Disclaimer: All Valdemar related items in the below story are the possessions of Mercedes Lackey, not me.

            A/N special thanks to reviewers (in no particular order, because I appreciate them all): etcetera-cat, Light Fingers Cut Throat, Stee, Fireblade (the mission statement is taking over my school), Terryie (I actually helped my procrastinating friends as well as teasing themJ), Lori.  Oh yeah SAT's today, hehehe, maybe sleeping would have been a good thing?  Anyway enjoy chapter six…

            I awoke the on the third morning of our circuit damp and groggy, it had rained and my spot in the way station hadn't exactly been as waterproof as may be desired.  At least Elsa was very sympathetic toward me, not as much as I might have liked but enough. 

            On top of tired and soaked I was still unable to get sense out of my chosen within a five mile radius of Barty.  The obvious answer was to get her out of that five mile radius, but of course we had to stay with him and Ralph.  Besides there was no guarantee Elsa would pay more attention to me far away and then I would be deprived of my only audience, Ralph.

            Ralph … he must have been missing my musical mental voice because I hadn't spoken in at least five candle marks while we slept :Morning sunshine!:  I called to him in my most annoying cheerful morning voice.

            :Wha?:

            :It's time to wake up Ralph, we are going to leave soon and Barty and Elsa seem to have forgotten poor little ol' us:

            :Barty?:

            :Bartholomew; your chosen?:

            :Yeah, he usually goes by Mew:

            :Mew?  I heard him say that yesterday but I didn't think it fit him all that well, it makes him sound like a kitten or something:

            :He's just Mew, he always has been:

            :I guess.  I suggest breakfast fast because like I said we are going to be carrying the lovebirds again before the end of this mark:

            :All right chatterbox: Ralph rebuked me gently, not that I deserved to be rebuked, I was only babbling his 'ears' off first thing in the morning even though I knew he didn't exactly do mornings.

            Ralph and I enjoyed a quickly gobbled meal of sweet feed, we had to dig it out ourselves, I decided it was a good thing way stations were built with companions in mind or we would have done with just hay.  I was preparing to bombard Ralph with more nattering when Elsa and Mew, I felt the incredible urge to offer him a bowl of cream, arrived to ready us for yet another day's forced march.  Alright so it wasn't exactly that bad, but Elsa was paying more attention to Mew that to me, so I was a tiny bit surly.

            :Ask Mew if we are any closer: I demanded of Ralph.  I assumed he forwarded my question because he didn't respond to me until a few minutes later, after our human's were on our backs and we were plodding along.

            :He says that we will probably have to conduct hearings in the first two towns in our circuit before we are even close to catching them:

            :What are two companions, a herald and a trainee going to do against the clan?:

            :Mew can take care of our immediate safety while Elsa contacts any heralds in the area.  The message will then be relayed back to Haven.  Anyone close enough can come to help us:

            :Elsa said the clan numbered fifteen, but they are recruiting as they go now.  She said there are about 23 people with them now.  Will be able to stop that many?:

            :Let's find them first, and see what needs to be done:

            :I suppose we don't have much of a choice.  At least we are doing something:

            :Yeah, we should reach the first town by tonight.  Then we will have other things to occupy our time:

            :I guess. At least our chosen will.  As I recall the white ponies don't do much besides listening in on silly disputes.  That just gives us more time to contemplate the clan:

            :We'll figure out something to keep busy.  I have it on good word that you like to race?:

            :Whose word?: I asked suspiciously, wondering why he would have even bothered to get such information.

            :Tally, she's a cousin, you know?  Anyway she warned me that you don't like talking to strangers, or the dark and that you do like racing, and sugar:

            :Why?: I wondered idly if my best friend had betrayed me to her cousin for any good reason.  Tally knew I didn't want her telling anyone about my minor little phobias.

            :She was worried that you would be terrified and that I would be upset if I didn't understand why you were ignoring me.  She was right.  I like talking almost as much as Tally:

            I chuckled at that. Tally could talk to a stone for candle marks, and still have plenty to say for candle marks more, :No one can like talking that much:

            :I said almost didn't I?:

            :Yeah:

            :What I meant was that I like a challenge.  Tally told me that you wouldn't talk so…:

            :So getting me to talk was like a game?:

            :You might say that:

            :I am glad you succeeded, this would be a boring journey with no one to talk to:

            :Same here: Ralph sent me a grin, which I returned and our plodding continued in companionable conversation, mirroring that of our riders.

            The stable of our first regularly scheduled stop was as nice as a way station and the grooms had enough carrots to make me forgive their lack of sugar, barely.  Ralph and I were able to get a two full days of rest there.  Despite the fact that it was Elsa's first experience as an actual herald neither of us truly remarked what passed during those two days.  Small disputes and legal matters.

            Truth to tell, most of the problems were handled by Mew anyway.  We left as soon as was politely possible with the townspeople and continued on our cross-country trudge.

            The second town was creeping onto the horizon on the day that Elsa had a vision that nearly knocked her from my saddle.

            :Elsa?: I called frantically to her, unsure as to why she was suddenly struggling not only to maintain her balance, but to remove strong shields that seemed to pop up as she fell into her vision.

            :Asia?: Elsa's voice seemed so faded and weak, she barely managed to get it through to me.

            I found myself once more within the bounds of her vision, as with the first one.  This time it wasn't a fire or a raid or any civilization though.  Harold, the fire starter, stood in a group of about five other men and boys who were all concentrating on something in the center of the group.

            I tried to see what it was, but found myself blocked off.  Something about the object they all focused on called to me.  I didn't know why, but I knew that I had to find that object.  The thought crossed my mind that the clan was searching too.  Maybe we were searching for the same thing…

            Vigorously, I shook my head.  Those thoughts were dangerously close to treason.  The clan was a group of lawless bandits.  Heralds upheld the law, anything less was duplicity.  I would not fail; no matter how much I wanted to help them find whatever it was they were searching for.  I tried once again to clear my mind.

            I shouldn't want to search in the first place!  Apparently  my mind didn't want to give up the puzzle.  There was certainly something odd about that.   The clan was evil, they hurt people, and they had harmed my Elsa.  Elsa who I found with them… I had tracked them down once maybe I could again, and if I could why couldn't I find whatever it was they were searching for?

            :Asia, Elsa, are you two alright?: Ralph asked worriedly, he also succeeded in knocking me lose from my circular reverie about the clan.

            :I am: I assured Ralph while at the same time mentally nudging at my chosen.

            :I'm fine: Elsa mind-whispered to me weakly :Tired but fine:

            :We have to stop them, before your visions get any worse: I asserted firmly, but deep inside there was still a part of me that wanted to help them more than hinder… either way we had to reach them first.

            :We'll stop them!: Ralph assured me.  Or maybe help, I thought, but I held my silence.  Silence was defiantly better than revealing such treasonous desires, besides, I only half felt them … it was probably just curiosity.  I could be very curious.  Yes, curious.  I sighed, we had to reach the clan fast, before the next vision if possible, somehow I doubted whether I could oppose their search after another of the visions.

            A/N yeah … there's that then … I almost know how to tie everything together now too… yay … hey, if you want you could r&r Antigone: The Truth by my friend lightfingerscutthroat… if you want… n/e how… hope you liked this chapter.