Section Five: The First Days

            Fox sighed, looking at his maps. This first day of travel was mostly bringing them through farmland, but by the end of the day they would be entering a forest, by his estimates.

            It was the peak of the harvest season, and commoners halted their activities to wave and shout as the convoy made their way past. Some of his party members shouted back and waved; Falco often reared his horse in response to these calls, being a bit of a showman. But Fox, whose unicorn mare had again disguised herself as a normal horse, reacted little to this, staying quiet even if he was the leader. Fara quietly paced him, glancing at him every now and then.

            "Ho, fearless leader!" Alan bellowed somewhat drunkenly from one of the carts, leaning forward across the bench that Bill sat on. Fox winced at the term. "Why so quiet eh?"

            "Habit." He replied over his shoulder just loud enough for Alan to hear.

            "Habits are made to be broken." Alan replied, waving the bow of his violin around, nearly cracking Bill upside the head with it. "Like laws!"

            Fox winced again, but kept his eyes on the road, drawing up a few minutes later. "By tonight we should be starting into a forest, and the terrain will likely stay that way for a few days. Then we'll most likely run into plains again…" He eyed his map, then rolled it up.

            "When do we run into a city next?" Falco asked, urging his mount forward to stand even with Fox and Fara.

            "Next one is when we exit the forest, then there several small ones, until we enter the Black Forest." Said Julian. "The last one is on the borders of the Wastes… and that's more of a stronghold."

            Fox nodded once. "We should keep moving."

            The others agreed, and the convoy started moving again.

            By the end of the day, Alan was back on horseback, continually circling the party, playing his violin and singing. It was a bit annoying, but the party had to agree it made them want to keep moving and kept their spirits up. It was already sinking into the party that they could very well be on the road for two weeks before they reached their destination, and they couldn't even stop then.

            "What's in this temple we're going to? Do we even know what we're progressing towards?" Bill wanted to know when the party had come to a halt at the end of the day. There was a large clearing beside the road at the edge of the forest; obviously a much-used campsite, complete with a marker post carved with the insignia of Fharlanghn.

            "I don't think so." Slippy replied, already buried deep in a tome he had produced from a small pouch at his hip—he tossed a hand at the phenomenon, defining the pouch as a bag of holding. No one was surprised that he had one. "That's what I'm trying to find out. I have no wish to argue with the word of a dragon…"

            "How much time do we have?" Fara asked, crouched on a log around the fire pit that had been established in the camp ground, fingertips pressed together.

            "Not sure." Fox said in a distant voice, focusing on the imbalance he now felt, then he looked to Rita.

            She shook her head. "This can't be gauged in our measurements, but we do not have an eternity."

            "Oy." Falco rubbed his eyes. "That helps."

            "Actually, it does in a way." Said Julian with a grin. "I think that means we can't die because no one else could get prepared and carry it out in time…"

            "How large of risk are we discussing?" Peppy asked, sitting down beside where Fara crouched.

            "Again, we can't be certain." Fox nodded at Julian. "He would know better then I. He should be leading, not I, for I am not familiar with this territory for the most part." This was added as Fox thought about it.

            "No, not at all. You're in lead, you're staying that way. You're the teacher, I am a mere student." Said Julian. "And my experience is good through part of the Wastes, but not all the way through. I've heard of this Temple, but I've never seen it or visited it."

            "Do we even have a way of knowing these legends are correct?" Fara asked.

            "Legends have their base in truth." Said Alan, looking at her over his shoulder while he started the fire. He tossed something down, and the flames burst six feet tall in a flash, glowing purple and green then dying down to normal height and color. Most of the party jumped.

            Fox held up a hand as Osiris came in for a landing, lowering his hand and letting his familiar climb onto his shoulder. "Did you see anything of concern?"

            The bird tilted its head and started talking in its own language. Fox listened to this without noticing that a few members of the party were staring, except those that were aware of the ways of familiars.

            "And?" Rita asked when this discourse ended.

