Ceileigh winced a little as she put her left arm into her shirtsleeve. She was trying to hurry but it hurt too much. The muscles all down that side of her torso were sore and tight even though she no longer bore any outward signs of her beating thanks to Aleena and Camellia. She and Leandor had only talked a little as they lugged their loot across the city the morning before, Leandor telling her briefly of his search for her and her replying with one-word answers or sounds as she became drowsier. All she could think about was sleeping, but Leandor insisted that they should send for Aleena first. They had quite an argument about it on the way up the stairs, exhaustion making both of them cranky and irrational. Leandor never acted that way, but neither of them had slept in more than twenty four hours.

In their room, she'd thrown her sacks and armor onto the floor and crashed onto her bed face first, grunting a little in pain. "Fine. If you want Aleena, go get her yourself, I'm…." and she was asleep. Next thing she knew she was being shaken awake, and cracked a swollen eyelid to see Camellia and Leandor standing behind the red-haired healer, who was leaning over her. Leandor was frowning with his arms crossed, wearing a reproachful expression she was becoming all too familiar with. She rolled onto her back and winced, stiff after lying still.

"Oh…I haven't felt this beat up in a long time," she said painfully.

"That's because you're used to pawn healing; you don't normally have to deal with this aftermath. Leandor told me you two were on your own this time. So why did you not use a curative before now?" Aleena said in a gentle but chastising tone as she helped her sit up.

"Well I –, "she started.

"She went to sleep!" Leandor interjected, like the very idea was ludicrous.

"As I was saying…," Ceileigh cut him off, giving him a pointed glare. She was exhausted, painful, and in no mood to put up with his comments. "I did take a handful of noonflowers and some desiccated herbs while we searched the camp we were in, but then I was focused on gathering items and I just forgot about taking more."

"Both of those curatives are weak, better for small injuries," Leandor said in an 'everyone knows that' kind of tone.

"You didn't take anything at all!" Ceileigh retorted in exasperation.

"I did. You did not see me because we searched the camp separately. Just as I did not see you take your curatives," he conceded, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Ceileigh rolled her eyes and said to Aleena, "Usually I treat myself on the way home if that's my only option, but we used a ferrystone so there was no travel time. I was so tired when we got here that I fell asleep right away."

"I understand. You need further treatment, however," Aleena said. "You still have cuts, bruises and swelling all over your face. I fear to see what the rest of you looks like, not to mention any internal damage!"

"If you had only taken more-, "Leandor started up again.

"I wouldn't have had to worry about taking anything if you hadn't abandoned our mage on the road, did you think about that?!" Ceileigh cut him off, raising her voice a little. "Maker, I'm too tired for your nagging right now!" She covered her face and flung herself back on the bed.

Leandor immediately sat on his bed, lowering his eyes. "Forgive me, master. You know I did it out of concern for you, you know I was-," his eyes flickered to the other two women and he cut off. "Besides, that pawn returned to the Rift before I was fully recovered. I could not have helped him," he finished quietly.

"Maker above, you two are bickering like an old married couple!" Aleena said with a laugh, trying to break the tension. "Leandor, I'm the healer here, let me focus on getting her better. Ceileigh, you do need to be more mindful of yourself if you have no mage available. Now let me take a look at you. Camellia, will you please bring me my herbs?"

Aleena and Camellia treated her with curatives for health and stamina, and made a giant poultice for her left side. Leandor wasn't as bad off, but of course they treated him as well and bandaged his arm. They no longer felt bone-weary and were somewhat less painful after the medical treatment and healing magick, but they were still very tired so they went to bed immediately.

"I have to apologize as well," Ceileigh said, rolling to face Leandor.

"Think nothing of it, master," he said, then smirked. "Besides, I have grown used to your insane human outbursts. At least we were not sparring this time!"

Ceileigh laughed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "And what about you? You were more emotional than normal today. Apparently even pawns lose it if they get too tired."

"What does 'lose it' mean?" he asked.

"It means, you know, 'go crazy'," she told him, laughing. "Better watch out before you turn into an insane human yourself," she teased, and he chuckled. "Anyway…thank you for coming after me. I didn't really say it before. And I am still impressed that you killed almost an entire camp of men and an entire direwolf pack on your own."

