Author's Notes: Not every plan Ryu comes up with works out all right...oh, the Steinbeck-ery!

Chapter Seventeen: The Gallows

"An attempt to annex Simafort?" Nina repeated in shock. "But…why? Simafort is a backwater without any strategic or economic investment."

The party was reunited in the forest south of Simafort. Ryu and Yua had returned only an hour ago, just as Sten finished preparing fish for dinner. After they had supped, the siblings reported their findings.

"Think about it," said the ranger, holding up the folder he had found. "Simafort—like Highfort, Windia, and the other major states—is nondenominational. They have no particular religion. At the least, they aren't part of Saint Eva's Church, since it's relatively new."

He slapped the folder meaningfully. "This contains several letters and correspondences between 'Prince Jean' and Habakuru, the head of the church. The gist of it is that the imposter is supposed to launch a pogrom on all of Simafort, converting the populace to the worship of Saint Eva. The idea is to put Simafort under the church's sway. It's common knowledge that the church is very active in its conversion programs; annexation is simply putting a tighter hold on the flock as well putting new ones over those who don't believe."

Sten nodded in understanding. "But in order to do that, ye have to unite tha' satellite states first. Very clever and very well-thought out. Once ye've got the country under yer sway, and after everyone's worshipping the same God, it becomes a lot easier to issue a holy decree to combine Simafort and Eva's Church as one nation."

The ranger nodded grimly. "That was my impression."

The Highlander's lips curled into a dark frown. "We're dealing with something big here, Ryu."

Yua slapped Ryu across the back heartily. "Nothing that Ryu-niisan can't handle!" She noticed how Nina fidgeted and how Katt's fur bristled. So I was right about them, she mused with silent chuckle. This could be fun.

"But this alone wouldn't be enough to convince people to denounce the man as an imposter," Nina argued, well versed in the craft of politics. "And who'd believe us, anyway?"

"We won't need to convince anyone," Ryu said enigmatically. "The people will convince themselves."

"Sounds like you already have a plan," Katt replied. She spoke to him, but she kept her eyes on Yua. The thief grinned innocently at her. Smarmy little…calm down, Katt. Don't let her get to you. The Woren's heart to heart with Nina helped her sort out some issues about how she felt about Ryu, but it did nothing for how she felt about Yua.

Ryu noticed the exchange and resisted the urge to rub his nose. These women are going to be the death of me, he thought with certainty. Despite it all, he found himself suppressing the urge to grin. Ah well, I guess it can't be helped.

He showed everyone the itinerary for the upcoming ambassadorial meeting. "When the leaders of the satellite states arrive to discuss policy with the prince tomorrow, we'll make our move," he said. "We'll show them this folder and tell them of the plan to put Simafort under Eva's sway. Hopefully, it'll be enough, but like Nina said, it probably won't be. That's why I want to do it at the meeting—when the ambassadors and the imposter are in the same room."

Katt scratched her head. "I don't get it."

"Doing it this way will force the 'prince' to make a move," Ryu explained. "But we're going to set things up so that he can only make one move. We force him to turn into a demon. That will be proof enough."

Sten looked intrigued. This boy is sharp, he thought. That's a classic tactic that tha' Warmasters at Highfort utilize. Trapping yer enemy by making him think he has a choice. "And how, pray tell, will ye pull that off, lad?"

"Simple. We mention Angus and Joker. He will no doubt want a try at our heads, since we ended their lives." Ryu smiled grimly. "Revenge and anger can be weapons, too."

Sharp indeed, thought the Highlander appreciatively. Then something caught his eye. Sten squinted toward the distant battlements of Simafort; he frowned. "If ye want a chance to use those weapons," he said quietly, "then ye'd better do something about Jean de Tapeta. Simafort just raised a red flag—they're holding a public execution."

Jean de Tapeta—the real one—was being paraded to the gallows erected in the square. Guards flanked him, their purpose ambiguous; they could easily have been keeping the bloodthirsty crowd at bay as they were preventing Jean from escaping. Not that the carefree prince was concerned with escaping. No, he marched every step toward his doom with a lopsided, self-satisfied grin.

Princess Petape walked beside him, desperately trying to reason with him. "Brother! Why didn't you listen? I could have arranged sympathizers to help you escape! Why, brother, why? There is still a chance!" she whispered, lest the guards overhear, "I can have my followers free you here and now!"