            "He went out partway over the forest. A few dragons, more then one Elven town, usual creatures." Fox replied. "This will be a long journey, but I somehow doubt it will be an eventful one for the majority… at least until we get deeper into the wilds."

            "More correct then not." Julian agreed. "Perhaps we can continue my training?"

            "Of course." Fox moved Osiris back to his hand, then to Fara's shoulder as he passed her. She blinked, somehow not surprised. Fox started walking toward the forest, making a gesture for Julian to follow.

            "And you're not worried about getting lost?" Julian asked as he trailed behind Fox.

            "I never get lost in forests." Fox replied, seeking out another clearing far enough away from the camp that the sounds of the party were muffled at worst, nonexistent at best. "I have lived in them all my life, after all."

            "We all have our areas of expertise, I suppose…"

            "I was a ranger long before I was a Knight." Fox smiled a bit. "Now, where did we leave off…"

            Morning dawned crisp and cool, mostly clear with just a bit of grey fog clinging to the ground. The party awoke slowly, in ones and twos, reacting to the smell of food or to the rising sun.

            Fox, as usual, was the first up, completing his prayers and a small practice session in the first rays of sunlight. These early-morning practices were a bit of a habit sometimes, a moment to limber up and fully awaken. When he sheathed his swords, he felt eyes looking at him, and turned. Both Julian and Rita were awake and watching him. "Did I wake you? I apologize."

            "Not I, I have grown used to early mornings." Julian smiled and stepped forward, going through his version of the morning's first prayer.

            "I felt your power. That is what awoke me, in addition to the fact that it is morning." Replied Rita absently.

            "I have little power." Fox shook his head, building the fire back up and starting breakfast.

            She knelt beside him and assisted in preparing breakfast for ten. "Even as you say that, when you performed that dance of blades, the effect was… akin to dropping a stone in a pond. Ripples spread from you, lapping at other beings."

            "Interesting imagery." Peppy said, joining them. "It looks like it is going to be a good day to travel."

            "We'll spend most of the next few days in the woods." Said Julian, breaking a loaf of bread and tossing half to Peppy absently. "I am not sure I like the wagons…" This was said more to himself as he looked at the three carts, horses grazing nearby. They weren't tied; Fox's unicorn had kept the horses behaving during the night.

            "Nor do I. We can trade them off farther along if it is necessary." Fox said, going to the rest of the sleeping forms. Falco, well broken in from the last quest, sat up before he could be nudged.

            "I'm awake… really…" He managed around a yawn.

            "I'm sure. Breakfast is ready."

            "All right."

            Alan burst out of his tent, barely managing to miss running into Fox, doing a rather interesting front flip and landing beside the fire, grinning the entire time. "Good morning, good morning, good morning!"

            "Good morning to you too." Said Peppy, passing bacon to the bard.

            Fara stirred slowly, feeling sore, not used to sleeping outside or in a tent. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Fox crouched beside her shoulders, looking down at her.

            "Good morning princess." He said simply, eyes showing the undisciplined smile for a few moments.

            "Good morning… blast it…" This was added when she attempted to get up and her cold, stiff muscles refused. Fox gave her a hand up absently.

            A few minutes later the others had woken up and joined the rest of their party around the fire, helping themselves to breakfast, talking happily. The high morale still prevailed, this early into the quest. Fox only hoped it would last much longer.

            "The next few days we'll be traveling through the woods. This well used of road, there's probably campgrounds…" Fox said, crouching, producing his map. "Then its back to plains and villages. Travel seems to be rather easy until we reach the Black Forest…" He looked at Julian.

            Julian nodded. "Quite correct. The towns are quite friendly as well. These next few days should be very easy…"

            "Possibly a good thing until we settle into a traveling pace." Fox said, rolling the map back up and returning it to whence it came. "As soon as we're done eating, we pack."

