Shadows of Man

by Maddog3060

A tale of an alternate timeline, where a Peripherybased Republic has stopped the Blakest Jihad. But not all of the Blakests have been killed... FINISHED! Additional Extra uploaded! WARNING: Bad Language and bloody violence.

15. Chapter 15

The Kurrnaki warrior sat alone on his bed, which was at the end of one of the upper floors in the hospice. A trio of Hercor guards stood around him, though they were all just beyond arm's reach. The warrior rubbed his side where the crossbow bolt had impaled itself into his skin. The bandage over the area, made from a coarse analog to cotton, chafed his wound as much as being captured chafed his ego. Bloody creature. Why didn't they tell us that this place was one of theirs? He thought, remembering the night before last. An involuntary shudder passed through his body, though it was only temporary as it stopped when the pain from his wound intruded upon his mind. Or maybe it's one of those others they warned us about?

The entrance of several new people at the end of the empty ward brought his attention around. He scowled at the entrants, who consisted of two lupar, and an elderly gatón. His scowl, however, died when he saw the person that came in right after them. It's him! He recognized van Horn from the attack, and he felt a tingle of fear crawl into his belly at the sight of the imposing human.

Stop it! You can't betray the clan! He mentally chided himself as the group drew near. One of the lupar drew what the Kurrnaki had determined to be the lead guard away for a quick, quiet chat. The guard then turned and went to his subordinates and, one at a time, whispered into their ears some instructions. The Kurrnaki could still not get a clear listen on what was being said, but the looks on the guards' faces showed that they didn't like what they were told. Nevertheless, they stood aside as the human grabbed a stool and placed it at the foot of the bed and sat down. The other lupar and the single gatón simply moved off a few feet and into the middle of the ward, though two of the guards stood near the human, though still a few paces back.

What is going on? The bandit warrior asked himself. Of course, he would never give these people the satisfaction of talking, and so he simply watched the scene play out. He did feel nervous, however, as the human simply sat, and stared at him. Not wanting to seem defeated or otherwise subordinate to the other people in the room, the bandit stared back.

After about twenty seconds of this eerily quiet scene, the Kurrnaki felt even more nervous. What is he waiting for? Why doesn't he talk? These questions went unanswered, as he kept quiet, and so did the human. The latter just continued to look at the Kurrnaki intently, with the slightest hint of disapproval. Another handful of seconds went by, and the bandit began to wonder just what the other was trying to do? The way he stares... Even when he blinks his eyes, the intensity doesn't wane. The bandit found himself blinking more often than the human. He mentally chided himself again and forced his eyes to stop blinking so much.

Another half minute went by, and the human continued to stare. The bandit warrior felt his nerve slipping. What is going on?! Is he trying to put a spell on me? That last thought began to run rampant through his mind. What kind of spell? One to make me talk? Turn me into a zugart? He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear the frightening thoughts. The sudden realization that he had broken eye contact - and therefore seeming to surrender position to the human - brought his head back up, and he stared defiantly back into the human's eyes. He suppressed a shudder at seeing that the human had not responded at all to his break, save that he followed the bandit lupar's eyes as much as possible without moving his own head.

Another minute passed, and the bandit couldn't take it much more. "What are you doing?" he asked of the human. His words, however, seemed to fall on mute ears. He chastised himself for speaking, and again tried to hold out. But before another dozen or so seconds had passed, he spoke again. "I will not tell you anything, you know."

Again, the human simply stared, blinking at a very slow pace. The bandit looked up at the two guards closest to him and the strange creature, but all they did was stare forward, not even deigning to look at the prisoner. He tried looking at the others in the ward, but they had retreated to the farthest part of the room. They all sat on a pair of beds, and seemed to e having a conversation with each other, rather than paying attention to the tableau at the other end of the long room.

The Kurrnaki turned back to the human, who had not changed position or expression as the bandit lupar had turned to look around. He tried to stare back, but found his attention more and more divided, thinking about the human's designs rather than the task of returning the stare. Another few seconds passed, and his resolve again cracked a bit more. "I don't know what you're doing, or what sorcery you are trying to use but it will not work." He said with false bravado, trying to get a reaction out of the human. But again, nothing changed in the creature's face.

The bandit rubbed his hands together nervously as he waited another few minutes. "Damnit, what's going on? What are you doing? Talk!" He said as the time began to weigh on his mind again. But van Horn simply stared more, not saying anything. Again the bandit looked towards the guards, but they still stared straight ahead. What's going on? What if they can't hear me?! Is that what he's doing, placing me under some curse? The Kurrnaki's imagination was going along on its own accord now. He looked down the room, and again, found that the others were ignoring the events near him.

The bandit lupar looked back at the human, and he felt cold inside as those impassive, alien eyes continued to simply watch him, as if he was some predator waiting for the Kurrnaki to show weakness. The cold turned to panic as his imagination imagined the human as not a predator, but a demon, waiting for the others to completely loose interest in the scene, so that he could devour the lupar's soul.

It was another minute of contemplating this thought that finally drove the bandit to speak again. "Damnit, what do you want from me? What do you want me to say?!"

The human just continued to stare at the lupar; his eyes unreadable now, save for their intense interest in the bandit's face. The latter's hands began to shake a bit. Is it too late? Am I already in his private world and this is how he's torturing me?! His thoughts were running rampant now.

It was another few moments of this staring, before the Kurrnaki finally bent his head down and put it in his arms. "Please... Stop..." He took a look up, and still found the human staring at him. Again, he bent his head, trying to hide from the stare. "What do I have to do to make you stop?"

"Tell me everything I want to know." The human's voice, spoken in accented Lupari brought the bandit's head back up. The staring still continued, but the human's eyes seemed to have softened. The bandit felt relief that he wasn't being appraised as some sort of thing. Part of his resolve, however, came back with relief. "I- I-" He stammered a bit, his mind warring with itself between doing what the alien wanted and his duty to his clan.

Van Horn, however, changed his stare again, hardening his gaze and bringing back the feelings of fear to the bandit. The latter finally broke. "What... What do you want to know?"

Vilini was amazed as he listened to the Kurrnaki - who had identified himself as Raso - docilely answered every question put to him. All sorts of things the Kurrnaki were renowned for keeping secret, their camping locations, their towns, their tactics, were laid open before him. So much so that the maegister had called for a scribe to take down the information, and now two whole scrolls of paper was covered with information.

Van Horn, meanwhile, had sat quietly, absorbing only the basics of the data. He had let the natives ask their questions first, mainly because he already knew a lot of the answers, given that orbital observation can find settlements and trails pretty easily. Now that the Hercorians were done, however, he began his own line of questioning.

"Tell me, Raso." He began with a neutral voice. "What brought you to attack Hercor last night?"

The bandit squirmed a bit. "We... We wanted to get into the town's trading stores." His stammer and his body language, however, told van Horn that the bandit was resisting again. To that, the human cracked his knuckles. It was a nervous habit that had creeped out the natives when he had first done it near them; their hands apparently didn't have the same physiology to reproduce the effect.

And effective it was, as the cracking noises made the Kurrnaki's ears twitch, and he winced at the noise. "Now, Raso, why would you do that when Hercor locks its gates at night? And don't tell me you were just happening by and managed to see the caravan entering the gates, because you've already told us that your clan's main trails tend to go further north of here."