"Master, I know you hate human death. Are you truly alright with me killing the mercenaries?" Especially the leader, Leandor thought. He was armed but he was one man; I could have subdued him or let him run away. But I was too angry – I have never felt any emotion so strongly.

Ceileigh thought for a moment, looking at the ceiling. "I'm not happy that they died, but I confess I didn't feel as bad about them as I have about other people. I suppose I'm finally accepting that not only monsters will die in the course of my mission. Human enemies will arise and I must treat them as such." She paused. "I do take consolation in the fact that I do not, and never will, enjoy killing a fellow human. I will always regret when it becomes necessary, but I will do what is necessary, without guilt. When it comes down to it, I would rather you and I be the ones who live."

They both lay in silence for a while, then she continued. "Speaking of atypical behavior, did you really leave me all alone to get Aleena and Camellia?" she asked him in a teasing tone once more.

"I did, but only for a very short time," he admitted with a smile. "I was prepared to bring her here myself, but I found a messenger dining downstairs and sent him instead. He returned to say she was with patients and would be here shortly. She arrived within the hour."

"Thank you," she said. "I am starving, are you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it."

She cut up large pieces of bread, cheese and salted meat for each of them, with fruit and vegetables on the side. As she watched dust motes dance in the slice of light coming through their window, she could hear citizens and vendors haggling in the market below. They talked and ate for a short while, took another dose of greenwarish for good measure, and went back to sleep.

Leandor suddenly woke with his heart pounding, staring up into blindly into the dark room. He felt a little like he'd just come back from another realm, but it wasn't quite the same. When that happened, his entire physical fragment was pulled swiftly back into the Rift with a rushing feeling. He would stick there for a brief moment, then snap back home into his Arisen's world. This time he had only been somewhere in his head, it seemed, as if he'd lived a memory, or imagined something so vivid that it felt real. He didn't quite understand what had happened, since usually he was either aware of himself in another realm or slept soundly without thought unless his Arisen awoke.

He sat up and looked over at the faint outline of his master's sleeping form, bundled up to her neck under the covers like always, even though it was summer. She was safe. He realized he must have had a dream, the same experience that Ceileigh had woken up distraught from so many times, that made her move and whimper in her sleep. In his dream, he'd looked on from a distance while Ceileigh was stabbed, beaten and otherwise tortured. Sometimes it was the mercenaries, other times it was Mercedes or goblins. No matter how hard he tried to reach her, he could only take tiny steps forward, straining against some invisible force that held him back. Finally all the enemies disappeared and only his master was left, walking away in slow motion. She looked over her shoulder and although she didn't open her mouth, when their eyes met her voice echoed in his head - it is impossible for you to shield me in every instance...

He calmed himself, shook off the lingering uneasiness from the dream, and got up to use the bathroom. On his way back to bed he noticed an envelope just inside the door. It was from a soldier named Maximillian, a commander in the Duke's army, asking for Ceileigh to meet him at noon tomorrow – later today, Leandor corrected himself, realizing it was very early morning. He had missions from the Duke to discuss, and they had to do with Grigori. Leandor was hopeful at the prospect of finding out more about the dragon, and wanted to wake his master immediately to tell her about the meeting, but he knew she needed to sleep. He tucked the letter under his pillow and laid back down, deciding to tell her first thing in the morning instead. It took a while, but he forced his mind to clear and eventually fell back asleep.

To their mutual surprise, it was already late morning when Ceileigh and Leandor woke again. As soon as Ceileigh began to stir, Leandor's eyes popped open. He grabbed the letter from under his pillow and sat on Ceileigh's bed with it. Full sunlight streamed in their window once more and Leandor knew they were probably going to be late for the requested meeting.

"Master!" he said in a low, urgent tone, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Huh? What is it?!" she asked, sitting up groggily. She started removing pins from her hair and unwinding it as she yawned, wanting only a bath now that she was awake. As usual she'd gone to bed with her hair still bound into one big braided bun.

"Forgive me, master! This letter arrived overnight and I did not show it to you right away. Now we have overslept and will certainly be late."