            Fara sighed, rolling her shoulders, pacing the party. She hadn't thought about some of the things associated with travel—such as being away from her soft, warm bed—and she had awoken this morning stiff and sore. Some of the others seemed to be suffering much like her, mainly Peppy, Katt, and Slippy. Others weren't fazed at all, mainly Alan and Falco. She supposed she would get used to it, or at least she hoped so. She didn't want to be known as a soft princess, she really wanted to earn a title as a fighter, be an equal with all her traveling partners.

            Once they were a few hours into the forests, Fox dismounted and walked, still easily leading the group, his unicorn walking beside him. During one of their pauses, he had taken the chance to remove the tack from his mount, riding bareback the few moments he was on horseback.

            "You ever notice how he walks while in the woods?"

            She looked at Peppy in surprise. The travel had not been silent, conversations had been going around, as well as songs and stories, but Fox had participated little in them, focused on the task at hand.

            "He walks like… a lion, I suppose, like a king entering his realm." Peppy continued, watching Fox easily stride the trial ahead of them.

            Fara thought about this, also watching Fox, and nodded. "I guess I have to agree…"

            "Hate to say it but our fearless leader is the most bizarre Knight I have ever met…" Laughed Alan, riding up even with them.

            "You associate with knights often?" Fara glanced at him, only provoking more laughter out of the bard.

            "No, no! Let's just same I'm observant, eh?" He grinned at her.

            She grinned back.

            Up ahead, Fox paused, swiveling an ear, then held up a hand. The party stopped, blinking.

            "What's wrong, Fox?" Falco called, urging his steed forward a few more steps.

            "Be back in one moment…" He replied, and disappeared down the trail and around a twist it followed.

            A few moments later, there was a surprised cry, then some rueful laughter from a voice they didn't recognize. After a few moments, Fox reappeared, bow still in hand, smiling a tad.

            "Come on. There's no danger."

            The others, now abuzz with curiosity, hurried their steeds around the corner, those driving the carts forced to see last what had happened. A few simply dressed young-to-middle-aged men were standing there, one of which had a sleeve pinned to a tree by one of Fox's arrows. The rest were chuckling or grinning.

            "I thank Ehlonna you have a good aim." Said the one pinned rather sourly, breaking the arrow to free his arm. "I do not know how you heard us."

            "Let us say I have lived in the woods a time." Fox wove a hand. "I apologize. Now is there any particular reason you were waiting for us off the trail?"

            The small group blinked at the larger party, then looked back to Fox. "We're hunters. There have been some sightings of some rather dangerous beasts of recent, and we're patrolling for them."

            "Ah. What matter of beasts, pray tell?"

            "Owlbears. They've been seen by some farmers… some lifestock has been lost… oh, praise Ehlonna is that what I think it is…" This was stammered out by one of the younger members of the hunting party.

            Fox's unicorn emerged from the forest and hooked her muzzle over Fox's shoulder, no longer disguised. Fox rolled his eyes. "I'm afraid so. Have the owlbears been sighted anywhere near the trails? We have no intention of lingering except to camp…"

            "Most of the campgrounds have enchantments." Said the eldest, staring at the unicorn. The unicorn stared back. "What brings such a party through this area? You are obviously not traders."

            "Like, we're on a mission from God." Said Alan, riding forward.

            The hunters all stared at this new person, fairly gaping.

            "Sorry to disturb your hunting, gentlemen. We'll stop bothering you now." Fox swung astride his unicorn bareback and urged his steed forward, riding past the hunters. The rest of the party progressed past, exchanging nods with the hunters.

            The hunters kept staring long after the party had taken another turn and disappeared.

            "Now, I am quite certain I am not hallucinating… but that was a unicorn, willingly being the steed of a young man." Said the eldest slowly.

            "One of the other men was a guild thief." Said the one who had been pinned. "And I saw a mage as well."

            "Stranger parties we have seen… let us continue our mission, gentlemen."