Raso squirmed a bit more, having lost track of what he had told so far. "Alright, alright... We were... Told to attack Hercor."

Vilini growled and lowered his ears flat against his skull in anger. "And who told you to attack us? Was it those bastards in Etaku?" He asked, indicating a rival town to the north that had skirmished with the Hercorians in the past.

The bandit shook his head. "No, no lupar asked us to attack you..." He trailed off and looked down towards the floor, unsure of how to go forward.

"A gatón had you attack us, then?" Forbasa, the lone gatón in the room, asked.

The bandit just shook his head, and van Horn had a realization that made a ball of ice materialize in his stomach. "It was someone like me, wasn't it?" He asked.

The bandit nodded. "They... They found our home village. They marched in with some sort of... Thing, that rolled on the ground like a wagon, but it moved by itself. They shrugged off our attacks, and then destroyed an entire house and the family inside." The bandit's voice cracked a bit as recounted the tale. "They said that, unless we did what they wanted, they would to that to all of us, women and children as well as the males."

Van Horn felt sympathy for the bandit, but he kept his voice neutral to retain detachment. "What did they want you to do?"

The bandit reached up and wiped his eyes, forestalling the tears that threatened to come at his remembrance of the event at his village. "They told us to move out, like we would do if we were going on a raiding venture. They gave us a strange box, and told us that they would tell us what they wanted us to do through it." He shook his head, wondering just how crazy he sounded. "Two days ago, they called to use on this box... I don't know how, but a voice came through in the accented Lupari that the strange being had used at our village. They told us that a nearby town had angered them, and they wanted us to attack it, to punish them, so they said." Raso again shook his head. "When they described Hercor, our chief tried to tell them that the town was impossibly hard to attack, but they told us to attack, or else." The Kurrnaki fell silent, as did the rest of the room.

After a few moments, van Horn spoke again. "That box, where is it?"

"I don't know. Our chief had it." The bandit cringed a bit, feeling that the human felt this information important.

"Where was your chief during the attack the other night?" Van Horn asked, this time forgoing neutrality for intentness.

"He was moving along our right flank, not too far behind me and my partner that you killed." The bandit said quietly, but without inflection or hate in his voice. We knew the risk when we attacked.

Van Horn felt a slight pang of guilt as he remembered the two lupar that had been killed, one by him and the other by Vilini, but it soon passed. "Do any of your other compatriots have such a box, as well?"

Raso shook his head again. "No, not that I know of. The invaders only gave us one, and some small things that they said the box needed to work."

"Batteries..." Van Horn mumbled. "I suppose your chief carried those as well?"

The bandit had looked confused a bit at the English word, but he nodded at the question. "Yes, he carried them, as he was the only one the invaders told to use the box."

Van Horn snorted. "Yes, that sounds like them. Little bastards are tech-stingy to the point of inflexibility." He said, mixing English words like 'tech' and 'bastards' with Lupari. He turned around and reached towards a scribe. "Hand me your tools and piece of paper, please."

The scribe looked like he was going to protest, be a look from Varner stifled the words before they got out, and the young lupar handed over his pen, ink, and a scroll of paper without comment.

Van Horn accepted the items, then set them on the bed and drew a symbol with the ink. He held it up to Raso when the ink was dry. "Did the invaders have this symbol on their wagon or clothes?"

Raso's eyes widened at the strange sword design. "Yes, on both."

"Then that's the same people I know. I just had to be sure." He stood, and looked to the maegister. "Where did your people put the bodies from the other night?"

Varner stood as well from the bed next to the bandit's. "They buried them in one of our fields, as is customary for bandits." He didn't bother to look at Raso when he said this, but his voice did take on a slight edge at the word 'bandits.'

"What about their possessions?" Van Horn asked, not caring for anything else but the radio that the lupar had had.

Varner shrugged. "We usually bury their stuff with them, unless we find it particularly useful."

"Then I'd like to see any possessions taken from the dead. I want to see if the radio is there." Van Horn said, using the English word for the communication device. Varner simply nodded and bid over the lead of the guards who had been watching the bandit.

"Why do you want to find this radio, Vanhorn? Wasn't it what drew the Wobbies here in the first place?" Forbasa asked. Van Horn turned and nodded. "Yes, by using it to transmit. However, by setting it on receiving only, I can use it to listen in on enemy communi-" He cut himself off after the natives' faces took on confused looks. Too many technical terms. "I can use it to listen in case the Wobbies decide to send another group of bandits here, or if they come here themselves again."

That got through to the group. "Very well. Follow Enar here and he will take you to where we keep such items for storage."

Van Horn walked out of the storage building, mildly disturbed. Around him, night was falling over the courtyard that sat at the base of Hercor's spire, and the gatón and lupar from the caravan were pitching in to help the Hercor lupar carry in their equipment and the spoils of working in the fields all day. Although it had only been a few days since the attacks on and near the town, notes of merriment wafted through the air as stories and jokes were shared. It was enough to rouse the human from his dour mood and make him have the barest smile.

So much like humans, yet so different, so optimistic, he thought. Add to that their appearance and general size, and it makes it almost impossible to not like them. Van Horn sighed, and walked towards the ramp that would lead back up towards the town proper. Of course, that likeability is dangerous... Potentially, it could mean all sorts of nasty things for them, if word of this planet's existence gets out to the Inner Sphere. He shuddered at the thought. I've read about the slave raids on Lincoln, and about the general barbarity and unscrupulous nature of people. Creatures like these... My God, rich bastards across the Sphere would try and get one for some spoiled little brat, not knowing nor caring about their lives or culture. Corporations and governments will want them to experiment on, maybe find some sort of advantage with their petty wars. The Clans... Good God, those that won't want to eradicate the planet as an affront against Humanity will want to conquer it and try to use them as slave labor.

Van Horn paused in his dark thoughts to look around, gathering in the scene. Change their looks a bit, and this could be any planet across hundreds of light years. But it is the looks that matter now, isn't it? He sighed again, and wondered what the future would bring. It's too late to just simply pass this whole thing off into the realm of myth for them. There's been too much destruction, too much interaction. Like very planet we visit, Humanity has put in roots, and nothing short of our extinction will eliminate our grip. Humans will be here until this place is no more...

So deep in thought he was that van Horn didn't hear one native in particular sneak up on him from behind. A tap on his shoulder startled him and the human whirled about, his hand moving towards the recovered pistol he had taken to wearing in an unusual show of paranoia. Fortunately for the sneaker, he checked himself before his hand got close enough to yank the pistol free of its holster.

Alexis took a quick step back. "Oh, I'm sorry Earl." She said, a bit wide-eyed. "I didn't realize I would startle you."

Van Horn shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, Alexis. I should know better than to stand in the middle of the courtyard and not have someone come over." He gave her a small smile to show he wasn't offended. "Now, did you want to speak with me?"

Alexis relaxed, though she didn't return the smile. "I didn't want to bother you. I just wanted to see how you were doing. But if you're busy, I can go find somewhere else to be."

