Thanks to all my great reviewers! You're all helping!

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Katie and Christopher casually strolled around the side of their hut, trying to keep out of view. The villagers would be suspicious if two people they'd never seen just appeared out of the blue, so they had to make it look as though they'd come to the estate from afar.

They crept briskly towards the dirt road leading up to the gates of the city. No one shouted out 'Oi! You!' or 'Who goes there?' so they assumed they were alright. They reached the road.

"Alright, we made it," said Christopher, stating the obvious. "Now we've just got to head in and ask Marius for lodgings."

"He won't do it without incentive," Katie pointed out. "Maybe if we agree to be his serfs?"

"Do you really want to live a serf's life?" asked Christopher. "Come on, I've got a plan."

And so they began trudging towards the wooden doors.

"What we do is this: when we get there," said Christopher, "we tell Marius that we are warriors, needing a place to stay for a while."

"Warriors?" said Katie incredulously. "What if they make us fight?"

"How well can you?" asked Christopher.

"I'm alright..." said Katie.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," said Christopher. "All we need is to get you a weapon. What sort of weapon would you use?"

"Uhh..." said Katie, thinking, "a pair of swords."

"Lancelot style, eh?" said Christopher. "Well, if that's what you want, that's what you'll use. We've just got to find a pair of swords..."

Their conversation was interrupted by a brusque voice.

"Who goes there?" It was coming from about them, on top of the wall. They had evidently reached the gates and not realized it in their deep discussion. Katie and Christopher looked up to see a Roman officer, dressed in full gear, looking down at them.

"Who goes there?" he demanded again.

"We are a pair of marauding warriors," said Christopher, in his thinned-but-convincing Scottish accent. "We wish for a place to stay for a few nights."

"Please tell your master that we have arrived," said Katie.

"May I have your names?" he asked.

"I am...Edwin, fighter from Scotland," said Christopher.

"And my name is Raven," said Katie. "I come from south of the wall."

The Roman nodded his head to the guard on either side of him. The two men disappeared from view, to go tell Marius. So far, so good.

Katie looked around casually. She could see the poor, hungry serfs gathered around their pitiful fire, in between all their miserable houses. And she saw the village elder, hanging by his hands on a chain from a pyramid of sticks. She felt a huge pang of pity for the people living there, but she took solace knowing that Arthur would free them.

"How is it, good 'Raven'," said the Roman, "that you be a warrior but carry no weapon?" Damn. He was observant.

"I...I..." stammered Katie, struggling to find an excuse. She had been taken off-guard by the question.

"She lost them in battle," Christopher answered for her. "We fought a group of bandits on our way here. We killed three of them, but the rest fled – not before filching Raven's pair of swords, though."

"I see," said the Roman. "I am Tiberius. I will ensure, if it pleases his grace, that you will receive replacements."

"Thank you," said Katie, grateful to Christopher.

The wooden doors opened and Marius strolled out, accompanied by four Roman footmen. He was a squat little man – Christopher and Katie were almost taller than he was.

"Ah, finally, some relief in these forgotten parts," Marius began cheerfully, but stopped when he caught sight of them and their ragged clothing.

Marius looked them up and down, an expression of disdain on his face. "These are warriors?" he said to Tiberius, who nodded his head.

"I am Edwin, of Scotland," said Christopher, "and this is my good friend and companion Raven, from south of the wall."

"You do not look quite the type for warriors," said Marius, chuckling slightly. "Why, Raven, you have no weapon."

"They were stolen," said Katie.

"Bandits took them on their way here," Tiberius explained. "I promised her new swords, if you would give them lodgings."

"It all depends," said Marius. "Whom do you serve?"

"We serve no one," said Christopher. "But neither do we have any quarrel with Rome."

Marius nodded. "Are you Christians?" he questioned. Katie and Christopher both knew this was a Hobson's choice: they either say yes and possibly get lodgings, or they say no and get chucked in the dungeon.

The two of them both nodded in unison. "Of course we are," said Katie. Well, it was true. They both were.

"Very well," said Marius. "How long do you need to stay for?"

Katie and Christopher looked at each other.

"We thought a...week," said Christopher.

"And a half," added Katie.

"Hmm, very well, then," said Marius, as though he didn't like giving housing to such people. Christopher felt his dislike for the man spike dramatically. "Come, we will get you sorted out."

---

Kelsey only just had time to get behind the bar before she was faced with the man of the moment: Dagonet himself.

"An ale, please," he said quietly. Kelsey took one of the clay mugs, astounded at being faced with him in real life, and walked over to the barrel. She had never done this before...

She turned the tap, and the sweet, brown liquid poured from keg into the tankard. When it was almost full, Kelsey closed the tap, and what ale was still pouring out just filled the cup. She brought the foaming mug over to Dagonet and passed to him. He nodded his thanks and put a bronze coin on the bar.

Kelsey looked up to see Vanora taking her baby from Bors, then being pressured to sing.

"Shut up!" Bors shouted to the rest of the tavern, pushing Vanora out into the open space. "Vanora will sing."

Vanora reluctantly agreed (after having been badgered by Bors and the other knights to do so) to sing. She stepped out into the middle, cradling her baby in her arms, and sang:

"Land of bear, and land of eagle,

Land that gave us birth and blessing,

Land that called us ever homeward,

We will go home across the mountains.

"We will go home,

We will go home,

We will go home across the mountains.

"We will go home, singing our song,

We will go home across the mountains.

"Hear our singing,

Hear our longing,
We will go home across the mountains."

Kelsey sung the song very quietly under her breath the entire time, as she knew it off by heart. She also knew that soon enough, the man of the moment would be arriving: Arthur.

Sure enough, Jols shouted out, "Arthur!" and after that Galahad did the same. Kelsey leaned over the bar to try and see him. And there he was. All the knights walked over to meet their leader, leaving Kelsey a very difficult time trying to see him.

