Gods Save the Queen

Book 1 - Part 3, The Enchantress

Chapter 21 - The Temple of Saehrimnir

Nick woke up in the dark. He was too dizzy and short of breath to stand up, so he felt around. He was lying on a cold, rough-hewn stone floor in the dark. As he felt around, he discovered that his sword and staff were lying on the floor next to him, as was his witch's hat. "Octavia!" shouted Nick, but he didn't hear a reply from her. He shortened his staff to a two-foot-long baton, and he began tapping his way around in the dark.

He felt around the walls with his hands and found he was in a rectangular room, maybe six feet by twelve. There was nothing else, but there was a door. He touched around the door with his hands, trying to find a way out. The door had no window, no hinges and no knobs. He probed around the joint between the door and the wall with his dagger and he concluded that there was a beam holding the door closed. He slid his cutlass through the gap between the wall and the door and lifted. He felt what he thought was the locking beam and, with a strained grunt, he lifted the beam with the sword. The door swung outward a little bit, and Nick was able to squeeze through the gap, but the brim on his witch's hat wouldn't make it, and it fell off his head. He knelt and pulled the hat through the narrow opening and went in search of Octavia.

He calmed himself and took stock of what he had. "I have my sword, my dagger, my staff, and my hat," he muttered. That seemed to calm him. He knew his tools; he knew his mission: find Octavia. "Let's go," he said out loud.

It was dark and cold wherever he was. The wall to his right was damp, and the area stank of mildew. He followed the wall, and it seemed like he was in an unending maze. There's only one way to get out of a maze -- just follow the wall on your right and it will eventually lead you to the goal. He turned and bumped into dead ends several times as he walked in the pitch dark until he tripped on something and found it was a staircase going up. He continued up the stairs until he bumped his head and found that there was a horizontal door at the top of the stairs. He saw a seam of light around the edge of the door and was able to find a lever that unlatched the door from the underside. He slowly opened the door and climbed up, finding himself in what appeared to be a dimly lit lounge or study. He crept slowly through the room.

"Ah, Mister Stein, you escaped your little room and the maze," came a rumbling voice from behind him. Nick whirled, and there in the darkness was a hulking figure - a demi-giant. Easily seven feet tall, and he was crouching, so he was probably a full eight feet tall like his best friend, First Sergeant Jehans Du Gouey. Those demi-giants are all the same. They come at you crouched, then just before they attack, they rise up to full height trying to scare you.

"My, you're a big boy now, aren't you sweetheart," said Nick with a grin. Demi-giants hate being talked down to like that.

"I'll grind your bones!" roared the giant as he rose to full height. Just then, Nick's foot shot out and caught him square in the chest, and the demi-giant fell back and down the stairs that Nick had just climbed. Nick slammed and latched the door and then moved a heavy marble table on top of the door. He was happy that it wasn't just Jehans; it appeared all demi-giants were powerful, but they had slow reactions. He walked through the dim room, glad for the total darkness he had been in. It gave him better vision in the dark. Then a thought in his head whispered the thought, "vision in the dark."

Nick closed his eyes and said, "vision in the dark," and suddenly, in his mind he could see where he was. He was in the doorway of a large dining room that was dominated by a long table. It easily had twenty chairs on each side of the table, set for a dinner for forty.

"I wish I knew about this before," said Nick as he made his way past the table, his eyes closed, but he was able to see everything. A door at the other end of the room opened, and an elf warrior stepped into the room. He was dressed in leather pants and vest like Nick wore beneath his robes, but the elf had the face tattoos of the Maethor Nos, the warrior class. Quick, nimble, and strong, the Maethor Nos were the elite fighters of the planet Kodu. Nick was sure that if he had a half dozen Maethor Nos on his team, he could have quelled the uprising in Breaze. Nick held his staff still at baton length in his left hand, next to his head, ready to swing down and crack a skull. He drew his sword with his right hand.

"A blade of Mithril!" said the elf with a smile. "A very pretty metal but soft, we elves use it for jewelry for our ladies."

"We humans forge it with steel to spill blood," said Nick.

The elf looked stunned. It was rumored that humans perfected mithril steel, but it was rare. Nick knew of only three blades in existence. One was in his hands, another hanging over his fireplace, the third was locked in his locker back in Breaze. It was his symbol of office and rightly belonged to the king to be handed to the next captain of the royal guard. "Aen-Belth!" gasped the elf.

"I don't want to fight you," said Nick. "Just tell me where Octavia is, and I'll be on my way."

The elf drew his rapier and grinned. He crouched into his fighting stance and said, "Fighting to win thy fair ladies hand will make the reward that much sweeter, no?"

Suddenly Nick's staff, currently a two foot long baton, shot out to full length, and the butt caught the elf in the forehead, knocking him out cold. "I think you're right brother," said Nick as he stepped over the elf. He opened his eyes out of habit to see when stepping over the elf, and his night vision ended. Oh crap! What was the incantation? "Night vision! No... Dark vision! No... vision in the dark!" but it didn't work... what in the realms of the eight hells? Then he realized he had to close his eyes. "Vision in the dark" and he could see that he was in a dark hallway with doors on each side. A door opened, and a dwarf stepped out, and suddenly the hall was filled with light. Gas lamps that lined the hall flickered into light, and Nick opened his eyes.

"Mister Stein!" snarled the dwarf.

"You know my name, what is yours?" asked Nick.

"Bughac Orebeard," said the dwarf with a grin.

The dwarf was tall for a dwarf, at four feet tall, but he was muscular, like the dwarf miners Nick knew that worked the ore mines of Copper Mountain back home. The dwarf braided his beard into twin tails, and he held a dagger in each hand. He wore a bandolier of crossbow bolts with red and black flights and a pair of crossed swords worn on his back. Normally, dwarves were peaceful, but this one was a member of the Twin Tail gang. The Twin Tail gang was into every crime imagined including slavery, murder for hire, and drugs. They were Kodu's top source for the powdered death known as Thyme. These were the toughest, dirtiest fighting creatures on all of Kodu, and Nick had a special hate for anyone that dealt in Thyme.

Nick sheathed his sword and asked the dwarf, "Where is Octavia?"

"'oo?"

"My woman"

"Bloody hell, I can't keep track of ya damn Sheila's, cobber. If ya weah mawah of a bloke she wouldn't av run off on yah. Fahkin' bloody oath cobber. "

"Don't piss me off shorty," snarled Nick. He hoped that pissing off the dwarf would get him to admit something, but the dwarf just grinned when he noticed Nick's hat.