Van Horn shook his head. "No, Alexis, you're not interrupting anything save some thinking I was doing..." He trailed off and looked over the courtyard, prompting Alexis to do the same. "I was just thinking on how alike your people, the lupar, and mine are."

"I will have to take your word on your people, seeing as you're the only one whom I've met." She replied to him with a light smile. The smile faded then. "At least, the only one who's actually bothered to talk to us..."

Van Horn grimaced slightly. "Alexis... I am sorry. I know that sounds hollow, but I am truly sorry that these things came to pass."

She shook her head. "It's alright, Earl. Really, you've explained it to us a dozen times by now." She then looked up at van Horn. "No one blames you. Well, at least, no one who bothers to think about all you've done for us, and how it is so different from how the others, the Wobbies have done to us."

Van Horn smiled lightly. "Thank you, Alexis. But now," he turned towards the ramp leading upwards to the town, "I need to talk to that bandit again. Something tells me he wasn't totally honest." He turned his head to look at the gatón. "If you will excuse me?"

"Actually, I was going to head up there myself. I hope you won't mind my following along?" Alexis asked.

Van Horn smiled a bit wider. "It would be a pleasure." He waved towards the ramp and waited for Alexis to move off before walking himself.

They had walked for a while up the ramp, passing some lupar who were a bit slower in their pace. Working the fields must be tiring, van Horn thought. They made polite noises as they passed the slower people.

About halfway up, Alexis cleared her throat. "Earl? I was wondering if I might ask a question?"

"You just did, didn't you?" Van Horn asked back with a light chuckle. "But seriously, I thought I told you that you could always ask a question?"

Alexis blushed in the gatón manner. "Yes, you did. But sometimes it's good to be polite, I think, before asking a question."

Van Horn simply nodded as they began the last leg of the ramp. "Some times, yes. But in any case, please go ahead and ask what you will."

"Thank you." Alexis replied. "I was simply wondering if, well, when you are not busy, might you be able to continue teaching me your language?" She looked at the human plaintively. "That is, if you still wouldn't mind."

Van Horn grinned slightly. "No, that's fine. I will be glad to, even tonight, if you want."

"You don't have to rush on my account." Alexis said, to which van Horn replied. "It is no trouble, Alexis. Really, after I talk to this bandit, I may feel the need to do something as simple as speak my own native language."

Alexis chuckled softly at that as they approached the town's upper gates. Two guards were standing by the doors, though they did little more than make chit chat with some of the native lupar that were walking up from the fields, or the few heading down towards the ground. All of them, however, took time to give van Horn and Alexis long looks, given the two's unusual nature.

Van Horn ignored their looks, instead concentrating on the doors, as he still had not had a good chance to look them over. He slowed to wait for the gate area to clear, prompting Alexis to follow suit. When a small group of returning workers had passed through the gates, van Horn walked up, nodded to the guards, and then looked over the door to his right.

"Marvelous," he breathed in English as he traced his hands over the carvings. "Still as nice as the last time I saw it." He said in Lupari for the benefit of Alexis and the guards nearby, who were giving him more strange looks. The compliment seemed to make them stand a bit more erect as their town pride was stroked. Van Horn noticed this out of the corner of his eye, and suppressed a smile. Instead, he looked over the figures more.

Finally, he turned to the nearest guard. "You there. Please, could you tell me about this figure here?" He pointed to a figure on the bottom right of the relief.

The guard looked airily at van Horn, but he approached and looked at the indicated image, which was of a lupar dressed in some sort of finery and carrying a spear. "That is Rekujo, one of the great leaders who led the lupar from Basun after the gatón..." He paused and looked over at Alexis, suddenly conscious of her.

She blushed again in her people's fashion. "It's alright. Please tell the story."

The guard blinked, obviously not expecting the nature of her reply. "Well, then, uh... According to the story, the gatón had murdered the old lupar king of Basun and tried to seize power, so Rekujo was said to have led one of the first packs of lupar away from that city." The guard shifted uncomfortably at the telling, realizing that he may have offended Alexis.

Van Horn decided to keep the silence from growing awkward. "I suppose there's a special reason he's on the gates to the town?" He asked of the guard. The latter nodded. "Yes, the town they settled, called Shanadu, is lost to time, but it is said that one of the packs that left that town settled Hercor- Are you alright?" The guard noticed that the human had stiffened, as if startled.

Alexis noticed it too. "Earl? What is it?"

Van Horn shook his head once to clear his mind a bit. "Nothing, Alexis. I'm fine, just, surprised..." He looked back at the guard. "Tell me, are there any stories about that town? 'Shanadu?'"

The guard blinked again. "I... I think there are. I never listened much when I was a pup, so all I remember is the big stuff, like who Rekujo is, and such." He shrugged. "All I know is that the town was supposed to be far from here."

Van Horn nodded absentmindedly, and then looked over the doors again briefly. He then turned back to face the guard. "Thank you for your time." He said with a small smile. "I think I'll leave so that you can go about your duty unbothered."

The guard nodded, somewhat reluctantly. Probably liked the break from his routine, van Horn thought as he and Alexis started off into the town. Around them the place was alive with people moving about, either heading home or going to visit neighbors and other manner of pastimes. Young lupar children ran about, sometimes barely escaping being stepped on and scolded because of that. Everyone, however, took time to watch van Horn and Alexis as they passed.

The looks made van Horn feel uneasy. The thought made him snort at the irony. Here I am, a scientist who's been studying them for nearly a year, watching them like some voyeur, and now the tables have turned.

"Something funny?" Alexis asked, though in Gatonese so that whatever they said wouldn't be picked up by the Hercorians.

Van Horn smirked a bit and shook his head again. "Sort of. You'll remember how I told you that I was here on your world studying your people?" He waited for her to nod before going on. "Well, now everyone is studying me."

Alexis grinned and suppressed a laugh. "Yes, funny in an ironic way."

"Well, irony, she has a sense of humor she does." Van Horn said in reply, which caused Alexis to lose her grin and look up at the human. "Irony has a sense of humor?"

Van Horn found himself shaking his head again. "Sort of... See, humans like me tend to do something called, 'anthropomorphize,'" he used the English word, "which means we apply characteristics of people onto things that normally don't have them. In this case, some of us like to make it sound as if the concept of Irony is itself a spirit or something that has it's own sense of humor."

Alexis walked quietly alongside van Horn, digesting the information and dodging lupar who couldn't get out of their way, as many did, not wishing to come too close to the newcomers. "That's... An interesting, uh, behavior." She said diplomatically. "But why call it a 'she?'"

Van Horn grinned again. "Because we tend to associate certain behaviors with certain genders. Since irony is a witty kind of an idea, we associate it with a female, who generally tend to be more... Ah... thoughtful." He avoided using the term 'plotting,' because of its negative connotations, and was relieved that Alexis didn't seem to realize the potentially mean-spirited nature of the idea he had just described. I would have never gotten away with that with a human woman. Thank God for cultural barriers, eh? He asked himself mentally. 'Course, most humans know that it's just the old ways of speaking, and we're beyond most of that old crap, so I guess I'm doubly lucky? Meh.