            "Owlbears. That is new to me." Said Slippy. "I did not study creatures extensively…"

            "They are just as they sound… a rather fearsome combination of an owl and a huge bear. Thank Fharlanghn, I have never met any of the beasts." Julian made a religious gesture. "They are vicious and fight to the death."

            "I've heard of them, but I personally have never encountered one." Said Fox, now walking again. He reached up to his shoulder, and Osiris stepped to his hand. A toss upward, and Osiris took off and soared off the path. "He will look for us and attempt to make sure we do not come near them."

            "Not looking for a fight this round, eh?" Falco asked.

            "No. You should know me better then that, Falco. I never look for fights. But sometimes, they seem to come looking for me…"

            The next few days passed uneventfully, and they came out of the forest and onto a well-used harvest road, a town within sight even as they left the woods. Cattle and sheep grazed in nearby pastures, and a few farmers were cutting down the last of the wheat. Fox exchanged quiet nods with the farmers that looked at him, continuing down the road and entering the village.

            "Are we going to stop here for the night?" Falco asked, glancing around. He was much more comfortable in a town, any size of town, then in the wilds.

            "No. We'll move on, though we might stop in the next one."

            "All right…"

            "You don't look to be traders." A middle-aged man remarked, approaching them.

            "Not exactly, kind sir. Merely passing through." Fox replied, bowing from his saddle. He had returned to riding before they left the forest; steed disguised again.

            "Would you be the group our hunters met a few days past?"

            "I suppose we might be."

            "Indeed." The man looked amused, then sobered. "Then you know of our trouble…"

            "We've heard some, yes."

            "Are any of you experienced hunters?"

            The convoy looked at each other, and one by one they all pointed at Fox.

            "That isn't exactly fair but I suppose I am." Fox sighed when the man looked at him. "Why? Your hunters have been unsuccessful?"

            "Worse. Could you come with me, please?"

            "We're lucky none of us died…"

            Fox nodded, crouching next to the bed. It was the same hunter he had pinned to a tree a few days ago, now nursing deep claw marks up his shoulder and chest. "You escaped?"

            "Yes, we did. We had no chance fighting those things." The hunter spat, lifting himself on one arm. "Ehlonna was not smiling on us that day…"

            "And our livestock are continuing to be killed." Said another hunter, the eldest of the group. "We must turn to other ways to kill the beasts, and we had reported meeting you. We thought perhaps someone with enough blessing to ride a unicorn…"

            "Hush about that." Fox suggested, standing. "I may not look it kind sirs, but I am actually a Knight of the King's army. I will help you any way I can."

            "You? A Knight?" The one in the bed fairly gaped.

            "Yes, on a quest. If you and your mayor would be willing to work out accommodations for my friends, I will gladly assist your town."

            The mayor nodded. "We thank you."

            "No thanks needed."

            "Alone? You're going ALONE?" Fara stared at Fox.

            "Have to." He replied, slinging on his quiver, wearing his 'ranger' clothing. "No one else in the party has the skills, and we all know that."

            "Those things managed to beat four hunters at once. Surely you don't believe you can…"

            "Ah." He pressed a finger to her lips, and that easygoing smile she had seen before crossed his face. "Do not worry about me, Fara. I've had a lot of experience hunting."

            "Still, you shouldn't go alone." Julian said, leaning on the doorframe. "Sorry for interrupting." He added.

            "Not a problem." Fox said with a shrug. "You didn't interrupt anything."

            "Perhaps I could accompany you? You are training me after all…"

            "True, and you have learned to use a good amount of stealth." Fox considered. "But owlbears are no small challenge, Julian. Are you sure you are ready for it?"

            "Do you think I am?"

            They looked at each other for a moment, then Fox slowly nodded. "So be it." He looked at Fara. "So I'm not going alone. Do you feel more confident now?"

            She nodded, crossing her arms. "How long will you be?"

            "All depends how far away they are. I am a fairly good tracker, so with any luck it will take only a day or so. I do not like delaying our travels, but it would be far worse to refuse to assist." Fox and Julian paced each other as they left the room, Fara trailing behind them as they left the inn and swung astride their mounts.