" A fahkin' witch! That's a fahkin' cute outfit, did it come with matchin' panties 'n brah cobber?"

"Like my hat?" asked Nick as he took off his hat.

"Fahkin' too right, cobber!"

Nick jammed it down over the dwarf's head and pulled down hard on the brim, covering the dwarf's face, then he wound up and kicked the little bastard in the gut and sent him sailing. He pounced on the dwarf and grabbed him by the throat. "That's fightin' dirchoo!" complained the dwarf, then he added, "I liyyke it."

"Where is Octavia?" demanded Nick.

Just then he heard Octavia scream "POMMY!" in the room right next to him. He knocked the dwarf out with a punch to the head and jumped up and dashed for the door.

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King Uric saw Saehrimnir rise up and call out to Nick and Octavia. It was clear that the god was angry, but Nick and Octavia looked angrier still. Then Nick did the unthinkable. He charged at the god, sword drawn, and at the same time Octavia began to cast a spell. A brilliant glow of sapphire formed around her and sparked into flame when Saehrimnir called them children and they disappeared.

"HALT!" cried King Uric.

"Who dare!?!" roared Saehrimnir, and the giant being turned and glared at a man over six feet tall but made of bean-poles and empty sacks. He was comical looking and could be snapped like a twig, but he glowed with a golden aura. He was royalty. "Your majesty," said Saehrimnir, and he bowed to King Uric. Even though he was a god, he obeyed the rules of fealty.

"Where have you taken my subjects?" demanded the king.

"Your majesty, I... er... my beloved offspring, tasks await them in the fields of learning."

The crowd was shocked. One of the greatest of the gods was bowing and explaining his actions to their king? The king of humble little Uduithia? They watched in awe as their king berated a god.

"They are esteemed by the crown of Uduithia, and I have entrusted them with duties that shall safeguard the welfare of the men and women of Uduithia, particularly in the county of Hay-on-Wægn, where you currently stand."

"Your majesty, graciously hear my plea for a sacred quietude. If thou wouldst approach me, I shall ensure thy swift return to this holy sanctum, in time for thy journey to Waleston by the sun's descent."

King Uric turned to Queen Elinor and said, "My love, escort the princess back to Waelmore Castle, and I shall reunite with you upon my return."

"Nay my love. I shall await your return here and escort you home." She gave Uric that smile that guaranteed the king he would not be sleeping much tonight, nor would he complain about it.

"Thank you my love," and the king followed the god into the temple.

Princess Sophia turned to her mother and said, "What do we do now?"

"The main burden of a queen is to insure the well-being and joy of her people. Watch and learn." The queen turned to the father of the groom, Trei Metsker, and said, "I thought this was a wedding. Where's the music? Where's the beer?"

A cheer went up from the crowd as instruments were tuned and the first keg was tapped. "That's how it's done," said the tall, slender queen to her daughter. The queen turned to Eric MacClenny, the bride's uncle and Nick's neighbor. "Are the parents of the bride here?"

Eric got past his shock and said, "Your majesty, her mother died shortly after the little one was born. She held on long enough to see her grandson. The father of the bride, my brother, is with the bride and groom."

The queen and princess were followed by her guard as she approached Georg MacClenny. "Mister MacClenny, Mister and Missus Metsker, allow me to extend the joy of the crown." Her tone softened, and she said to Georg, "I understand your wife passed not long ago."

"Yes," sniffed Georg. "It was agonizing but she held on long enough to guide our Silver through her pregnancy and birth."

"We tried to marry six months ago, but Silver couldn't do it without her mom," said Wayne. "She actually ran when the witch got to that part of the wedding."

"You should have seen the look on that witch's face," said Georg with a chuckle.

"First runner I ever had in fifty years of witching," said Agnes Dempsy.

"Mister MacClenny, would you allow me the honor of standing in for Silver's mother?" asked Queen Elinor.

"Why, uh, yes, of course." Georg wanted to say no, but you never tell the queen no.

"First I must apologize for not purchasing a gift..."

"Your majesty, it's not..." started Wayne, but the queen raised a regal hand.

"Hush! Tradition must be upheld; certain things must be done! One is the payment of the dowery." She fished a coin out of her clutch and pressed it into Wayne's palm.

He looked at the coin in shock; it was a fifty-dollar gold coin - over a year's wages as an apprentice at any skill. "Your majesty, I can't..."

"Yes you can. And for the bride..." she took a necklace off her neck. It was a finely woven gold rope featuring an ornate knot, the symbol of Onn, the goddess of luck. The queen put the necklace on the bride, and Silver glowed with surprise and shock. Then the queen turned to Georg MacClenny and said, "If I remember tradition, the kegs cannot be tapped until the parents start the dance."

Georg held his arm up and said, "Your majesty, shall we?" The band struck up a traditional dance and soon Georg and Queen Elinor were dancing in the street alongside Trei and Erin Metsker. They were soon joined by Silver and Wayne Metsker, who held Little Trei in their arms as they danced. "Your majesty, you dance to these rustic tunes quite admirably," said Georg, who was shocked that the queen would dance with a poor dirt farmer from Hay-on-Wægn.

"Call me Ellie."

"Pardon?"

"I am originally Ellie Poole from Little Brimp, just on the other side of Wret Mountain. My parents were farmers and trappers on twenty acres."

"How did you become queen?"

"Oh, the usual way. I got a job as a chambermaid in Waelmore castle and fell in love with a young lad and we spent a lot of time in the hayloft of the stables. We married, and six months later Sophia was born, and a year after that the young lad's father died and the young lad became king."

Georg chuckled and said, "We have a queen of the people!"

"Believe it or not it's a Uduithia tradition," said Queen Ellie. Then they said in unison, "the winters are cold and the nights are long."

Soon the impromptu band struck up a lively polka, and the party really began. The beer had been stored in the ice-filled barn nearby, and a second keg was at the ready. Wooden mugs were filled, and cheers went up as Princess Sophie began dancing with a young lad who claimed to be a cousin of the groom, which in a small town was highly likely.

"Gods below I miss this part of life," said Ellinor as she sipped from her mug of beer.

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King Uric had followed Saehrimnir into the temple and watched as the god approached four columns set in the shape of a square. "Follow me, o sovereign." The god squeezed between two columns. King Uric followed him between the two columns and stepped out into a huge sanctuary. The room was bigger than any other single room the King had ever seen. He suddenly felt exhausted and out of breath. "Rest," said Saehrimnir. "Verily, tread not upon this path with great frequency, for wisdom whispers caution unto thee. It weaves a heavy burden upon thy mortal vessel."