Van Horn's thoughts were interrupted when a loud noise came from a nearby alley. He and Alexis looked to see one of several brick-carrying carts had toppled over. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and so they continued on. Van Horn did take a look over his shoulder, however, out of curiosity. Lots of bricks. Must be repairing the damage they took from the Wobbies' attack, he thought with a sigh. His conscience still weighed heavy on his mind. Logically, I know there was little I could do, and what I did was beyond anything anyone would expect of me... But it still rankles me, knowing what I know, with all my training. Hell, with some decent weaponry, I could've taken those fucking VTOLs out...

A little voice in the back of his head, though, countered that line of thought. Yes, but then the Blakests would have sent a larger force and leveled the town, leaving none alive. You know that. Van Horn grunted to himself at the thought, knowing it was true.

The grunt drew Alexis' attention up to the human. "Anything the matter?" She asked. Van Horn looked down and shook his head once. "No, just thinking." He replied as they reached the small open area in front of the hospice. "In any case, I might be busy for a while, so if you want some company to the maegister's house, I could walk you there first." He offered politely.

Alexis shook her head. "No, I was heading here. Mikula was supposed to be visiting his older brother tonight, and I wanted to talk to him, hopefully." She looked forward then, her eyes crowing distant. "I want to talk to him about some things."

Van Horn's chuckle brought he attention back to the here-and-now. "Did I say something funny?" She asked.

Van Horn grinned at her. "Nothing, really. You just sound... Well, familiar to someone I know." He said. He then turned and began to walk towards the hospice. Alexis moved after a second's delay, and caught up to him at the door. "And who might I remind you of?" She asked playfully.

Only like just about every woman I've known decently well, van Horn thought to himself in wry amusement. Out loud, however, he decided to be more circumspect. "Like a few people I've known, who wanted to... Make plans of a long-ranged nature." He said, not looking at Alexis sidelong as he went through the hospice's door and then nodded to the attendant inside. The middle-aged female lupar nodded back, but she said nothing, still intimidated as she was.

Van Horn mentally shrugged and went for the stairs to the upper level and climbed up them. Alexis was close behind, and she waited until they were on the upper landing before speaking again. "What do you mean by long-ranged plans?"

Van Horn paused at the top landing, waiting for Alexis to catch up and also to compose his reply. "How do I put this delicately...?" He said quietly. Then he turned and faced Alexis. "Alexis, it's been impossible to not notice that... You have, uh, a certain attachment to Mikula." Van Horn said, his face turning red in embarrassment. Damn kids. Bad enough I had to go through this with my sister, now I got someone else who's clueless and vulnerable.

Alexis took a step back and lowered her head. "Is it really that obvious to everyone? Even Mrs. Farkas spoke to me, briefly, about... Those feelings that you mentioned."

Van Horn couldn't help but smile. "Alexis, it's hard to not notice when you and Mikula have such a good rapport and spend so much time together."

Alexis curled her tail tightly around her left leg, and her ears went as low as they could. "I guess my little action the night you two came in from the dead was even more obvious, wasn't it?"

Van Horn's smile grew wider. "Indeed it did. It was also quite endearing at the time, and I don't think anyone who knows you two could blame you."

Alexis looked up at that, and she gave a small, nervous smile of her own. "So a lot of people know about this?"

Van Horn tilted his head before replying. "Just about everyone in the caravan, I'd say. Maybe a few Hercorians by now." His smile lessened somewhat. "Though I think Mikula himself doesn't really realize it just yet...."

Alexis' smile vanished, and she nodded her head while replying. "I would not be surprised, since I was not even fully aware myself until I thought... Until I though him lost." Again she looked down, trying to keep herself from revisiting those memories fully. "Seeing that wreck the Wobbies made of your vehicle, no one thought you or him alive, and only then could I realize how much he meant to me. When I saw him return, I felt a joy unlike anything I had ever known..." She looked up at Van Horn again, her face close to tears, but she was keeping control. "I suppose that makes me sound terribly foolish."

Van Horn shook his head. "No, dear Alexis, it doesn't. Believe it or not, a lot of people are like you, and sometimes do not realize something until it's too late..." His voice trailed off, and he stared at the wall for a second. He then shook himself back to the present. "But you have been blessed with a second chance, Alexis. I hope you realize how lucky you are."

"I guess so..." She said and looked away. "I just wish I could know if Mikula thought the same way."

Van Horn made a surprised snort, drawing Alexis' head back around. "What now?" She asked.

"Alexis, one of the ways everyone can tell your feelings for Mikula is because they see them mirrored in him." Van Horn said somewhat incredulously.

Alexis again felt her tail and ears moving in her species' form of blushing. "I... I..." She stammered, unsure of what to say. "And here I was going to talk to him and try to tell him about the way I feel..."

Van Horn shook his head, bringing her attention back to the human. "Alexis... Although it's a good thing you want to talk about these feelings, it's perhaps not the best time to talk to Mikula about them."

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked, confusion on her features.

Van Horn twisted his head a bit, trying to come up with the words. "Well... Alexis, what would you have said if anyone had mentioned to you about what we all saw going on between you and Mikula? Before your little revelation, that is."

Alexis blinked hard. "I- I would have denied it, I suppose..." She nodded absentmindedly. "I see your point, I think."

Van Horn nodded. "Yes. He hasn't had the same experience that you've had, and so he is still coming to grips with his feelings on a subconscious level. He will probably need more time, so I wouldn't go confessing to him for now."

Alexis nodded a bit. "Still, I feel like I should say something..."

"Perhaps you should." Van Horn replied. "I just wouldn't start with anything deep... Just talk to him, about things."

Alexis tilted her head quizzically. "What kind of things?"

Van Horn shrugged. "Whatever you find important. Things you think about, how certain things make you feel - though again, stay away from your feelings over him for now." He sighed. "Just, things that you would like to talk about. That's the best way to work these things through."

"Work them through?" Alexis asked, prompting another sigh from van Horn. "Alexis," he said, "it's just that these things... Well, sometimes..." He trailed off, trying to think of some way to put his thoughts and experiences into Gatonese words, and still be gentle. "Sometimes, you may feel something about something - or someone - else, and these may or may not be... Something as deep as you'd want them to be." His face turned red and van Horn had to turn his head and look at the wall of the landing.

Alexis was confused, though she thought that she had an idea of what the human was saying. "You think that I may be... Infatuated because of how he's different?"

Van Horn nodded a bit, but still stared at the wall, red-faced. "Part of it, but the other part is our situation. Let's face it, this is not normal for your people, the lupar, or even my own. These things can... Well, affect a person." God, I wish I'd had kids, then I'd be used to this shit. "Just, look," he turned to face the gatón, "all I'm saying, is wait until this is over before you really start talking about anything serious, okay?"

Alexis blinked a few times, and then nodded. "I... I think I see your point. And it makes sense, to wait until things are settled..." Her voice trailed off, and van Horn could tell that she was still wrestling with her inner thoughts and emotions.

Van Horn sighed. "That would be best. Things are tense enough right now, without any... Other complications arising." He said quietly. He then shook his head and turned towards the doorway that led to the empty ward where the prisoner was kept. "In the meantime, I have someone I need to speak with."