            'Be careful, Fox.' Fara told him.

            'I will be.' He responded, and the two left.

            "How much money do we have left?"

            "About half." Wolf replied, rolling his shoulders as he urged his new steed into a trot. Now properly dressed and wearing half-plate armor, he and Pigma no longer looked like prisoners, they looked like soldiers. The trick was that many noticed the armor and wanted to know what army they were a part of. They had decided to brush this off by claiming to be mercenaries, which was more truth then a lie. "McCloud's group has a several day start on us…"

            "Why on earth would they want to go to the Northern Wastes?" Pigma muttered, speeding up to pace Wolf.

            "I suggest we find out, because that's where we're going as well." Wolf replied, then paused, a slow smile spreading across his face.

            "What is it?"

            "Leon Powalski is still alive."

            "Oh?" Pigma twisted in his saddle to face his leader. "How do you know that?"

            "Hextor just told me. Leon will meet us tonight." Wolf rubbed his chin. "Which brings our task force up to three… Andrew is of no use to us, but we shall have to see about finding some more fellows to accompany us along the way."

            "I'd rather be with a few I can trust."

            Wolf gave Pigma a horrible, predatory grin. "Who said you can trust me, Dengar?"

            Pigma blanched, and very little was said for a while after that.

            Julian crouched at Fox's gesture, following a few feet behind his trainer, being as quiet as he could. He was not as accomplished a tracker as Fox was, but he could see the more obvious signs of passage, and Fox was sure that they were on the trail of one of the owlbears.

            How many? Julian gestured when Fox glanced back at him, and Fox responded likewise—he wasn't sure yet, but they were getting close. After several moments, they began moving again.

            The forest here was dark and tangled, deep in a section of wilderness that hadn't been tamed yet. It reminded Julian of the Black Forest to some degree, but Fox still seemed at home, leading them along the trail with relative ease.

            After a long while, they heard low noises ahead, grunts and growls. Fox stopped again and wove Julian forward.

            "A lair I think." Fox breathed, crouched low to the ground.

            "Any thought as to how many?"

            "Eight, perhaps… I'm not entirely certain…"

            "What would be the best strategy?"

            "You brought your crossbow?" This was more of a statement then a question.

            "Of course."

            "It would probably be best to try to fight them from a distance."

            Julian silently loaded his crossbow and got several more bolts ready as Fox drew an arrow from his quiver and lined it up with his bow, then continued to lead them forward, moving much slower then before. It was a short time before they could see a clearing, a blank space at the foot of a rise that held a cave. Bones were scattered about, and both were forced to wrinkle their noses at the stench. No owlbears were in immediate attendance, however, and the pair remained crouched at the edge of the clearing, arrows notched and ready.

            After several moments, Fox lowered the arrow, slowly picked up a stone, and pitched it into the clearing. The stone rattled off the front of the cave and to the ground, provoking a low snarl from the cave, followed by others.

            Fox made a hand gesture, and separated slowly from Julian, stopping about seven feet away, still crouched at the edge of the clearing, then tossed another stone, this one bouncing inside the cave. He sighted the arrow again as movement shuffled in the cave, and the first of the owlbears came out.

            The beast seemed a bit sleepy, then froze, obviously smelling the air, then swinging its horrible beaked head toward Fox.

            Fox was upwind.

            Julian watched in horror as the beast barreled right toward his teacher and friend, but Fox shot first, the arrow sinking into the beast's shoulder. It screeched and lunged at Fox, who had already swung the bow over his shoulder, and now leapt straight up, catching a tree branch and swinging, disappearing into the tree. The owlbear clawed at its own shoulder, clumsily removing the arrow, and roared up at the tree, drawing the other owlbears from the cave.

            Julian counted seven adults total as he pulled more bolts from his quiver, lining them up on the ground beside him, then firing. The bolt shot across the clearing and into the one Fox had hit, sinking deep into the creature's back. The owlbear screamed, back arching, and a shower of arrows came down from the tree, one of which sank into the wounded owlbear's skull and came out of the underside of its jaw.