"I perceive it with great certainty," gasped the king. He was exhausted; he felt like he had run the entire way to wherever he was.

A temple maiden wearing a loose white blouse that hung down to her knees and beneath that a loose set of bright red pants that reached her bare feet led the king to a cushioned seat, and the king sank down with relief. "Rest here your majesty," said, said the maiden. The maiden waited by the king as the sovereign got his breath back. She set an hourglass on the table next to the king and said, "please abide here in peace until the sands are finished."

"Pray, where might I find myself?" asked the king.

"You are in the Grand Temple of Saehrimnir in the city of Torwin-Armistad."

The king was shocked. Torwin-Armistad was a three-day journey on a fast horse from Uduithia. Even on the tramway, it was a full day's journey. "What brings me to this place?"

"Danger walks the land, your highness. Lord Saehrimnir sees a path to victory, but he did not share his plan with me," said the young woman.

"Where might he be found?"

She pointed to the hourglass. "When the sand runs out then I will take you to Lord Saehrimnir who is elsewhere in the temple. If you leave too soon the strain on your body could be fatal. For the good of Uduithia I am charged by Lord Saehrimnir to stop you if you try to go anywhere."

"Lord Saehrimnir is wise indeed," said the exhausted king, and he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It looked like the top bulb of the hourglass would never be empty, and in exhaustion he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, the top bulb of the hourglass was empty and the temple maiden was standing over him.

"If you feel up to it, please follow me, my lord."

"This edifice is truly remarkable," said King Uric as he got to his feet. He found himself refreshed after the wait. He looked around in awe. The walls of the massive temple were covered in brightly colored tapestries, and there were four sets of columns, and temple priests and acolytes were stepping in and out of the columns and dashing off through a set of double doors to the king's left.

"This," said the temple maiden as she gestured to the vast open temple, "is the sanctuary of the Temple of Saehrimnir."

"Pray tell, what is the reason for your possession of such an abundance of magical columns? And what is the impetus for such extensive travel?"

"My lord, there are over thirty temples dedicated to Saehrimnir across the continent of Edux and temples opening up on the continents of Phocis and Mandril." The temple maiden wanted to share more, but she realized that they would be in the presence of Saehrimnir soon, so there would be ample opportunity for King Uric to discuss it with the god. "If you would follow me sire," and the temple maiden led King Uric out of the sanctuary and into a large, official-looking reception area. Young acolytes, temple maidens, temple priests, witches, and wizards milled about. Some were standing in groups conversing quietly, while others hurried off through other doors into the depths of the building.

"This section is the main entrance to The University of Mystic Arts at the Temple of Saehrimnir. We will be heading to the faculty quarters." She led him through a maze of corridors, past classrooms and study rooms. The king saw lecture halls and libraries of different disciplines. They finally ended up in a fairly quiet area compared to what King Uric had seen.

The temple maiden knocked on a door, and a voice within said, "enter."

"Your majesty," said the maiden as she held the door open for the king. He stepped inside the room and there in a corner on an oversized seat sat Saehrimnir, and across from him sat Octavia.

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Chapter 22 - Saehrimnir's Plan

Octavia almost jumped with joy when she saw King Uric enter the room. "My lord!" she cried and rose and then curtsied to her king.

"Pray, do take a seat, my lady," said the king, and he held her hand as she sat. Then to the god Saehrimnir he said, "I presume you require no period of recuperation following your voyage."

"Thou speakest true, your majesty. Ere thy presence graced this room, we spoke of my recent deeds with solemn contemplation."

"I was demanding to know why he treated Nick so cruelly yet he treated me civilly for the same offences. Why did he act so viciously to keep us chaste?"

The king sat and said, "I too would greatly appreciate hearing the response to that inquiry."

Instead of answering, Saehrimnir nodded to a wizard who stepped forward from the shadow and said, "I am Tidor Dhukonn, presiding viceroy of The University of Mystic Arts at the Temple of Saehrimnir. A situation has arisen that threatens the sanctity of every kingdom, principality, county, city, and village on the continent of Edux and if not checked, will spread across all of Kodu."

"What, precisely, does this threat entail?" asked King Uric.

The wizard nervously stroked his snow-white beard and cleared his throat. "A temple is being erected to Zeddicus, the demon-god of lies and corruption. Once the temple is consecrated, Zeddicus will be free to walk all of Kodu. The last time this happened was in the year 902 and half of the population of Kodu was destroyed and many were devoured by Zeddicus."

"That occurred two millennia prior to this day," said King Uric.

"Two thousand four hundred and thirty eight years ago, and we have far more people to protect now than lived back then," said the wizard.

King Uric looked ill. He knew it was followers of Zeddicus that killed King Alfrich of Breaze and slaughtered the entire ruling class in less than a week. "Might one not intervene to halt the construction of the temple?"

"Teurnia, in her noble quest, hath mourned the loss of more than one hundred and fifty valiant souls in her steadfast endeavor to thwart the encroaching darkness."

Octavia gasped and wept, and King Uric saw a tear creep down the cheek of Saehrimnir. "Were any of them my guards?" gasped Octavia.

"Nay my lady," said Saehrimnir softly. "Your guard is protecting Queen Rania."

"I need Nick," she whimpered.

"Then invoke his presence forthwith. Sing out his name!"

"Pommy!" she cried, then suddenly the door burst open and there was Nick, panting, his witch's robe torn and muddy. Octavia leapt up and dashed to the door and kissed him, asking over and over, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Saehrimnir told me he locked you in a room..."

"He did," and he kissed her.

"... and it was in a maze..."

"It was," and they kissed again.

"... and three of the best fighters were waiting for you."

"They were."

"And you're fine?"

"I cheat, but the witch's hat came in handy." Then he whirled on Saehrimnir. "Why in all that is holy have you treated me like a damn dog?" shouted Nick.

"Kodu seeks a champion, unyielding in spirit, one who shall wield a sword against the divine."

"You wanted me to pull a sword on you?" gasped Nick.

Tidor Dhukonn bowed to Nick and said, "We of Kodu needs a man with the courage to draw down on a god. We need you to draw your sword against Zeddicus."

Nick remembered what that elf called him - Aen-Belth. He thought the elf was talking about his mithril steel sword, but the elf called Nick Aen-Belth - God Slayer. He sat down and pulled Octavia onto his lap. "I thought Teurnia stopped the temple from being built," said Nick.

