Michael Wilson

“What’s wrong with you? Are you hunters or are you children playing with their toys? It’s just a single girl.” There was a swish, then a loud ringing clang as swords met each other in flight, followed by a high-pitched sliding sound. The sliding sound ending in a crushing and a cursing as the blade of the two-handed sword the girl being attacked held found its mark on one of the hunter’s wrists and he was forced to drop his sword and fall back.

She taunted them, “You think you come against a child, an easy target for you. I will teach you respect when you address a daughter of Dunstead.” It appeared that this girl who was the target of these bounty hunters continued to deal out more wounds than she received. She had methodically taken them out one-by-one. She turned a quarter movement, raising her sword in an upward arc at the same time meeting the downward stroke of another hunter. It hit the lower part of his blade with such force it knocked it out of his hand and sent it flying away into the air.

With her next move she stepped on his upper foot near his ankle forcing the bounty hunter to lose his balance. As he began to fall, she launched herself forward and rammed her sword through his gut with such force that just before he died, he felt his gut tear from the force of his body being shot away from the very blade that had pierced him.

The boss of the band of bounty hunters saw her extended reach as an opportunity but as he began to move forward a sudden swoosh of arrows began to fly through their ranks from somewhere below the ridge where they fought with this girl. He was forced to shift his movement and thus when he swung his sword it did not penetrate her armor has, he had intended but it did however hurt her.

She had not had time to react quickly enough and felt its blade break a mark through her cuirass to slice her gut. She felt it’s sting and knew she needed a way out of this battle, or its outcome would be her end. Glancing quickly around her she spotted the only way out. By taking a desperate risk she began to spin herself sideways towards the edge of the cliff and as she did a sound like hornets sang out in the air around them and she remembered hearing cursing as one of the arrows penetrated someone and found its mark.

She hit the ground and felt the pain begin to blacken her sense of things around her, but her momentum kept her rolling until she ran out of ground and began to fall into empty space. The last thing she remembered was hitting the trees that grew up from the ground below them and losing consciousness.

The person who had been launching the arrows into the bounty hunters who she believed to be bandits or slavers watch her fall and hit the thickets below with a thud and then saw her body slide out of them to stop in a large pile of leaves left behind by the fall of the last season.

She moved up to where she had seen her stop to see if there was anything she could do for her. As she arrived at the spot where the girl had fallen, she heard the clump, clump sound of shod feet on a horse coming up the trail. Realizing she could use some help, she quickly checked for life. The girl was still warm and breathing. She moaned at times in pain, and she knew then she needed to see if this person coming up the trail was friendly and try to get them to help her.

She stayed crouched down and began to work herself into a hidden position near one of the large trees that grew in this area. She watched as she saw what appeared to be a hunter or merchant traveling up the trail with a mule full to the brim with goods tied to it. She continued to watch silently and observed as this person approached her position further down on the trail.

She identified him as definitely a merchant of some type although there was something else about him that she recognized in his relaxed appearance as he rode up the road through what is known to be dangerous territory due to the many bandits and independent operators looking for easy takes from travelers and merchants. She also noticed the array of weapons he carried on him, a long sword and two long knives strapped to his back. This was not an ordinary merchant, possibly a veteran of some past war.

Nevertheless, she needed help and so committed to her instinct that despite what her eyes read; she had a good feeling about him. She raised her hands to a position in front of her mouth to help project her voice outward and called out to him.

Jerad Elysian: trader, merchant, and retired soldier of past wars rode his horse slowly up the old trade route between the village of Riverlynn and Skulian. Riverlynn was situated near the foot of the mountain known as the Sylanon Rise, where the White Shoals River flowed right alongside it.
Jerad thought to himself, “What an inspirational morning it was”. He continued his thought, “if I was a painter or writer, this is the type of morning that would inspire me to create something special indeed.” He then let his thoughts return to the world he lived in as he rode his horse Princess Ali up the road towards his first destination.

He turned slightly in his saddle, causing the leather to create a soft rubbing sound. His gaze checked on his mule behind him, Carrie who was tied behind the horse and loaded down with the goods Jerad had brought on this trip. He was satisfied that the load of goods was secured, and he shifted himself forward again as they wound their way up the road through the early springtime woodlands.

All around them the sunlight filtered down through the tall forest trees. The light danced lightly through the leaves of the hardwoods and boughs of the pines. Jerad observed how the cool breezes filtered the light. It reached out to touch the mosses that grew along the lengths of the trunks and limbs of the tallest of the trees, known as the Layaon, sentinels of the northlands.

The Layaon trees were the giants of the forest in this part of Sylanon, the most northern providence of the kingdom of Rhiannon. The oldest of them grew to heights of 200 feet and could have a circumference of up to twelve feet in some cases. Many who lived in this land thought of them as the guardians of the forest that stood in watch over the rest of the woods growing far below them.

The rest of the wood of Sylanon were a collection of hard and soft wood trees, silver cinnamon ferns and various thickets and brambles that would bloom with small yellow flowers in the Spring. The bramble bushes would turn shades of green during the summer and end with an explosion of berries that the birds would swoop in to pick clean before the cold northern winter came.

The land still had scattered patches of snow this high up the trail. Green was generally the prominent color in the wood at this time of year and a scattering of yellows, blues and silver from the early flowers and blooms within the thickets could be seen. The White Shoals River was tumbling hard due to the heavy snows that fell during the last winter which were melting with the warming of the temperatures. They swelled the waters high in its banks. The river was so named because of the white tips that were displayed all along its length.

It tumbled down through multiple falls from the heights of the mountains which caused the water to roll and jump hard and fast over the rocks scattered across the floor of its length. There were also clusters of fish that could be seen after the spring spawn known as shoals, thus the name White Shoals River.

The town of Riverlynn was self-sustaining with a smithy, general store, herbalist who made and sold potions, salves, and various treatments for injuries or help with other ailments that people in the town and surrounding areas might need. Skulian is a town a size bigger than Riverlynn that was not far from the border crossings of multiple other holds. This location created a natural blend of cultures due to its location to so many other types of traditions, food, clothing and language. It offered the best place to trade the goods he had packed on his mule. With so many different cultures, came a large variety of different needs and wants.

Jerad spent his time traveling the providence of Rhiannon into remote areas to find craftsman of goods that were unique and not generally found easily in the towns and cities. The general stores of these places and the larger shops of the cities loved it when Jerad made his rounds to present his latest finds. Most shop owners believed it gave them an edge over their competition. Whether from other vendors in the cities or other towns such as Riverlynn and Skulian where you were likely only to find one general store or at most two as in Skulian.

Jerad thought to himself, “I will remember this day whenever I have a need to remember what a great morning looked like.” He chuckled to himself and thought to himself he would have to take the time later to write about this day in his journal. Jerad’s journal was used to keep a log of specific things related to his travels and adventures. He used it to document notes concerning vendors he dealt with that made unique goods and sometimes he would include notes pertaining to special moments like now.

His journal contained anything from how to get to the vendors he did business with because of their remote locations to proper greetings since the cultures varied a great deal from across the Providences. He let the soft sounds of the morning forest life and droning sound of the horse and mule’s walking cadence to lull him to a relaxed state of mind, where everything seemed right with the world. That relaxing state of mind did not last long as suddenly he heard a call for help that arose from the forest, “You, friend, please stop, I need your help!” Jerad immediately stopped the horse and mule, raised himself up on his stirrups and began to look around for the person who had called out.

Another call came next, “Please, friend, I am up here to your left in the trees. I need your help. There’s a young girl who had been fighting off a group of bandits up on the ridge. She fell off the ridge after being hit by one of their swords. She’s injured and needs our help. I promise you it’s not a trap.” Jerad swung his leg over the saddle in a fluid motion, slid off his horse and to the ground landing with a soft sound. He positioned his right-hand on the handle of his long sword located on his right-side prepared just in case this did in fact turn out to be a trap.

She had noticed how smoothly he had swung off the horse and that his first instinct upon landing was to place his hand on his long sword. This affirmed in her own mind that he was not just a merchant. He briefly reached out with his senses but did not notice anything other than sound of retreating footsteps up on the ridge. He thought to himself they must have temporarily given up the hunt after she fell.

They would likely come back later to pick over anything of value that she might have on her. There was a trail that ran along the ridge following the valley where he was coming from. As a sudden breeze blew down with a whoosh from the upper ridge his nose picked up the scent of blood, someone was wounded possibly there were some dead from the smell of it he thought.

The woman who had called him stood up and showed herself and began to wave her hands back and forth above her head to show him she was unarmed for the moment and inviting him to come to her position. At that point he committed himself to investigate who this was that needed help. He quickly made his way up an old deer trail.

He identified the young lady dressed in hunter’s clothes and began to pick up memories from her heightened anxiety. He saw the images now of her bow cracking off shots at the ridge as quickly as she could fire them off. It was a gift he had, and it came into use without his asking it to. There was a story behind it, but it was not for the retelling now.