            As the fatally wounded creature collapsed, one of the other owlbears had found Julian, and charged, taking two of the others with it. Julian managed to get off two more shots from his crossbow before the beasts were simply too close, then was forced to draw his Katana and attempt close combat.

            And suddenly Fox was beside him, both swords drawn, helping force the beasts back. The six remaining owlbears mobbed them, and the fight dissolved into chaos. A few minutes into it, he heard Fox shout "Run!", then they were speeding away from the clearing, the owlbears hot on their trail.

            "High ground!" Fox said shortly to him, found a decent looking tree, and leapt, catching a branch and swinging up, then holding a hand down for Julian. Julian was safely pulled into the branches just as the owlbears arrived, one of the clawed swipes barely missing him.

            "Did you know you were upwind from them?" Julian asked, watching the beasts pace below them, some battering at the tree.

            "Yes actually I did." Fox found a comfortable position on a large branch and drew another arrow, sighting easily.

            "Why choose that position of all places?"

            He met his student's eyes. "Because I knew it would draw attention off you and allow you strike without being noticed beforehand. A far from foolproof plan, mind, but it did help in some respects, they are one down."

            "Thank you I suppose." Julian braced himself as the tree shook. "And the forest will shortly be down one tree…"

            "I doubt Obad-hai and Ehlonna would be pleased about that…" Letting this sentence die a natural death, Fox sighted and shot, his arrow piercing the eye of one of the beasts. It roared, clawing at its face, blinded.

            Julian started firing again, then gaped as he saw Fox's unicorn charge from nowhere, horn sinking into the back of the nearest owlbear, tip protruding from the beast's chest. The unicorn mare ripped its horn free as the beast went down, then attacked the one Fox had wounded.

            A few minutes later, silence descended in the forest, and Fox hopped down from the tree, patting his steed's neck. Julian also leapt down, landing a bit more roughly then Fox had.

            "So you put yourself in danger to help me?" Julian asked.

            "More or less." Fox shrugged. "I believe that this hunt is over."

            "I think there were young in that cave…"

            "They'll survive." He replied, crouching on his heels and drawing a knife. A flick of his wrist, and he held up a set of owlbear claws. "I believe this will prove our victory well enough. Now, let us see about returning to town."

            "The hero returns."

            Fox gave Falco a rather sour look as he entered the town's only tavern, sitting down at the table and fighting a yawn. Julian also sat, but had no qualms about yawning.

            "I suppose that means it was a successful hunt?" Falco set down his hand of cards. He had been playing against a few of the townsmen and Katt, who had been winning hands-down. The townsmen looked to Fox as well.

            Fox tossed the claws on the table wordlessly, standing again. "I am going to bed. We leave in the morning."

            "Fine by us." Said Katt. "Congratulations on your success…"

            Fox and Julian barely heard this; worn out by the fight and the journey back, they had already started toward the stairs of the tavern to go to the rooms they were using.

            "You really expected anything else from him?" Falco asked Katt.

            "No one's perfect." She shrugged, looked at her hand of cards, and grinned. The men, seeing this, folded immediately.

            "Glad to see you've made it back safely." Said Fara, meeting the pair at the top of the staircase. "I was going to see if you had returned, but I guess that's been answered for me."

            "Evening, milady." Julian said with a nod, then continued on to his room. "Could someone make sure I awake in the morning? I'm very tired…"

            "I'll make sure." Fox replied, and Julian disappeared into his room. "It was a successful hunt, but more then once they came close to injuring us. There were seven of them total."

            "And now there are none, correct?"

            "We left the young."

            She paced him to his room, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "So we leave tomorrow?"

            "That'd be best, this side task has already delayed us by a good portion of a day…" Fox leaned on the wall with a sigh. "I shall see you in the morning, milady."

