Summersea Saga

by crosseyedbutterfly

Sequel to Twisted Tortallain Tale! This time, our fav group of teens are sent to Summersea...and it's crazy boy mage who runs things behind the scenes! Chapter 22 up!

14.

Doo de doo de doo....hm... *looks around and notices audience* Oh! You're here early. ^_^ 'Spose you want your chapter, right? Here it is! *pulls out manuscript* And there it goes.. *burns it with lighter randomly pulled from pocket* You see, this is what happens when authors write at midnight before Monday morning just so they can please their audience. : P Luckily, I have an extra... *pulls out of pocket and hands to audience* There you go! Have fun!

Thanks to those who reviewed, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

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Bryanna bit her lip as she tried to read the book in front of her, still feeling jumpy for some reason as she glanced about the peaceful temple. Master Nikolaren had, as promised, gotten them entrance to the temple as well as a dorm room to stay in while they were there and finishing their papers on magic theorems. He had also requested to see their papers before they left, saying he was going to be gone for a while but he'd be back long before they finished the Master's graduate requirement. She was so edgy though, feeling like they should leave now before something happened...this was all Randy's fault! They would be long gone and have checked on the next teacher by now if not for him, and she didn't care what he said about 'killing two birds with one stone', even after the mage came and left they'd still be stuck hear struggling through the paper when they should be out checking on the rest of the mages on their list.

"Excuse me," said a quiet voice as a presence appeared at her side suddenly, Bryanna jumpy slightly at the sound of it. She turned and saw and older, but kindly woman standing there with a peace that seemed to radiate from her placid face. "You are Bryanna, correct? The Journeyman Healer Mage who is hear to write a paper, if Niko told me right..."

"Yes, that's me," replied Bryanna as she turned to face the woman who sat next to her in the library carefully. "Can I help you...?"

"More would be the question if I can help you," replied the dedicate, for her colored robes denoted her as that, though Bryanna hadn't yet met a dedicate as worldly, nor as self-assured at this one. "I sensed you were disturbed...is there something troubling you, young one? We have the people to help you here, and the ability to act be it a problem you have with yourself or someone else..."

"Ah...why do you say that I'm disturbed?" asked Bryanna as she tried to work her way around the question rather than face it head on. "I can assure you I'm mentally stable if that's what you're getting at."

The woman chuckled kindly. "It's my job to know, miss," she replied steadily. "I am Dedicate Superior Moonstream of Winding Circle Temple, and every Superior must do their best to assure that all occupants of his or her temple are taken care of, safe, and most importantly, content at worst and happy at best."

"Oh!! I...uh..." Bryanna shoved back her chair and tried to rise to her feet to bow properly, Moonstream waving her back in her seat with a shake of her head. "My apologies, Superior Dedicate," stumbled on the healer with a blush. "I...didn't realize who you were, as we've never formally met..."

"I do not expect every student who visits these buildings to know who I am by sight, or even to recognize my name," replied Moonstream with slight nod. "That would be asking too much and placing far too much weight on my own importance. Each Superior is well-known within their own grounds, past that they are not different than any other man or woman who traverses these lands." She nodded again to herself, as if confirming all the more to herself, before she went on. "Now, back to my earlier question...is there something you need help with, Healer Bryanna? I know you know what I am referring to, and you don't have to tell me if you don't wish to, but if you ever need someone to talk to I am here and willing to listen."

"It's just the stress of trying for our Masters, and becoming fully credentialed mages," replied Bryanna with a slight, forced smile. "That and this paper we have to write...it is hard to concentrate through it all, that's it."

"I understand that." Moonstream dipped her head knowingly, rising with an ethereal grace. "Well, then, if you're sure that's all it is..."

"I'm sure," replied Bryanna firmly, trying to put as much conviction behind her words as she could.

"Then I will leave you to your studying, and suggest that if you find yourself...stuck then to check over in that corner of books on mage's papers from the past and compare yours to theirs," said Moonstream as she bowed slightly, Bryanna rising quickly and bowing more formally in return as the Dedicate Superior wandered off through the rows of books and back to whatever it was they'd been doing before.

Bryanna sighed, and then placed a tighter clamp on her emotions inside. It would not do to have someone else feel her unease and start bringing up more questions about her and her two companions, not at all.

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Ben tottered under the load he bore, adjusting the bar that lay across his shoulders as best he could without spilling the water that filled the buckets to the brim on either side. Taking step after step, he focused on the tile pattern on the floor so as to forget the ache of his shoulders and the leaden numbness of his arms.

Rounding a corner, he kept his head down and was surprised to find himself hit something rather solid and topple backwards, nearly making him fall as well as he stumbled back a few steps, only spilling a bit of water as he righted himself. Looking up he saw the Master's son lying there on the floor looking rather stunned, groaning as he sat up slowly.

"Ugh...gotta watch where I'm going..."

"I'm sorry!!" apologized Ben immediately as he set the water down and helped the young boy to his feet, dusting off his jacket and straightening his shirt like he'd seen the other servants do as quickly as he could. "See? No harm done! I was just doing my job and didn't see you there sir..."

"You can quit babbling like on of those mindless idiots who fawn over my father now," replied the boy as he brushed Ben's hands away, fixing his clothes himself, though grudgingly so as he hated to wear them. Ben shrugged and went back to his buckets, surprised when he felt a hand grab his sleeve and hold him in place

"Say, you look to be about my age," said the son amiably. "And I know I've seen you somewhere around here before, though I'm still fairly sure you're new around here. Do you want to come and play with me?"

"Play?" Ben gave him a strange look as he slid back towards his buckets with the bar. "My apologies, sir, but I have work to do. There's no time to play in a servant's life until the chores are done and the Master's in bed." He coughed and added quickly, "No disrespect meant, sir."

"None taken. Why's that?" asked the son curiously.

"Because that's the only time you're guaranteed that whatever it is you're doing won't be interrupted," replied Ben, immediately regretting it as he slapped his hand over his mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean any disrespect towards you or your father..."

"No, that's alright. It's probably very true, too," said the son with a laugh. "You're funny, though. Come on, I've got some neat stuff Father just bought me and no one to talk to...I could order the rest of the servants to take care of your jobs if you want. It could be a like a holiday for you."

"Thank you, sir, but I couldn't. Servants don't get holiday's." Ben picked up the bar with the water buckets and gave the son a grin and a slight nod. "It wouldn't be fair after all. And I think it's what my sister would want me to do if she were here. It's my duty to the Master, after all."

"You don't act like the rest of the servants do," observed the young man as he studied Ben quizzically. "What's your name, boy?"

"...Ben," replied the performer-turned-servant hesitantly. "Now please, sir, cook is waiting for her water..."

"Go on, then, maybe I'll get to see you again later." The boy disappeared down the way Ben had come from as Ben turned and continued on his way. Nobles, he thought as he shuffled along. There was just some things those rich folk would never understand.

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Brenna frowned as she surveyed what there was of her crop. Three weeks had passed since the seed had gone into the ground, and only half the plants had come up since then. Half of the half that had come up where half the height they were supposed to be, and the half of the half that were the right size had large, black spots on them that Brenna couldn't identify for the life of here. They looked like rotting spots, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with them other than the fact that they were discolored. In fact, other than being discolored, for now they seemed to be relatively healthy.

"How's things looking?" asked Cheeks as he came out and stood beside her, drenched in sweat from his day-long chore of plowing up the weedy fields with their wooden roots. "I mean, at least something's growing, right?"

"Yeah, part of it's growing," replied Brenna with a shrug. "But these spots...they don't feel right, you know what I mean? We took one in yesterday and cut it up to see what we could find out. Other than being black, it doesn't seem to be harming the plant, but I can't help but feel that something is seriously wrong..."

"It could be connected to the other seeds," offered Cheeks with a shrug. "I mean, didn't half the ones you and Jem got ready and sorted out turn to black dust when you opened the packages for the first time this spring? It could have been a disease they caught late last year and didn't effect them all the way until they started to grow."

"Yeah, that's what I thought but when I got out the garden seeds that I sorted by myself none of them were shriveled or turned to black dust," replied Brenna in a frustrated manner. "They were given the same compost, the same water, the same sun, the same weeding...if one set of plants caught something, the other ones should've too."

"Maybe it only affects wheat," suggested Cheeks, which is what their current crop was of.

"Those weeds had the same black spots though," she sighed in return. "I don't know...I just hope we have enough healthy stuff to where we can get by another winter in relative comfort and figure out what it was that happened next time around.

Cheeks glanced at her in surprise. "Next time around?? We're going to be here that long?!"

"Cheeks, I was Tortall over five years," replied Brenna with a slow grin. "And if that has any bearing on how long we'll be here this time, then we're going to be here another four years at least before you see North Carolina again."

"I think I'm going to kill myself...please excuse me while I go bash my head into a wall for the next hour..."

"Oh, poor Cheeks..."

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Alyse and Landon sat across from each other by the campfire, one fixing dinner while their partner checked the premises and the other did a scan of the surrounding area. "Feel anything at all?" prodded Landon as he pulled the pot from over the fire, checking it's contents before placing it on again. "You've got time before we'll have any food ready to eat, I'm just asking..."

"I....well...hang on..." Alyse pulled herself into a full trance, tracing a faint pulse she felt far south of them. Coming upon it in her magical self, she confirmed the location and pushed herself back into her body, coming awake to find a curious Landon and Revlis staring at her with half-finished bowls of stew in their hands.

"Sorry we didn't wait for you," said Landon as he dipped her a bowl and handed it to her with a spoon. "But you, uh, tranced longer than you thought you were going to be."

Alyse looked at the sun and was surprised to find it had long since gone below the edge of the horizon. "Oh wow...I guess I did...sorry..."

"S'ok, what did you find?"

"Unmagic."

"Duh," said Revlis as she rolled her eyes. "What kind of unmagic? Where was it? How much was there??"