He then picked up some cursing from someone up on the ridge further away of those who had been retreating. The person was calling out to abandon her, she was likely done for anyway. He sheathed his long sword and pulled his two long knives from his back with a fluid motion. He figured it would be needed if there were multiple attackers.

It wasn’t long before he reached the hunter who had turned towards the ridge where he had heard the retreating group. Possibly she had heard something too, but her back was turned to him at this point and she was standing only 30 yards away up the slope. She then turned towards him possibly sensing him nearing her position. She was waiting to see what he would do. He continued up the trail with his two long knives sheathed at this point. He saw her then turn and noticed her moving closer to below where the battle had taken place looking as she went searching to find something or someone. He then picked up an image from her as she watched a girl on the ridge fall through empty air and hit the trees below before landing in the thicket closer to the ground and rolling out towards where she was moving.

She paused as if she had found what she was looking for and bent to her knees reaching out to touch someone. As he neared her, she turned and glanced up at him. He picked up an anxious look in her face because of the way her eyes seemed to be darting from side-to-side penetrating her surrounding for possible dangers.

He sensed though that it was not him but someone else that she was worried about. He stayed relaxed in his stance as to not alarm her as he drew near to her position. Jerad called out to her, “Morning. Are you hurt?”, She responded, “No, but someone else is and I need your help.” He stopped within three feet of her as to leave room should he need to pull out his long knives again if it turned out to be a trap.

Such events were not uncommon along these remote sections of the road between towns where the bandits could pray on the merchants who were not wealthy enough to afford guards and took their chances with luck. They starred at each other with the blue eyes of the lady huntress and his green hazel eyes sprinkled with yellow dots assessed each other without speaking any words.

Finally, she seemed to relax and said, “There’s a girl here, she was in a fight along that upper trail line.” She pointed to her left and upward to make her point. She continued, “I took one of the bandits out with my bow, one has an injured knee where I planted an arrow, and one more went down as that girl, turning back towards the crumpled form on the ground, split his side with her two-handed sword before one of the bandits got off a lucky blow and she slipped and fell into the trees to tumble down here.”

Without hesitation she continued, “At that moment I began firing arrows rapidly into the bandits and they decided to haul off and find another easier victim.” Jerad responded, “Wow, not a good start to the day I’d say, why do you think they were after her?” She said, “I don’t know, but if we don’t get her to my camp soon so I can tend to her, we may never find out.”

Jerad said, “OK, I’ll carry her for you if you can pull my horse and mule to the camp.” I can’t leave them here with so many goods packed on the mule.” “That would certainly make the bandits happy that I just left them a perfectly good horse and mule packed with goods free of charge.” “She smiled a bit and said,” Agreed but please be gentle with her, I think she is badly injured.” “By the way, my name is Kristyna, what’s yours?” He responded, “The name is Jerad, but let’s go so we can get her to safety at your camp. How far are you from here?” Kristyna said, “I am on the other side of the lake but have a boat docked nearby we can take about a mile away.” Jerad responded, “You must be staying at the old hunters’ camp down along lake Lynyrd.” She responds, “Yes, that’s right.”

Kristyna turned, stood up and asked Jerad, “You know anything about injuries? I wouldn’t mind a second opinion before we move her much” Jerad went to where Kristyna knelt and bent down on one knee as he visually examined the small form that was lying in a fetus like position. She was lucky that the trees and thicket at the bottom of the ledge where she had fallen from had broken her decent some. The ledge bounded the upper trail where the fight had taken place. He quickly lowered his head to her mouth and listened to her breathing. It was soft, but steady and the girl was moaning from the pain caused by the fall and whatever other wounds she received from the fight she had just been in.

He gently touched her neck, arms, and legs to see if he could sense any broken bones before moving her. He thought, “Nothing broken that I can find.” He took some time to gently straighten her out. He then took a small flask with strange markings on it. Opened it, moved it the injured girl’s mouth and forced her lips to part. He let a few drops enter her mouth and then gently rubbed some of the liquid with his fingers to her lips. Her eyes fluttered open within a short few second and then closed again. Jerad observed she seemed to be responding and her body began to relax some.

He closed the flask and returned it to his belt. With the care of a father, he gently moved himself into a position so he could pick her up and carry her off to the safety of Kristyna’s boat where they could take her to the camp to be cared for. Once everything was ready, he looked up at Kristyna who had been watching him with curiosity.

She spoke, “You seem to have experience with care of injuries, are you a physician?” Jerad responded, “No, but I’ve done my stint of time with the border wars and have traveled everywhere from the borders to the far north after that, so I have learned a great deal from actual physicians, healers and herbalist I do business with. “She looked at him with a new level of respect and said, “let’s get going before someone decides to come back.”

He slipped his right arm under her shoulders and his left under her knees and gently picked her up and then held her close to him to allow the warmth of his body to help keep this injured girl from getting too cold. Kristyna said again, “Remember, gentle, no sudden moves and listen to me in case we need to stop.” Jerad responded, “Got, it, let’s get going, you’re right that we don’t need the complications caused by the bandits coming back to finish her off.”

They began the journey down the trail to his horse and mule. When they arrived, he went to face Princess Ali and spoke to her. “Be kind to her Ali, she is a friend and deserves your respect.” Jerad thought back to how she got her name. The Princess designation in front of her name was given due to her demanding stubborn personality, much like some of the royals he had met in his past during all his travels.

Thinking back Jerad remember how he had purchased her from a vendor who made some of the finest blades in the known world. He lived up in the Yarrel mountains area which stretches in an upside-down u-shaped area to form a northern border in the hold of Sylanon. He thought to himself, “Tough place to live, it was extremely remote, hard to get to unless you knew the path well. The weather was also subject to constant changes.” “She was the filly of his horse that carried him all through the border wars and beyond.”

Jerad continued remembering, “He gave her to me at a steep discount as payment for all the goods I had given him over time and the medical remedies I supplied him with. I additionally had trained him in their uses and how to apply those that were in the form of salves and lotions.” He finished his musing by thinking, “I would cook up a meal for him while I was visiting made up of recipes, I had learned from visiting so many different areas and sharing stories of all the different people I met.” Princess Ali turned out to be one great horse. She was strong, fast, and had warrior senses built into her personality. Woe to the bandits that attacked them Jerad thought, “That horse could take out three or four of them before they knew what hit them.”

Kristyna nudged Jerad to get his attention back to the present. He turned and looked at her and she said, “You’ll have to share those thoughts with me after we get settled into my camp and get her stabilized. You seemed to be remembering something special concerning the horse and you.” Jerad smiled back and said, “Yep, she’s one special horse.”

With that he said, “Let’s get this girl to safety and hopefully get her stabilized and on her way to recovery.” Kristyna nodded agreement and she grabbed the reigns of the horse and began leading her away. They continued down the trail towards the river where her boat was docked when Kristyna suddenly signaled with her hand that she wanted to take the wooded trail to the right vs the road to her boat. Jerad considered, “She was smart, they would have been too exposed on the main road.” He nodded his agreement and they silently passed into the deep woodlands surrounding the road.

Kristyna was setting a pace about ten yards in front of him and was taking it slow to allow Jerad time to keep pace with the injured girl he carried while not taking any risk that he would lose his footing while holding her. He followed continuing to hold the girl close to him to help keep her warm as they entered the forest where the temperature dropped a bit due to the deeper shadows and shade. He could tell she was in decent shape for a young lady as her legs had hard muscles where his fingers touched them. She was around five feet seven inches tall and of small build. Of course, that could be deceiving since she might have been living on thin rations for a while.

She had a hood on that was lined with fur to help keep her head warm. He noticed that the rising moonlight and setting sun would cross her face at various times and light up certain features about her face. When the light hit across her face exactly right, he saw that there was a spray of freckles around her cheeks and nose. That normally meant she might be a redhead but not always.

He didn’t know what color her eyes were since she had been unconscious. When she had opened them briefly after he gave her the medicine the shadows were too deep for him to tell anything. He saw her eyebrows were a tint of brown and red which matched his idea she might be a redhead or something akin to it and her skin had a fair tint as well.

They continued to make their way downward towards the lake. All the while, Jerad stretched his senses to hear or notice anything off in the forest around them. It seems to him to be getting quiet considering the time of evening. Normally, the woodlands would be alive with evening activity as the residents of these woods scurried about for their last meal of the day. Suddenly, the forward motion of the horse and mule stopped. Kristyna turned towards him and placed her finger to her lips to give him the signal for silence.

It was at that time he heard them, someone was quite mad and wasn’t concealing the fact that they were there. “What do you mean you lost her, you were contracted to capture her and bring her back to us.” Kristyna came and softly spoke to Jerad. “Wait here, I will scout ahead and get an idea of what’s going on and who they are.”