She could hear them talking, but could not discern any words over the talking that was taking place all around her, and the distance away. She quickly discerned when Arthur proposed that they go to the north and rescue the family, because Galahad, Gawain, and Bors all simply started laughing.

Soon after, the shouting began. Bors was the first to do so.

"...you think more of Roman blood than you do of ours?" he yelled.

Then the noise died down and Kelsey could hear Arthur's voice.

"Bors, these are our orders," he said. "We leave at first light and when we return, your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with – "

"I am a free man!" Bors roared. His baby began crying. "I will choose my own fate!"

Tristan's voice was so low it was difficult to discern what he was saying, for he spoke next. A massive argument ensued, broken only when Dagonet spoke.

"The Romans have broken their word," he said calmly. "We have the word of Arthur. That is good enough. I'll prepare."

He walked off quietly, and moments later the other knights followed suit. Arthur was left standing alone, all his friends having left him.

---

Krista and the sentry entered Novanti, and Krista got her first good look at the village. It was comprised completely of huts made of sticks with straw roofs. In the middle of the dirt road which led around it roared a fire, around which sat several Woads.

"This is the great Novanti?" asked Krista.

"Yes," replied the sentry. "What is it?"

"Nothing," said Krista quickly. "I just thought it would be more than this..."

The sentry pointed a four-fingered hand up into the trees. Krista looked up and gasped. Around the trunks of thicker trees were round decks of wood, with a round hut around the tree itself. There were rope bridges connecting the various decks to each other.

"Now I understand," she said incredulously.

"I must take you to meet Merlin," said the sentry, taking no notice of Krista's amazement. They walked under one of the rope bridges. The guard called up into the trees in Woad dialect, and a Woad up above lowered a rope ladder.

"Climb," the guard said simply to Krista, who hesitantly began scaling the ladder. The ropes and wooden steps creaked unpleasantly, and Krista was uncertain of whether this was such a good idea.

When she reached the top, the Woad that had dropped the ladder down helped her up.

"Thank you," she said. A few moments later, the sentry who had brought her to the village came up.

"Come with me," he said to her in his deep voice, and led her to the right across the ladder. At the first hut they came to, the sentry brushed aside the fabric strips that hung from the top of the door and walked in.

"Merlin," he said, "we have a visitor who wishes to meet with you."

"Send her in, Aclhai" came Merlin's raspy voice. 'Aclhai', as Krista presumed, reappeared and beckoned her in.

There was the man of the moment right there. Merlin sat in the middle of the small, room leaned up against the tree which protruded through the centre. There were a few candles about the room, lighting it.

"Ah, so this is our visitor?" said the old man, looking at Krista.

"It is," Krista answered.

"You are but an adolescent," he said. 'Well spotted,' thought Krista. "Tell me, child, what is your name?"

"I am Nomokis," answered Krista nervously.

"Nomokis, what is it you wish of us?" he asked.

"Well, I wish to be able to stay here in Novanti," she answered. "My village was ransacked by Saxons."

"Saxons?" repeated Merlin, in deep thought. "Clearly these are darker times than I had believed. Just when we believed we were to have our homeland back, for the Romans are leaving, a new enemy arrives. The Saxon is far worse than the Roman. It is undoubted we will have to fight."

Krista thought for a second. "If it would please you," she said hesitantly, "I am able. I can use a bow well."

It was half a lie, and half truthful. She could use a bow, but 'well' was reaching a little.

Merlin sank into thought again.

---

Courtney and Sharayah stood around, in their disguises. They did not want to do any...Saxonly things, so they decided to simply wait until Cerdic or Cynric or someone found them.

"Ooh, is someone coming?" said Courtney, standing to attention.

"I think so," said Sharayah nervously, standing as well. "Let's hope our disguises work."

Around one of the stone buildings came someone, but it was not Cerdic or Cynric. It was a great monster of a man, with long brown hair and a tangled beard. His eyes were as black as coal. In his right hand he clutched a massive sword, and the girls could see there was a mace strapped to his back as well. He was heavily leathered and chainmailed. Courtney thought he had to be seven feet tall.

The monstrosity looked at them both. He looked at Sharayah for a few moments extra, as though he found something strange about this 'man', then walked forward, turned around, and looked at them both.

"What are you doing?" he growled, in a deep, menacing voice that made Sharayah's skin crawl.

"We are...uhh..." said Sharayah, disguising her voice.

"You've forgotten?" growled the man.

"We – " started Courtney, but was interrupted.

"Oi! What's going on over here?" Another man arrived. He had shaggy brown hair and deep, hazel eyes. He was clean-shaven but for a small goatee. Instead of fur, he wore a dark green cloak. There was a thick sword in his hand and a bow and quiver on his back.

"Oh, it's you, Wulfgar," said the man, his square jaw hardly moving as he said it.

"Bariff," replied Wulfgar. It was clear that there was little cooperation between the two men. "What are you doing here? Run out of pants to sniff?"

"I was coming over here to find out who the Hell was wasting their time chatting with soldiers," said Bariff matter-of-factly.

"I am not chatting," retorted Wulfgar. "I am trying to put these soldiers in their place. You two," he barked suddenly at Court and Rayah, "join the rest of the army!"

Courtney and Sharayah nodded quickly and without hesitation began to rush over to the bulk of the army. They did, however, catch the end of the conversation.

"Bariff," said Wulfgar, "I know you're too important to kill. But I am the captain, and I have the ability to do whatever else I please with you. I can easily remove one of your fingers – or worse. I trust those are expendable."

Court and Rayah, terrified, sped off without further hesitation.

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What does everyone think of Wulfgar and Bariff??? I'll update sooner this time, I promise!