"Only a very small amount, though I got the feeling from it that while it wasn't completely inert, it wasn't active either. Sort of like a very slowly growing plant...it's south of Summersea, which means we'll have to follow the shore to get to it the fastest." Alyse chewed on a particularly tough piece of beef thoughtfully. "Hm...this isn't bad. What did you say it was, Landon?"

"Beef stew." Landon drank down the rest of his broth happily.

"Well, yeah, even I can see that. What kind?"

"Oh, some kind my mom made up." He shrugged offhandedly. "It's made with the broth we picked up at the farmer's house, the beef we got the other day, and a few vegetables boiled for awhile. I didn't think it would turn out this good, but I'm glad it did. Now we know something that works."

"I take that as a pointed comment towards my cooking," said Revlis dourly as she finished the rest of her own soup.

"Not our fault that your bread was burnt beyond recognition and the 'pasties' completely inedible," pointed out Alyse around a bite of stew.

"Ouch...you're really not pulling your punches, are you?"

"Nope, not with you."

"I thought girls were supposed to stick together!"

"I'm a young woman and you're part panther, I don't think we exactly qualify as 'girls'."

"I would!" Two sets of annoyed eyes turned on Landon who suddenly became very interested in his soup. "Ok...I'm just gonna sit here and eat quietly...please don't hurt me..."

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Kristen sliced the bread as Jon boiled two separate pots of water on the stove, one for the potatoes and the other for the sauce that would go over them once they were done. Cam came speeding by and set the table, the others slowly coming home or down to the kitchen to do their part of the evening meal.

Chris got out the extra chairs from the hooks on the wall and put them in their places, expanding the table with a leaf as well so as to make room for them all. There wasn't enough room in the kitchen to keep the table and chairs out like that all the time, and since dinner was the only meal they ate together on a regular basis it made sense only to bring it all out for that one meal a day.

Matt and Mike, in their usual fashion, brought up a small keg of ale from the cellar below and knocked it open, pouring themselves and Jon a drink to have with their evening supper. After doing so they took over turning the spit with the meat in the fireplace, leaving Came to finish setting the table and cleaning up things in general in the kitchen like people's boots that were left randomly by chairs and placing them neatly by the door or sweeping up the floor a bit.

"How's the orders coming?" asked Kristen as Chris finished his job, dragging his chair to sit by the fire with a sigh.

"Very well, actually, seems most everyone needs new cabinets and stuff, and I'm just the man to do the job!" Chris laughed to himself as he hung up his pouch with its tools on their hook from where he sat. "It'll bring in a nice bit of cash, and we can use that to buy more lumber so I can add that side room that Matt's been bugging me to add..."

"Not a room so much as just a really large closet," explained Matt quickly. "I don't think keeping all of our REAL weapons out in the open is such a good idea with all the kids that run around here on a daily basis. I think we should keep all the life steel on their own racks back here where they're not liable to get to them."

"Seeing as we've only managed to replace half of what we lost in the fire as of yet, I wouldn't worry about that too much until we've gotten the rest," replied Kristen with a shrug. "Though building the roof might cost less than paying for all those weapons, so if you want to do that first go right ahead."

"Cool, I'll get on it when I have time..."

"I'm sure you will."

"Hey," said Jon as he drained the boiling water from one pot to another, using a strain so the potatoes wouldn't go with it. "Anyone know exactly when we're meeting with-"

*RUMBLE*

"AHH!!"

Everyone scrambled for something to hold on to as the ground lurched and rolled underneath their feet, the house remaining intact but several things that weren't nailed to the ground falling over and making a mess. Jon cried out as he tripped over his own feet and splashed the boiling water all down his front.

"Holy CRAP!!!"

"Jon!!" Cam grabbed the cold water bucket and poured it down Jon's front, drenching the rest of him quite thoroughly in the honest attempt to cool his burns.

"Jon, are you alright??" asked Matt as he knelt by Jon's side, Cam running for some towels as Kristen's command and Chris digging the medicine chest out of the cabinet.

"I'm in a lot of pain, and very cold and wet..." replied Jon through his clenched jaw. "Ahh...it's been awhile since I burned myself..." Between the three of them they got Jon's shirt off and inspected his burns, a borderline two to three degree that spread from the top of his chest to his bellybutton and over his biceps.

"Nice one," snorted Matt as he pulled out a burn salve in a little clay pot and some clean bandages. "What, you don't have enough manly scars as is?"

"This won't scar," replied Jon with a hiss as Matt began to apply the salve as carefully as he could, Mike bringing Jon a flask of strong ale and Kristen and Cam cleaning up the mess he made with all the water. "It'll just hurt like hell for awhile, is all..."

"Hold still..."

"Well, there goes dinner," sighed Kristen as she cleaned up the last of the potatoes and water. "Come on, Cam, he'll be fine." She surveyed the danger zone the kitchen had become and sighed. "But this place won't be if we don't clean it up. Let's go..."

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Tanner had a mixed look on his face as they put back out to see, their ship completely fixed of any possible damages, restocked with foodstuffs and extra supplies, and with half a new crew. Between he, Trevor, and Jennifer they'd picked young men and women who loved the see as much as he did and would work hard to earn their bread to join their sparse crew. True, it'd be nice to have more hands on the deck and plus them being some of his cousins and friends, but he'd still miss the village and, in some distant parts of his mind, wished he could stay.

"Cheer up, we will visit again, I promise," said Jenny as she joined him on the upper deck at the helm, giving the order to hoist the sails and prepare to go with the tide as she watched her new extended crew scramble about on the deck below. "Besides, I notice you're wearing a new necklace, and looks to be handmade as well..."

"Oh, ah..." Tanner's dark cheeks turned a ruddy red underneath as he tried to focus instead on his task at hand. "It's just a gift..."

"Your mother told me about them before we left," replied Jennifer with a wink. "Congratulations. When do you plan to marry?"

"When I can get a ship of my own."

"Good luck, then, that might take you awhile."

"Oh, I know..."

"Who's the lucky girl?"

"Now that I can't tell you..."

"Ahh..."

"Cap'n Jen!" called one of the crew members as the sails were secured and billowed with the breeze. "We're ready to go, ma'am!"

"Set her for North-northeast!" ordered Jenny as she watched them with a satisfied smile. Being in command had a certain...appeal to it that she'd never really felt before. She wasn't a power hunger short person at all, she just liked being in charge, that was all!

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Bryanna and Olivia sat across from each other in Gorse's kitchen, the huge dedicate having taken them and Randy under his wings as 'poor, underfed students' and stuffed them full of his delicious treats whenever they would left him.

"I have decided Dedicate Gorse is the kindest man here," stated Bryanna as she started into another honey and cinnamon scone. "Mmm...it practically melts in your mouth..."

"Stop it, you're making me drool and I'm sitting hear eating one!" replied Olivia with a slight grin. "I'll give you this much, that man can cook...far better than any of us three can, you know!"

"That's why we're here eating, and not trying to make our own meals in one of the side kitchens."

"No, that's because we're too lazy too. Even if his cooking was the same as ours we'd be here instead of there, and you know I'm right too."

"Ok, yeah, you've got me there..."

"Evening, my friends," said Gorse as he sat down at the head of the table beside them with a sigh, his robe so stained and burned from his work in the kitchens that they could not tell what color it had originally been. "You've enjoyed your treats, I see..."

"They were very good, sir, thank you," replied Bryanna with her cutest smile.

Gorse just chuckled. "Oh, young lady, those are just trifles that I created to comfort those who cannot bake like I can."

"Believe me, they're very comforting," said Olivia immediately. "So comforting that I might have to request a few more..."

"Now, don't get greedy, miss..."

"I'm not," replied Olivia indignantly. "I'm storing up for when we leave again and I won't be able to have them for several months. You know, to tide me over while I wait to stop here again."

"You make a very convincing argument," said Gorse with a teasing glint in his eyes. "But I'm afraid we're all out of those and only have some apple and berry tarts left..."

"Those'll do just fine."

"Then you finish the scones you have left while I get you the tarts."

"We're going to be as fat as cows by the time we leave," sighed Bryanna as she leaned her head on her arm, pleasantly sleepy and sated from the food she'd eaten.

"Yes, but we'll be very content cows," replied Olivia with a grin as she stretched in her seat. "Very content indeed. If this place had some hot priests to go with the food, I'd sign on with them and never leave..."

"You? A Priestess? Or what do they call it here, a Dedicate? Yeah right," laughed Bryanna teasingly. "Oh lord, I can just see you teaching the novices 'the rules of life'..."

*RRRUUMMBLLLE*

"Hey!!"

"What the-!!!"

"QUAKE!!" came Gorse's voice from the back, several dedicates and novices who'd been going about their tasks sleepily regaining their balance as quickly s they could and running to the back rooms where the ovens where as fast as they could.

""Check the pies!!"

"The cakes are ruined....they all got toppled over!!"

"Someone needs to go check the cellar, the eggs and fruit for breakfast is down there!!"

"We lost a whole rack of ribs, Gorse, the spit broke and dropped it in the flames!!"

"It was only a small tremor, so get things cleaned up and report to me what we lost and what needs to be replaced for the morrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

Gorse came panting out of the kitchen, a frown on his face as his surveyed the minimal damage in the outer room. "My apologies, ladies...looks like plans are changed for tonight!"

"We'll leave," Olivia quickly. "Thank you for everything, though. We have to go find our other companion and make sure he's alive...."

"QUAAAAKE!!!!" Randy came running in, searching frantically until he finally spotted them and came sprinting over, hugging them both wildly before backing off and checking them over, running his mouth at a million miles a minute. "You're alive! Oh, I was so worried, so scared I might be left all alone!! Are you ok? Does this hurt? Did anything fall on you?? Did you fall over and break something? Why aren't you speaking?? Is something wrong? Answer me!!"

Olivia slapped a hand over Randy's mouth, replying quiet calmly, "I'm fine, she's fine, and you're a mess. Come on, let's get you back to your dorm so you can settle down....goodnight, Gorse, and thank you again!"

"Yeah, it was great!" added Bryanna as she took Randy's arm and began to lead him away with Olivia's help.

"Anytime, my dears! Anytime!"