Jerad nodded to her and stepped off into the deeper part of the trees to assure he and his passenger were well concealed. He immediately began to plan a route for eluding the group should things escalate or in the worst case find somewhere to hide her while he fought his way clear of any potential danger. Now there was another person who responded to the first “We had her surrounded and she was tiring out when someone started firing arrows at us with alarming accuracy. Whoever it was took Arne out and hit Nard on his leg. We even got off a well-timed strike on her due to the fact she had been momentary distracted by the sudden intervention too.”

He continued, “We we’re not going to stick around when we couldn’t even see where all those arrows were coming from.” “The girl is injured enough between the battle and the fall; she’s not going anywhere anytime soon.” “We’ll give it another bit of time and head back to locate her and bring her back to you.” The main person who appeared to be the leader of the other group said, “Don’t fail me, you won’t get any reward if she’s not delivered to me.” “I also want to remind you that you don’t want to become the hunted. I have no problem with placing a bounty on your heads if you fail me.”

The hunter responded, “Are you threatening us Alonar?” Alonar shot back, “You knew the risk when you signed up, I don’t have to threaten you, I know you already know who we report to, and she will not be pleased with your little group of bounty hunters if you fail us.” Alonar continued, “You don’t won’t her hunters after you or need I remind you what the outcome would be when they go on the hunt.” With a sigh, the bandit quietly said, “OK, we’ll find her and bring her back to you.” Suddenly, you could hear a shuffle as if a group of people were standing up. “Come on you guys, we’d best be getting that girl and bringing her to Alonar before he loses his britches over it.” There was some mumbling about something that didn’t agree with him. Before he could assess anything about that he could hear two separate groups moving away from each other.

Kristyna watched from her place of concealment as the two groups separated. The new ones were a small detachment of enforcers from the Isles of the Lian. Kristyna thought to herself, “What were they doing so far north?” She watched them as both groups separated and went their separate ways. Once it was clear again, she decided to scout a parameter around this area to ensure no one was left behind before going back to inform Jerad what she observed and heard.

Jerad had been waiting patiently in the deeper shadows of the trees listening to the girls breathing to ensure nothing had changed. He looked upon her and thought to himself, “She’s been through some rough times, I wonder how she caught those cuts on her face. They’re not brand new from this fight but they were still red and angry looking. “Suddenly, a whisper came from the shadows, “Jerad, I am coming through to you.”

Kristyna appeared winded and took a minute to slow her breathing before speaking. “How’s our girl doing?” Jerad softly spoke, “She’s holding her own, but we need to get her somewhere so you can attend to her wounds.” He continued, “I am worried about these delays but there’s nothing to be done about it.” Kristyna nodded and said, “Agreed, let’s go then, I’ll update you after we get her settled in at the campsite.” They continue the journey to her boat with Kristyna leading and Jerad holding back ten paces just in case. They made it the rest of the way without any other events occurring.

Once they arrived at the hunter’s camp. Several other hunters came over to them to see what this was all about. They all knew Kristyna. One such hunter, a large man, overweight like a bear and just as dangerous looking came and spoke gently to Kristyna, “Don’t know what’s going on here but we heard the commotion back in the woods. We were hoping it wasn’t related to one of our own. We’re happy to see you are doing well, Kristyna.” Jerad immediately picked up this man took a liking to Kristyna. Almost protective over her. Kristyna responded, “No, we’re fine, Gerald, can you help me get my boat ready? We have an injured girl we need to get to my remote camp. “Gerald looked at the stranger holding the girl. “Who’s that, I take it we can trust him?”

Kristyna paused, then spoke, “Sometimes Gerald, you have to learn to take the measure of a person and trust your instincts, especially when someone else’s life may be in danger.” Gerald simply responded, “If you’re OK with him, we’re okay.” Kristyna spoke to Jerad, “I’ve laid down a bed for her in the boat, gently place her in it and we’ll cover her up. Jerad thought and then said, “I can continue holding her to keep her warm if you’d like me to.” Kristyna responded, “No, I need your help with the boat. We’ll get there faster that way. Jerad said with a small smile, “OK, you’re the captain.”

She laughed softly and said “let’s get going. I put your horse and mule with my friends at the camp. They won’t steal anything. They are honest folk.” “Plus, if anyone comes by, they’ll just fit in with the other horses and mules loaded up from the hunt.” Jerad walked the remaining distance to the boat. Walked across the small dock and stepped up and into the small sailing boat. He saw the bedding that had been laid down for the young lady and gently placed her in it. He took some of the furs that were placed there and covered her up gently tucking them in close so she would stay warm. He turned and asked Kristyna, “where do you want me?” Kristyna said, I’ll stay with the sail to ensure were maximizing the winds.” “You steer us out towards that island.” She pointed her finger out towards a land mass located about two thirds of the way out from where they were.

Kristyna then said, “I’ll update you on how to find the dock once we are close enough for you to know.” Jerad nodded and said, “Okay captain, let’s get this ship moving.” Kristyna signaled Gerald who untied the mooring line and threw it to her. She caught it with ease and tucked it out of the way under one of the forward seats. She then began to raise the sail and position it to catch the breeze that blew down from the mountains and out onto the lake. The boat picked up speed and was off across the water.

It took another thirty minutes for them to travel to the camp by boat. It was remote and well situated with the Yarrel mountain range directly behind it. Water surrounded this island of land, and deep thickets and trees protecting any view by anyone else passing by on the lake. She guided Jared to where the dock was hidden, and she lowered the sail and let the forward motion that was left take them into the hidden area and up to the dock.

Once there she jumped out onto the doc, securing it to a small mooring post built into the dock. She turned to Jerad and said, “Good piloting, midshipman. “You seem to have some skill in this.” Jerad smiled and responded, “Let’s get our girl to camp so you can see what we’re dealing with.” Jerad pulled back the fur that covered her and gently picked her up to carry her off the boat and into the camp.

They walked about fifty feet into the encirclement of trees where there was a lean too loaded down with soft furs and alongside a fire with a cooking pot hanging from the poles set above it. Off to the side and set back a little was a small tent with places laid out for two people to sleep. Kristyna asked Jerad to set her down on the furs and asked if he would be so kind as to get some more firewood for the fire while she attended to the girl’s needs.

Jerad agreed without hesitation knowing he needed to give her some privacy to allow her time to bandage her and make sure she was comfortable before coming back. He wondered off to beyond the woods and looked for dry wood, kindling and starter material to maintain the fire. There was plenty of it here as there had been no logging done on this island and all the deadwood and branches were in plenty from no one being here much.

Twenty minutes later he returned, and he could see that Kristyna had finished with her work and was busy working on something in the pot. Jerad set the firewood down and asked, “How is she, is she going to make it through?” Kristyna thought for a moment and responded, “I think so, but I need some more things to ensure she does.” Jerad responded, “What do you need? I’ll do what I can to help.” Kristyna gave him a list of items and then said. “There’s a lady, an old crone, who lives at the base of the old watch tower up on Mount Skyward.

It was so named because of its upward pointing spires that looked like they were reaching out to touch the sky. Kristyna told him, “She’ll have the herbs we need, and oh, by the way our girl’s armor was damaged. Please take it into the smithy at Riverlynn. I know there’s one up in Skulian, but the cabin is closer to Riverlynn and will help to shorten your trip.” I really need you back here with those herbs and other things on the list.

Kristyna caught her breath and then said, “Stop in at the local general store and pick-up some clean linen and bandages. Also, another fur or two to help keep her warm.” She continued, “Don’t let anyone know what this is about. The shopkeeper and his brother can be nosy.” “I know you know how to keep your lips sealed so I’ll not lecture you on that.”

Kristyna asked, “If you can do some hunting and bring us some meat for about a week and some vegetables that would be good too. I promise to fix you up a few meals you’ll really like.” “Plus, we’ll need something to help strengthen our girl up once she’s at a point where she can sit up on her own again.” Kristyna caught herself and said, “I am sorry, I didn’t mean to assume you would stay. I guess I am hoping you’ll stick around a little longer before continuing your journey.” Jerad looked up at her and said to her, “I would not leave you alone to deal with this at this point. I think me staying may be a good idea if you’re okay with it.” She smiled and nodded her agreement.

Jerad got up and asked, “use the boat to get back across?” She responded, “Yep, and oh by the way I really appreciate your help.” “I’ll find some way to pay you for lost time.” With that, he was off to get the supplies and to take her cuirass in for repair.” As he picked up the cuirass, he noticed the symbol on the breastplate.

He thought, “That’s the crest of Dunstead. Is she a noble and if so, where is her guard and what is she doing way up here so far away from that city?” He examined the piece for a moment and noticed how lightweight it was, almost no weight to it at all but it shows signs of having had some recent heavy blows against it.” “I’ve seen this kind of metal work before; quite rare I think.”

