the dishes and her wedding ring began to throb.

She looked at the ring and then back at Walter as she slowly made the connection. It was the first true feeling the magic of the rings conveyed. She put her spoon down and got up and walked slowly over to stand behind him, "Would you like a hand?"

Walter shook his head, "Go enjoy your dinner Love, I've got this."

Paige knelt behind him, "Are you sure? Earlier you were desperate for my presence." She pressed up against his back as she laid her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry for being upset about dinner and blaming you."

"Its okay, I'm not much of a cook. I could have easily mistaken the spice with the herb," Walter reached a hand back and squeezed her knee.

Paige smiled as she kissed his neck, "Maybe, but that's still no reason for me to get upset with you."

Walter smiled, "Maybe as I try to control my temper it is causing you to lose yours."

Paige laughed as she scooted around beside him in front of the rinse tub. "Do you mind filling the rinse tub for me? Then I can rinse and dry the dishes."

Walter shook his head as he got up and poured water into the tub for her.


Javen's mechanical horse was moving at almost three times the speed of a normal horse. She didn't like riding it that fast because of wear and tear but she had to catch Wendell as quickly as possible. She could always go a lot slower once she had the summons. She just hoped that Terean was correct that he would be walking. She'd catch him in no time if so.

As luck would have it, Wendell had actually gotten a mount to ride. Wendell stopped for the night just before leaving the controlled lands of Lancaster at the customs shack. Being an official courier he got to stay inside the shack and eat with the customs official for free. Wendell being a bit lazy and tight with money he was all for free and someone else to make supper. After spending the previous night beside the road and eating nothing but beef jerky the watery broth stew served to him was more than welcomed.

It was about an hour after sun down when Javen saw the customs shack and she pulled against the reins causing the mechanical horse to slow. She steered so it would move over to the side of the road. She brought it to a stop seeing a horse tied up out front. She twisted the saddle horn and the magical energies that powered the construct dimmed until they went out. She pulled the saddle horn out of the saddle and put her head through the loop of cord that ran through it.

The customs agent opened the door and stepped outside thinking he had a late night visitor to make a declaration. Javen stepped up the steps to the porch as she pulled out her courier badge. The agent sighed and turned as he gestured into the small building and she stepped on inside followed by the agent who closed and locked the door. "I've a bit of stew left if you are hungry Miss," the agent told her.

Javen smiled, "I'm Javen, some stew would be welcomed, thank you. I'm looking for another courier who may have passed by here today."

The agent pointed towards a man lying on a window bench reading a comic book, "He's the only one I have seen in a few weeks."

Javen nodded, "Thanks."

As the agent moved back towards the kitchen to get Javen some food, she stepped over, "Wendell?"

Wendell looked up shocked, "Do I know you?"

Javen shook her head as she held up her courier badge, "I've got a letter for you."

Wendell looked puzzled as he sat up on the side of the bench, "A letter for me?"

Javen nodded as she handed the letter over to him.

Wendell read it and she saw his hands shake, "What did I do that the temple Mistress wants to see me?"

Javen shook her head, "No clue, but I'll take the letter for Scorpion Keep."

Wendell sighed but reached into his knapsack and pulled it out and handed it over to her.

Javen smiled, "Thanks." She saw the agent come out and set a bowl on the table along with a mug. She walked over and sat down. She pulled her coin purse out and gave the agent a silver piece. "One public servant to another, I wish I could afford to give you more," Javen told him.

He smiled, "You're the first that ever has. Thank you, but from one public servant to another keep it, you're always welcomed here. The ale keg is just inside the kitchen door if you want another cup. The stew is on the stove. Under each window bench is a blanket and pillow, chose any one you want. I'm going on to bed."

Javen smiled as she took a drink of the ale and found it was fairly well watered down but it was better than nothing. The stew was much the same and she was happy he didn't take her silver piece.


Hope this finds you all well, we're doing okay. Got the front door open today and a couple of windows as well. Just a really nice day outside. Much welcomed after all the gloomy rainy days we had in March. Margaret, I completely understand your feelings, no hard feelings. Franxine, Allie wanted me to tell you, she is not telling. *wink* To the Adventure! -Tim