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Ben sat among the other servants in the kitchen, eating his dinner with those who had served and listening to the Cook's tales of times past when things had been more pleasant that they were now. "Oh, aye, and den dere was da time da time we all got da huge barrel a ale...oh, da Master t'was in a fine mood dat year! T'was a feast for us'n servants, same as for da family. And dere was pies an cakes an candies..."

"We're looking for the young boy, Ben," said one of the older menservants as three of them appeared on the staircase. "The one who plays the flute for the Master's meals every night or so."

A hush fell over the room, even the Cook pausing what she was doing as all eyes turned to the short boy who sat on the bench too tall for him with a crust of bread raised and about to be eaten at that very moment.

"I'm him," he replied nervously, rising quickly to nod respectfully at him.

"You're filthy...but I suppose that can't be helped. Come on, boy, the Master would like to see you up in his rooms," said the servant as he motioned for Ben to follow him up the stairs. "Though what he would want with one as low as you is truly beyond my comprehension and understanding..."

"Enough with your big words, Virgil!" called someone from the back of the room as things began to get a little uneasy. "Either sit and listen to a tale or take the boy and get on about your business!"

"Oh, I'm going, I wouldn't stay down here among this rank and disorderly lot for anything in the world," replied Virgil snootily. "Come on, boy, I haven't got all night."

"Yessir!" Ben scrambled from his seat and trotted after the man, straightening his ragged tunic and trews as best he could. The nice clothes he wore when playing already lay neatly in his room, awaiting the next night's performance. "Sorry, I couldn't finish my dinner, Cook! Tell Nana where I went, though, please?"

"Dat I will."

"Thanks!"

"I said COME ON!!"

"Coming..."

Ben followed silently behind the two tall, strange men who wore a much nicer style of livery than he and the other lower servants had been given. Coming to one of the main halls, they followed it along until finally they stopped before a huge double door at the end of a hall with two guards standing outside of it.

"The servant boy, as asked for," said Virgil with a bow to the guards there, turning and leaving Ben alone with them before heading on to whatever his next task or plan was.

One of the guards knocked, and it was answered with an assertion to let him in. "In you go," said the guard gruffly, opening the door just enough for Ben to slip by before closing it behind him with a 'thud!' that made Ben jump.

"Ah...there are you boy. I'd begun to think you'd dropped off the face of the earth," said the Baron from where he sat on a low sedan, his son standing right behind him with a satisfied look on his face. "Now, boy, I don't bite. Come here, let me have a look at you." Ben came forward as commanded, stopping a few paces short of the Baron stiffly. "Do you like your life here?" asked the Baron suddenly. "I know it's not the life you're used to, having once been a traveling performer and all, but I did buy you out of slavery and it is only fair for you to repay that debt to me..."

Ben swallowed down the bile that suddenly rose in his throat as he hid the anger that welled up inside. Debt to pay?! Buy him out of SLAVERY?! He was the one that paid the others to come and capture him and his sister...not that he could say that to his face. "Oh...uh...I find it well enough, sir. There's lots of work, and not much free time, but I do alright..."

"Hm...a bit raggedy you certain are, but that can be fixed...your face is very honest, and that's a plus in your favor, as is your obvious respect for authority...very well, son. It shall be ask you asked."

"YES!!"

"Excuse me, sir," said Ben hesitantly. "But...if it's not to much to ask...what're you talking about?"

"My son has wished to have a playmate for the longest of times," explained the Baron steadily. "For, due to extenuating circumstances, I sent all the boys home who were apprenticed here to learn to be a noble outside of their own home and he has been quite alone. However, part of your day will now be devoted to entertaining my son in any form he desires. Your clothes are less than adequate, but the one good pair I gave you for when company comes and you play will not do for this sort of activity so I will have the tailor's cut down some of my son's old things to fit you. How does that sound?"

Ben blinked as he realized what this meant. "You mean...I will, uh, play with the young Master for a part of the day?"

"Yes, lad."

"What part of the day, Sir?"

"For his free period after the noon luncheon. Tell the cook and the other servants that if they dare delay you to this task I have given you, there will be grave consequences indeed."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, you may be dismissed, boy. Report to the library on the morrow after lunch for your playtime."

"...uh, yes sir." Ben gave a jerky bow and walked out of the room, past the guards and down towards his quarters feeling very puzzled indeed. "Now that's not what I was expecting at all..."

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Cheeks coughed as he came in from the fields, feeling weaker than ever for some reason as he tried to get his breath back. "Ack...oh gosh, I feel like the horses ran over me..."

"You look like it, too," replied Libby as she helped him take the harnesses off the horses and stable them for the night. "Go on in and get something to eat, I'll finish up here."

"Are you -*hackcoughgasp*- sure?"

"Yeah," replied Libby with a crooked smile. "I'm very sure. Go, shoo, get some rest before you hack up a lung."

"Yes ma'am..." Cheeks was still a little wheezy by the time he got to the kitchen, feeling like there was something deep in his lungs that he couldn't get rid of, a presence that wasn't supposed to be there at all.

"Are you feeling alright, Cheeks?" asked Brenna as she came in from the garden, wiping her hands on her robes before putting a hand on his forehead.

"Well enough..."

"You haven't got a fever, but you still look awful," decided Brenna as she took her hand away and inspected him some more with her head tilted to the side. "You're as pale as a sheet, though...and you sound like a chronic smoker."

"That's what my lungs feel like."

"Do you think you did something to them, like your Junior year?"

"An infection? I hope not, it hurt like heck for a long time..."

Jem came downstairs and went right to Cheek's side, giving him a hug before going into the kitchen to help Kaitlin carry out the dishes for supper.

"What was that about?"

"I have no idea..."

"Something wrong, Jem?" asked Cheeks when the boy came back out, bearing a platter of greens in both hands.

"No..." replied Jem slowly as he looked away. "I mean...I didn't do nuthin wrong, but...I dunno, I feel bad about you getting sick and still having to work..."

"I'm not sick," replied Cheeks as he took his seat, though the sickly pallor of his face and laboring of his lungs belied otherwise.

"Yes, and I'm Elvis Presley," added Brenna sardonically. "You're going to be early tonight, Cheeks, got that? And you might be staying in bed tomorrow if you're not looking any better, I will NOT have anyone dying because they pushed themselves too hard on this farm, you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you..." Cheeks rolled his eyes as Kaitlin finished bringing things out and sat down, everyone filling their plates as the meal began. Mentally, he added, whether or not I listen to you is another matter entirely...

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"Hello there, can we share your table?" asked a tall, wiry man with black-streaked gray hair as Revlis, Alyse, and Landon all finished a leisurely meal at a seaside port just south of Summersea.

"Of course," replied Alyse as she quickly moved her things back, making room for the man and his young, red-haired companion. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you. Come on, Trisanna we have awhile to wait before our ride gets here..."

The girl suspiciously eyed all three of them, before slowly and carefully eating the gravy and bread they'd brought with them from the stand not five yards away, all the other tables around them filled with people who'd exited this or that ship or where waiting for one to arrive so they could board.

"Hey, I know you," said Revlis suddenly as she'd been studying the man. "You're that Niko fellow...the one who can see all that is hidden or something like that."

"Nikolaren Goldeneye," corrected the man with a slight grin. "And who are you, miss, that you would know that much about me?"

Revlis shrugged, and grinned toothily back, making a discreet sign with her hands that Alyse noted out of the corner of her eye. Niko nodded slightly, his eyes straying to the symbol on her collar as if to confirm whatever it was that had passed between them. "You come up quite a bit at our councils," she said as if it explained everything, though Alyse was lost as anything. Landon was actually asleep, which is why they were taking such a long lunch, and was oblivious to it all.

"Ah...No offence, but I should hope you are only passing through," said Niko in an offhand manner, though his black eyes held a hint of fear in them.

"Passing through to deal with a very small spot south of here," replied Revlis nonchalantly. "Almost completely inert from what my friends here say..."

"They are Sensors, then?" asked Niko in mild surprise. "You have not had one of those in many years..."

"One is a Sensor," replied Revlis carefully. "The other...well, he bears a much more unique gift..." The young girl listened with hidden interest, obviously as confused as Alyse was though she would probably pester whatever it was that Niko knew out of him later. She knew it was Tris, the Weatherwitch of the four, and she had just been found and would soon be installed at Winding Circle temples for the next four years. That also meant the quake would be soon...they had felt a few small tremors now and then, but nothing drastic as of yet, she'd have to be on the look out from now on. Granted if Tris wasn't at Winding Circle yet, they'd have a few moons to wait until it did happen, but it did not hurt to be prepared.

"You don't say? What kind?"

"He's a Cleanser." Revlis said the word in an offhand manner, but the gleam in her eyes testified to her glee at watching the man's jaw hang open ever so slightly.

"You jest," said Niko carefully, closing his mouth as he put his calm mask back in place.

"I don't," replied Revlis flatly. "I wouldn't about something like that, not when I have to work with them on a daily basis..."

"That is very true..."

"Mommy, I wanna ride the ponies..." Everyone looked over at Landon, who shifted around in his sleep, muttering some other incoherent comments before sitting up suddenly. "I'm awake, I swear! I wasn't sleeping in class....huh?"

"You're not in school," Alyse reminded him quietly as Niko and Revlis smothered laughs in their own way (which consisted of shoving her fist down her throat for Revlis) as Tris just rolled her eyes and yanked at the curls which struggled to free themselves from the myriad of pins that held them in place. "You fell asleep after you ate and Revlis and I thought you might need the nap."

"Well, thanks, it did help, but I'm fine now...*yawn*...really, I am."

"I think that's our cue to leave," commented Revlis as she rose gracefully, helping Alyse gather up their things before heading over to the stables where the horses where being kept. "Good day, Master Nikolaren Goldeneye! I will mention to the council that I spoke with you!"

"And I you," replied Niko with nod, going back to his now-cooled gravy and bread with a hunger that was the only reason he was forcing it down his throat. "Safe travels, good friends!"

"And same to you!"

