I will not lie to you and tell you that my adventuring party was a happy one, at least not for several days, but adventurers are not the sentimental sort and as we moved through the featureless landscapes of the prairies, seeing only the herds of antelope and wild cattle grazing on the tall grass and the flocks of more species of birds than I could name flying out in great twisting clouds.

We left the ancient road we had been following and took a more random path so our unknown attacker could not so easily prepare another ambuscade for us. It did drag out the time we spent traveling, but two weeks passed and we were not attacked. I always did an aerial scout just before sunset after our party had set up for the night. That almost killed me.

Using the superior vision of a hawk, I scanned the ground surrounding us for miles, enjoying the amazing view my form allowed me. My medallion, although it was in a pocket universe the greater mass of my human body and gear was "stored", was still connected to my mind, although it was not as efficient as before and so I only felt the hot anger of my attacker a second before he, or she, struck at me from above.

I twisted, around and the tail spikes from the manticore whistled past me, except for the one that pierced my left wing. The pain was white hot and I immediately began to tumble. The manticore let out a roaring-scream of triumph. Manticores are a winged lion with the oversized face of a man and lions tail, but on that tail were spikes, not unlike a porcupine's, but with the diameter of an ogre's thumb. By whipping their tails, they could fling the spines with great force. The effect was like getting hit with a crossbow bolt and just as painful.

Despite the pain, I was able to see three things immediately. My friends were looking up and were now aware of the threat, and I thought I had time to cast two spells before I hit the ground. I instantly changed back into my human form as the universe warped around me to allow me to replace my mass. I was falling with my back to the ground, so I could see the surprise on the manticore's face at my sudden change in form. It was even more surprised when it took a lightning bolt to the face. The spike that impaled me in what was now my left arm throbbed with every heartbeat. As I was now falling with my back to the earth, and not knowing if I had enough time to pull off my second spell or not, I quickly cast my Feather Fall spell. My rushing descent slowed to gentle drop less than a rapid heartbeat before I felt the long prairie grass reached up to cushion my fall even more and I gently fell upon the ground. Wanting only rest and to not move so my arm would not hurt, I forced myself up to my knees and saw the now scorched manticore coming down in a fast dive straight at me. He flicked his tail up behind him like a scorpion, and then with a great whipping action it flicked it under him losing five more his tail spikes. I got my shield spell up in time to stop them in mid-air and with an angry, frustrated roar-shout the manticore ceased his descent and leveled, his paws just touching the top the tall grass. Before I had a chance to launch a new spell, the manticore, following the folds of the earth, slipped down over one of the shallow, rolling hills that made the prairie undulate like a frozen sea.

I sort of staggered around in a circle, desperate to see if another sneak attack was coming, another lightning spell upon my lips, but there was nothing but another roar-shout a long ways away from the fleeing manticore. I heard the sound of hooves beating on the earth and I turned to see three riders, Gerrex, Dimitri, and Helena riding toward. Gerrex, a superb horseman, did not use his reigns, but controlled his horse with his knees as he held his bow with a magic arrow knocked and ready to fire. Dimitri carried his light crossbow in his right as he rested the buttstock on his right thigh. Helena road just ahead of and to the right of the other two, her face worried, but I saw relief on her face as she saw me standing and not dashed on the ground dead from the fall, although the look of worry returned to her face when she saw the spike sticking out of my arm and the blood soaking into my shirtsleeve.

"Mant…manticore," I said with difficulty as my friends rode up. Suddenly my throat was dry and rough.

"We saw it," Dimitri said. "We saw it fly away.

"Oh," I replied stupidly and I suddenly felt my knees buckle and I landed on my backside with a thump that sent news waves of fire out from the spike I my arm. I think I blacked out for a moment for when I opened my eyes my friends were all around me.

"We need to take this spine out," Dimitri said, "before the healing magic can be used. It has gone straight through the bone and likely broken it."

Gerrex grunted something that I did not hear clearly but a second later Dimitri shoved a bit of foul tasting leather in my mouth. I tried to object to this treatment, but Gerrex slammed the palm of his hand down on the base of the spine, driving it further into my arm with the point going out further from the back of my arm. Gerrex then took the point, now that he could get a firm grip, and ripped it from arm. I bit down on the leather shoved in my mouth and screamed, although the leather muffled the sound somewhat. I wanted to pass out and not feel the pain, but I was denied that comfort. My friends laid me on my back and I lay there with my eyes closeds and I could smell the warm earth and green of the grass and hear the buzzing of insects like distant, half-remembered things. I focused only on controlling my breathing. Within time, the pain subsided to a throbbing ache and I opened my eyes to see my friends looking down at me with concern.

"Help me up, I said to them. With their assistance, I regained my feet and looked around. I was steadier, the magic of my ring having stopped the bleeding and had started the process of knitting the bone and flesh back together.