He thought to himself, “I wonder if the smithy in Riverlynn will know how to handle this type of piece.” “I would hate to see something go wrong with the repair of this cuirass considering the quality of its build.” Jerad jumped into the boat, raised the sail and then sat down with the ropes for the sail tied at an angle he thought would see him through. No micro adjustments here just point and go. He steered it out to the deep lake waters on his way back to the hunter’s camp. He continued to think about the implications here after seeing the crest of the cuirass. “What have I gotten myself mixed up in?” “If this girl makes it, there’s a story here worth hearing. “

As he continued, he thought again, “There are too many things out of place here. Like first what was someone of noble birth doing traveling on their own? Next, what is so special about her that so many had an interest in doing her harm.” “Those scars on her left cheek, how did she get them? Has she been fighting a running battle to wherever she was heading?” He continued to think as he slowly guided the small sailing boat across the lake. “Is this something of politics in nature or something else altogether?” “So many questions and very few answers.” He finished with the thought, “This mystery deepens.”

Jerad arrived back at the hunter’s camp, thanked them for looking after his stuff and asked if he could leave his mule with them as he needed to travel fast with just the horse.” They agreed after he padded their hands with a few coins each. Gerald came up to him and asked how Kristyna and the girl were doing. Jerad paused a moment, “Kristyna is doing fine, she’s been busy doctoring the girl. She believes she’ll make it, but it will take some time for her to recover fully.” Jerad then asked, “Hey, can you tell me anything about Kristyna? Like where did she learned all those physician skills, she’s better than most and it’s not something you’re going to pick up wandering around the wilderness.”

Gerald said, “I think you’ll have to ask her when the time is right. That story is not for me to tell.” Gerald then said, softly so no one else could hear in the camp, “Can I be direct with you friend?” Jerad responded, “Of course, what do you need to know?” Gerald asked, “You’re not planning on anything with Kristyna beyond…” Jerad cut him off, “Look friend, my interest here is the girl we found, discovering what the story is behind all of this, deciding what needs to happen next. Nothing more, Kristina’s a great person, pretty as can be too, but I have no interest beyond friendship, that’s all so please be at peace with that thought.”

Gerald smiled, “I am glad to hear that friend, really glad to hear it.” With that Jerad put out his hand in friendship, the big man responded in kind and Jerad noticed how his hands were twice the size of his. He thanked him again, mounted Princess Ali, and drove her into a fast trot back towards Riverlynn. He arrived in Riverlynn not long after morning sunrise and rode up to the general store. He slipped off Ali to the ground directly in front of the store. He looked at the sign swinging above his head from the morning breezes that were beginning to stir coming down off the mountain. It read, “White River Trading Co. Proprietor – Dillon Ansel”

He thought to himself, “You know, considering all the time I’ve spent going through this town, you would think the whole town would know me by now.” He then said to himself, “Small towns like these relied a lot on business and trade with each other to help sustain the town. They don’t often trade or buy goods from merchants. That can cause hardship for the locals who might need the money to buy their next month’s supplies so they can eat.” He continued towards the door then and since it was early morning, he knocked on the door, tested the handle to see if it was opened, which it was, pushed the door inward and stepped through.

There were no customers yet, looks like he was the first of the day. Jerad saw the proprietor stocking the shelves behind the counter. He walked up to the counter and said, “Morning to you friend” The proprietor turned around and said, “What can we do for you? We carry a little of everything here.” Jerad responded, “We’ll my niece took a fall and so I need some bandages, clean linens and oh, I almost forgot few of your best fur blankets.” The proprietor said, “I’ll be right back, got to get those furs from the storehouse.” It didn’t take long, and he returned with everything he asked for. Jerad asked, “What do I owe you?” The proprietor said, “That will be twenty bits please, those fur blankets don’t come cheap you know.”

The proprietor then asked, “you said your niece got injured. What happened to her and where do they live? I hear quite a bit here from people passing through and haven’t heard of any of the families round about here having any issues.” Jerad responded, “You wouldn’t my friend, they live way on the other side of Mount Spire in a pretty remote area.” “They were lucky enough that I decided to visit and was available to run some errands to get the stuff they needed.” Sorry for the hurry but I need to get back to them.

The proprietor stared at him as he left but was satisfied overall with the coin, he made with the first customer of the day. He thought, “This will show Bill, that stupid brother of mine who’s always complaining about staying in such a small town.” Dillon thought, “He wants us to sell this place and move into one of the larger cities to set up shop, but I like it fine here and actually enjoy knowing all the people I do business with. Not sure it would stay that way in the city.” Jerad loaded the furs and linens on his horse and strapped them down behind his saddle. He placed the bandages in one of his saddle bags. He looked to the east a little more and not only saw but heard the blacksmith already busy at work with his forge.

Walking on down, he noticed the smithy still firing up the forge for the day’s work ahead. He walked up the stairs and to the area with the following greeting, “Morning to you, open for business yet?” The smithy, looking to be middle aged with broad shoulders, and strong of build responded, “Can’t do much work yet. I’ve got to get this forge fired up first but let’s talk about what you need done.” Jerad asked the man to hold on a minute, walked back to his horse and pulled the cuirass off the horse where it was strapped on. He took it back with him and said, “I need some repair work done on this cuirass. It’s seen some hard work from various bandit groups lately practicing their arts on it.” The smithy said, set it on the bench over there and I’ll come to look at it shortly.”

Jerad turned to his right and located the bench where he sat it down. He was quite amazed how light weight this metal was. It appeared to be very strong though considering its weight. The smith approached saying, “Wow, it’s been a good ten years since I’ve last seen any of this armor to work on.” He then looked at Jerad directly and tried to pierce his honesty. “Where did you get this?” Jerad responded, “Why do you ask, it just some armor I got while playing cards.” “It was a win as the previous owners had played their hand out but wanted to play for broke. He put up this piece like a promissory note and when he lost, he just gave it to me to square up. Apparently, he didn’t expect to have any coin soon to compensate me.”

The smithy paused a moment to size up his story and then asked, “Do you know anything about this crest on it” Jerad responded, “No, other than the fact I know no one has them other than the royal houses of Sylanon.” I don’t normally ask questions when it comes to someone’s dept being paid.” The smith responded, “This here is from Dunstead, one of the smaller cities in Lydendale hold not too far from our borders here in Rhiannon.” The smithy then moved his fingers over the piece like a gentleman caressing a young lady’s hand trying to etch out his intentions to her. He turned and said to Jerad, “Do you know the recent stories about Dunstead?” Jerad paused and said, “Nope, don’t get into that part of Rhiannon much due to the tough times I hear from others passing through their border guards.” “Besides, I have more than enough trade and business from everyone within a hundred miles from here to keep me happy.”

He continued, “I am a man of modest means.” Jerad thought, “This smithy knows something. I need to be careful to see what it is without showing too much interest in it. Let’s see how far I can get with this without causing any harm.” The smith responded, “By the way my name is Lennox, what’s yours?” Jerad responded, “The name’s Jerad, I travel trading goods with everyone from blacksmiths to general store owners and in some case jewelry makers.” Lennox paused, “Yeah, I’ve seen you moving through town before, never saw you stop though and figured you were heading up to Skulian.” Jerad said, “I normally won’t stop unless I have business with someone here or I run out of supplies.” Lennox appeared satisfied with that and continued back to the original conversation, “All I hear is that things are unsettled a bit back in Lydendale.”

The smith stated, “Dunstead has a tragic story that goes along with it.” “You care to hear it?” Then without waiting for a response Lennox continued, “The family who was in control there, Count Sylandale and his wife the countess who had a very young daughter were caught up in the most recent political maneuvering from whoever sat on thrown of Rhiannon.” “I am sure glad I don’t live anywhere close to all those criminals who pretend to be of noble bearing and have our best interests in mind.”

Lennox continued, “It’s said the Count was accused of treason, taken to the capital where he was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to exile in the most southern prison.” The smithy paused to think, “What’s its name, oh yeah, Sorrow’s End.” “The mother and child simply disappeared and were not heard from again.” He paused and continued, “The rumors were that they met an untimely end. The crown paid off the assassin’s guild, a contract put on them.” “He then instated a new Count under his control, and everything changed hands.” “Nothing’s been the same there since that time as the citizens of what used to be a happy, thriving city are in fear of the current Count in residence.”

Lennox caught his breath and said, “I had a chance to meet the mother once due to some work she commissioned me to do on some of their armor.” “You see, not many smithies understand how to work this type of metal.” Jerad looked at the smithy with a newfound respect and asked, “So, where were you trained?” “How did you become such a skilled smithy and why Riverlynn where there’s not going to be much call for those skills here?” Lennox responded, “Twenty years ago I determined to learn the smithy skills from the best I could find across the breath of Rhiannon.” “I traveled through all the holds visiting both towns and cities and working a year or two whenever I found someone with some unique style or approach to the trade.” Jerad responded, “That quite a quest, you must have a lot of stories to tell about those adventures.”

Lennox said, “Yeah, many good ones but also those I’d rather never remember.” He then said, “I am sure you have similar ones with all the traveling you do.” Lennox didn’t wait for a reply, he just continued, “You know, I remember that little girl, she was cute as a button with deep green eyes and splashes of blue grey mixed in. Her hair was the prettiest shades of red and brown. She had a spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks.” “She appeared to be a daddy’s girl as seeing her play with her father with wooden swords, where he was teaching her the art of being a warrior vs. what I see most little girls play with.” “You know dolls and girlie stuff.”