"What you were talking about needs to be explained," said Alyse roughly as she saddled her horse, checking over everything before she mounted swiftly. "As in the council, what the little hand thingy was and all that."

"Oh, right...I did forget to do that, didn't I?" asked Revlis as she scratched her ear idly. "Oh well, come on, I'll explain it as we go. And it's something like this..."

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Kristen crept down the ladder to the main floor, stopping by Matt's and Mike's doors just long enough to make sure they were sound asleep (or passed out) before going on and unlocking the door to the walkway that led to the salle. Locking the door after herself, she placed the key back on it's tie around her neck and went on, letting herself into the salle with another key that she took from her pocket.

Jon hadn't given her a lesson in her 'elimination of fears' course for a week since the quake, he'd been to busy laying still and letting the burns down his chest and arms heal with the poultices the healer they'd hired had given them. The one thing he had done, though, was comment that she'd never get anything done without him up there to guide her so she might as well consider it a lucky break that she'd be off until he was healed. As far as his other classes went, she , Mike, and Matt had split up teaching them in turn.

Teaching classes while he healed didn't bother her, but knowing that he still considered her to be on the same level as his lower students, who couldn't run the course without strict supervision, really ticked her off. So, she was determined to prove him wrong. She'd been up to only a safety line and no harness by the time he'd been burned, she was fairly sure she could walk across the straight beam without a problem and no line! That's show him...she'd fully pass his course in no time!

Never saying a word, she slowly climbed the ladder and hoisted herself onto the platform with the greatest care possible. Taking a few deep breaths, she dared to glance over the edge of the platform and felt herself freeze slightly before shaking it off determinedly. She WOULD do this, and would do it NOW.

Holding her arms out on either side, she slowly began the process of walking across without a rope or the net stretched out underneath, putting one foot in front of the other while focusing her eyes on the opposite wall and concentrating on keeping herself in motion, no matter how slow that motion might be.

Zoning out for a moment, she suddenly realized she was on the other platform and not on the middle of nowhere, the fist that had clenched itself around her racing heart releasing itself in relief. She'd done it! It wasn't so hard, once you ignored the fact that there was several feet off empty space below and on either side of you. Turning around, she sighed as she looked at the next part of the course, the one with the small gaps every few yards. She needed to pass this one, too, if she was going to make any sort of an impression that she was learning to cope with her...insecurities quicker than they thought was possible.

Taking a deep breath to steady her frazzled nerves, she began to go across the next one, keeping her eyes focused between the beam and the wall on the other side so she could see the gaps without actually having to look down at the empty space itself. She had just reached the second gap, having shakily made her way over the first, when she heard a rumble in the distance. Feeling her heart stop, the ground suddenly lurched and took the building with it, sending the young hand to hand expert toppling off the beam.

Grabbing for the nearest rope that hung in between the beams for one of Jon's other 'exercises', she tried to brace herself on that when she felt it come loose, sending her plummeting to the ground below head first...

'She's here,' said a fuzzy voice, Kristen blinking as she stared up into a bright light. 'And now you have to finish your task, Little Brother...'

'Yes ma'am...'

Kristen sat up, seeing everything around her bathed in a pale, green light. She was still in the salle, though it had an ethereal look like this. Standing, she looked down on herself and saw she glowed with the same light, though the one coming from her was far more intense than the ones coming from her surroundings.

'What in the world...??'

'Over here!' called a voice, directing her attention to where two people stood side by side just a few feet away, both dressed richly in ornate robes that hung from them loosely. One, the young boy, she was sure she'd seen somewhere before and the woman beside him had a familiar feel to her, though she was sure she'd never met her. 'We met once before,' went on the boy nervously. 'Though you won't remember it, I sort of messed with your memories in that way...'

'Wait, hold on a minute,' said Kristen as she shook her head, rubbing her aching temples slowly. 'First off, where am I and how did I get here?!'

'You're on the in between planes,' replied the woman. 'We brought you here on a matter of...renegotiation as well as your life.'

'That makes little to no sense, but sure,' replied Kristen, rolling her eyes. 'I'm assuming part of it has to do with the fact that I fell from the beam, right?'

'Right,' replied the boy quickly. 'You're not dead at the moment just sort of...suspended between the two, ok?'

'Alright...so what is it you wanted to speak with me about?'

'My brother here, Devan, wasn't very fair with you earlier,' explained the woman with a slightly annoyed glance at her brother. 'Your fighting skills, which were a part of the agreement, where already imparted to you automatically, so he never should have used them as a bargaining tool. Here's what we need from you, though. You know a great deal about this world, correct?'

'Yeah, I do. What about it?'

'We need to lay a coercion of sorts on you that will allow you to remember it with your mind and affect what happens with your own actions, but never ever speak of the future to another besides those from your own world,' said the lady with the greatest solemnity possible. 'The spell is actually already in place, upon you and all your friends so they will not take advantage of that which you tell them. And you did give your consent to it willingly, but my dearest brother bent the rules ever so slightly and didn't give you your true deal. Granted he was dealing with an emergency at the time, but we shall mend that now.'

'Ok...' Kristen blinked, then shrugged. 'I don't know what I want, to be honest. I'm assuming that in this negotiation, I ask for something, you grant it, the spell stays put and all is well, right?'

'Correct.'

'Well...I don't know what to ask for, then.' She held up her hands palm up and sighed. 'There's nothing I really want with looks, I'm already taller, I think, than I was back home. Besides, I never really cared what I looked like, anyways. Magic is cool and all, but I don't think I could take being a mage on top of all the other stuff that happens around here. I'm assuming I could ask to be sent to another 'group' as Jon described them, but I have a feeling you wouldn't give a choice which one and while the guys do get on my nerves occasionally, I think I'd rather be with them than total strangers that you could randomly plop me down with. Besides, I kind of like it here and want to see how this all plays out. So you see, I'm kind of at a loss for what to ask for.'

The lady frowned, then smiled as she held out her hand and in it materialized a pole arm, one Kristen had seen before but only in the form of a picture Amanda had drawn in school one day. The shaft was just about five and half feet long, polished so it gleamed in the green glow of the room. One end was capped to protect it from wear and tear, the other held a blade unlike none she'd seen in real life before. Two separate halves extended from a foot onto the shaft to another foot beyond the pole itself. Three inches or so of space separated the two where it wasn't connected to the pole arm, and where it was bolts held it securely to the pole itself. Razor sharp from it's two pointed tips to the base where it melded into the pole, it was thin and light as it could be with the center sections cut out in the shape of the blade itself. Leather handle grips with studs completed it all, giving it a fantasy feel.

Kristen's jaw dropped. 'Mother of pearl...it's exactly like it...' She took from the lady's extended hand and tried it out, finding the balance to be perfect and the grips melding to her hands like they were made for them.

'Do we have a deal?' asked the boy as Kristen reverently checked every aspect of the weapon and found it to be lacking in nothing.

'Oh yeah,' replied Kristen as she held it to her chest. '...can I go back now?'

'Yes, though I have no doubt we shall meet again soon,' replied the boy with a shrug and a grin, all of it slowly fading from Kristen's view in a sudden wash of light followed by a darkness that swallowed her whole...

"Kristen...?" The young woman woke to see Chris standing over her with worry etched on his face, shaking her shoulder gently. "What are you doing out here, Kristen?! It's well after when you normally get up, and no one's seen you all morning..."

"Sorry," said Kristen around a yawn as she stood up, looking down at her hands with a smile as she found the weapon still there in her grip. "I had something else to take care of..."

Chris whistled as he took it from her, testing the wood and finding it completely sound, yet light and easily held at the same time. "Nice piece a work you got here...where'd you get it from?? It must've cost a fortune that I know we don't have..."

"It was given to me," replied Kristen with a smug grin. "In exchange for a promise, is all."

"You didn't sell your soul or something like that, did you?"

"Christopher!"

"Sorry, sorry...I was just teasing, I swear!"

"Sure you where..." Kristen glared at him as she took the weapon back and went back to her side of the salle, putting it on one of her personal racks there. "Come on, I'm hungry for some breakfast, how about you?"

"Huh? Oh, sure..." Chris followed with a shrug, still kind of confused but opting to deal with that later and sate his grumbling stomach first. If he forgot to bug her about it later, well, then it must not' have been as important as he thought it was.

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Jack lay on the deck of the ship on some coils of rope, he finally had some off-duty time now that they had the new crew, and as First mate, he usually just delegated the tasks that had been given to him to others who weren't busy at the time. Feeling the sun soak into his bones, he sighed and began to daydream about the girl he'd left back home. It's been so long since he'd last seen her, and while he'd seen a great many lovely girls since he'd come here there was yet to be one just quite like her.

She had eyes that were as dark as her skin, that laughed and teased him with looks alone when they were together. Her face was perfect, her skin just a shade darker than his own and her lips...he shivered as one particular memory flashed across his mind. Her smile was like that of an angel's, and he could spend hours studying her fine features alone. But it wasn't just her face that was perfect, her body alone...

Jack's thoughts continued along this line as time passed, him drifting into a pleasant dream where he was with her again someplace away from the rest of their friends.

"Hm...so nice...missed you baby..."

One of the dogs that had joined the crew with their masters came trotted up right about then, listening to Jack with his head cocked to the side before starting to sniff Jack's neck with his wet, wuffling nose.

"Careful....tickles..." murmured Jack as he shifted around in his sleep. The dog snorted slightly and began to lick Jack's face, covering it in doggy slobber in about two seconds.

"Wha...bleh!!" Jack woke up suddenly, putting up his hands to protect his face as he tried to scramble to his feet. "Stop it!! Dumb dog, get off a me!!"

"Down, Hashu!!" called one of the crew members between laughs as most of those on the deck took part of the merriment at Jack's expense.

"Crazy mutt," grumbled Jack as the dog left him alone and went back to his master, wiping off his face on his sleeves before attempting to straighten his rather disheveled clothes. He glared at Nicole, who muffled her own chuckles with her hand. "What're you laughing at?!"