"Teurnia lost a hundred and fifty men knocking down the temple before it was completed," said Tidor Dhukonn. "But Breaze is currently erecting a temple for Zeddicus in an underground tunnel."

"A Hundred and fifty," gasped Nick.

"Saehrimnir said your men were safe," Octavia said softly.

"Lars must be sick... how did the Breazian army get so strong? They sucked."

"We believe they are allied with fighters of the northern tribes," said the wizard.

"I take it that you want me to kill Zeddicus," said Nick as he glared at Saehrimnir.

"Verily, from the moment I beheld thee, partaking of the sacred waters, thou didst find life anew. In that sacred moment, I discerned the divine power within you, destined to vanquish the formidable Zeddicus."

"How am I going to do that? He's a god," said Nick.

"His majesty Lars Ranzau of Teurnia said he can get you close. I'm sure that Façade Incognito knows the rest of the plan," said the wizard.

"Façade Ingenito!" laughed Saehrimnir so loud that the room shook.

"Façade Incognito? Pray tell, what is that?" asked King Uric.

Octavia nervously raised her hand, and Tidor Dhukonn said, "A young temple maiden who yearned to understand magic would creep into my lectures and sign the roster as Façade Incognito. She was half the age of the other students yet she was sharp enough to become the top student in the classes she had not enrolled in."

"Professor Dhukonn told me that if I was going to sneak into classes, that I might as well sneak into all the classes," said Octavia. "So I did, and I became a wizard."

"Just like magic," whispered Nick into her ear, making her giggle.

Octavia collected herself and said, "I believe if we can get close to Zeddicus we can remove his deity with the Rite of Prose Mino. Then, for ten brief minutes, he can be slayed. "

A memory that's not his own surfaced in Nick's mind. "That's a forbidden rite."

"It was forbidden to protect the lives of the gods," said the presiding viceroy. "It has been broken into three pieces, coded in a forgotten tongue, then scattered across Kodu. That's how afraid of the rite the gods are."

"Now we have to clean up the god's mess?" asked Nick. "Why don't you do it yourselves."

"In the realm of mortal understanding, let it be known that we, the divine deities, are not boundless in our might," said Saehrimnir.

"The gods are not omnipotent?" asked Nick.

"Verily, we are not cloaked in the mantle of omnipotence; speak not in secrecy, but let the whispers of your words ascend unto the ears of all who dwell in the realm of Kodu, for such declarations would be held in reverence," rumbled Saehrimnir. "In all our majesty, we cannot take a life, we cannot weave falsehoods, and thus, we are unable to summon forth the breath of life."

Nick was in shock. A god, one of the most popular and therefore the strongest, just admitted that a god cannot kill, cannot lie, and cannot create a living being. "Can you see the future; do you have precognition?"

"Nay, we are devoid of foresight as thou dost conceive it," said the god. "In the eternal tapestry of existence, past, present, and future intertwine as a singular essence, a truth perilous for those unwise to its nature. Thus, we, the divine, drape foresight in veils of language, shielding the mysteries of tomorrows from all but the enlightened soul who comprehends the sacred design."

"Will Octavia and I be successful?" asked Nick.

"I withhold my gaze, for should thy endeavor falter, the repercussions shall transcend the boundaries of mortal comprehension. They are beyond the realms of thought and sight, a dread most profound."

Something inside Nick snapped; the only thing keeping him in his chair was Octavia. "Then why? Why did you treat me the way you did? You've called me your son, yet I was forced to eat rats, live in garbage and drink the holy water! Then I was left alone, raised by ghosts! But when the shit piled up and I found a comfortable life, you turn on me and take it all away. WHY?"

Saehrimnir actually looked sad. "I beseech forgiveness for the trials endured, yet a champion is sought. We require a valiant soul, forged to thrive amidst the direst of adversity."

"Training? The hell you put me through was training?" demanded Nick.

"Aye, it seems it was a form of training, or preparation," said King Uric. "Our champion ought to possess both resilience and alacrity, endowed with acumen regarding the imminent theater of conflict. It appears that it has met with success."

The king was right; Nick was swift and strong, and he knew almost every inch of Breaze, including the hill country where the new temple was being built.

"Then why did you kick me away from Octavia now that I found love?" demanded Nick. "Is it because you want me to die unloved? Is it because you want her to die alone and barren?"

"I know why," whispered Octavia, her eyes beginning to tear up. "If I was pregnant I wouldn't be able to cast the spell properly."

"That is true," said Viceroy Dhukonn. "It's one of the reasons women are not trained as wizards. When she is with child, her magic may weaken, or cease, or worse, it may affect the child in her womb and create a horror."

"Aen-Belth, unto thee I bestow boundless gifts for thy noble quest: a steadfast companion, the wisest of wizards in the realm of Kõdu, boundless knowledge to fulfill thine sacred duty, and a blade forged in celestial fires, eternal in its sharpness, unwavering in its service." With that, Saehrimnir faded and disappeared, the chair he was seated on shrank to normal size and the vaulted ceiling in the room returned to a height of eight feet as normal.

The king was shocked that the room was transformed, but the viceroy was unfazed at the transformation. The king supposed that with a twelve-foot god wandering around the campus, this happened all the time. Meanwhile, Octavia and Nick sat quietly, their heads touching. A casual observer such as King Uric would think they were napping, but Viceroy Dhukonn was sure they were silently talking.

Finally, they rose and kissed long and passionately, then Nick turned to the king and said, "Your majesty, we need to head back to Elm Springs."

The king rose and said, "I concur, my Queen must be experiencing great unease." He took Octavia's hand and bowed to her. "My lady do bear in mind that you remain a member of my court. I trust you shall join us upon completion of this event."

Octavia was strangely businesslike. "I am going to remain here to research the Rite of Prose Mino. Keep me abreast of kingdom events, your majesty. You can send a message to me through Nick and I will return if needed."

"Your esteemed plan shall take precedence, my lady. Should you require assistance from Uduithia, I implore you to solicit it forthwith."

"I will," said Octavia, and as Nick led the king out into the hallway, Octavia turned to Viceroy Dhukonn and said, "I will need six research assistants and unfettered access to all the libraries of the temple, university, and hospital."

In the hallway, Nick was about to say something to the king when he noticed a dwarf sitting on the floor, leaning on the wall, holding a battered witch's hat. "Are you ok buddy?" asked Nick as he helped the dwarf to his feet.

"Bloody hell, mate! It was a ripper to throw down with a legend who could show a dwarf a cheeky trick or two!"