Lennox continued, “I remember thinking, I wonder who her father was, it was obvious his skill at swordsmanship was way above the average person. There appeared to be a story sitting behind that man. Possible even something akin to a legendary one.” “You know that girl, was quick too. She was parrying his strikes with ease and every once in while would turn one of his strikes into a blow of her own.” “I remember thinking at the time, if this girl continues with that level of skill, she’s going to be dangerous if someone tries to take her down.”

Lennox paused a moment again, “Anyway, it will be a week for getting this repaired right. It takes a special fire in the forge and some metals I’ve not used in a long time now to repair this piece. It will also cost you a hundred bits. Nonnegotiable!” Jerad simply nodded and said his travels ahead would take about that long to get back down to Riverlynn. Jerad said, “Here’s half the payment up front, I don’t want you thinking I won’t return. I’ll be back for it.” Lennox smiled then took the piece and said he was going to store it in his home to keep it safe until he was ready to work on it. Jerad thanked him and returned to Princess Ali, mounted up, and rode out the west gate to take the high road up towards the old watch tower so he could switch back down towards the herbalist cabin.

He didn’t want anyone guessing at his next stop and so decided to take this route just in case. He mused to himself, “best to be cautious since I don’t know much about this girl’s story yet although I wonder, if this girl Lennox was talking about is one in the same. That would certainly close some of the gaps in what we’ve experienced to date concerning the special interest of other parties in her. We’ll wait until we can ask her directly, caution is the way.” Since he was taking this indirect route, he decided to do some hunting. He knew Kristyna had requested he get some game while he was out so they would have enough meat to sustain them for a week or two. He slowed Princess Ali down and took a path that led to some meadows where he knew there would be various types of game.

There should be some deer, fox, and wolf available, and he might even be lucky enough to find some wild vegetables while out. It was common for homesteaders to use this patch of land to build shelters while traveling through if the weather conditions were bad enough to delay travel. The settlers would grow some crops for any type of extended stay while waiting for the warmer weather of summer to arrive before picking up and moving on towards their final destinations.

He took his horse and led her into a wooded area before the meadows. He slid off her saddle and grabbed his bow and quiver. He gave Princess Ali some food to munch on and quietly crouched to move towards the meadow lands to see what he could find. He was immediately in luck as there were a small herd of deer who had stopped to feed on the rich grasses and flowers that grew in these meadows. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver, notched it into the string and pulled it back to almost a full pull. He located one that looked like it had plenty of meat on it and took his aim. Jerad was better than many with a bow from all his time spent scouting and fighting during the border wars. He waited, held his breath, pulled the rest of the way and let the arrow fly.

It flew with blazing speed and hit the intended target exactly where he aimed. The deer fell quietly to the ground as if it was lying down to sleep. So fast and accurate was the shot that the animal never felt anything before its life simply was gone. He waited a bit and the herd moved off to another location. The herds migrated quite a bit during the spring always looking for more feeding grounds until they reached their summer destination. He grabbed Princess Ali and walked her over to where he had dropped the deer. He prepared the deer for travel by field dressing it. He removed the internal organs and took the necessary steps to preserve the meat until he got it back to camp to finish the processing of it. He then hefted it up and placed it behind his saddle on Princess Ali. Once he was done with that, he spotted a field where some settlers had planted some vegetables that appeared to be ready for the spring harvest.

He walked both him and Princess Ali over to the field and began rooting through the garden finding the vegetables that were ready to be picked. He gathered some carrots, potatoes, some wild mixed lettuce and spring onions and placed them all into a couple of sacks that had lots of air holes in them to allow the bags to breath while traveling. He felt like he had everything he needed and mounted Ali again to finish the trip to the herbalist cabin.

He made his way to its location without incident although he did notice that there was a guard not wearing a uniform out on the overlook as he was passing by the old watch tower. He had thought to himself, “Likely another group of bandits waiting for some merchant with the mules packed to the brim before caring to act.” As he rode into the area, he was surprised to see the large spray of plants and flowers that surrounded the cabin. He knew a lot of these as anyone who traveled needed a good store of the right herbs and medicines with them just in case of illness or injury.

The cabin was small, he then thought to himself, “likely she’s been here a long-time as there were so many different outbuildings, each with its own different colored glass in the windows. This array of colored glass that made up the windows created a dazzling lay of colors for the eyes to feast on.” He then thought, “I wonder, he mused…” Before he could finish the thought, he noticed a woman of older stature was hovering over a cooking pot with the most wonderful aromas lifting from it whenever the light breezes picked it up to set it loose in the air where it teased the senses.” Jerad rode up, stopped Ali, and kicked himself off her to the ground. He walked up to the old lady stirring the pot and introduced himself, “Good day to you miss…, I have a list of ingredients I need. I’ll pay you for them if you can help?” She continued stirring the pot and finally said, “I know what you need. I don’t need your list “He thought a bit at the under tones of that statement and responded, “I just need what’s on the list, if you could please help me.” She shot back, “Help you I can but maybe not in the way you expect.”

With that, Jerad shifted his stance, his senses were on high alert. He slipped his hand down towards his side close to the hilt of the sword just in case. She then stopped stirring the pot, took a ladle and started to pour some of its contents into several pots typically used to keep things warm for a while for travelers. She had noticed his slight change in stance and said to him, “That won’t be necessary, I am not a threat to you, Jerad!” He thought, “How did she know my name?” She then handed all the pots she had filled to Jerad and said, “Take these and make sure Kristyna feeds her a quarter of each pot each day once she’s taking food again.” This mentally knocked Jerad back a bit. “How did she know, had Kristyna left the camp, how did she know about the girl?”

She handed him a bag shaking it briefly as she did so and said, “everything on the list is here in this bag. Kristyna will know what to do with it. Jerad than asked, “Are you a seer, or soothsayer, or….” She responded, “I am who you see, nothing more…” Jerad then said, “But how did you know all of this, I never said anything about them at all?” She laughed, “ha ha…”

She then locked eyes with him and looked deep within before she began to speak. Her eyes had glazed over and there appeared to be a light shining from her face when she began to speak. Her voice sounded far away but richly laced with meaning. She said to Jerad, listen he is of the dragon blood, know that what I tell you is one of the most important things you will have learned in all your years since becoming one with the Dragon of the Stars. Jerad was stunned to the core now to hear all of what this lady knew about him but before he could ask any questions she began:

“Two rings made in separate places,
Neither one knowing, no one owning,
Discoveries yet to be found, mysteries untangling with
each round,
Many trails ahead, a twisted road full of dead,
Two rings lost in time, their destines intertwined,
Two rings when welded together, bring forth the one
thought to be lost forever until now, the moment when
its truth unwinds.
Two rings once together illusions now broken, the truth
has been spoken,
The harbinger of renewal is revealed, it speaks of a
legend no longer concealed,
One ring welded by bonds, A love found strong, two
rings fused together, unbroken for all eternity.”

Her eyes became crystal clear again and she laughed saying, “Jerad, take good care of her, she is special to you in ways you have yet to discover.” With that she turned and walked into her cabin, closing the door. Jerad, stunned by all of this, went back to Ali in a daze, he placed the pots of hot food in a loosely fitting basket to keep them safe until he got back to the camp with Kristyna. He then raised himself up on her, tied the herbal bag to the saddle and started back to the hunter’s camp to pick up the boat again. As he began to enter the trees at the edge of the clearing, something caused him to stop and looked back and to his amazement, the only thing that now stood where there once were gardens of herbs and flowers, multiple out building and a cooking fire with the spit and pot hanging from it was a cabin standing there alone. Everything else was gone. He turned Ali around and took her back towards the cabin.

He slid off, walked the few remaining steps to the door, slowly opened it and then staggered to his knees to see there was nothing here but an empty bed, a chair, some shelves with no stock and cobwebs everywhere as if it had not been lived in for a long, long time. His gaze took in the contents of the cabin one more time and he noticed a single piece of paper left on the table. He picked it up slowly, afraid to open and read it. He took a slow deep breath to release his stress and then opened the note and read. It had a single sentence, “Remember she is very special to you, two rings when brought together bring to life that which had been thought to be forgotten forever.” He carefully folded the note closed it, tucked it in the inside pocket of his jacket, then left the cabin.

He took one more look around him at the land, overgrown with the natural plants of the wood. He walked to the fire and bent down to check it. It had also been cold for a long time. Nothing had been burnt here for months, years or longer. Finally, standing up he went back to his horse and started back to the hunter’s camp wondering how he would ever reconcile that meeting. He slowed Ali down as he closed in on the camp, stopped her and slipped off to the ground. Arriving he thanked the hunters and transferred everything from Ali to the boat. He checked the pots, and they were still quite warm. He thought to himself, “None of this makes any sense at all.”