Ceileigh stopped pulling pins and took the letter, reading it with a frown. Despite his worry about the meeting, Leandor couldn't help but notice how comical she looked with half of her hair still up and the other half hanging down and sticking out at all angles up top. He smothered a smile and asked, "Shall we attempt to make it there?"

"Yes, we could gain valuable information, and perhaps this will finally lead to a meeting with the Duke! If this…Maximillian Eizenstern does not take offense at our tardiness, that is," she said, glancing at the name once more before jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom.

"Will you send a messenger to the soldier and let him know we'll be there soon?" she called through the door.

Leandor quickly changed into regular clothes and headed downstairs.

Just outside the castle gate, Maximillian shifted his feet and self-consciously toyed with the edge of the scroll he was holding. Here he was, in full armor minus his helmet to properly greet the Arisen, and so far she was late. The Noble Quarter was spread out before him and the good citizens of Gran Soren were beginning to look at him strangely because he'd been standing there so long. He was already nervous about meeting the city's hero and now her lateness and the midsummer sun were adding to his discomfort. He was recalling Mercedes' words about the Arisen not showing, and wondering if the woman was still outside the city somewhere and hadn't received his message, or if she was just absent-minded or disrespectful, when a messenger trotted up.

"Ser Maximillian?" the skinny dark-haired man asked.

"Yes, what is it?" Maximillian replied, trying not to sound impatient.

"Word from the Arisen, ser," the messenger replied with a swift bob of his head as he handed him an envelope.

"My thanks, you may go," Maximillian told him, already tearing open the envelope with a frown. The letter apologized for her lateness and said she'd only now woken up – 'tis half past twelve! he thought incredulously – and so had just seen his request but would be there as soon as possible. Maximillian had always believed punctuality to be a sign of respect and courtesy among those of good breeding, so he was disappointed that an esteemed warrior was so lax in that regard. He walked to the short stone wall that lined the road running from the castle gate through the Noble Quarter and rested one foot on it, reading the letter over again. He shook his head and rested both arms on his knee, wondering just what else to expect from her.

Leandor apologized several more times as they put on their armor and equipment. "Never have I experienced such fatigue as I did yesterday," he said. "Perhaps it was an aftereffect of the petrifaction spell, or-?"

"You were only tired, it's normal after staying awake all day and night. And stop apologizing already!" Ceileigh told him. His worried state was making her own nerves jangle.

"But this may cause the Duke-," he started as they walked out the door.

"I know! I hope he doesn't think badly of us either, but all we can do now is try to make a good impression with the commander," she said, wanting to move on and save the situation.

They left the inn and made a sharp right onto the road that led to the castle. Ceileigh walked quickly, full of nervous energy. As they passed under the Noble Quarter archway, Leandor spoke up again.

"Master, I was also overly tired because my sleep was abnormal and I woke during the night," he said, wanting to discuss the fact that he'd had a dream for the first time. He never knew dreams existed until he saw his master having nightmares, and he wondered if it happened to other pawns. None of them had mentioned it, but then he and other pawns didn't talk among themselves much.

"Enough already!" Ceileigh said, stopping to face him with a sharp gesture. "I'd be nervous enough about this meeting without being completely unprepared, but I am. Please stop talking about our lateness and oversleeping, it is not helping! Yes I'm disappointed, but it's not really anyone's fault, so you don't have to keep bringing it up!"

"Master, it is not about that," he replied as they began walking again, but she shook her head.

"Alright, but I cannot discuss it right now," she said in a softer tone, glancing at him with pleading eyes. "Let me get through this first."

"Yes, master," he replied obediently, pushing his concerns to the side.

"Now, that must be him by the wall," she said, nodding toward the lone soldier at the end of the road. "The other two are clearly guards and I don't see anyone else who isn't a civilian."

The soldier nodded at them as they got closer and walked quickly to meet them. He was slightly taller than Leandor, a full six feet perhaps, with skin that looked like it had started out fair but darkened from a lot of time outdoors. He was clean shaven, with very dark brown slicked back hair and sincere brown eyes. He looked curious and eager, like he woke up every morning with a good attitude and full of energy, ready to take care of business. Ceileigh immediately felt friendly toward him because she felt they must be like-minded about tackling problems and getting things accomplished. That made her feel even worse about being late.