Raso felt a sudden chill come over his body, as if a cold wind had blown over him. Strange, why would I-? The sudden appearance of van Horn through the doorway brought his thoughts to a halt. The cold feeling grew into one of dread and fear. He's figured out that I wasn't telling the whole truth, the Kurrnaki thought to himself. He unconsciously rubbed the bandage on his side, ignoring the pain as his mind ran over what else he could say to try and hold off on telling the whole truth.

Those thoughts died, however, when he took a look at the human's eyes. Instead of the neutral gaze he had had earlier in the day they now contained a look that seemed to less see the Kurrnaki as than to see him as a piece of flesh to be sliced up for the midday meal. Raso gulped in fear as the tall creature reached his bedside, hardly paying attention to the guards that still stood over the bandit.

Van Horn reached down, and grabbed the bandit by the scruff of his neck, moving so fast that the lupar barely had time to yelp before the human turn and pressed the wolf-man into the wall at a level where Raso's feet could not touch the ground. "Listen, you little toad," van Horn started, using the English word for effect, "I know you lied to me. I checked the belongings, and I questioned the guards. Hell, half the bodies hadn't even been buried yet.

"Now," van Horn said as he continued to press the lupar against the wall, seemingly oblivious to the startled looks of the three Hercor guards, "I want the truth, or I will get extremely angered at you." He pressed a bit harder against he native, using his own body weight to pin the bandit in place. "Was there really a box as you described?"

"Y-yes." Raso strained out between clenched teeth. His wound was aching as the human pressed him into the stone wall.

"So where is it? Either you lied about who had it, or you lied about who we killed the other night." Van Horn said quietly, but with menace. "So, which was it?"

Raso grunted before replying. "The chief did have it, and you did kill him, I did not lie on either part!"

Van Horn twisted his hand a bit, scrunching up more of the loose skin on the back of the lupar. "Oh? Then how come I can't find it? I think you are lying to me..."

The lupar squirmed in his hands. "No! I did not lie, I just..."

"'Just' what?" Van Horn asked, giving the Kurrnaki a shake that made the bandit's body rub against the wall. A detached part of his mind noted that he was probably making the creature's wounds worse, but the rest of him didn't care; he was dealing with the safety of the natives of Hercor and the caravan from Kuamket.

"We... We were told that if the chief ever fell in battle, then we were to return to our village, where the invaders still remain to ensure our cooperation." Raso managed to grunt out. "They were specific on that. They wanted it returned, so every warrior was told to search for the box if its holder was killed."

Van Horn pulled a bit back, relieving the pressure on the bandit, who breathed a bit deeper. "Bring it back to them?" He asked, but he knew the answer already as the lupar nodded, his head pressed sideways against the wall still. "How do I know you're not lying now?" He asked, again pressing the bandit into the stone edifice and raising the pitch of his voice with anger.

Raso grunted. "I am! I didn't lie, I just simply did not tell you the whole truth." He spoke quickly, trying to get the human to let up.

Van Horn noticed that the bandits seemed to be having trouble breathing, so he pulled the lupar back from the wall and slammed him on this bed. Raso yelped in pain again, but he simply lay there catching his breath. "Why did you not volunteer this information before? And do not give me that 'you didn't ask' bullshit, because you knew damned well that I was interested in that box." Van Horn spoke to the injured lupar, mixing in the English 'bullshit' out of habit rather than design.

Raso pushed himself up on his elbows, and then balanced on one arm while he rubbed the back of his neck with the other. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to give my fellows a better head-start." He said unabashedly.

Part of van Horn wanted to smile and pat the native on the back for having loyalty to his comrades. The rest of him, however, remembered the scenes from Kuamket. "Where is your village? Can you show me its position on a map?"

The lupar gave van Horn a foul look, which the latter returned until the former finally spoke. "I am sworn not to reveal that information. Camps and trails I will divulge, but our homes are never to be revealed."

Just then the guard that van Horn knew as Varshi came walking in with one of the three guards that had been watching the prisoner. Van Horn then realized that, while he had been interrogating the kurrnaki, the lead guard had apparently left. "What the Hell is going on here?" Varshi himself asked in a loud voice.

Van Horn simply gave the lupar a venomous look, and then turned back to the bandit. "You realize that you are condemning these people to death? Every single person in this town?" He spoke loudly enough so that the Hercor guards could hear easily, and the kurrnaki fidgeted. "I do not see how-"

"You told me earlier that the invaders threatened to destroy your village. I don't know if you've heard, but they have attacked larger cities. Do you honestly think they will balk at annihilating a small town like this?" Van Horn asked scornfully.

"What do I care?" Raso asked, his temper slipping just a bit. "My village will be safe, that's all that matters."

"Yes, safe, and still under the thumb of the invaders." Van Horn replied coldly. He paused and let that sink in. "What sort of life is that, slaves to the invaders? To people who throw away your life as casually as most would throw away a broken bowl?" He made himself more erect before adding one more comment. "Where's your honor?"

That stung him, van Horn thought as he saw the hackles on the bandit lupar's back raise up. "My people have never sacrificed honor. It is one of the reasons I cannot reveal my village's location, as well as the threat of the invaders." He shifted on the bed. "At no time has any Kurrnaki ever abandoned that principle."

Van Horn continued to stare at the bandit, but this time, the native was defiant. Suddenly, an idea hit van Horn. "Tell me, you cannot reveal the location... But can you take someone to it?"

The bandit blinked. "Well, yes but..." He looked up sharply. "You want me to take you there?" He asked and waited until van Horn nodded. "Out of the question! The invaders themselves said that no one is to know where they're at, especially at our village."

"Tell me," interjected Varshi from his position behind van Horn. "You say you cannot reveal this location, and yet it seems that someone has found it. What honor is there in protecting a location that has been discovered?"

Van Horn turned and nodded at the guard, and mentally he regretted his earlier look. For now, however, he turned back to the bandit. "He makes a good point." One I would have thought of if I weren't so angry. Damnit, Earl, you've got to stop letting your adrenal glands do your thinking!

The kurrnaki fidgeted again. "I... It's still a manner of honor-"

"Bullshit." Van Horn cursed in English, but knowing that the outrage in his voice would carry the meaning well enough. "As I understand it, you have no honor anyway, given that you've been captured, your fellow warriors killed or running back with their tails between their legs, and your village impotent against an enemy invader." Van Horn noticed that every point seemed to sting the bandit more and more. "And you sit here, telling me you can't take me to this place so that I can take that box and kill those invaders, so that they won't threaten this town?"

Raso blinked hard for a moment. "What? You want to remove the invaders?" Van Horn just nodded, his face still stern, but no longer angry. "But... you are the same race as them." The bandit couldn't help but be confused.

"You are of the same race as these town natives here, and yet you seemed to have no problem attacking them the other night." Van Horn replied. "And the invaders have done far worse to you and to my own people than what you've done to these townsfolk. Now," he leaned forward, "can you take me to this village and maybe, just maybe, have a chance to let them escape? Or do you want to sit here and wait for the fires of war to consume your soul?"

Raso bent his head down, and thought long and hard. He then looked up at the human after several minutes. "Very well."

"Out of the question." Varner said to van Horn as they all sat, again, in his reception room. "Our danier are terribly expensive, as we have to buy them from the gatón villages to the west. I can't justify letting you borrow one."