            "Sweet dreams." She passed him, retreating to the room she was using, and heard him close his door. 'Just how close did they come to hurting you, Fox?'

            There was a long pause, then images reached her—an owlbear bearing down, another barely missing Julian, them attempting close combat then running. 'We were forced to flee at once point. I'm not proud of it but it was necessary. I personally hope we shall never encounter these beasts again, but we shall probably meet much worse before we reach the wastes.'

            'I have no doubt, much as I hope not. Good night.'

            'Good night.' He returned, and she sensed he had already lapsed from consciousness.

            "Are we gonna play good Samaritan in every town?" Alan asked, swinging astride his horse.

            "Only if necessary, I don't think we should delay much more." Fox replied honestly, swinging astride his disguised-again unicorn, Osiris landing on his shoulder. "If I may ask, what did the party do while Julian and I were gone?"

            "Oh various things. Rita went to one of the local churches and spent some time there talking to the priests, Falco, Katt, and I spent most of the time in the tavern, Slippy spent most of the time reading, et cetera."

            "Hm." Fox sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Have we lost much time, Rita?"

            "No, I do not think so." She replied, moving her horse to stand beside him.

            "All right, then we should keep moving as not to loose any more."

            The others agreed, and the convoy moved out, several of the townspeople watching them depart.

            "You seem unsettled, Fox." Peppy remarked, urging the cart up more so he could talk to Fox. Fox as a response fell back to pace the cart.

            "I am." He admitted, shifting in his saddle. "Something is nagging at me."

            "Your feeling the imbalance, perhaps?"

            "… No. Something… else." He shook his head. "I'll tell you if I discover what is." With this, he returned to a leading position.

            The group's morale remained high as they traveled through the plains region, and even Fox found a use for the riding time. He continued Julian's language lessons, focusing on Elven for the time. A few others started listening in, particularly Fara, Falco and Bill, who knew little if no Elven. Katt and Rita assisted in the language lessons, as it was Katt's natural language and Rita had spoken it for many years, almost as long as Fox had. After the first few days, Alan jumped into the lessons, offering to teach the group the languages he knew after Fox completed the language lessons. The others were a bit leery, considering it seemed that half the time Alan could barely speak his own language, but Fox said he would appreciate a lesson on the language of the UnderDark. Alan cheerfully agreed.

            The last town before they entered the Black Forest was more of a fortress then a town, fortified against the wilds that it stood next to, complete with a stone wall and iron portcullises at the gates. The convoy arrived at midday, the guards eyeing them but not protesting their entry.

            After their horses had been left at a livery stable, Fox held a meeting in a quiet corner of one of the taverns, spreading maps out and leaning heavily into Julian's information. It was agreed that one of the carts should be left; it as well as the horse as it could be sold for decent money. That still left two carts, and after more negotiations with each other and going through a list of what was on the carts, they ultimately decided to sell two of the carts, and use the two horses from the carts to pack what they needed. Fox didn't like even using the one cart, but carrying food on it would be useful, because he knew it would be foolish to leave the path through the Black Forest, even to hunt. They group spent the rest of the day helping rearrange their provisions; and left the bartering to Peppy and Slippy while the others helped find a quiet inn to stay in for the night.

            Fox retreated to one of the rooms immediately and donned his armor, guessing that might command a bit more respect in this town. He was right, afterward the inn owner stopped complaining of the constant coming-and-going of his group, instead watching with quiet interest as they finished their planning.

            "We've been repeatedly advised not to enter the Black Forest." Peppy remarked that evening as the group met again in the tavern. "Seems none those that live here ever enter the forest, except for the occasional brave trader seeking to trade with the few cities beyond…"

            "We don't really have a choice, unless we care to add another three or four weeks to our travel time to circle the forest, and even then we might not be able to avoid it." Fox traced the region on one of the maps. "And using the river would be even more dangerous because of the rapids, as well as the beasts that live within it…"

            "How many days will we be spending in this forest?" Rita asked, leaning on the table.