"It wasn't much of a fight," said Nick, "there were only two hits."

"Aye, you to hit me, then me to hit the ground," laughed the dwarf.

Then, Nick asked the dwarf a question that shocked King Uric. "I'm forming up a team for a skirmish in the near future, do you want in?"

"You beauty, I'm all in, mate!"

"I'll keep you informed. Tell the elf and the demi-giant I want them also."

"I'll give 'em a shout, cobber."

Nick led the king through the maze of classrooms and offices. Octavia was giving him directions to head back to the temple, and they conversed silently, as if they were in the same room. According to Octavia, this was a power that Saehrimnir gave them so they could work together on the assembly of the Rite of Prose Mino and gather information about the new temple of Zeddicus. Nick was using it to titillate Octavia.

"Is it not requisite for us to have a deity to lead us back to Elm Springs?" asked King Uric.

"No, your majesty. I have a temple key. It lets me use the Æther Portals in the temples at my discretion," Nick showed the king a golden key that hung on a ribbon around his neck. He led the king out of the building and said, "According to Octavia, this is a shortcut to the main temple," then he stopped short. There was an enormous pile of trash behind the buildings, and Nick looked at it sadly. "Right here behind the biggest temple on Kodu, that pile of trash was my home," he said in anger. Then he pointed to an overly ornate building not far away. "There is the seat of government and the office of Orazio Laurita, the Dominus of Torwin-Armistad himself. Then there, across the street from Laurita's office, slums like a nightmare hell on earth. This city sickens me."

"I'm sure there is good coming from..." The king stopped when Nick picked up a crate from the pile of garbage and there was a little girl, maybe two years old at the most. Her tangled hair was black as Octavia's, and her eyes were huge in terror.

"It's ok honey, I'm a witch, see?" said Nick as he crouched down and pulled his battered hat on. "Let Uncle Nicky see..." Nick touched her here and there and shivered himself. "May the gods be damned..." he muttered. He scooped up the little girl and dashed for the rear entrance to the temple, and King Uric had to run to keep up. At the same time, in the library, Octavia broke into tears and ran.

"That's where I used to live," Nick told the king, "But I was a little older and stronger than this one." He went up to a temple maiden and begged for a handkerchief from her, then went to a holy water font, soaked the handkerchief in holy water and wiped the little girl's face.

"That's holy water," gasped the King. "It could kill her."

"So could being abandoned to the elements while hypocrites inside this building keep their backs turned to her." He wiped the weeks of filth from the tiny girl, and occasionally he let her taste some of the holy water.

The shocked temple maiden ran and brought a temple priest, and Nick could tell from his raiment that he was a bishop. "SIR! I must protest! How dare you bring this urchin in a place of worship."

"Bishop, see this sword at my side? It can remain in the sheath or it can be sheathed in your guts. Your next words will decide the fate of my sword, so choose carefully," said Nick with undisguised hatred. Then he pressed his hand to the girl's forehead and muttered, "Miserable gods, she's burning up."

Nick shoved the bishop out of the way and shouted, "Come on your majesty!" He then ran with the girl while the bishop shouted for security. At the entrance to the University, the head of temple security stepped in front of Nick; it was the demi-giant who Nick kicked down the staircase.

"Stop him!" the bishop ordered the demi-giant.

"Hey buddy," said Nick. "I'm trying to save a life here. Where's the apothecary?"

Ignoring the rants of the bishop, the demi-giant looked at the girl and said, "She looks like you, Mister Stein."

"I wish she was mine, then she'd be healthy and living on a farm and not in filth. What's your name, friend giant?" asked Nick.

"Hugues Du Gouey," said the giant.

"My top sergeant and best friend in Breaze was a Du Gouey, Jehans Du Gouey."

"My kinsman was Jehans, but he didn't serve under a human named Stein."

"I enlisted under the name Pommeraie de la Montesquieu. Jehans was an outstanding soldier and should have been my second in command."

When Nick said that, Hugues softened. "Follow me," said the demi-giant. He gave the bishop a rude hand gesture and led Nick through the university to the university hospital. At the apothecary, Nick asked for several dried herbs, and then, securing the herbs, he dashed to the first room with a bed he found. He laid the girl on the bed and covered her with a blanket, then turned and began chopping and grinding the herbs with his hunting knife on an expensive-looking table.

Octavia showed up moments later, answering Nick's silent call for help. She carried a cup of warm water and several fruits and vegetables from the kitchen. Nick poured his chopped herbs into the water and stirred them up, then he propped the little girl up and held the cup to her lips.

"Here, drink this sweetie," he whispered. "It may taste icky, but it's better than drinking out of puddles." The little girl looked at Nick and Octavia with those huge trusting eyes, and drank. When she was done, Nick gave her a grape, and she ate it without question.

"I'm Doctor Theo Arst, what is the meaning of this?" said a small man with a huge nose and tiny glasses. He had a pointy beard and was balding and profoundly ugly.

"Oh good, I need you," said Nick. He handed the doctor the empty cup. "Here, could you fetch this girl some drinking water?"

"I am the head surgeon of this hospital. I do not fetch water!"

"Hey, if you don't know how, don't get mad at me." Nick handed the cup to a junior nurse and said, "Could you show Doctor Arse how to get water? I also need warm water, soap, and a sponge to wash this child and bandages..."

"My name is ARST!" roared the doctor. "Who are you? What are you doing?" but Nick ignored him and began washing the little girl's filthy hands.

"He holds the esteemed position of Chief Health Advisor to the Sovereign of Uduithia," said Uric.

"I don't believe it," insisted Doctor Arst.

"He would know, he's the King of Uduithia," said Professor Dhukonn as he entered the room. "Your majesty, do you need assistance?" The king was helping Nick and Octavia wash up the child.

"Witch Stein, what further requirements do we possess?" asked the king.

"Willow bark, strong willow bark tea with ginger and honey," said Nick. He was in tears of despair seeing the sores and open wounds on the little girl.

"Willow bark tea? That's witchcraft, this is a house of science!" gasped the young nurse.

"Aspirin!" Nick nearly shouted. "It's made from willow bark. I need aspirin in liquid form and an antiseptic to clean these wounds."

Doctor Arst nodded and turned to an older nurse and said, "Tell the head apothecary to produce the tea that Witch Stein requires." He was curious to see what Nick was up to. "It appears the witch knows battlefield medicine," said the surgeon.

"He was head of palace security in Breaze," said King Uric as they watched Nick and Octavia work on the child.