"But maegister," van Horn said, leaning forward in the under-sized chair, "I need to be able to move fast if I can achieve my goals. I cannot catch up to the bandits on foot if I am to stop them from communicating with the Wobbies."

"Yes, so you've explained," Varner said with a sigh. "But I've told you, the council is getting extremely restive. If I start letting out some of our best riding mounts to chase down some bandits, then they will remove me and kick out everyone who isn't from Hercor." He looked over to where the gatón shamans sat, and then over to where Tiana Farkas stood. Varner then turned back to face the human. "I want to help, I do, but we cannot burn the roof of the house just to keep us warm."

Van Horn blinked at the familiar euphemism. More fucking commonalities? Damnit! I don't have time for mind games now. "But maegister, it doesn't matter if the roof is in one piece when a forest fire comes along and burns the entire house down." The human said. "You saw what those bastards did to your town only a few days ago. They will do twenty times worse if they decide to come back because of what the bandits may tell them."

Varner shook his head slowly. "That is the operative word here, 'may.

"He held up a hand before van Horn could speak. "Please, I am on your side, but the council... I have dealt with them, and 'may' is not a word that they are moved with."

Van Horn tilted his head down a bit in frustration. "But can't they see the attack for what it is? Two aircraft do not pop out of the blue and attack buildings. They did it because someone doesn't like you." He looked back up at the middle-aged lupar. "They can't just sit back and wait it out, on the idea that the attack was just a fluke."

Varner shook his head again. "They can, and they will. They have fought me every step of the way as I've tried to open up our town to trade, and they were terribly angered over my letting in the caravan." He sighed. "This may be too much for them, and they will demand a replacement, which will divide the town at a time when we cannot afford to be divided."

Van Horn closed his eyes and took a few breaths to calm himself down. Fucking politics. Always, politics. He then opened his eyes and looked at the lupar. "And you can't do anything then?"

Varner sat back and lightly shook his head. "Not officially, no..." His voice trailed off, leaving van Horn to figure out the hidden meaning. When he did, the human smiled slightly before replying. "I see. Thank you for your time then." He stood, then, and bowed slightly to the lupar. The maegister mirrored van Horn, and then offered his hand - a gesture he had taken a liking to. "Let me know if you need anything else." He said.

Van Horn nodded. "I will, thank you." he turned and left the room, and then waited in foyer of the house for the gatón to come out, for he knew that Forbasa, at least, would like to speak with him.

Sure enough, the aged gatón came walking out on his cane, followed by Shaman Jukas. Van Horn gave them a friendly smile. "Hello to you both."

"Hello to you, Earl." Forbasa said with a nod. "I don't suppose you'd like to go on a walk, would you?"

Van horn nodded back. "Sounds like a good idea. Since you have been here longer than I, perhaps you could lead off?"

Forbasa grinned slightly, and motioned with his hand for van Horn and Jukas to follow. They went out of the maegister's house, and headed towards the town's gate. The night air was thick with the sound of a community settling down for the night, as people moved to and from various houses, finishing up their nightly activities, whatever they might be. The gatón and van Horn walked down the main street, in the middle to avoid running into anyone - literally.

They were a bit away from the house when van Horn cleared his throat. "I take it that you could not get Varner to change his mind?"

Forbasa shook his head. "No, I am afraid not. The thing of it is, I went to one of these council meetings." He harrumphed. "They were as old as I am, but didn't seem to have a care for anything other than their own hides."

"Yes, I gathered that from hearing about them..." van Horn said, trailing his voice off.

"Do you really believe that these 'Wobbies' will attack again if you cannot stop the kurrnaki from getting back to their home?" Jukas asked as they approached the town gates.

Van Horn nodded, waiting for them to pass through the ornately carved doors and escape the earshot of the guards. "I do, and again it is my fault." He sighed. "The bandits must've seen me, as Mikula said that they were yelling about a 'demon' of some sort. Given my unusual appearance, and the way that the Wobbies must've treated them, it's not hard to make a connection to me." He took a minute to collect his thoughts. "The Wobbies will want to make sure that I'm dead, and if I'm helping this town, then they will want this town dead. End of story."

Both of the natives shuddered a bit, Jukas because she was shocked at the idea, and Forbasa because he was all too familiar with it. "I don't see how you can get to the bandits in time, anyway. Surely the kurrnaki didn't tell you the location of his village?"

Van Horn shook his head. "No, he didn't. Although I think that he would show me if I could take him with me when I leave."

The white-furred northerner tilted her head quizzically. "You will leave anyway? Even though you cannot catch them?"

"Oh, I'll catch them." Van Horn said assuredly.

"I don't see how, given that you don't have your fancy wagon thing anymore, if you'll pardon my bluntness." She added in the last part after realizing that she could've sounded patronizing. Van Horn, however, simply took it in stride. "No I don't have that vehicle. However, one of those, 'daniers' I think you call them, can catch up just in time."

Jukas frowned. "But the maegister said that he cannot help you with that."

"He said he cannot officially help me,' van Horn said with a smirk. "There are... Other methods that one may use."

Jukas blinked hard, but Forbasa simply returned the human's smirk. "I suppose you would like some help?"

Van Horn smiled more broadly now. "I thought you'd never ask."

Raso sat on his bed; still mulling over the things he had to tell the furless creature earlier in the day. He felt disgusted and disappointed with himself at how relatively easily he had broken, al because the creature had simply stared at him. Us kurrnaki are supposed to withstand torture, and he didn't even touch me! The bandit thought this to himself. Well, he did grab me later... But that's to be expected when I lie. Raso had only realized after the locals had begun to question him that he could try lying, in order to give his fellows time to escape. I was too late in my thoughts before, and now we've lost many secrets. He sighed. Still, I can at least hope that my fellow warriors will make it home. He wondered whether he would ever see his home village again. He had not tried to kill himself like he was supposed to due to his captor's cautiousness, and now by a sense of duty. I have to try and let my people know about what I've done. After that, I can kill myself over my heinous actions...

A noise from the doorway brought the bandit lupar's head around, as it did to the two other guards in the room. The third had been away to see about getting their replacements up from their slumber, and so the other two had been a bit more nervous than usual, hoping that the prisoner wouldn't try anything. Raso had wanted to laugh at them for their trepid nature, but his shame had kept him quiet. With these thoughts in mind, he watched the third guard walk into the ward, followed by two more lupar wearing the same guards' uniforms, though these two had armored helmets with their eye-guards down across their faces. "These two were all I could find in their homes," the returning guard in the lead spoke, "so you two go head off for the night, and I'll wait until my replacement comes."

"Are you sure, Gar?" Asked one of the guards who had stayed with the kurrnaki. "You've been up as long as we have."

The one named Gar waved the question off. "Nah, go on ahead. I'll just take a nap, or something. Not like this guy is going anywhere?" He said and indicated the kurrnaki. The other guards nodded, and they filed past, biding goodnight to the three other lupar. Raso sighed again, wondering if these guards would keep the oil lamps lit all night long like the others the night before had done. I'd rather be tied down than have to sleep with those lamps on full wick again.