Jean kept right on smiling. "That won't be necessary, dear sister. I have no fear of death, nor do I think I will die this day. Besides, an honest man never runs away!"

Petape threw her hands up in frustration. "Neither do fools! Brother, this is not some dice game you're playing, or some painting that you can simply scrap away if you don't like it. This is your life! Please, let me help you!"

"Dear sister," the true prince said soothingly, "the best way to live life is to take it simply, easily, and with a single step at a time. You must not overexert yourself over small worries."

"Small worries?" she veritably shrieked, so livid was she with abject astonishment. "Brother—my dear, sweet, innocent brother—you truly are a fool!" She began to weep.

Jean patted her on the shoulder, although a guard brusquely brushed his hand away a moment later with a spear. Undaunted, the prince said, "Have you no imagination, my sister? I am the true prince and an honest man! Evil fates never befall such men as I!"

A sweatdrop appeared out of nowhere above Petape's head. "You really are a fool," she burbled sadly. "I only wish that your words held hope."

"Oh, but they do!" Jean said with a beaming expression, even as the guards forced him up the gallows

steps. A black bag was thrown over his head and a noose tied around his thick neck. The sound of the fibers cinching together made Petape wince, but Jean said something offhandedly about it being "slightly uncomfortable, and perhaps a little chafing, and do you mind loosening it a bit in the back?"

Petape watched in silent horror as her brother went to his fate in his usual sanguine humor. "Brother," she prayed, "if God does favor fools, then may he save you now."

Ryu handed black cloths to everyone. They were crude squares, cut from a spare cloak. But they were serviceable enough. He tied the cloth around the lower half of his face and motioned the others to do the same. They huddled behind one of the battlements, away from the sight of the guards and the crowds. It took all their stealth and skill to get there. But now they had an excellent vantage of the gallows below.

"That frog really is an idiot," the ranger muttered, watching Jean sing about the glories of this and that even with a death-hood over his head. Ryu turned to his companions. "So you know the plan, right? Everyone ready?"

"Ready," said Katt confidently, cracking her knuckles.

"We won't let you down, Ryu," added Nina.

Sten chuckled. Somehow, the black cloth made him seem…harder. It suited him. "Who cares about letting Ryu down?" he grunted. "The one who we can't let down is that frog."

Yua cinched the cloth over her face tightly, but even so, her wild smile was visible beneath the blackness. She flexed her wings, testing them. "Enough talk. We've a party to crash."

She grabbed a hold of Ryu's wrists and flapped her wings, lifting them both into the air. Soon after, Nina did the same with Katt. The flyers took wing over the gallows, their passengers fingering weapon hilts. Meanwhile, Sten slithered down the wall, a slip of blue leather and brown fur, unseen by the masses watching the spectacle before them.

While no one noticed one sneaky Highlander, people did notice two flying women. And when those women released their passengers, letting them drop onto the gallows with weapons flailing, the crowd erupted into panic.

"Remember, hit to disable!" said Ryu as he crossed swords with three guards. He parried and then barreled into his enemies, shouldering them off the gallows and into the crowd below.

The sound of helmets cracking almost overshadowed Katt's reply, "You're the one who needs to worry about that, not me!" She twirled her staff pointedly. Then she knocked a guard flat on his back with a return swipe.

The ranger ducked under another soldier's halberd, only to find a second one swiping for his head. He blocked it with his forearm. Pain shot up his limb, making him grit his teeth and wince. Ryu yanked the offending weapon away, only to see more troops marching onto the gallows.

"Damn it, Sten, where are you?" Ryu growled. "Well, it can't be helped." With those words as his battle-cry, he charged at the reinforcements, throwing his weight into them. In the ensuring melee, where fists and feet were more useful than blades and spears, Ryu lost the grip on his sword. But that did not matter; he was just as good a pugilist as he was a swordsman. Jaws cracked, scalps split, and noses shattered.

"Damn," the ranger muttered, retrieving his sword and wiping blood from where a lucky soldier fed him a knuckle sandwich.

"Not a bad scrap, aye, lad?" Sten asked from behind. Ryu practically jumped out of his boots and came close to slugging the Highlander on reflex.

"Where the hell were you?" the ranger demanded. Then he saw a smiling and rather excited Jean—freed of death-hood and shackles—standing beside Sten. "Well," said Ryu, "at least you got him out of the way."