"The idiot before me who fell asleep on the deck like a moron," replied Nicole promptly, flying out of Jack's reach. "Your own fault, you know!"

"Go get eaten by a fish, mini-brat!" yelled Jack as he stomped off for his cabin, everyone else quickly getting out of his way.

Nicole just laughed all the more. "No, thanks!"

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Olivia sat with her back to the cliffs that ran along the edge of the sea, using the cold of the sea she found there to cool just the air and ground around her, attempting to find a way to keep from baking in the summer heat without actually taking any clothes off or getting herself wet. The temple people frowned upon the first one, and the second was such a nuisance when she went to head back inside everything stuck to her like glue until she was able to peal it off for fresh clothes, which in turn just made her hot again. A thin layer of frost formed on the rocks and grasses around her, which all felt wonderfully cool to her overheated body.

"Mind if I join you?" asked Bryanna as she came around the bend of the cliff, a basket under one arm and a book the other.

"Only if that's some of Gorse's treats that you've got with you," replied Olivia with a grin. Bryanna just grinned in return, handing the basket over and sitting down to bask in the cool with her back resting against the cliff as Olivia's was. Opening the basket, Olivia pulled out a flask of some sort of juice and a few chilled, crystallized berries.

"Oh, this feels so good..."

"You've paid the tithe, you may stay," said Olivia jokingly. "Oh, being an ice mage SO has it's advantages..."

"Though, if you keep burning your power like this you won't have anything left for emergencies," replied Bryanna casually.

"Eh, that's what you're for then," said Olivia lazily as she cooled the juice with a touch of her power and drank it down greedily. "Mmm...only Gorse can take apples and oranges and make it into something heavenly like this."

"Yeah, he sure does have a touch for that..."

"Can I come in??" whined Randy as he shuffled up from another direction, seeing the frost and hurrying his leaden legs up a little bit faster. "Please please please please please please..."

"Shut up, and you can," replied Olivia as she closed her eyes and laid back even more, Randy coming and sprawling flat on his back with his head on her lap. It was too hot even in her cooled ring to argue or even talk, all of them opting to remain as still as possible. Bryanna halfheartedly read her book, Randy dozing off as Olivia watched the fat, skidding clouds above.

It was the first time they'd been together without arguing or someone insulting someone else since they'd visited the black-robed master, and in a way it felt strangely right.

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Ben left Nana doing her usual after lunch chores, wearing the new clothes that had been left by his door to go to the library where he would meet the son and, supposedly, 'entertain' him for the next couple of hours. His clothes were similar to those who were in the village, just a simple tunic and trews with sandals that, while they were very well made and of better materials that his usual servant's livery, where still very plain and unadorned.

"Anybody here?" he called as he crept into the silent room, glancing around and seeing no one in sight until...

"BOO!!!"

"AH!!" Ben scrambled back a step as the son just laughed, but not in a mean sort of way.

"Got you there!" he said merrily as he punched Ben playfully on the shoulder.

"Yeah, that you did," replied Ben weakly as he breathed deeply to get his heart rate under control. "What is it you want to do, sir?"

"Don't call me sir," replied the boy, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "That's what the rest of those dithering idiots call me. You're Ben, and that's what I call you. I'm Artor, and that's what you'll call me, ok? I don't care that I'm the master's son and you're just a servant, for right now we're somewhat equals just cuz there's no one else to talk to, ok?"

"Oh, ok...what is it that you want to do then, Artor?"

"Not sure, actually, haven't had much of a chance to think about it. What do you want to do?"

Ben shrugged. "Whatever you want is fine, s-....Artor."

"How does going to the barn sound, then?"

"Um, ok."

Ben followed Artor as the young boy bound out the door and down the halls, forcing the servant boy into a trot to keep up. Going down several flights of stairs, and then taking the servant's entrance to the mansion out to the courtyard, they went up to the barn and then up into the loft high above.

"So...what are we going to do?" asked Ben when they got there, panting lightly.

"Haven't you ever played in a barn before?" asked Artor curiously.

"No, I haven't," replied Ben with a shrug. "My family...we never had a barn."

"What were you, then?" asked Artor, obviously curious.

"Performers."

"Really?? I bet you've had all sorts of adventures, then..." Artor smiled and went over to the edge where a rope hung from the ceiling tied to some beams. "Come on! I'll show you how to swing across, ok?"

Be nodded as he followed. "Alright!"

Artor grabbed the rope and backed up a few steps, getting himself a running start before he swung his feet up around the rope and sailed across the few yards gap between the two lofts and landed in a pile of hay on the other side.

"Wheee!! Come on, Ben! It's fun!!"

Ben took the rope and backed up just like he had, running a bit slower and holding on far tighter to the rope. "Here goes nothing....COWABUNGA!!!" He sailed through the air, heart racing as he let go at the last minute and landed next to the young master, rolling a few feet before he came to a stop. "Whoa..."

"Wanna do it again?" asked Artor with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Yeah!!"

"Let's go!"

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Libby sighed as she went through and chose those horses and cows they could do without and sell for what little profit they could get. Another harvest was out of the question, the fields they hadn't plowed up were now so rampant with weeds that it would take a year just to clear it off every root and leaf before they could plant again. With the present harvest half dead-half barely alive they'd barely make it through winter without having to look elsewhere for help as it was.

Taking one of the particularly nasty sows who had a reputation for kicking over the bucket but was deceptively docile most of the time for the market, she led the cow out of her stall and out to the yard where she was tied to a post with the other two cows that were to go. A mare and gelding joined them later, leaving four more in the barn with one so sick it could hardly stand and the other three in just slightly better condition.

"Are these it?" asked Rupal as she came out to the yard, dressed in her usual business clothes.

"Yeah," replied Libby quietly, helping her into the saddle of the mare that she'd ride to market. "Find good homes for them, alright?"

"I will, I promise..." She turned and road out, the cows and horses following her at a sedated pace.

"It'll be alright, Libby," said Brenna as she came up behind her, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders. "We'll buy them back someday, when things get better again. You have one bad year ever five or so in farming they stay, and it's best that we have it now while we can afford it rather than later on when the harvest the year before was not so plentiful."

"I know you're right," replied Libby softly. "I just don't want you to be."

"I can't help you with that, sweetie..."

"I'll be fine, and I have other things I have to work on," replied Libby simply, pulling out of her arms and heading back for the barn. "I'll be in for supper in awhile."

"Ok..." Brenna watched her go, then turned her eyes out on crop, most of which was slowly dying and seemed to be taking her heart with it. Things were not looking good for them, and they all knew it too.

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Alyse, Landon, and Revlis all rode into a small town sometime around sunset, quickly locating the nearest Inn and riding into its courtyard without the slightest hesitation. They'd dealt with the small bit of unmagic, finding it to be only some sort of pendant that had been easily destroyed and the taint taken from the unknowing master without any resistance at all. However, they'd immediately found another pool farther south, and had been tracing it for days.

"Ye be wantin' rooms fer the night?" asked the Innkeeper as he came out to greet them, holding Alyse's horse by the head as she dismounted gracefully.

"For the next three nights, two rooms, if you could," replied Alyse with a curt nod. "How much?"

"Naught but three coppers a night, five if ye want dinner. Brekkist and lunch be a copper each, and ye pay fer them when ye eat," replied the Innkeeper, eyeing them curiously.

"Done." Alyse fished the coins out of her purse, handing the man one and a half silver crescents, which came out to the asked 15 coppers, and led her mount over to the stable where they gave the helper a copper to stable and feed their beasts for the night.

Taking their packs, they followed the round, balding man into the building and were promptly shown two rooms on the ground floor in a hall off the main room. "Here ye be, jest tell me when ye be leavin', and if ye be wantin' a bath or any special services, ye'll have to take up the cost of that with me helpers," said the man as he handed them their keys and then waddled his way back down to the main room to tend to his guests there.

Landon glanced over at Revlis and Alyse in confusion. "Special services? What does he mean by that? Getting our clothes cleaned or something?"

Alyse blushed as Revlis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Landon, that's exactly what he means..." she said sardonically.

"Oh, ok...in that case, how much do you think it would be to get this stain out of my tunic? I know it's my fault it's there, but still..." He noticed Alyse and Revlis just sort of staring at him. "What? Did I do something wrong??"

"No," replied Alyse with a sigh as she dragged Revlis in to their room to keep her from tearing the poor boy to shreds. "Go get settled in, we'll meet you out there in a second."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"He's so innocent sometimes, it's annoyingly cute," commented Revlis as she dumped her bags on her bed and flopped down beside them. "Hm...a bit lumpy, but it feels clean enough. Though, I might take him up on that offer to get a bath..."

"Tomorrow," offered Alyse with a shrug. "It's a bit late now, and they may not serve dinner after a certain time."

"That's a very good point. Come on, let's go fetch the pup and get on out there for some grub!" Revlis had taken to calling Landon 'pup' as of later because, in her eyes, he was as new and green as puppies still stumbling over their paws and chasing their tails. Finding him waiting for them out in the hallway, they went together to the main room and found a table in the corner as usual, Alyse falling into a trance to sort out where to go next while the other two took care of ordering their drinks and food.

"What's on the menu for tonight?" asked Alyse when she roused herself again, taking the offered mug of some questionable substance and gulping it down quickly to sate her dry throat. Scanning like that always made her unusually thirsty. "Bleh!! For that matter, what's this stuff supposed to be??"

"He said it was coffee, I'm beginning to wonder myself, though," replied Revlis as she ran her tongue over her fangs lightly. "I think I might take him up on that offer of ale..."

"No, you're not," replied Alyse firmly as she fully cleared her head with another sip of the stuff. "Last time you did that you had a bit too much and began to change into rather large predatorial cats at random, something that got us kicked out of the Inn in quick order."

"Come on, I'll be careful this time..."

"No."

"Party pooper..."

"Did you figure out where we're going from here?" asked Landon as he drank down the water he'd requested himself, and thanking anything as he did from the reactions the others were getting from their drinks. There aren't that many ways to screw up plain, clear well water. "Are we even in the right town, for that matter?"