What happened next surprised the bandit, as the guard left from the previous shift slowly raised his hands. "Alright, they're gone, like you wanted." He said with hostility in his voice. It was then that the bandit noticed that the two other 'guards' had kept the other in front of them at all times, even when the other two had left the ward. Now they took a step back away from the speaker, and took off their helmets.

"Good. Now behave or I may have to do something that we'll both regret." Mikula said to the guard, and then he turned to his accomplice. "Pavlo, make sure he doesn't try anything."

"I will, you just take care of the bandit there." The younger Farkas replied.

Raso felt a surge of adrenalin in his system, wondering if this wasn't some sort of revenge. It must be, for I recognize these two from the night I was captured. They were outside the gates... They must want to kill me, for sure. The kurrnaki tensed his muscles, waiting for a chance to defend himself.

It was then that he got his second big surprise of the night. "You feel like going on a trip?" Mikula asked as he faced the bandit. Raso blinked at the seemingly random question, but he stayed quiet.

Mikula sighed quickly. "Listen, we're not going to kill you. We need you to take our friend to your village, like you said you could."

At this, Raso's eyes widened and his ears perked up. "What? But, how?"

"No time to explain, are you going to come willingly, or will we have to tie you up?" Mikula asked, any hint of friendliness evaporating from his voice. The bandit lupar, took a second to think, and then nodded, prompting a small smile from Mikula. "Good, now do as we say, and we may all get out of this alive."

Alexis walked along the inside of the courtyard's wall, doing her best to approach the gatehouse without drawing the attention of the guards posted there. She was fortunate that usually, only two pairs of guards were posted, with the night watch at the time she arrived at Hercor being unusually large and alert due to the day's earlier attacks. Now, however, she approached only a pair that stood watch at the door to the outside. She knew that there were two more in the small watchtower that formed the upper part of the gatehouse, but she was unconcerned with them. Well, as unconcerned as I can be, she thought to herself. I just hope these clothes keep me hidden than usual. Alexis had dressed in the darkest set of shirt and pants she could trade for amongst the gatón from Kuamket, the better to avoid being seen at night.

Her mission was simple, in theory, as she was supposed to sneak up on the guards and wait for them to look at a planned distraction, and then take them prisoner from behind with the pair of daggers she had been given.

Alexis nervously fingered the two small daggers, which were, in actuality, hunting knives borrowed from the gatón hunters. It was an unusual position for a female, she knew, to be involved with something like this. The hunters were one thing, going after unintelligent beasts and such. But males were supposed to take care of raiding and fighting other villages, towns, or the lupar.

Alexis briefly reflected on the meeting that Forbasa had called her to after van Horn had met with the bandit a second time, and then had seen the maegister. Van Horn and Forbasa had explained the situation, and then asked her if she knew of anyone who would be trustworthy and dedicated enough to help out with the task she was now performing. The two Shamans were very surprised that I volunteered myself, she remembered. Even I was a bit surprised... But this is to prevent more attacks from the Wobbies against our hosts and us. I vowed to prevent those attacks, and this is the best way I can help. Her volunteering might've been blocked, had it not been for van Horn's interceding on her behalf. He had expressed confidence in Alexis, and even asked that she be allowed to help as a personal favor when Forbasa looked to deny it anyway.

In any case, I'm here now and I had better focus, she chided herself mentally as she came up upon the guards. They were both chatting, and generally relaxed, seeing how they were inside the walls and mainly there to prevent people from going outside, which nobody usually wanted to, anyway. Thus Alexis had little difficulty in sneaking upon them, especially as the base for the gatehouse bulged out away from the smooth line of the wall, making a blind spot close to the guard post. It had not been deemed a problem, since any serious threat had been expected from outside the walls.

So now Alexis could use it to sneak up as van Horn had suggested, slowly and quietly, and using the base to shield her the last few paces. She pressed herself against the base of the gatehouse, slowly inching along the wall until she could just barely make out half of the outline of one of the guards. I hope the wind stays calm, or otherwise they'll pick up my scent.

Soon enough, however, the distraction came; an empty handcart, pulled near the storehouses earlier, now tipped over, despite having nothing inside. The light racket it made would hardly disturb anyone's sleep, but it made the two guards twist about and look toward the noise. "What the Hell?" One of them said.

Alexis, however, hadn't waited for them to speak before moving. Her nervousness was subsumed under her sense of purpose, and she was behind the guards in a second. Quickly she took out the dagger-knives and reached up to poke them into the back of the two guards' necks, just hard enough to get their attention. "You two, don't move or you die." She said in Lupari, as deeply and as menacingly as she could.

Both guards froze at that, feeling the knives pressed against them. "What the? Who?" One of them asked, while the other one just stood mutely still.

"Don't move," Alexis said again. Please hurry up, Earl. I don't know how long these two will go before figuring out how small I am from my voice and scent. She was worried over this part of the plan, for she really had no intention of killing the two guards, and van Horn had said that it wouldn't be necessary to even hurt them, if everything went right. And yet he's the one that is always saying things don't always go right...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the human came running from the barracks area, reaching the guard post in a few seconds. "Good work, Alexis" He said in Gatonese, and then turned to the guards. Switching languages, he spoke to them. "You two, I am afraid that I will have to ask you to take a small break tonight."

Mikula was surprised at the ease at which they had been able to sneak up on the guards at the town's upper gate. Such lax discipline. Hercor had better count itself lucky that no determined, professional military force has tried to conquer it yet, he thought to himself as he lowered the now-unconscious guard to the ground. These guards didn't even hear or smell us coming up from behind. He and Pavlo had knocked the guards out while the kurrnaki looked on, still unsure of whether this was a trick or not. Mikula turned and beckoned the kurrnaki forward, and the bandit did so slowly.

Mikula waited until the bandit got close, and then spoke quietly. "Alright, you will go down the ramp first, and we will follow." He waited until the kurrnaki nodded, and then waved him forward.

It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the bottom, moving as fast as they could and still staying relatively silent. Mikula, however, was still nervous that they were behind on their timetable. Or even worse, we may be ahead. The last thing we need is to alert the guards at the gatehouse before they can be surprised. Mikula hadn't been told who would be doing that part, but he had been assured that van Horn himself would be helping.

Then they reached the base of the ramp, and Mikula pushed these thoughts into the back of his mind. Time to focus. He gestured for the bandit to head towards the two large barns, following the kurrnaki after the latter began moving. Pavlo trailed behind him, but he was playing the role of lookout, keeping watch on the barracks near the gatehouse. Fortunately for the three lupar, nothing out of the ordinary happened, and soon they were at the barn that the Hercorians used to keep their own, limited pool of beast of burden. One of the main doors was already open a slight bit, allowing for a good-sized animal to pass through. Like a danier, the bandit Raso couldn't help but think. At a prod from Mikula, the bandit went inside, where he saw a small lantern had been lit near a stall that contained a pair of danier. In the light of the dim flame the bandit could see the tall furless being standing there with a gatón, and they were both busy with something.

Mikula coughed slightly, and then spoke. "Rrred Oktoober," he said, using a phrase that he and van Horn had settled on. The fact that it was part of the name to one of the human's songs had helped Mikula remember it, though he of course had a slight impediment resulting from his lack of English education.

Van Horn had turned, tensing up for an attack at the cough, but with the phrase he relaxed and even smiled a bit. With a quick wave, he indicated the three lupar to cross the barn and approach. "How did it go?" He asked when they got close.