The Highlander winked. "O' course. This old soldier always follows his orders, boss. How about an evac?"

Ryu pointed into the sky. "Your guardian angels will be here shortly." He turned to address the prince. "In the meantime, I hope you know how to use one of these." He handed his sword over.

Jean looked at it as if it were some sort of rare antique and said, "A bit heavy and inelegant for my tastes, but I know my way around a sword-tip."

"Then start making your way around it," Ryu said dryly.

Katt's sudden cry of pain had the men turn in her direction. The Woren was fighting two swordsmen, one of whom managed to bury a knife in her thigh. Blood stained her tawny fur rust-brown. She yanked the blade free with a grimace and slammed the butt of her staff into one of her enemies, knocking him flat on his back. The other advanced, sword held high for the killing blow.

The blade came down…but it never connected with Katt's flesh. Ryu, moving fast enough to tear the floorboards apart, threw himself between the Woren and the soldier, blocking the sword with his arm. There was a meaty thunk as the blade bit into the meat of Ryu's arm. It was immediately followed by a fist cracking into a jaw.

"That was close," the ranger said. "Are you all right, Katt?"

The Woren nodded, favoring one leg. "I could ask the same of you. That was real stupid, you know."

"Sorry," he said weakly, knowing that she was right. With her reflexes, Katt could have easily blocked or avoided the blow, even while wounded. "It was an instinct."

Katt smiled suddenly. She clapped him on the shoulder amicably. "Well, stupid move or not, it's nice to know that I'm first in your thoughts, eh?"

Amusement curled his lips. "Is that what you think?" he sounded wistful, thoughtful. "Who knows? Anyway, this isn't the time or place for that sort of thing. Here comes Nina and Yua." He pointed to the winged women in the sky. "You and Jean get out first, and no arguing."

Katt made a crisp salute. "You got it, captain."

She raised her arms above her head and Nina, diving low, grabbed them and pulled the Woren up into the air. Yua did the same with Jean and the four of them flew out beyond the battlements to the safety of the woods beyond.

That, of course, left Ryu and Sten in the middle of a group of angry frog folk. The two men went back to back. The ranger held his hands up defensively, ready for another brawl. He absently cursed himself for lending Jean his sword. The Highlander produced several knives from some secret pocket on her person. He handed one to Ryu over his shoulder. "You'll need this," he said simply.

"Give me two," replied Ryu, accepting the weapons. After getting a good grip on the knives, he said, "Perhaps this wasn't the best of plans. I thought we'd be out of here sooner."

"Tha' best laid plains o' mice and men, my friend," said Sten, watching the guards approach with the easy readiness of a man used to fighting for his life. "So, two knife-fighters against hundreds o' frog-faced stormtroopers. This gets tha' old juices flowing, it does."

A pair of the guards advanced and Sten spun his weapons through slender fingers, his arms sweeping them across. An instant later, the guards no longer had spearheads. They backed off, wary of the canny Highlander.

"Come on, ye cowards," Sten challenged fiercely, a hot light coming into his eyes. "If ye want to cut me up, ye got to work for it! Come on, now! Show me all ye got!"

They obliged.

Having seen the skill Ryu and Sten possessed, the guards wasted no time in honorable battle. They opted for human wave tactics instead. A score of soldiers, armed with everything from spears to swords to axes, surrounded the two men and swarmed them.

But despite the odds, the ranger and the Highlander held their ground. Both kept a five-man perimeter, beating their opponents senseless but not giving any new foes enough room to threaten them. It was beautiful and intricate, how they kept their many enemies at bay with their weaving bodies, skillful movements, and spellbinding stratagems. But it could not hold forever, for no man could fight the pull of fatigue.

Though many upon many soldiers lay battered and bruised, Ryu and Sten were eventually knocked down by virtue of exhaustion and beaten mercilessly. Ryu was lying in a puddle of his own blood when he heard the authoritative voice of the imposter call out, "Enough! Take them alive. I wish to question these men."

The ranger groaned in pain and defeat. He saw a glimmer of sunlight on shimmering black wings amidst the white clouds. Nina, he thought. Damn, the timing…was a little…off. A soldier, greatly daring in disobeying his master's commands, kicked him in the belly. He coughed up blood. Oh well…it can't…be…helped….

Darkness swallowed him.