            "Five to six days, then it a short distance before we reach the final city before the wastes." Julian said. "The problem is we don't know where we're going after that…" He looked at Fox. "Have you had any luck deciphering that map?"

            "Partly." Fox rubbed one of his temples, tapping his map twice. The map changed to the one they were discussing. "Is there a canyon in the wastes?"

            "Yes, a small one."

            "That seems to be our turning point. Once we reach that, we're supposed to head east toward the mountains. After that I'm not sure yet."

            "How many days until we would reach the canyon?" Asked Peppy, helping Alan pass drinks around the table.

            "If we keep our pace, three or four days." Julian said after a moment's thought. "But that's not counting for the weather of the wastes."

            "Sandstorms?" Alan sat on the table cross-legged, belted back his drink in one long gulp, and started to saw out a tune. At Fox's look, he halved the volume.

            "That, not to mention the heat, and there are a lot of beasts that roam the area that are very, very dangerous."

            "Like?" Falco prompted, accepting a large mug.

            "Digesters." Julian grimaced. "Yeth hounds, Rocs once we get closer to the mountains, ogres, orcs, manticores, lamias… a long list, my friends, and for the most part they hate intruders."

            "This sounds as if it will be a long hard journey." Bill sighed. "And this is only the first leg of it."

            "Aye." Fox stood. "That said, let's see about getting some rest."

            The others agreed, also standing to retreat to the inn.

            'Fox?'

            'Mm?' Fox glanced at Fara while they walked through town, entering the inn and barely looking at the inn keeper there, climbing the stairs to the second floor. Fara paced him easily.

            'What has you so worried? You seem distracted.'

            'I'd rather not talk about it this way.' He replied, opening the door to the room he was using. After a moment, she followed him in, and he sat heavily at the desk in the room, pulling at a few of the buckles on his armor absently.

            "So?" She finally asked.

            "Just an old presence… it's far away, but it's getting closer." He frowned thoughtfully.

            "A good presence?" She walked over and leaned on the desk, looking down at him.

            He slicked back his ears, looking up at her. "No. Not hardly. Someone wants me dead."

            They looked at each other for a long moment. A loose clatter, and Fox shrugged out of the upper portion of his armor, revealing a sleeveless shirt, glancing at her apologetically for his state of dress.

            "I'm not going to ask how you know."

            "That'd be best, not even I know how I know." He shook his head. "Even worse, it's familiar… which means its not a new force, or a hired assassin, or other such. An old enemy… and I don't have many old enemies."

            She read between the lines. "O'Donnel and Dengar?"

            "That would be my guess. Is there any way they could escape?" He stood and moved over to the window, opening the shutters and leaning on the sill.

            "Not without someone outside helping them, and why would they?" She shook her head, wrapping a hand around her pendant absently.

            "I can't say at this point. Maybe Heironeous will be nice enough to give me more information soon…" He sighed heavily.

            She stepped over to him, watching him. "You really don't like leading, do you?"

            "Not always. You know I've been alone the greater portion of my life, and a convoy of ten…" He shook his head slowly. "It just seems a bit much, is all."

            "May I ask you something?"

            "I can't stop you."

            She glared at him; she had seen him bite off the 'your highness' at the end of what he had said. "What's going to happen when this quest is over?"

            "I'm not sure. Assuming we are successful and return… I'm not sure."

            "And you hate being unsure."

            "Correct."  He turned to face her. "I think I know one thing for certain, though."

            She crossed her arms and looked up at him. "Oh?"

            "I think that Titus and I will have to have a long, long discussion. Then I shall have to have a similar discussion with your father." He reached out and drew her close with one arm, most of his reserve falling away. "I, personally, have had more then enough of this 'arranged marriage' business your parents are putting you through."

            She laughed and hugged him back. "You aren't the only one, believe me."

            After several long moments, he let her go. "I will see you in the morning, then."

            "God ye good eve." She nodded, and left the room.