"This is a lot of work for a gutter rat," mumbled the old nurse. Hearing that, King Uric wisely backed up, and he urged Professor Dhukonn to move back as well. There was a ring of mithril steel, and the nurse had a sword at his throat.

"I am a gutter rat," hissed Nick. "I plucked her from the same trash heap I lived in for years until I was whisked away to live under King Uric."

The nurse stood trembling, not daring to move. Nick had the back of the sword's blade to her throat, but she didn't know that. "Stay thy blade, Witch Stein," said the king. "Those short of heart do vex us, and they abound in every quarter, yet our noble duty is to enlighten and restore the weak and the hungry."

"Let's just go," said Nick to Octavia. "Let's just run and hide in Artafána or the Rkund Hold. Let's just let Zeddicus devour the entire continent of Edux. Why should I risk everything for swine like that?" he said, pointing to the old nurse.

Octavia continued to wash the little girl and said, "We're fighting for the little ones," she said softly.

Nick was now having trouble keeping the tears back. "This is somebody's baby! How did this happen?"

King Uric turned to Doctor Arst and said, "This child is a ward of the kingdom of Uduithia. See to it she is cared for and when she is strong enough to move I will send a representative to escort her to a land that will care for her."

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Chapter 23 - Two Mules and a Wagon

Zeddicus was huge! Teeth like daggers, claws like meat hooks, a jaw that could crush an anvil, four arms that swiped and slashed, two huge powerful legs that could cover two yards in one stride, red eyes that could bore into your soul. Nick danced and dashed, two cutlasses swinging, lopping off bits of the demon-god before he could grow them back, and then the kill! Nick drove one cutlass into the beast's chest, striking the heart, if it had one, and one into the lower jaw and up into its brain. It roared in agony, and with a flash, it died. Nick looked over his shoulder at Octavia to see her descending into a deep, deep well.

"OCTAVIA!" he shrieked. Something had hold of him, and it wouldn't let go! He fought and finally got the blanket unwound and he was free. Out of breath and trembling in terror, he slumped to the living room floor, where he had slept since getting back. He couldn't sleep in that big bed upstairs alone; he was sure that the bed hated him. The fire in the fireplace was out, and the morning sunlight was peering through the windows.

"Same dream as last night?" asked Nana. She was knitting now, and she looked concerned.

"No, I killed it this time, but it ended with Octavia dropping down a well."

"Maybe that's an omen. Stay away from deep wells."

"I got to go, I'm almost done with Duke Roem's estate and the tax records." He pulled on his leather work pants and muttered, "those books don't make any sense." While Octavia and her team scoured the libraries of the University of Mystic Arts at the Temple of Saehrimnir, Nick was home finishing up the jobs the king gave him. In addition to the job of executor for Duke Roem's estate and duchy finance manager, he and Kaleb became a working team. He leased a wagon and Teddi from Sieffre Merrick with a promise to purchase both outright for a twenty-dollar gold coin. At sunup he would hitch the mules to the wagon full of firewood and head to Elm Springs and deliver the wood to a purchaser. There in Elm Springs a small load of cargo and mail, and occasionally a passenger or two awaited. He loaded up the wagon and hauled the cargo and riders over Breeders Peak and into Waleston, where he dropped off the cargo and riders at the livery stable. Then he'd ride over to 2121 Honeybutter Lane, where he would stable the mules in the small barn behind the luxurious house.

He worked himself into a headache going over the documents that were supposed to be the accounting of the income and expenses for the Duchy of Wægn. Nothing made sense because it showed he paid no taxes on all of Black Mountain because he was a witch. In fact, those books showed quite a few witches in the duchy, twice as many as Nick knew existed, so no taxes were collected from them, so the amount of taxes collected to be paid to the crown was lower when the king's witches discount was applied. Then, while performing an inventory on the estate, Nick discovered another safe in the master bedroom, and he tried the same combination that was used on the office safe, and it worked.

Inside this safe were gold coins minted in Torwin-Armistad and another set of books for the duchy, and these numbers made more sense, but these books didn't bear the stamp of authenticity from the office of the Exchequer of the kingdom; the phony books did. He spent hours listing the inconsistencies between the sets of books before counting all the gold he had found in the two safes and in the Duke's desk drawers. That night on the way home, he swung by Waelmore Castle and found Sean Fahy and requested an audience with the king. "I want to report on the accuracy of the duke's financial records... or the lack thereof," said Nick.

"I have a report regarding the duke also," said Sean. "Be here first thing in the morning after you drop off your cargo."

The next morning, Nick packed his receipts and both sets of books and headed into the village, where Erin Metsker was waiting for him with an egg sandwich wrapped in paper and a cup of coffee. "Bless you ma'am. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Where is Miss Octavia?" asked Erin's daughter Ena McCrory as she and her tiny daughter Moyra came to visit Grandpa Trei.

"She's doing an inventory for the University in Torwin-Armistad, I'm still doing an inventory for the king here in Waleston," said Nick as he loaded up the mail and the cargo. "We're trying to put some money together for when we get married."

"You're so sweet," said Erin. "Don't be working yourself to death before she can get back and do that to you herself."

This morning, he had four riders who each paid Nick a nickel for the trip over Breeders Peak. Two rough-looking characters and a young couple, and the woman was obviously pregnant. "Everyone in, we're heading out," called Nick. He had the boxes and sacks stacked up in the middle of the wagon, so he put the young couple in the rear and the rough-looking characters up front. He swung up into the driver's seat and sighed. "This working for a living is getting old," he groaned.

"You only have to do it for fifty more years," said Erin. "Say hello to Octavia for all of us when you talk to her next."

"I will do that." Then Nick whistled sharply. "Teddi, Kaleb, come up!" and the two mules began to pull. "Teddi, Kaleb, haw." And the mules turned left onto the road known as Breeders Peak Pike. "Chilly one this morning, eh?" said Nick to his passengers, and all nodded in agreement. It wasn't autumn yet, but it was chilly; the leaves on the trees were just starting to turn color. He had to get to work cutting wood. He found a couple more deadfalls up on Black Mountain, and with two mules, he'll be able to pull them both down off the mountain where he can cut them at his leisure by the cottage.

"Gimme yer dough," came a whispered growling voice.

"Mffmm," said Nick, his mouth full of a bite of the egg sandwich. This was a good sandwich this morning, and he didn't appreciate being interrupted by a passenger. Fresh-baked crusty bread toasted and buttered, fried duck egg with the yolk a bit soft, just the way he liked it, a slice of ham and a little Old Breem, a tangy white cheddar-like cheese. This was a sandwich that folk songs are written about, and a comedian behind him was interrupting his breakfast.