He loaded everything onto the boat and pushed off into the lake heading back for the remote camp. On arriving Kristyna was waiting for him and helped him to unload the boat and take the goods back to the campsite. Once they were done, he immediately asked Kristyna, “How’s our girl doing?” Kristyna responded, “She’s doing better, you know she took some nasty wounds in that battle.” She walked over to the girl who was still not moving much and waved him to come over. He went over to her bent down on his knees, and she whispered, “prepare yourself. I have never seen anything like it before.”

Kristyna gently pulled back the fur blankets that covered her shoulders. As she did so it revealed a set of deep engravings about a quarter inch in depth where someone had created some message in her skin using an old Lianian language. He thought to himself, “I’ve not seen this language except in some of the old ruins in Lian and those scattered much further south in the ancient ruins of that nation.” This girl had suffered greatly when this was done to her. He thought, she’s lucky to still be alive after that alone”. He was a harden man in general from fighting in the border wars all those years. He had seen his share of slaughter of men, women, and children. It tended to numb you over time. It was the only way your mind could cope with it.

For some reason, seeing this innocent girl with this level of brutality enacted upon her really moved him. Maybe it was the number of years between the border wars and now. It didn’t matter though as his emotions rolled out of him with all the pain and anguish this girl has experienced in such a short life. He had forgotten about Kristyna who looked at his reaction in surprise. She watched him as he then cried out with his head lifted towards the sky. It was at this moment that a strange voice lifted from his tongue. Kristyna did not recognize any of it, as she looked on with a combination of fear and wonder.

Jerad let lose a cry in this strange tongue and it was loud but clear ringing out towards the heavens, “La forto del la Cielo falas sur nin, drakoj de la steloj audas mian peton, montru kompaton ci tie, kie mia koro sangas”, in the common tongue, “Heaven’s force falls upon us, dragons of the stars hear my plea, show mercy here where my heart bleeds.” A bright light shot up to the heavens formed from in front of him from the words he spoke. As the light rose high into the night sky a sound like rolling thunder split the clouds. Kristyna was spell bound by what she was seeing and numb to do anything but watch on.

The thundering sounds from the heavens rose in a long crescendo and then suddenly a bright light shot down from the sky surrounding the girl and Jerad with its bright radiance.” Kristyna sat there in stunned silence and awe of what she had just witnessed and knew this man was special. She watched in wonder as she watched him bend this light with his hands and used it to penetrate the runic language written seared into her skin. Where he touched the girl with the light a warm glow formed that seemed to transfer something from him into her.

The girl began to moan and then magically the scars on her back began to fade and became less angry looking. When he stopped, the light faded and she witnesses this man bring his hands to his face and gently weep while repeating the same words repeatedly in this same strange tongue, “Dunguar Heavner, Lor, Shun, Healinith”, translated to “Dragon’s light of the heavens, your healing mercy has healed our hearts.” The light had faded from his hands and was now beginning to fade from around them. There he stayed knelt with his head bowed as if in prayer watching over her. When the light faded completely Kristyna could see that the angry red colors surrounding the engravings had simply vanished. She couldn’t believe any of this, who was this man? She rose and stepped over to Jerad almost afraid to be near him. She then placed her hand on his shoulder in an act of understanding of what he had just done for this girl.

Jerad reached up, touched her hand, and squeezed it gently as if to say, “I appreciate the comfort, thank you.” He took the fur and covered her back up and stood to face Kristyna. He then said to her, “I can’t believe what this tiny person has endured. He then went silent as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He leaned into Kristyna and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, turned and then walked away into the darkness. His last thoughts were, “No one has the right to do this to anyone, no one! Payment will come once I find out who did this to her”

Kristyna walked over and sat down to take watch over the girl. She sat there thinking he had been moved by some power outside of him by what he witnessed. She was moved in undefinable ways by this act he had just done, whatever it was. She thought to herself, “This is no ordinary warrior that would be moved in such as way. A person with that level of compassion for others was truly a rare human in the world. If he was even that, it has not been since the age of myth that such acts were heard of”

“What was that language he spoke; it had such power that was a part of it.” She continued to think, “I would be scared out of my skin if not for the compassion I had seen him show this girl as he spoke those words, they were both angry but full of sadness and the result was an act of mercy rarely seen in this world. Then she thought, “There’s a story here worth learning about concerning Jerad. I’ll have to see what I can figure out over the next week or two as this girl heals.”

Kristyna did not want to discuss what had just happened with him unless he spoke first, she waited there until Jerad returned. He seemed recovered enough to ask, “So, what did the crone have to say, did she have everything? Kristyna asked. Jerad responded, “She did. The bag has all the herbs in it that you asked for, the pots have some type of herbal soup mix. The crone said to feed her a quarter of each bowl every day until she’s better. “Kristyna than asked pensively, “anything else, you want to tell me about your visit?”

Jerad paused and then began, “How often have you visited her for supplies?” Kristyna responded, “Well, about four times a year I go there.” Jerad then got to the question, “Have you ever noticed anything strange about your visits?” She responded, “No, other than the fact that she always knows what I need. I think she’s some type of soothsayer as well.” Jerad thought for a moment. “I agree but I think there’s more to this.” “Why, what did you see?” “It’s not what I saw while I was there speaking with her, it’s what happened as I left.” Kristyna responded, “Go on…” Jerad picked up the conversation again, “When I turned around to say goodbye at the edge of the woods, there was nothing there other than the cabin. I went back and checked in the cabin, it was empty, full of cobwebs and it hadn’t been lived in for a long time.”

Kristyna was quite a moment and then said, “Are you sure?” Jerad said, “Yep, as sure as I know there’s a bigger story to our girl than what were likely thinking right now. “Kristyna wanted to change the subject. Hey, you know when I went out to scout who that was before we made the journey to the boat. Jerad said, “Yea, what about it. “She said, “I came upon two groups there talking in the glade. What surprised me is that one of the groups were enforcers from the isles of the Lian. What are they doing here so far north?” Jerad thought for a moment or two, “As I said, I believe there’s more to this girl’s story than either of us imagined when we first found her. Odd enough to find a girl, alone in these woods unless they’re a huntress like yourself, she is surely not that.” He continued, “Oh, and that cuirass I took in for repair, the smithy said it is of the royal family of Dunstead.

Also, he told me that there are only a few smithies including himself in the whole of Rhiannon that would understand how to repair it properly. Apparently, it is made of some special metals and techniques that are exceedingly rare indeed.” Kristyna responded, “There’s a lot to untangle here and it’s been a long day. I hate to ask but can you stay a little longer? At least until I can get her healthy enough to sit up and begin helping with her own care.” Jerad paused but a moment, “Kristyna, I am invested now, the more I learn about our girl the more I care to see what’s going on here.” “You have my services in this, however I will need to get my goods delivered to Skulian. There are merchants waiting for some of the goods on my mule. I don’t want to let them down.”

Kristyna replied, “Before you leave to get that done, let’s consider anything else we might need for the care of our girl here. That way you can pick up everything while you’re in Skulian.” Jerad replied, “That makes sense, I think we should split shifts tonight even though this campsite is remote. If enforcers from Lian are looking for her, we should not assume anything about our safety here.” He then told Kristyna, “Why don’t you get some rest, I’m not ready to settle in yet.” Kristyna agreed and stood up to walk to her tent. Jerad followed her with his eyes as she moved away. Kristyna stopped before entering her tent, turned, and then quietly said, “I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for her, for us both today. Anyway, goodnight.” With that she slipped away into the tent to sleep.

Jerad positioned some logs so he could keep a closer watch on the girl and have a better view of what might be coming towards them if something like that were to occur. He started thinking about the last few days. He was used to changes and adventures, both good and bad. In this case though, there was something gnawing away at his inner being. He knew without hesitation that this one event was about to change his life in ways he could never imagine. I hope I’m up for it.”

Jerad had been sitting there for about an hour scanning the perimeter of the campsite. Suddenly, she moaned and began weeping about some past torture she had endured, he was sure. He was still unsettled from the earlier event where he had been shown the cruel inscriptions dug into her shoulders. They were healed some after he had applied some of the power of the dragon blood to healing her. He began thinking about what he had done. He knew that he could not invoke that kind of power without it being noticed. He also knew that it wouldn’t be long before she came. He was tied to her by both blood and soul and an invocation at that level would be felt by her and even the few others like her left in this world.

He thought to himself, “I need some time with her to talk about everything that’s happened. I am sure she will have some deep insights as to what is occurring and where all of this might be leading.” He then thought, “Of course, I might not like the answers at all which is often the case when it comes to the manipulations of her kind and the gods.”