"Water?" I asked.

Helena gave me her waterskin and I drank deeply from it. The tepid water was like ambrosia to my dry throat and I lowered the skin a much better man.

"I do not feel we have the luxury of calling that a random encounter," Dimitri said to us all.

"You are right," I replied. "Someone knew my routine and decided launch and ambuscade against me. They almost succeeded. We should get back to our party."

"Do you want a healing potion?" Helena asked.

I shook my head and said, "No, my ring will heal me in time.

"Want to ride on my horse?" Dimitri asked me.

"I will walk back," I said to him. "But let us get going."

Dimitri, who knew my ways, and Gerrex who did not pry into a person's private decisions, said nothing and remounted their horses. Helena, perplexed at what I was doing looked at me with a look that was half worry and half-incredulous anger.

"You must ride back, or take a potion!" She said emphatically. "Dimitri, make him ride back."

"No." He replied with a shake of head. "I am not going to but my head against that wall."

"Let us go, girl," I said to Helena and holding my injured left arm in the crook of my right arm I began the half mile (.9 km) trek back to our campsite.

"I can ride quickly and bring you back your own horse," Helena volunteered.

"There is no need," I replied staring straight ahead, with my arm throbbing with every step. "We have enough time to get there before dark."

Helena was desperately mad at me, but I ignored her the best I could, but we had not gone very far when she spoke up again.

"You stubborn, stubborn man!" She exclaimed in exasperation. "Why are you making yourself suffer like this?"

I turned to her equally exasperated by her insistence and said, "I am walking in pain to teach myself a lesson. I got careless. I was thinking too much about how much I was enjoying myself as a hawk and not paying enough attention to potential threats. This is how I teach myself not to be a fool."

"Friend Barrim," Dimitri announced in the light tone of someone who prefer to let fate play out its whims as it see fit, "is far harder on himself than he is on others, if you wish to know the truth. He takes all these things we do with such seriousness.

"Oh, how stupid!" Helena said in an angry tone before spurring her horse and riding quickly back to our camp.

"Am I stupid?" I asked Dimitri.

"You have been known to do a foolish thing or two in your time," replied Dimitri a light hearted declaration. "Most people would take that wound you received as enough of a lesson, but not you. However, it is a part of who you are and we cannot change that, and maybe that is why we are so willing to follow you. We always know that you are doing your best, and that your best is pretty damn good."

"Thank you, my friend," I replied.

"You are welcome," Dimitri replied as he kicked my good shoulder, although it still cause my wound to spike with pain, with the toe of his boot. "Now pick up the pace 'one-arm', I want to get back and finish my supper you interrupted."

"I sure can feel the love around here," I said sarcastically.

Dimitri laughed and even Gerrex grinned a bit at my words.

Back at camp, with the sun blazing red on the western horizon, I reiterated to my companions what had happened and told them to be alert tonight and then I retired to my tent where I could drop the pretense of not feeling the pain of my would . I sat down on my stool with gratitude and let out a breath of air as I rubbed my right hand over my face. I was tempted to drink on of the healing potions or take Amenaruu's offer to have it healed, but I resisted the temptation. My Ring of Regeneration would do the work, and if we should be attacked, I would take a potion then, and not before.

I pulled out the mirror the Argenta had given me, and set it up before me on a small folding table. I closed my eyes and practiced my breath control to bring my mind under control. I opened my eyes to stare at the mirror.

I do not know how long I was at my endeavors before I was brought out of my concentration by Helena entering my tent with some bannock and some stew. I blinked myself back into my own head and looked at her. Her face was pinched with anger and worry, those emotions coming in quite strong from my medallion.

"Here is some food," she said in an abrupt and angry tone.

"You are still upset with me," I said as a statement and not a question.

"Yes," She snapped back, "because you are being foolish."

She sat the bowl and the spoon she carried on the table next to the mirror.

"How are your studies progressing?" I asked her, not wanting to talk about my injuries.

"I am progressing," she said. "But I still cannot perform magic of the first level."

"Sit here on this stool," I replied standing up. I got a copy of the first level mandala and set it against my mirror. I then picked up the food and sat on my bunk. "I am going to help you."

She hesitated, but did what I asked and I saw her face relax as she concentrated on the mandala. I used my medallion to slip into her mind.

"I am here," I said in mind talk.

"Oh!" She replied mentally.

"Concentrate on the mandala and I will help you," I told her.

She brought forth the mandala in her mind's eye, and with my help she held the image there studying its intricacies of interwoven symbols until, with a sensation that was almost physical, true understanding of the mandala came to her in an instant. She held the image on her own as I quietly removed myself from the effort and then left her mind altogether. When I looked at her face, it was lit with triumph.