"Oh, we are," Alyse reassured him with a slight smile. "The spot is near the town, but definitely outside it's borders. I know we were given good reports of the mage that lives openly around here and generally is a help the villages within riding distance, but I'm fairly sure it's his place..."

"You didn't sense any other sort of magic around here?"

"None, other than the usual protection-good health-luck spells that are everywhere."

"Hm..."

Revlis twitched her nose as three plates of some meat, bread, and stew where placed in front of them. "Less talk, more eating," she said as she nodded cordially to the maid who'd brought it to them. "We can figure all that out later....hmm....not bad...."

"Better than the drinks?" asked Alyse under her breath as she poked the meat hesitantly with the fork from her pouch.

Revlis's ear twitched, and she chuckled lightly. "Much better."

The other two just laughed and cautiously dug in, finding it to be true and all conversation ceased for awhile as they filled their empty bellies to the brim. Life, even for an Unmagic hunter, was good.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Cam came jogging into the kitchen, sweat dripping down his face as he took the towel offered by Kristen and drying himself off with it as best he could. "Man, it's hot out there..."

"Where's Chris?" asked Kristen as she glanced down the hall and found the resident wood-worker to be nowhere in sight.

"He's got some sort of a special order that came in today," replied Cam tiredly. "Told me to tell you he won't be back until tonight, or maybe even tomorrow morning."

"Oh...wonder what it is."

Kristen immediately got a basket and placed in it part of the cold cuts of meat that were for dinner with some bread and cheese.

"Some sort of a carving, I think," replied Cam with a shrug. "You can't really tell what it looks like right now, but there was a real rich guy who came in just after we opened in a real hurry and he's been only working on that order since then."

"He must've been made a great deal, then, because he wouldn't take orders like that otherwise." Kristen added a flask of fresh water with crushed mint leaves in it.

"I think so, he got a pouch before hand of some coins and then there was another promised when it's picked up tomorrow."

Kristen nodded and held out the basket to the young boy. "You tell him he'd better eat because as big as he is he needs to and he'd better get some sleep too because he has to be coherent tomorrow."

"I will!" Cam took the basket, grabbed a drink from the basin in the corner and took off again, nearly running into Mike and Matt on his way out. "Oops...sorry about that!"

"Watch where you're going next time, squirt!" yelled Mike after him, turning around and grabbing a piece of bread and some of the meat, making himself an impromptu sandwich before they even sat down to eat. "Where's he going in such a hurry?"

"Chris has another big order, so Cam's taking him dinner," replied Kristen quite simply. "Couldn't you even wait for us to sit down, Mike?"

"Nope, couldn't help myself."

"Glutton."

"And proud of it!"

"Mother of pearl..."

"I knew I smelled food," said Jon as he came downstairs, trying to move his arms as little as possible while taking a seat at the table. He wore a loose shirt that you could see his bandages under, part of them already gone with pink, tender skin in place where the healed burns had once been. "Mm....you do alright with dinner, Kristen, when you don't actually have to use the stove."

"Shaddup and eat," snapped Kristen back.

"It would be my pleasure! Pass the bread over here, Matt..."

"Don't hog the meat, man! Leave some for all of us!"

"Can I have the cheese down here?"

"What, so you can take all of it like last time? You can wait until I've gotten what I wanted first."

"There were only two slices left last time, man!"

"I don't care!"

Kristen sighed as she made herself a sandwich real quick and headed for her room with a mug of water. Guys were such pigs sometimes.

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

"What's that?" asked Gwen as one of the new crew members, a young woman named Talia who could bargain a deal like none other, came out of her bunk that she shared with one of the other new female members carrying a cylinder of wood with an animal skin tightly stretched over the top.

"One of our drums," explained the woman with a grin, flashing her strong, white teeth genially.  "Come on, we're going to have ourselves some fun tonight!"

"Hey, I'm fine with that!"

Going up to the deck above, she found several others already gathered there, sharing in the berry pudding their new cook, Tanner's grandmother, had made up for them and playing upon other simple instruments that had been brought with them.

"Over here, Talia!" she called, the old woman laughing as raucously as the rest as her old fingers worked their way up and down the neck of a three-stringed lute that sounded very much like a base.

"Coming, Ma Tegan," called Talia back, taking her place at the old woman's feet as a few others took to their feet in the middle of the deck and began to dance. One lively tune after another was played, even Jenny allowing herself to be pulled into the rhythmic movements for a few rounds before she begged out on being so exhausted. Tanner and Tyler danced like there was no tomorrow, going through partner after partner, including Gwen and even Talia who allowed herself to be pulled from the musician's group for awhile.

Jenny had accepted one of the wooden flutes and was contributing to the tunes herself when Nicole, who'd been flying in time to the music all night, found Trevor seated on the roof above the main cabin, watching the festivities with an empty plate beside him and a contented grin on his face.

"Trev!!" she called as she landed on his knee, startling him for a moment.

"Huh?! Oh...it's just you. Hullo, Nicole." He laughed at his own surprise, then went on. "Do you need something?"

"Just wondering why you're up here, and not down there," replied Nicole with a shrug. "You're not sick or anything, are you? There's nothing wrong, is there?"

"No, I just don't feel like being in the middle of it all right now," admitted Trevor with a grin and a shrug. "That, and it's really much safer for me up there than it is down there with the rest..."

"How so?"

"Oh...well, I'd get pulled into a dance if I went down there," replied Trevor hesitantly, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

"And why's that a bad thing?" asked Nicole curiously. "Come on, I've seen you tie knots in the dark that make Jack dizzy, so I know you're not that clumsy..."

"Oh, I'm not clumsy, exactly..." replied Trevor carefully. "But I am definitely rhythmically challenged..."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope, watch." Trevor listened to the music for a moment before he started to clap along, following the beat for the first two or three beats before he missed it entirely and couldn't get on it again until he stopped and started all over again. "See? It's practically impossible for me to hold a steady beat or rhythm for more than a few seconds..."

"Now that sucks."

Trevor just laughed as he shrugged again. "You're telling me...it could be worse, though."

"How so?"

"I could be you."

"HEY!!"

*WHOOSH*

*SPLOOSH*

"Man overboard!!!"

Nicole grumbled to herself as she watched them haul a chuckling Trevor back onto the ship. "Could not be worse being me...jerk..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Olivia stuck close to the library, even though she already had her paper complete, and sat with Bryanna and Randy who weren't quite done yet, all three having great difficulty with keeping their minds on the tasks they'd set before themselves. Everyone had woken to the same, strangely-orange sky that morning, and the hair was so hot and close that even the most dedicated of Dedicates had forgone part of their work for the day and gone straight to lying about trying to just keep cool. Midday had come and gone, leaving them to wither in the afternoon heat.

"I can't take much more of this," murmured Bryanna as she lay her aching head on the desk, Randy's green face mirroring her discomfort as Olivia sighed and froze the counter top below them, cooling them all slightly. "Oh gosh...thanks..."

"Yeah, sure..." Olivia stood up and began to pace, restless and edgy as she felt something, she just wasn't sure what, teasing at the back of her mind. Not something she should remember, but something that she definitely felt was going to happen very soon.

"Sit down, Olivia," sighed Randy tiredly, rubbing a hand across his forehead. "You're just making yourself hotter moving around like that."

"Can't," came the harsh reply. "I feel like...I don't know, there has to be something that I'm not thinking of that I should be doing or something like that right now..."

Bryanna suddenly blanched, shaking like a leaf as she grasped the edge of the table. "Holy cow..."

Olivia whirled around. "Bry!"

The healer was white as a sheet as she looked up, horror etched in her face. "I think...something just happened. I don't know what, but I feel like several lives were just snuffed out at once..."

"Better them then us," said Randy practically.

"That's not all," groaned Bryanna as she laid her head down. "Whatever it is...it's coming!"

"What?!"

"I don't know, I just...it's here!!"

The ground suddenly rumbled below their feet, screams and yells from other parts of the temple reaching their ears as the ground tossed them all like rag dolls and the shelves on either side of them began to fall over in random directions.

"Look out!!" Olivia grabbed them both and pulled them close, forming a think layer of ice between them and the rest of the falling, tumbling books and beams, barely holding it up with what was left of her magic to protect them from the caving roof. Bits of wood and dust continued to fall even after the quake had passed on it's way, leaving them breathless under Olivia's freezing dome.

"Is everyone alright?" asked Bryanna the moment it was over, finding herself seated on the floor beside Olivia, Randy sprawled over their laps in a dazed manner.

"Best as can be expected," croaked Olivia, leaning heavily on her for support. "I can feel it through the ice...there's a few beams right over us that'll leave only human-sized spots of grease if we don't get of here before my dome gives out."

"Can you make an opening in it?" asked Randy as he rolled off of them, moving into the only free space there was with his legs folded under him. "We might be able to crawl our way out if we hurry..."

"I think so..." Olivia closed her eyes and sighed, probing with her magic until she found a spot she could open in the ice without bringing the whole thing down on top of them, working slowly as she pushed it back just large enough for each of them to squeeze through one at a time. "There...ah..." She fell back, the two of them catching her between them as she weakly tried to sit up on her own again.

"Olivia! You ok??"

"I don't think I've ever been this drained before in my life...hang on." She closed her eyes for a moment, then struggled to her knees and followed Randy who went out of the dome first, helping to drag her out with him.

"Ugh! Good lord, you're heavy girl!" *smack* "Ow..." Randy rubbed his jaw as a very annoyed Olivia sat beside him, leaning against a toppled table as Bryanna wriggled her way through after them. "You didn't have to hit me that hard!"

"You also didn't have to comment on my weight," replied Olivia wearily as she gave him a cold glare.

"Come on," said Bryanna as she put an arm around Olivia's waist and helped her to her feet. "We've got to get out of here..." Looking around, the once two-story library was now reduced to a large maze of rubbed that they'd have to wind their way through before they'd be safe. "This place isn't exactly stable, and I'd rather not be around when the rest of it falls!"