"What did you say?" growled the rough-looking character.

Nick swallowed his bite of sandwich and said, "I said, 'what did you say.'"

"I said 'gimme your dough.'"

"Oh, hang on..." Nick stood and turned to face the rough-looking pair. Both looked like they had spent their entire lives losing fights. Both had broken noses, and there was at least one cauliflower ear. Both were wearing heavy work clothes and knit caps, and both were carrying daggers. Nick reached into the tight pocket of his leather work trousers and pulled out all his money and handed it to the smarter-looking of the two.

"Thirty cents? That's it? You collected twenty cents from us this morning."

"Yep, that leaves how much?"

"A dime? That's all the money you had?" Then the math genius turned to his partner. "Carl, get the money from those two in the back."

"Duh... Right Alfie."

"Carl, hold on," said Nick. There was a sound of steel being drawn from a sheath, and a glittering silver sword with ornate carvings on the blade appeared in Nick's hand. It grew dark, and the air became colder. Meanwhile, the mules plodded on without Nick guiding them. They turned around the corner of the switchback road without assistance and began climbing the steep leg of the road. "This is the fabled blade Aen-Belth, which means God Slayer, it's been enchanted by Saehrimnir himself. See those orange sparks glittering on the edge of the blade? Those are dust particles in the air being split in half by the sharpest blade on Kodu." He grabbed Alfie's knit hat, rotated the sharpened blade upward, and dropped Alfie's hat on the blade. The hat split in half as it hit the blade and continued to drop without slowing. "Imagine what this will do to a spleen."

"H-h-here mister," said Alfie, and he handed the money back to Nick.

"Now give your money to them," said Nick, and he gestured to the young couple in the back of the wagon.

"For what?"

"Baby shower. Do it!"

Alfie tossed a handful of coins to the young couple and then said, "That's all I got."

"Now get out."

"We'll fall... we might die!"

"Your chances of survival are lower if you stay here." When Nick said that, Carl didn't wait and he dove, quickly followed by Alfie. Nick tucked Aen-Belth back into its sheath and tucked that under the seat, and suddenly the darkness disappeared; it was again a sunny but cool morning.

"What happened to those two?" asked the girl in the back.

"They had to leave so they tossed you some money for the baby," said Nick as he peered over the edge of the sheer cliff they were traveling on. He could see Alfie and Carl bouncing off of trees as they careened down the side of Breeders Peak, and he was sure that he would see them again. Nick then sat down and took a sip of coffee and a bite of sandwich. This was turning out to be a good morning after all. He was falling in love with Teddi and Kaleb. They were such good mules, and he would love to haul cargo like this forever.

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Teddi and Kaleb clip-clopped up the ancient cobblestone drive to Waelmore Castle. He rode around back to the servant's entrance, parked the wagon, uncoupled Teddi and Kaleb and then led them to the stables for a snack. Then he grabbed his sword and books and walked back up to the nobles' entrance. "I have a meeting with the king and I need to check two blades."

The guard looked him up and down and sneered. "Get yer bum to the staff door, moppet!"

"As you say," said Nick, and he headed back to the servant's entrance, where he found himself in the kitchen. It was a huge, ancient kitchen. There was a fireplace big enough to roast an entire side of beef over the open flame, two big enamel stoves, sinks and a central island/cutting board big enough for that side of beef that was just roasted.

"Wotcha doin' 'ere, then?" said the cook, a large, red-faced, huge-breasted woman.

"The guard turned me away from the nobles entrance."

"Blimey, the way you're kitted out, I ain't surprised one bit... Oi! You ain't comin' in 'ere wiv a bloomin' sword!"

"That's why I wanted to go in the nobles entrance, so I could check the sword."

"You'd best find a spot for that bleedin' sword, or I'm a-callin' the bobbies. Get it out on the cobbles, love."

"And what if the young prince finds it and cuts himself in half?"

"Ain't my bleedin' trouble, innit?"

Nick shrugged, took an apple from the bowl and said, "You guys are fun, I'm going to use this entrance more often." He headed out into the castle, wearing a sword and dagger and eating an apple. He went to the heralds' office, one of the few rooms he could remember in the castle. "Harold, I have an appointment with the king, where is he?"

Harold looked at Nick and sighed, then moaned, "Follow me." Harold the Herald led Nick through passages he had never seen before, and they ended up in what Harold called "The King's Study" which looked more like a recreation room. "Your Majesty, the King's witch is 'ere."

"Ah, Nicolas, do take a seat, would you be so kind?"

Nick sat down at a round table with a green felt top and trays for poker chips... a poker table. "My name is just Nick, sire." Where did Nicolas come from? "I found some major inconsistencies in the financial records of the duchy of Wægn," said Nick.

"What does thou mean?"

"I found a second set of books," said Nick. "Here's the official set of records; you can see the stamp from the exchequer's office on the corner of each page, and here's the second set of records which seems to be more accurate."

"What is the difference between them?"

"On this page here, on the official records, Gertrude Wolf, witch. Being a witch, her parcel of land is tax free. Gertrude Wolf has been dead for almost thirty years, until the new witch moved in, this was taxable property. In fact..." Nick opened the book of records he discovered in the bedroom safe. "The same parcel of land is currently registered to Pommeraie de la Montesquieu, and was eminently taxable. Here's the receipts of the taxes I paid for the past eight years."

The king looked at the two sets of records and muttered, "Bloody hell," which was the closest Nick had ever heard him get to swearing. "This will cause an issue for the next Duke of Wægn," he said as he compared the pages. "Yes... I was there at Goody Tompkin's funeral, but here she is in the official records, ten years after her death."

Nick placed a sheet of paper in front of the king and said, "here is a list of witches that I know for a fact to be dead, but they're all still in the books. I am assuming that Duke Roem was collecting taxes from those properties, but claiming to the crown that a witch still lived there and pocketed the money he collected. There's also expenses listed for road improvements, snow plowing, and law enforcement, and I do not believe that any of those listed expenses ever happened. I will have to check with each estate that was listed as a witch..."

The king sighed and leaned back and said, "I must decline your generous offer; you are my health advisor, not my personal investigator. This matter is most prudently reserved for the next Duke of Wægn." The king pushed a form toward Nick and handed him a pen and bottle of ink. "Kindly affix your signature to this receipt of acknowledgment."