"Ser Maximillian? I am so sorry for the delay," she said, reaching out to shake his hand just as he bowed.

Maximillian quickly straightened and took her hand by the fingertips. He found his resentment over her lateness fading the longer he studied her dark blue eyes. Surely she had some good reason. He grinned and looked like he was about to say something, then gave a small laugh. "Forgive me, I am used to kissing ladies' hands, not shaking them," he said, then brushed his lips over her knuckles.

Ceileigh blushed and shot an uncomfortable look at Leandor, who shrugged a little in confusion over the gesture. "Um- no, forgive me, I know nothing of noble etiquette," she said, knitting her brow in dismay. "Except I doubt I merit the title of Lady."

They laughed together as he let her hand go, she nervously and he with amusement. "But you do merit it. My men regularly bring word to The Greatwall of goings-on around Gran Soren and your accomplishments. You may not be part of the military yet you hold a defender's place of honor in Gran Soren and the nation, therefore you deserve a title of honor. However, you are far too beautiful to merely call 'Ser'. So I, at least, will call you Lady," he replied. The way his compliment flustered her charmed him; she wasn't full of herself, and he liked that.

"Now, here is the reason I asked to meet," he continued. "I have been named Captain of the Hunt by His Grace Duke Edmun Dragonsbane. As such, I am leading the Wyrm Hunt, gathering information about the dragon as well as men to raise arms against it. Your assistance has been asked with this matter. I beg your forbearance whilst I detail what would be expected of you in the Hunt."

"Go on," said Ceileigh, trying to sound calm and formal even though her heart was pounding from excitement and apprehension over officially working for the Duke.

"Very well. Of late, we are focused on learning of, and defending against, the wicked dragon. The fate of the realm and its people rests upon our efforts. If you join with us, I am under orders to lend you all reasonable aid you might require. I would pray you return this assistance in kind. Many hopes are pinned upon both of us, my lady. Together I am certain we can accomplish great things."

"I would be honored to join with you, I'm sure. What are you working on currently?"

"For one, we continually aid the Faith in their examination of ruins and relics. One such ruin has of late become home to monsters. The monks who will survey there asked for you by name, to escort them to the site and for protection and assistance while they work."

"Of course I'll help them. Hopefully we can uncover some useful information at the same time," Ceileigh replied.

"My thanks, my lady. His Grace has commanded the utmost attention be given to such matters. The survey team could not wait any longer and headed out a bit ago, but you can speak to Father Geffrey at the cathedral in the city for directions to follow them. As for me, I will set as many men as possible to defending our strongholds."

Another wave of embarrassment swept through Ceileigh at his words, even though he said them kindly and was looking at her with an open, friendly face.

"Here," he continued before she could respond, handing her the scroll he held. "This Wyrm Hunt license permits you to undertake tasks related to our cause, missions given by Duke Edmun himself. When you have finished assisting the monks, report back to me and we will discuss our next move."

"I will," she said with a nod. "Thank you and good day."

"And good day to you, my lady," Maximillian replied with another bow and smile, then walked back toward the castle.

Ceileigh stared after him for a second, then spun on her heel to face Leandor. "We may as well begin," she told him somewhat excitedly, eager to do anything that might help defeat Grigori.

Leandor was glad her spirits had been lifted but he worried that she wasn't physically ready for another mission. "I would agree, but are you well enough master?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Ceileigh lifted her left arm out to the side a few times, testing it, and she couldn't help but wince. "My side still hurts when I move my arm, but it feels much better than it did. Truly," she added when he eyed her doubtfully.

"Can you fight?" he pressed. "You must be careful. I do not wish to see you harmed again."

"I know," she said with an affectionate smile. "I'll try my best not to be, but I cannot hide at home every time I get injured. I'm the Arisen, I'm required to get on with it."

"Yes, master," he said quietly, but she could tell he was still worried. As they walked the short distance to the cathedral, he put one hand on the small of her back like he automatically did every time he was feeling especially protective.

Gran Soren Cathedral was made of gleaming white stone, with a tall, flat-topped bell tower near the front. A small set of stairs led to a wide porch, then to two large wooden doors. The entire structure was surrounded by a white stone wall that had flames inside metal braziers at intervals along the top. The training ground was to the cathedral's immediate left as one faced the front doors, and to the left of that stood the castle.