"Alright, up and at 'em, lass!" Randy took Olivia's other side, the three slowly making their way through and around the rubble that lay in their way. "Easy, there, come on, just a step at a time..."

The minutes passed quickly, but they managed to get themselves to a more open area where the roof was still intact just as the voices of others reached them. "In here!!" called Randy as he let go of the pair, trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. "Can you hear me?!!"

"Oh no..."

"Huh?" Randy turned around to see Bryanna turn white again, shaking violently just as the ground beneath them began to shiver. "Bryanna, what's..."

"IT'S COMING AGAIN!!!"

If they thought the last one had been violent, this one was nearly enough to kill them with it's shakings alone. The ground tossed and muttered, sending them to the floor again as they lost their balance and fell, the roof overhead beginning to crumble as they tried to scramble out of the way. The beams tumbled and crashed, blocking off all their exits as Bryanna and Olivia grabbed each other's hands, Bry slamming her healing powers into her companion and forcing it to convert into the magic the ice mage needed...

"Olivia, your ice, NOW-"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Ben slipped into the barn, going up to the loft in his new clothes as he waited for Artor to arrive as always. Normally they met in the courtyard now, playing out at the edge of the woods with a few guards to watch over them or racing down the unused halls of the mansion, throwing up puffs of dust with every step. Today, however, Artor has asked that he meet him here instead and Ben wondered idly what it could be about while lying on his back and chewing lazily on a piece of straw and waiting patiently for the other boy to arrive.

"Ben??"

"Up here, Artor!" he called back with a grin.

"Get down here, lazy! I've got something I want to show you!"

"Coming..." Ben rolled to his feet and jumped from the edge of the loft, grabbing a rope and sliding down it all the way to the ground. "And here!"

"Show off," chuckled Artor as he went along until they got to the horse's stalls, jumping up on the edge of one in particular where two, brand new matched black mares stood side by side. Artor looked at the pair proudly, then asked, "What do you think of them?"

"They're beautiful," admitted Ben with a grin as he held out his hand and one of the two nuzzled his hand affectionately. With a chuckled, he added, "And very sweet...what about them, though? Your dad said you couldn't ride any of the guard's horses, you know."

"They're ours," explained Artor quickly with a laugh. "Or, mine, to be exact, and I'm letting you borrow one while we go riding together!"

"Your dad bought you these just so you could ride with me?!" demanded Ben in shock. "But horses cost a fortune...!!"

"I know, especially nice ones like these," replied Artor carelessly. "Come on, I'll show you how to saddle and groom them and everything! I used to have a pony of my own when I was little and the stable hands used to let me help take care of her..."

"I thought noble boys weren't supposed to like dirtying their hands for anything," said Ben teasingly as he scratched the mare behind the ears who'd lipped his hand first, getting her to whinny lightly in content.

"Oh, hush, servant boy," retorted Artor hotly. "I'll dirty my hands whenever I wish to, you know!"

"Spoken like a true noble..." Ben ducked the fist that was meant for his head and laughed, jumping back out of the way before he could get himself kicked as well. "Not fast enough, oh noble one!"

"Get back on over here and let me try again!" replied Artor gamely as he jumped from the stall and stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. "I promise you I won't miss this time!"

"That's exactly why I'm staying over here, away from you!" replied Ben jeeringly. "I'm no moron, thank you!"

"Not, just a gutter rat!"

"And proud of it, noble brat!"

"Why you-"

*RRRRUUMMMBBLLLE*

Both boys were tossed from their feet as the ground underneath heaved and bucked violently, leaving them lying there dazed long after it had left them and moved on.

"Artor?" called Ben as he slowly sat up, holding his aching head.

"Yeah?" replied the noble boy as he sat up as well, blinking his unfocused eyes.

"What just happened?"

"I don't know. I think it was a quake...." The ceiling suddenly groaned, both boys jumping to their feet and scrambling out to the main courtyard as the middle section of the roof came crashing down into the walkway below.

"AHH!!"

"IT WASN'T OUR FAULT!!"

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Brenna stood there with Cheeks as they looked over the devastation, their faces and minds completely devoid of all hope. The quake had ripped through there not three hours ago, and while the house was still intact and the barn had only lost part of the lost, the fields were completely destroyed and one of the two granaries with it. Luckily it was the empty one, but it was gone just the same.

"It's gone," whispered Brenna as she sat down on a stump, feeling a deep loss in her heart for every living green thing that had to die. "It's just...gone. There's nothing left..."

"Shh..." Libby came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, Brenna letting a few tears fall from her eyes before wiping them away vehemently. "We'll make it through, Bren, at least no one was hurt..."

"Hey, I do believe this qualifies as being hurt!" cried Kaitlin from where she lay on her back, a huge lump on top of her head where one of the gutters had come off and whacked her while she ran around in circles calling for help.

"I meant seriously, dear," called Libby back calmly. "There's nothing that you use up there anyways..."

"Oh, that's right...never mind!"

"Right..."

"We can still get the garden through the summer," Cheeks reminded her optimistically. "That plus what we have left in the other silo, well, we ought to make it through another winter without too much trouble. We'll have to ration out the food so it lasts that long, but we can do it."

"We lost an entire crop of grain in 15 minutes," whispered Brenna as she shook her head regretfully. "Excuse me if I find it hard to just toss that loss aside and keep moving."

"But we have to," said Libby with a shrug. "We don't have a choice. Things aren't as easy as they were last time, but we are going to make it through this."

"Don't forget what we have in savings," Rupal reminded them as she came up as well, holding a kerchief to her lip where she'd busted it on the table as she fell. "If the garden comes through alright, we'll have more than enough."

"I hope you're right..."

"So do we all."

"We're all going to be able to make it, right?" asked Jem as he came out of the house holding his bruised arm to his chest from where he'd knocked into a chair. "I mean, it's just gone..."

"Hush," said Kaitlin as she gave the boy a gentle hug, having gotten to her feet and joined the rest. "It'll be fine, we've got Brenna and Libby over us, there's nothing we can't do!"

The two said person's exchanged odds looks. "Heh, I don't know about that..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Alyse and Landon sat up in some trees as Revlis prowled around below, the afternoon heat making them all wish they were some something other than their light-absorbing grays as the pair of students who'd been at the mage teacher's house finally rode off into the distance with no intention of ever coming back.

"This is as good of a chance as ever," murmured Alyse as she slipped out of the tree and down beside Revlis.

"He's asleep, like every other afternoon," confirmed Landon after he'd landed beside her and linked into her 'eyes' for a moment. "Let's go."

Like shadows, they crept up on the house and slipped over the back wall and into the house itself, no alarms of magic going off as none of them technically had, as it was defined 'magic' per say, but just gifts that they used. With Revlis picking the back door open, they slipped through that and made their way through the halls, Alyse trying to direct them but soon getting lost as the place was so saturated with the unmagic that she could hardly trace anything alive at all, even her friends beside her.

"You're going to have to do it from here," she murmured as they came into a huge hall, one with wood flooring that Landon's powers would be able to travel through. "We'll keep watch..."

"Ok." The unmagic battler sat cross legged on the floor, glancing about one last time before he went into a full trance and thrust his sword point first halfway to the hilt into the wooden floor, using it as his channel as he ran through the house and the surrounding area, starting out as far as his reach would go and working his way in, slowly consuming every bit of unmagic he found and reverting it back to it's original form.

"Watch out," murmured Alyse as she sensed something stirring nearby. "We may have company soon..."

"To your left!"

Alyse had her fan out and ready in the blink of an eye, but Revlis had already dropped into her panther form and leapt at the creature that had appeared behind them. It's hide was thick, covered in horny scales, and boasted an impressive pair of tusks, but it wasn't enough. Revlis twisted around mid leap and landed on her back right below it's stomach, all four paws outstretched and claws shinning in the low light as she ripped into the beast's soft underbelly with a vengeance. The fan-tossing mage nearly lost her lunch when the putrid stink of it's guts came rolling across the room at her, Revlis remaining in her predator form as she came back over and lay at Ladon's side, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I don't know how you take the smell," muttered Alyse as she continued to cover her nose and mouth with her free hand. Revlis just twitched her ears and whiskers in a cat-shrug, ears swiveling in every direction to catch the sound of any nearby surprises waiting to spring on them like the last time.

Landon suddenly removed his blade, sweating profusely as he fell flat on his back, breathing heavily.

"Lan??"

"I'm fine," he whispered, grunting with effort as he raised himself back up. "But there's something come, it nearly sent me flying when I hit it in my magical form, I'd hate to see what it would do to me in my physical..."

"What was it?" asked Alyse as she helped him to his feet and they headed for the nearly exit. "What did it look like?!"

"A wave, sort of, only a whole lot bigger and more demented than any I've ever seen."

"Oh, gees, this is gonna hurt...get out of here, now!" Alyse herself used her fan and broke through a window, jumping out to the outside just as the first of the 'wave' hit them, sending the trio tumbling to the ground as the other two jumped out after her at the same time.

"AHH!!!"

Revlis went back to her human form in mid air, landing painfully on her shoulder as she tired to orient herself and couldn't. The other two just looked on as they tried to stay on their feet themselves, helpless to help each other or even themselves as a black figure suddenly bolted from the house, running off to the woods far to their right.

"There he went, get him!!" They tried to run around the house and were blocked as it caved in, trapping them between it and the 6 foot wall as he disappeared completely out Alyse's partial-trance range. The quake left them as quickly as it had come, leaving in it's path the destruction of the house and loss of their target.

"Son of a-"

"What that tongue of yours, Revlis!"

"Sorry..."

"S'ok, just remember next time."

"Sure, whatever."

"What now?" asked Landon as he rose to his feet, Alyse playing with a few strands of her hair as she thought about it for a moment.

"Did you finish the cleansing?" she asked at last.

"No..."