Jared’s focus returned to her, and he gently placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed and patted her. He spoke softly to her. “It’s OK now, you’re safe with us. Kristyna and I will take care of you and help you get to wherever you’re going when you’re better.” She appeared to be calming down a little and without knowing why, he bent over and kissed her on the cheek whispering, “I’ll never let anything like that happen to you again. We’ll protect you and keep you safe.” He reached out for her hand to gently rub them and give her comfort. As his fingers touched hers, there was a sudden rise of energy that appeared between his hand and hers. Jerad thought, “The air must be dry for that to happen, thinking that it was nothing more than a strong static shock due to a dry atmosphere. Although, it doesn’t feel that way come to think of it.”

He began to trace her fingers from the hand to their tips. Each one in succession and as he did so he could sense her relaxing, calming down, and the nightmares appeared to be going away. As he began to move his fingers to the underneath of her hand as if to hold hands she suddenly shifted and closed her hand around his fingers. She appeared to sigh, and her grip was strong. He let it be and thought to himself, “If it gives her comfort, let it be.” With that he shifted to a sitting position without disturbing her hold on his fingers. As he settled in, he began to relax and leaned against one of the posts of the lean-to, he decided to see if he could get some sleep. It was near morning with the sun just rising over the horizon of the lake, that Kristyna gently tapped his shoulder with her hand and said, “Jerad, you’ve been here all night, haven’t you?” “Why don’t you get up and get yourself some coffee and food. I’ve got it ready over there and I’ll take my turn at looking out for her.”

She than notices that the girl had her hand clasped around his fingers and she looked at Jerad questionably. Jerad responded, “I was trying to comfort her last night by massaging her hand and fingers. When I placed my fingers under her hand to test her response, she closed her fingers around mine and didn’t let go the whole night.” Kristyna looked at him for a moment and then said, “You are different you know. I mean different. I don’t remember ever meeting a man with that level of compassion for another. Especially a stranger.” Jerad looked up at her and simply said, “Life is a series of moments. Each one is a unique opportunity to influence change for good or worse.” She smiled, “You really are something, that was profound, who are you anyway?”

Jerad looked back and said, “Exactly who you see Jerad Elysian.” Kristyna decided to let it stand but she thought, “That last name, Elysian, which was a name with a history and meaning to it. I bet my britches on it.” Jerad lifted the girls’ fingers enough to pull his out. She hadn’t moved a bit and appeared to still be in a deep sleep. He stood up and moved over to the fire for some coffee and breakfast. Kristyna immediately began to go through her routine of treating the girls’ wounds. He could hear her moaning as she applied some of the salves and lotions. Kristyna turned around and told Jerad, “That’s a good sign. It shows she beginning to sense things again beyond that protective inner world.” Jerad simply nodded and continued to work through his plans for the day.

Finally, he stood up when it appeared she was done with the treatments. Jerad said, “I need to get into Skulian today and deliver my goods. It can’t wait any longer. After that I’ll be free to help until our girl is up on her feet again. Let’s get that list together of whatever we’ll need so I can get it while in town.” She nodded and said, “let me check my stores and start the list.” Jerad thought about what he might need too. Without knowing exactly what the future would bring in terms of travel, this would make it harder so he decided to get those things he would need for an extended trip. If he decided to accompany this girl back to her home, it might take some time. He really didn’t know how far she was from reaching her goal, whatever that might be, but considering what Lennox told him.

That was some trip ahead if he committed to it and she even cared to allow it. He still didn’t know that much about her. Of course, if Lennox was correct in his assumptions, there was one heck of a story that needed to be told about where she had been since her family was broken up. Kristyna had finished her list and came over to review it with Jerad. He scanned the list, and most of the items on it were related to care for the girl. He then looked up and asked, “What are your plans once our girl is up and able to take care of herself?”. Kristyna paused a moment, “I think she may need some assistance getting her to where she’s going. I can’t just turn her out in the world without knowing she’s safely got to her destination.”

Jerad responded, “If you’re going to do that, I may too. We can use my mule to ensure we have enough supplies with us. That mule has transverse the territories of Sylanon through just about every type of terrain and weather you can imagine.” “Besides, if there is something more to this than meets the eye?” He then paused and shifted the conversation for a moment, “That reminds me, you never finished telling me what happened with the Lian and the bandits before we got to the boat.” Kristyna blushed and reached out to touch his hand briefly, “Oh my, I can’t believe I forgot to go over that. It’s important, and it may change your mind. I would appreciate your input though, hear what you might think.”

“Kristyna told the story. She spoke about the two groups, bandits and Lian. She told him the Lian made a reference to another. A person, female, who exercises a lot of power. They were both in fear over her, not just from a reprimand, almost like a fear that their lives would not extend much beyond failure.” Jerad didn’t hesitate, “Lian, what are enforcers doing this far north, and why the interest in this girl? What did she do to deserve that level of involvement? This is important, and there are others that will need to be appraised about this.” “It could have broad political implication.”

Jerad thought a bit more and then said to Kristyna, “When I spoke to Lennox, the smithy back in Riverlynn, he told me a story about a family from the city of Dunstead.” “It was about a father who was tried by the Lian as a traitor and the mother and a young daughter who disappeared after the sentence.” He then said, “Lennox had seen them before, in fact, it was a long time ago now. He spoke about how the family commissioned him to produce some armor for them at that time. The description he gave me of the little girl fits this girl. It was his description of her face that fits.” “Maybe a coincidence, but maybe not at all.” He continued, “She fits in terms of approximate age based on what I see here.” Kristyna leaned back on the log and whistled briefly, “Wow, which makes it even more important that she gets some help.”

Jerad told Kristyna that he had planned for an extended trip with his supply list. He also said he was hoping to take some time to stop briefly at a friend of his who made weapons. He then asked, “I think he might be able to help you with that bow.” He waited for her response knowing how personal this statement was to a hunter. Most hunters made their own bows and took a lot of pride in their craftsmanship. Kristyna simply said, it will take a lot to convince me to change Janos.” Jerad smiled at that, “You named your bow after the god of grace and speed.” She laughed, “Yes, and he never misses.” “However, I’ll listen to what he has to say.” Jerad appeared satisfied with this response and then stood up. “I better get going, I want to be back before sunset.” “You’re okay for today I take it?” She responded, “Yep, you go ahead and take care of your business and pick up our supplies and I’ll take care of our girl here.”

With that Jerad went to the boat and started off back to the camper’s site to pick up his horse and mule. The trip back to the hunter’s camp was uneventful, which he was thankful for. Once there he tied off the boat at the pier and went to speak with some of the hunters and thanked them for taking care of the horse and mule again. He padded each of the hands with enough bits to put a smile on each of their faces. He tied the mule up to Princess Ali, mounted up and began his original journey up the road towards Skulian.

It didn’t take him about an hour to make it the rest of the way into town. Once there he checked in at the stable, paid the stable hand, a teen aged boy to keep an eye on his goods. Took the initial deliveries off the mule and began walking to the general store. The first thing he noticed were the new posters sitting on the board outside the store. There was lots of stuff posted here for those that wanted to earn some extra bits. Odd jobs of sorts from guarding a family during travels or something more mundane like making a delivery to some remote farmstead in the mountains.

What really got his attention was a poster of their girl, it said Elyana of Dunstead, wanted, reward was 10,000 gold pieces. He whistled, “That was a lot of coins, they wanted her bad, but the question was why? He now had a first name to go on. There were no crimes mentioned considering the amount they had posted. Not completely unfounded considering all most people would see was the 10,000 gold coins being offered. That was a lifetime of money for many in these parts.

He casually looked around but saw no Lian enforcers anywhere. He had assumed they were the ones posting this reward money. He decided to go on in to see. He needed to get these goods delivered and supplies picked up for the coming weeks ahead. He walked in and called out “Good morning, Finn. Finn looked up from talking to a customer.” He responded, “Hey Jerad, I’ve been waiting for you wondering where you were. You can take the stuff back to the storeroom and wait for me back there. I’ll be back once I am done here.” He shuffled on back with his goods and took a quick glance at the customer. He thought to himself, “Bounty hunters must be trying to coordinate information about anything Finn might have seen or heard over the last week. I bet there will be a lot more of that before this is over with.

I’ll have to let Kristyna know after I return.” He went back and set the goods down carefully on the floor. He then pulled up a chair at the small, rounded table used to examine goods, but Jerad and Finn would often come back here to share a meal and any news they were both inclined to share with each other about anything unusual that the other might not have heard about. It wasn’t long before Finn came back. He heard the lock slide in on the door after the bounty hunter left and Finn came back and started looking through the bag at the inventory Jerad delivered. Finn said, “It looks good, everything’s here and in good condition. We’ll settle after we talk a bit and I see if there’s anything you need to take with you. “Finn sat down, took a minute then asked, “You see that poster out there?” Jerad responded, “Well with the largest part of it being the picture and the size of the reward money, my guess is everyone in town has seen it by now.”