Inside, there was an alcove to either side of the door, where supplies were stored. The walls and floor inside were all white stone as well, and Ceileigh wondered if the rock had come from the quarry she and her party cleared all that time ago. Another few steps led to the main floor. The building was one big rectangle inside, with desks lining both walls and rows of benches facing front down the middle. A few nobles sat far from each other, praying earnestly over their respective problems. Priests with brooms were sweeping the floor while others polished candelabras and other items on the desktops. A few nuns were working together to roll up blankets and stuff them into a large wicker basket. Ceileigh assumed they were for the poor.

They found Father Geffrey at the front, near the altar. He wore a dark blue robe and surcoat with a huge gold collar and gold cuffs. Above that, a tall clerical cap of the same color covered everything but his face.

"Hello, Father," Ceileigh greeted him with a small bow. She was about to introduce herself but he spoke first.

"Well met, good Arisen. Yes, I know who you are," he said with a chuckle at her surprised expression. "'Tis a heartening boon to have your assistance in our endeavors. I will not keep you long, so you can catch up to the survey party. They walk south, to ruins that lie in a cave behind the Man-Swallowing Falls, near the encampment. The cave is called The Watergod's Altar. I know not what dangers await there, but I will rest easily knowing you accompany them. Pray, fly now to their side, and keep watch over them. Maker speed your steps, ser."

"I know the area, but did not know there was anything behind the falls. We will prepare and leave at once," she replied.

They hurried back to their room, gathered what items they needed into their travel bags, and went straight to the Pawn Guild. As Ceileigh stood before the Riftstone, watching the etched words glow blue, she thought about what skills she needed from her pawns this time around. She wanted only the best for her first mission from the Duke. She entered the Rift and stayed in for longer than normal, carefully sifting through crowds of pawns that were waiting to be called upon.

Leandor stood from the bench he was waiting on when his master reappeared with a male mage named Tuck, and Zayne, the sorcerer who assisted them with the saurians in the dead end stream. Zayne wore the same maroon robe and clerical cap as before, and carried the same gold staff with dragon heads at the top. Tuck wore a plain black robe with a deep hood and carried a silver staff with a red jewel at the top.

"Hello again, Arisen," said Zayne in a serious but friendly tone, holding up his glowing right hand in the usual pawn gesture of respect for her. "Have you been well?"

"Uh- yes," Ceileigh said, surprised because no other hired pawn had ever greeted her with human pleasantries. She gestured toward the Guild door and led them all outside.

"And you?" she said as they walked, interested to see if he would engage in further small talk or not.

"I am well. So is my master," he replied with a content smile, crossing his arms inside his wide sleeves and looking around interestedly as they made their way to the main gate.

"Crates may hold aught of use!" Tuck declared, smashing a small one with the butt of his staff as they passed by vendor's stalls in Fountain Square.

"Woah!" Ceileigh said, guiding him back to the other pawns. "These crates belong to people, we can't take what's inside." She mouthed a silent sorry over her shoulder to the startled vendor, who just pursed her lips and shook her head.

"We'll go up through Moonsbit Pass," she told her party once they were outside the city. "The falls are near the top and I think there's a path near the waycastle that leads right to them."

All they encountered on the road were a few goblins, which Leandor and Ceileigh took care of, and Ceileigh remembered her first big fight with them near the pass's gate. As soon as they rounded the first upward curve into Moonsbit Pass, a large flock of harpies launched out of a dead tree and dove at them, shrieking. Leandor felled a few with overhead swings while Zayne used a maelstrom spell. Instead of one big whirlwind, he used short bursts of air to blow the flying monsters into the canyon walls. Several fell to the ground with broken wings or legs, where Ceileigh quickly finished them off. One slashed the side of Tuck's face as it flew by, but the mage quickly healed himself even as he whirled to blast the harpy with ice. The creature crashed to the ground and skidded to a stop in front of Leandor, leaving a trail of frozen wing chunks in its wake.