"Fine, though I wonder how Hercor has gotten by with such inattentive guards." Mikula said, voicing his earlier observation.

"Indeed. Well then, we should hurry." Van Horn replied. "Pavlo, go and watch out the door. Mikula, keep this guy busy." He indicated the bandit. "Me and Alexis will get the danier ready in another minute or two."

"Alexis?" Mikula asked in surprise and then looked at the gatón. He had been so keyed up that he had failed to notice who was with van Horn. That and with those unusually dark clothes and her hair tied up behind her, I didn't recognize her. "What are you doing here, Alexis?"

The female gatón curled her tail up a bit, and went back to work on harnessing the danier before replying. "I wanted to help, in any way that I could. This is the least I can do to repay Earl for his help."

The human turned red at that, which caused Raso to wonder how his species managed to change color. His thoughts were halted, however, when van Horn spoke again. "Look, this isn't the time for unnecessary talk. We need to move quickly before the Shaman can warn the maegister."

Raso couldn't help but speak up at this. "But... If you know he's going to warn someone, why not stop him?"

The human turned and gave a smile that made part of Raso's skin crawl. "Simple. We want him to do that."

The knocking at the door woke Vilini with a start. His head still ringing a bit from when he had been hit, he grumbled at the annoying noise. Nevertheless, he got up from where he had laid down to sleep, too tired to even change out of the red undershirt and brown pants that were standard guards' uniforms with or without armor. At least I don't have to spend time and get dressed, he thought groggily as he approached the main door to the maegister's house. The servants had gone home long before, and so Vilini was stuck with the task of seeing just who wanted to wake everyone up at night. They had better have a good reason.

He reached the door and pulled it open with a long pull. To his surprise, he saw the elder gatón shaman standing there. "Mr. Forbasa, what is this? I thought you were inside?" Vilini asked, too tired and confused to remember Forbasa's title.

Forbasa, however, didn't much care. "Vilini, good. Go wake up the maegister, for I need speak with him immediately." He said, looking agitated.

Vilini blinked hard. "The maegister? Why? What's wrong?" He asked in confusion, though fatigue drained from his body as adrenalin coursed into his blood. What else can go wrong now

Alexis stayed with them until they reached the gate. Nearby, she knew, four guards - the two she had surprised and the two van Horn had managed to knock out in the watchtower - lay tied up and pointed away from the gatehouse. The better to not see who is with van Horn. She knew that part of the plan was to leave her here, which is why she had to stay hidden when van Horn had tied up the guards. Still, they had to have gotten a good smell of my scent. I wonder if Earl realizes just how well they can smell? She wondered to herself, having the natural doubts that people would get in such a situation.

She had to push these thoughts into the back of her mind, however, as van Horn and her led the two danier towards the gatehouse. They were fortunate, Alexis knew, in that the side door for personnel was built large enough to let the danier through, though without any of the equipment tied to them, save their harnesses. This is the most dangerous time, however, she thought to herself, since we'll need time to get them ready on the other side. She prayed that the guards in the barracks would remain asleep and unawares for long enough.

Reaching the gatehouse, van Horn and Alexis took time to carefully lead the skittish veriform-horses through the narrow confines of the passageway to the outside. Mikula kept watch on the Kurrnaki, and Pavlo followed behind the human and gatón, carrying some of the supplies they would need. After getting the danier and supplies through, Mikula escorted the bandit outside, eventually bringing them all together.

"Well, Raso, was it?" Van Horn asked of the bandit, who nodded. "Let me lay down this basic rule: You do anything to hurt me or the others with us, and you will die, slowly, and painfully. You got me?" Van Horn asked, inflecting coldness into his voice. I need to make sure he knows the consequences.

Raso felt some of the fur on the back of his neck and shoulders raise in fear, but again nodded. "I understand." Was all that he said.

Alexis too felt her fur rise along the back of her neck. I don't think I've ever seen Vanhorn so... So... Ruthless, she thought.

A sudden noise of alarm came from the open door to the courtyard, drawing everyone's attention to it. Through the passageway, they could see lights from lanterns being lit appearing in the windows of the barracks, and guards began to rush outside.

"Oh shit!" Van Horn cursed in his native tongue, as he noticed that several guards were rushing towards the gatehouse, apparently having seen the door open. The human than sprang into action and ran to the door, slamming it shut. He then placed his shoulder against it and held it shut as several thumps from guards running into the heavy wood threatened to open it again."The shaman's timing was a bit off, I'd say." Pavlo noted as he too went to the door and helped to hold it shut, as now the guards on the other side were trying to push it open with coordinated actions.

"No shit," Mikula said, and then he turned to Alexis. "Alexis, get the danier ready." He then turned to the bandit. "You, help them hold that shut." he indicated the door where van Horn and Pavlo strained against the guards. Raso nodded and quickly went and joined the other two as the guards on the other side again pushed hard.

The next few minutes were hectic, as Alexis and Mikula struggled to get the two riding animals loaded, and as van Horn, Pavlo and Raso did their best to keep the guards from shoving the door open.

After a time that seemed to stretch for hours, Alexis looked up from the last strap she had tightened. "Done!" She called to the others.

"Same here!" Mikula said as he appeared on the opposite side of the other danier. This prompted van Horn to raise his head at the door. "You have everything on them?"

Mikula nodded. "Yes. Now how are we supposed to leave with you three holding the door?"

"Simple," van Horn said as he took off the strap that kept his M3000 pistol in its holster and then turned to the two lupar helping him hold the door shut, "on my mark, you two jump to the side." He waited for them to nod, and then took a breath. "Now!" He yelled after the door had been shoved a bit from the other side. Pushing off from the door, he got a meter away from is as Pavlo and the kurrnaki leapt to the side.

As van Horn had predicted, another shove was coming, and this time, with no one to hold the door shut, the group of five guards came through and promptly lost their balance, having expected to meet resistance. Now, they sprawled forth and lay on the cobblestone apron and in the doorway itself.

Van Horn pulled out his pistol and leveled it at the guards. "Don't move!" He yelled, aiming the weapon carefully in the middle of the group. Where the bullet won't do any harm, but they don't know that. "Any of you move and you all go boom!" He said, exaggerating somewhat. The guards bought it, however, and they all stayed still as Pavlo and the bandit scrambled up and went to the danier, where Alexis and Mikula waited.

"Good, now, we're leaving, and if you don't want to be hurt, then you will stay right where you are until we leave." Van Horn said, and then took a step back. "Alexis, Mikula, get on the horses and make sure that Pavlo and the bandit follow you." He called over his shoulder in Gatonese to confound the guards.

It only took a moment before Mikula called back. "Ready! We're all set."

Van Horn grinned and nodded to the guards. "Thank you fellows, for being a part of this old-fashioned horse heist." He couldn't help but say, trying to inflict as much of a westerner accent into his Lupari. The human then turned quickly on one foot, holstering his pistol as he did so. He then quickly ran to the danier, and climbed on the one that only held Alexis, the two Farkas brothers apparently not trusting the bandit to only one of them. "Go!" He said as he heard the guards beginning to get up behind them.

And they were off...