Jerad then asked, “How long has it been there and who posted it? Was it the usual soldiers from the company posted up the road?” Finn responded, “No, it was a group of Lian that came into town.” They came in and told me, they didn’t ask me if they could place that reward on my board out there.” “It didn’t take me long to take their measure and figure out that nothing other than yes was going to work.” Finn paused and then said, “They seemed pretty irritated about it all, I remember the main guy barking orders at the others to mix into the town and see what they could learn.” “I guess they don’t understand that most people this far north are not going to give them too much to work on.” Only bounty hunters and such would really care to work with them.” “Too many long memories from the Border Wars.”

Jerad paused, “There is a lot of truth to that one. Many here lost family to those wars and they won’t forget too soon who it was they were fighting and why.” Finn said, “So, can I ask you, have you seen anything, heard anything other than what everyone else has?” Jerad paused but a moment, “he said I saw a group of enforcers from Lian down by the lake. They were speaking, actually yelling at a bunch of bandits who were apparently contracted to help find this girl.” “I sure would hate to be that girl with so many looking for me.” Finn, said better yet, “You have to ask yourself, what did that young girl do to deserve that level of attention?

Also, the Lian, makes you wonder how that all ties into Dunstead?” He paused a moment then said, “I know, I remember like everyone does that’s old enough what happened to the count and his family. Let’s see now, oh yes, there was a young daughter who disappeared along with her mother. No one really knew what happened. I guess everyone just assumed they were dead.” He then looked at Jerad and asked, “You think that girl on the poster and the little girl from back then are one in the same? That would certainly make sense why the Lian would want her that bad, at least we know there’s some purpose, even if the advertised one is far from the truth.”

Jerad wasn’t about to give anything away and so said, “Whatever it was, it must have been bad to gain this level of attention from the Lian.” Jerad then asked, “Anything else unusual happening around here?” Finn said, “Oh yes, there was an old crone who came into the store the other day to purchase some herbs and such. She wanted me to hand you a letter, “Let me get it from the lock box behind the hidden panel built into the counter. “You know the one, right Jerad?” She said you would understand what to do with it.” Finn said, “I’ve dealt with this crone before, she comes by every quarter or so to pick up some herbs and such. Never anything else.” Jerad said, hmm, not sure but let me look and see what it says.” Finn got up and went to get the letter, Jerad trusted Finn but nevertheless got up and walked through the storeroom picking a few things he would need anyway off the shelves. Also, he was making sure there was no one hiding back here trying to listen in on their conversation.

He had heard the door being locked before by Finn. He set his goods on the table and Finn returned with the letter. Finn said, “I’ll let you read this, take these goods up front to add them up and get your payment ready with what’s left after deducting the goods from it.” Jerad simply said, “Thanks Finn, it won’t take me long.” He opened it up and there he saw the following written.

“The hunted must become the hunter,
The circle begins to close,
You are the protector of the innocent,
The guardian of both your destinies,

Steadfast against the winds of time,
Hold true to your heart, to see the light hidden in the
rhymes,
Stay true and the curtain will raise to reveal what’s
hidden,
Of the hunter and the huntress tied by binds,
A love far greater a find, don’t be blind.”

Jerad paused, “Another rhyme, I should have known, it’s not too surprising considering everything he’s learned about this up to now. I’ll have to take some time to ponder the tie in between the first one and this one to make sure I am not missing anything.” He thought, “How did she know I was coming here, and who is this lady.” He thought, “Another mystery yet to untangle.” He got up, put the letter in his inside pocket up in his shoulder area. He had it sewn in to protect anything important to him. There were only a few people who understood he had this. Finn was not one of them.”

He walked out to the front to settle with Finn, He glanced over at the door and saw it was still locked. Finn settled out with him and then said, “You know I tried to open that letter, but it wouldn’t budge for me no matter how hard I tried.” “What are you involved in that there’s this level of magic or whatever conjuring being used on correspondence?” Jerad simply said, “Well I guess all will be revealed Finn, all will be revealed.” They both laughed at the vague response. Finn knew better than to press him after that and simply said, you take good care of yourself. I included my list for the next delivery whenever you are able of course. Finn then said, “Jerad, you can trust me, I won’t say a thing to anyone.

Still friends?” Jerad smiled and said, “You know we are Finn, no need on ever questioning that. We’ve known each other a while now and I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize you or your store.” Finn figured out this was code talk from Jerad to let him know. “What you don’t know will keep you safe.” Finn left it at that and asked on the way out, “Leave the door unlocked?” Finn simply said, “Yep, I’ll see you around.” Jerad stepped out and went back to the stable to pick up his next bag of goods. When back at the stable, the stable boy came up and said, “I saw some bounty hunters eying your mule full of goods.” “I simply said he was a regular trader in town and if they didn’t stop being so nosy, he was going to run and get the guard.”

“They stopped at this point, simply said, “We were simply curious that’s all.” The stable boy told them, “You shouldn’t be so curious around other people’s stuff, but if you’re that curious ask around town. You’ll see he comes through here about four times a year delivering goods which are then sold at the shops.” The main bounty hunter said, “OK, thanks for the info, we’ll be on our way.” He watched them go at that point and then waited a bit before running to tell the guard about what had happened. They said they would keep an eye on them up until they left town.

Jerad thanked him and left him a few more bits for the protection of his goods, and diversion as well. With that, he headed for the blacksmith in town to make his next delivery. He walked towards the edge of town. That was where the blacksmith was located. In fact, come to think of it, most blacksmiths had their forges and homes set up on the edge of town. Forges were smelly places with all the different materials being used in the forging process as well as leathers being made from raw hides from animals. He had his bag thrown over his shoulder. As he rounded the corner a group of bounty hunters were milling around. They saw him and walked up to speak to him. He immediately set his goods down on the ground and let his hand slip to his sword hilt.

The main bounty hunter noticed the change in stance. There were four of them and each took up a different position around him. “Hello friend, we’d like to speak to you for a moment.” Jerad responded, “What is it you want to know?” I am called Saqer. We were wondering if you possibly knew the where about of the girl on the posters all over town.” Jerad queried, “Why would you think I would know anything about that? I just arrived in town this morning to make my deliveries.” Saqer responded, “We asked around and most of these town folk believe you are the most knowledgeable person around when it comes to what’s going on with the realm of Rhiannon.”

Jerad replied, “First time I saw her was this morning when I delivered my first goods to the general store.” “On this, I don’t know anything. Besides, you’re making me late for my appointment with the blacksmith.” Saqer responded, “some say you’re already late and that rarely happens with you. ” “We were thinking you might have found a reason to be delayed. “Jerad shot back, “That’s a lot of assumption on your part friend and my business is my own to keep.” “If you had asked further, you might have learned I don’t share that information with anyone and keep my own counsel due to all the bandit activities on the road these days.” “I mean, I wouldn’t want to advertise where I was going to be traveling with all these goods would I?”

Saqer then asked, “What do you have in the bag, anything of interest to us?” Jerad shot back, “If it is, you can ask the blacksmith what his prices are once I make my delivery and collect my payment.” Saqer paused a moment and displayed some finger signals that Jerad noticed. “I think we’d like to see those wares beforehand, maybe make you a deal you can’t refuse.” Saqer chuckled a bit after saying that and his lackeys followed suit. He heard one of them say, “It don’t look like he hears you Saqer, maybe he needs some prodding to get him to listen a bit better.” The group of them chuckled at that.

With that Jerad slightly shifted his position and then said looking directly at Saqer. “Only if you’re willing to pay the price.” Saqer shot back, “What might that be friend?” Jerad responded, “Oh, not much, just your lives.” Jerad continued, “The only thing left for you to do is ask yourself if you’re willing to pay that much.” Saqer seemed to be taken aback by this statement. He paused but for a moment and sent a signal to the person standing directly behind Jerad, with that Jerad dropped to his knee, pulled one of his long knives out with his left-hand and his sword with his right. He swung the long knife in a backward upward arc, and it rammed it into the person’s leg directly behind him with such a fluid motion that it was hard for the eye to see. As the man crumpled in reaction, he launched himself upward into a backward flip over the crumpled person’s head that was behind him and prepared to take the next step with his sword and long knife ready to attack.

Saqer was stunned. He had never seen such speed and grace displayed before by any swordsman anywhere. He simply asked, “Who are you anyway? That level of skill is rarely seen if ever in all my travels.” Jerad shot back, “Just a trader, just who you see. Now that I made my point”, and Jerad smiled a bit, “I think I’ll be going.” Saqer stepped to the side and let him pass without another word. Jerad wiped his long knife off the bounty hunter’s pants that he had injured as a warning and slid his long knife back in its sheave cover, picked up his goods and moved forward towards the blacksmith.

He could hear Saqer barking orders to take the person on the ground to the local doctor to see what could be done for him. The blacksmith was standing at the corner of the smithy with a pair of hammers ready to come to his assist. Jerad arrived, and the smithy said, “I thought you might need some help” ” I can see they needed the help more than you did.” “That was quite a series of moves there you just displayed. I am guessing few could match that in all the lands.” Jerad simply smiled and said, “where did you want these deliveries?” The smithy pointed towards the door for the store. With that they both stepped into his store and finished the transaction.