"The canyon floor is an apt spot to find ourselves surrounded. We'd best be careful," Tuck stated, still holding his staff at the ready. Ceileigh sighed and shared a humorous glance with Leandor, then he quickly looked her over for wounds.

"I am glad you were not injured," he said, shouldering his shield and putting his free hand on her back as they walked on. He kept it there through the next several twists and turns, carefully watching their surroundings. They passed a lone stone cottage a ways back from the trail and a large outcropping where more harpies rested in a blackened dead tree. That flock was apparently too far away to notice them, because they didn't even stir.

The path wound to the right and became narrower. They entered the shadow of a shallow, sloping overhang that stretched for many yards, and after a moment Ceileigh heard a light pattering sound like rain. She looked up and realized pebbles were pouring over the cliff edge above and hitting the sand and rocks around them. In another moment they all heard a dull rumble and Ceileigh knew they had to run.

"Rockslide!" she shouted. "Go! Get out of the way!"

They bolted for the other end of the overhang, but larger rocks were already rolling off the edge now and they had little room to dodge them in the narrow canyon. Some of the rocks broke when they fell and the flying shards of stone sliced into their bodies. Once on the other side, Ceileigh laughed in amazement. "I can't believe none of those bashed our heads in!" she said, putting both hands on top of hers as if to make sure it was still whole.

They continued on until they could finally see the waycastle in the distance. On the ground between it and them was a broken cart, but no sign of the people who had once driven it. Five wolves were picking through the scattered food that looked like it had exploded from the wreckage, but Ceileigh figured they were just scavengers taking advantage of the situation, not the culprits. Likely goblins had attacked the cart and either killed the people on it or taken them to their camp to be eaten.

"They hate fire!" Tuck declared, then pulled a wall of flame from the ground with a comestion spell, right through the middle of the pack. One fell to the ground on fire, writhing and screaming in pain, while the two on the other side ran in fear. The other two were trapped between the flames and Ceileigh's party. Zayne felled one with three purplish-blue balls of lightning and Ceileigh shot the other one with an arrow to the chest.

They crossed the waycastle bridge and Ceileigh's pawns gathered near the Riftstone while she spoke to the soldiers stationed on the far side. They informed her that her party would have to walk down the left side of the river below, cross over at a certain point and continue up the right side where they could access the area behind the falls.

The paths along each side of the river were made of gray gravelly rocks that didn't provide stable footing. Thankfully their upward slope was longer than it was steep, but Leandor insisted on Ceileigh walking along the inside while he walked nearer the edge. He knew he was being somewhat unreasonable, but the memory of his dream had been plaguing him since they left the city.

When they reached the falls they found a lone monk standing there. "Maker be good…Are you the Arisen, ser?" the round, agitated-looking man called out.

"Yes, we are here to assist you and your brothers. Please forgive our lateness," Ceileigh replied.

"It is alright," the man replied automatically. "I am Brother Haslett. We may already have a problem. I've seen no sign of Brother Jean – he had gone on ahead. I dearly wish I could run to his aid, but as you can see…I am the Faith's greatest craven and so I remain frozen here at the entrance. I beseech you, ser! Find Jean within and see him safe!"

Ceileigh couldn't decide whether to be disgusted with the man or feel pity for him. "We will find him," she said.

"If this cave has become a den for all sorts of beasts, we best enter prepared," Zayne said.

"Have we sufficient curatives?" Tuck chimed in.

Ceileigh split up the bulk of the greenwarish and other curatives between herself and Leandor, and gave batches to the other pawns as well.

"I believe we're set," she said. Shielding their heads with hands or hoods, they stepped quickly through the thundering waterfall to the small, dark space behind it. They all lit their lanterns and a rickety wooden door became visible right in front of them.

Ceileigh started to open the door but Leandor stepped half in front of her. "Allow me, master. I will make sure it is safe," he said. He opened the door slowly and held his lantern out into the pitch black within. In a moment he gestured for the rest of the party to follow. A dank, fishy smell seeped out of the opening and Ceileigh wrinkled her nose. Smells like home! she thought with an internal chuckle. Steeling herself against the stench and whatever creatures they would find inside, she held up her lantern and stepped through.

Author's Note: Let me know what you think of Maximillian and of Leandor dreaming! :)