"Then we finish that and destroy this place," she replied quiet simply. "And as quickly as possible. After that...we're tracking him down."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Kristen, Cam, Chris, Mike, Matt, and Jon all shared one side of the giant table as everyone in the Acalon family sat down to an early evening meal, the five fighters and one carpenter having been invited over for a meal as they were every moon or so since they were practically living in the same complex, after all. The wall that surrounded their home and salle also surrounded the other homes on the property, three other mansions to be exact, with a huge courtyard that linked all of them. Theirs was the only one that didn't link directly to the other three, and everyone was fine with that.

"Your business has been doing very well, I see," said Gran'ther Edoar as he partook of the sliced fruits in front of him and passed them on.

"Yes, thank you," replied Kristen, who was usually the main speaker for them when it came to these occasions, the rest were too busy eating cooking that wasn't their own to do otherwise. "And has yours, as it was rumored that one of your sons apprehended a thief that's been escaping the guards for the past few moons..."

"Yes, he has did very well indeed," replied Edoar with an approving nod as a man in his 30's at the other end of the table beamed with pride. "Though, credit must be given where it's due, no matter how grudgingly it is wished. The skills he learned with Master Jon, he tells me, were most helpful indeed."

Jon glanced up, quickly swallowed what he'd been eating and nodded emphatically to Kristen. "See? My course does so come in handy."

"I never said it didn't," replied Kristen, rolling her eyes.

"No, but you think it every time you get up there."

"What I think is my business only, thank you kindly," snapped Kristen. "Stay out of my mind."

"Believe me, I don't want to be in it." Jon shuddered, and went back to eating as some of the others laughed.

"Good." Kristen took a sip of her water and turned back to Edoar politely. "You had mentioned something about a new student, though...?"

"Ah, yes, thank you for reminding me," said Edoar with an approving nod. "We have two more young ones who have been deemed by my daughter, Zahra, to be prepared to take part in your course, Miss Kristen. They, of course, can wait until you have an opening in one of your beginning level courses..."

"Actually, a few spots just opened up when we moved some students around last week," replied Kristen calculatingly as she tired to figure it out in her mind. "I believe it was Tuesdays, the morning class that starts at the 7th bell..."

"Wednesdays," corrected Cam, blushing when all eyes turned towards him, their host's in a disapproving manner and his 'family's' in a curious one. "I mean...it is Wednesdays, ma'am, for the junior class. Tuesday is your advanced class, according to the schedule."

"You're right," admitted Kristen with a shrug. "How does that sound Master Edoar?"

"It shall be done, then," he replied with a nod. "Thank you for such a prompt answer, though-"

Further conversation was interrupted as the room suddenly shook quiet violently, chairs and small tables being knocked over by the vibrations alone. "What the..."

"Someone right that lamp!!!" Everyone scrambled around, trying to do this or take care of that while Kristen and Chris ran for the window, looking towards the house where they lived and relieved to see it stood yet.

"Oh, thank the lord..."

"It was just a quake, so you can stop screaming your head off, Vani," said Edoar as he righted the chair he'd been sitting in and sat in it again heavily. "Pasco! Run over to the other house and make sure no one was hurt. Vani, go down to the kitchen and make sure the maids are alright...if they aren't run for a healer! Now!"

"Yessir!"

"Going right away, sir!"

"I don't think you should send them off..." offered Kristen weakly as her heart slowly went back to it's normal rate, her body tensing as she remembered the rest of Sandry's Book. "It may not be over quite yet..."

Her words were punctuated by a low grumble in the distance, one all of them could hear as the ground began to shift and move once more, much more violently this time as everyone grabbed futilely for something to hold on to, but there was nothing secure! The house itself stood firm, as did the rest of theirs within the walled area, but by the rumblings and crashes outside their walls, not everyone was so fortunate. Eventually, it moved on and everyone stood or sat there breathing heavily, trying to get their strength back as they slowly began to right things and get their surroundings back to normal.

"Come on," said Chris with a tired jerk of his head as he helped Cam to his feet. "We have to get back and make sure everything's alright."

"We're sorry to leave like this," said Kristen formally as she turned to the patriarch of the Acalon family. "Please, don't take offense..."

"Go," said Edoar with a rough grin. "I know, we'll be doing the same here shortly. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"We won't."

"Come on," said Mike as they made their way around the fallen and broken objects back to the front of the house and out the door. "Let's go make sure we even have a home inside that house!"

"We can only hope..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Jenny took the helm of the ship as she and Tyler took the night watch, he high up in the crow's nest and her steering the silent ship as they glided over the moon-bathed waters. Earlier that day there'd been a most peculiar happening, though Tanner said it was common enough when there were large quakes about. A huge wave had come from the south heading north, carrying them along in its path for several leagues until it finally hit a low spot on the seabed and was submerged enough to let them go and set their original course again. While it had saved them some travel time, Jenny still preferred not to go through it again.

Sighing as a brisk breeze played with her short wisps of hair, she reflected on how long ago everything seemed, even their coming to this place. It had not even been a year -granted at this point that was nearly one 19th of her life!- but in all, she realized time had flown faster than she'd thought once more and soon they would be celebrating their one year anniversary aboard this ship.

Only nine or ten months with those three brothers, and already they were like family to them! In a way, it felt strange to see and interact with people from her own world in this place, especially from day one. But she supposed that was from her earlier trip where she'd been alone for so long in a strange land...she also found it somewhat ironic that before none of them had ever had any contact with open waters, though there had been an ocean only a few day's ride away, and now she was captain of ship.

And, as usual, everyone had adapted well enough. Jenny figured that had something to do with the book itself and who's hands it found itself in, otherwise why hadn't they ended up with at least one person who couldn't cope with the realities of an alternate universe? There had to have been 60 people in the band that year, and they just happened to find the only 12 or 13 people in the room at the time who would be able to get through it sanely. The odds weren't that great that they were picked at random and all happened to be fantasy freaks or want to escape for awhile enough to accept it all. The book had to somehow sense who it was 'picking' to go in.

And if that was the case, why her? Why her twice, for that matter? Who else from their world had come in twice...or was she the only one?? What if she was, and the other groups were just as confused and ignorant as she had been when she first came in? She figured the book wouldn't pick anyone who couldn't be reasonably happy here, so it wouldn't be a total disaster, but it sure would be nice if she knew for a fact that someone from the first time was out there keeping an eye out for her friends just like she was. They'd all get together someday, it would just take time. Hopefully less if it was people who were just going through the motions a second time, maybe more if not...

Five years was a long time, and she wasn't sure she wanted to stay here that long and live to be 20 for a second, and then when she got home third time again. Aging and then de-aging again wasn't exactly something she enjoyed...

"Jenny...yoo whoo...you alright in there??"

"Huh?? Ack!!"

Jenny stepped back as Tyler swung down in front of her, landing on the railing without a sound and winking roguishly at her.

"Scared ya, didn't I?"

"What do you want?" asked Jenny as she just shook her head, taking the wheel once more.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok, you got this funny look on your face for awhile," explained Tyler as he shrugged, then hopped back up on his rope and scampered back on up as fast as he could. "Don't forget to stay awake!"

"I won't!" Jenny yelled back genially. More quietly, she added, "It's staying coherent that might be a problem..."

%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%~~~*~~~%

Randy woke up flat on his back, staring at the ceiling of a tent he was sure he'd never seen before but still felt strangely familiar as he slowly got his eyes to focus and sat up slowly, holding his aching head in his hands.

"Easy, there...drink this," said voice his recognized as a mug was put in his hands, someone helping him bring it to his mouth as he swallowed and almost gagged on the bitter tea.

"Ack...bleh..!! What was that stuff?" he asked hoarsely, accepting another mug of water to rinse his mouth of the taste. "Man, my taste buds have been fried for a week..."

"Willowbark tea," explained Bryanna quietly as she took the offending mug from him and filled the one with water to the brim again. "Drink that down, you've been out for a couple of days and in this heat you need to make sure you stay hydrated."

"Where's Olivia?" asked Randy as he slowly drank it down obediently. "For that matter, what happened??"

"Olivia saved us, though barely," replied Bryanna slowly. "She drained both herself and myself completely getting that ice up in time...and it still wasn't quite enough. You've got a nice lump on the back of your head to attest to that."

"Where is she, though??"

"Right here, numbskull," croaked one very weak voice to his left, Randy turning and seeing Olivia lying there pale as anything with a very worn look to her face, but completely healthy other than that. "Dang it, Bry...why did you get the full boost and I have to heal the hard way??"

"Because my gift is needed right now in tending to others," replied Bryanna with a weary grin. "Yours isn't, and you should get what rest you can so you'll be up and out of my hair faster."

"How bad was the damage?" asked Randy as he sat up completely and swung his legs over the side of his cot. He was still dressed in his school uniform, though someone had removed his boots and placed them beside his bed.

"Besides the library, one of the forges collapsed in itself and several of the dorms have cracked beams so they have to replace that before they can be used safely again," replied Bryanna tiredly. "Summersea, though, is another matter entirely...we've only got three healers here including myself dealing with the hurt dedicates and novices, every other person that can be spared is down there digging out the survivors. They say a nice chunk of town just fell in on itself..."

"Sounds like we'll be sticking around a bit longer than we thought," sighed Randy as the stuff Bry had added to his tea began to take effect, making him sleepy all of a sudden. "Hmm...I think I'll take a nap..."

"We couldn't even if it weren't so bad," replied Bryanna as she gave Olivia a teasing look. "That one won't be moving out of bed for two or three days yet, and when she does she still won't be up to traveling for at least another week."

"I can be ready in three days..." mumbled Olivia as she began to fall back asleep as well. "Three days...I bet ya...zzz...."

"Rest easy, you two," Bryanna murmured as she covered them both with blankets and went on to check the rest of her charges. "It's been a long couple of days and the next few aren't going to be much better, I'm afraid."

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And that would be a chapter 14, Just for you!! Feel special, please?? That, and review!! It's the really nice thing to do!! It makes us authors happy, and then gives us incentive to go and write more over our Thanksgiving break *hinthinthint*

Anywho, hope you enjoyed it and have a great Turkey Day!!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~

'Little bunny fu fu went hopping through the forest, took a detour over the highway...and got SMASHED by a truck!'