"Sure, what's this for?" asked Nick as he signed.

"Your pay." He handed Nick a ten-dollar silver coin. "Monthly salary for acting as my health advisor." Then he handed Nick a twenty-dollar gold coin. "For pay and expenses as executor of Lord Roem's estate." Then he handed Nick a second twenty-dollar gold coin. "For pay and expenses as executor of the Duchy of Wægn."

Nick had never had a payday like that. He was shocked -- his dream of two mules and a wagon was coming true! He was reaching out to Octavia with his mind as he sat with the king, and they were interrupted by a tap at the door. "Your majesty," said Captain Sean Fahy. "A moment, Nick will want to hear this also."

"Pray, do enter, Captain. What tidings do you possess?"

"The crossbow bolts that killed Duke Roem were the same type as the bolts that killed his son Fabien." Sean laid the bolts down on the table. They were painted red with black wooden flights. They had steel tips for penetrating the firmest armor.

"I've seen those," said Nick. "You have too, your majesty."

"Have I?" asked King Uric.

"Bughac Orebeard, the twin tail dwarf that I bested in the university. He had a bandolier full of these darts."

"Indeed, he did. I failed to observe, as my attention was captivated by his peculiar beard."

"These are dwarven bolts sire," said Sean. "Either a dwarf wanted the duke dead or someone wanted to blame a dwarf for his death."

Nick nodded. "If it were a dwarf, it probably had something to do with mining on Black Mountain."

Still considering the crossbow bolt, the king said, "Sir Nicolas, were you the Duke of Wægn, and a dwarf beseeched your permission to excavate Black Mountain, what would your response be?"

"It's just Nick sire, and I haven't been knighted."

"Indulge my whimsy, my friend."

"Me? I'd say no."

"Would you truly forgo the prospects of employment and the resultant tax revenues?"

"Dwarven mines don't employ humans, so employment is not a consideration. I suppose I would reach out to other dukes that have dwarven mines and see what issues they have and what kind of tax income could be gained from an operation. I'd investigate the company that wants to mine, and see if they run a clean operation and IF they met my standards I'd put restrictions on the mine with set fines for violations."

The king grinned as if he were having fun. "What manner of restrictions might thou impose?"

"I would demand a clean and safe worksite above ground, no strip mining or open pit mining, mine tailings to be used to repair the road on the east side of the mountain, and no cutting of timber within the Duchy of Wægn."

"Whence should they procure timbers for their mine?" asked Uric.

"Other side of the Gjorgiev River for all I care."

"Behold Spatz Mountain; a barony that is not of Uduithia's domain."

"That is not my problem, your highness. But I will allow the mine owner free navigation of the Gjorgiev River as consolation."

King Uric laughed and closed up the books that Nick brought. "I am most grateful for your enlightenment regarding this matter. I trust that the only task remaining is the quest for an heir to the estates of Duke Roem. Now, if you would be so kind, I must confer with the captain of my guard."

"Thank you sire, I have a mule to buy," said Nick as he pocketed his earnings.

As he left, the king's smile faded. "Problems sire?"

King Uric shook his head and frowned. " I earnestly beseech the gods that he and Octavia may witness the arrival of spring."

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Nick had a large load of cargo heading north over Breeders Peak to Elm Springs. It would be offloaded by the temple, and the eastbound cargo wagon between Warwickshire and the railhead at Slate Bottom Creek would pick it up and drop it off at the freight depot. Most cargo heads toward Torwin-Armistad, but some was dropped off at the smaller towns along the way like Pirangi or Steil Thein. His impromptu cargo service was really catching on, and he was making some money at it.

"Teddi, Kaleb, easy," he called. They were heading down the north side of Breeders Peak, and mules make bad brakes. He worked the brake handle, keeping an eye on Teddi and Kaleb's collars. He wanted Teddi and Kaleb to always be pulling the wagon and never letting the wagon push them.

"We're almost ready," came Octavia's silent call. "Come here tomorrow morning."

Nick closed his eyes and concentrated on Octavia and thought about her as hard as he could and replied, "Yes." Nick's head stung from the effort. She's the wizard that can throw her thoughts hundreds of miles; Nick had to fight for her to 'hear' him when they were next to each other if they weren't touching.

It's not fair! Why can't Octavia come home so we can snuggle in for the winter? "Teddi, Kaleb, gee," said Nick automatically. He needed them to get to the extreme right side of the road so they could make the hard left turn ahead without breaking the wagon wheel on a large rock. He got them right to the edge of the road, and at the last moment he called, "Teddi, Kaleb, HAW!" His mules made the one hundred eighty degree turn perfectly without much input on the reins. "Good mules!" cried Nick happily.

The last leg of the switchback was nearly level, so Nick hopped off the wagon and walked alongside Kaleb. They even made the last turn of the road as it turned into Elm Springs with only a "Gee!" from Nick. He led them to the temple where he offloaded the wagon, then slowly and sadly he led them home where he unhitched them from the wagon in the barn and hung up their collars and other tack, then put them in a nice warm stable and gave them a manger full of timothy hay.

In the cottage, Nick lit a small fire in the fireplace, then packed his backpack and Octavia's pack. He pulled down the other sword and rolled the two swords up in a blanket and lashed the bundle tight with rope, then pulled a blanket over himself and lay down on the floor. "You need something to eat," said Nana, but Nick ignored her. He had a good night's sleep and woke up screaming only once.

It was a dark, cloudy morning when Nick woke. He took pen and ink in hand and wrote out a will leaving the entire farm to Octavia, or the next young witch who needs a cottage. He folded the document and put it on Nana's little side table. Grabbing the packs, he went outside and found his little goat Nanny and put her on a leash, then led Teddi, Kaleb, and Nanny to Eric MacClenny's farm. "Thank you so much for watching them, if you need, there's a wagon and full tack in my barn and you can work 'em as hard as you can, just give em an apple when you're done for the day. They like their treats."

"I'll take good care of them buddy," said Eric. "You just come back soon and we'll throw a top dollar wedding for you and your lady." Then Nick pressed a twenty-dollar gold piece into Eric's hand. "What's that for?"

"I can't ask you to watch them for free."

"Keep your money, buy 'em a new set of shoes when you get home."

"Thanks buddy." Nick picked up his packs and headed down to Elm Springs to Sieffre Merrick's stables. The old businessman stepped out of his big barn with a smile on his face. "Come to return my merchandise son?" Nick shook his head and handed Sieffre a twenty-dollar gold coin. "There you are! You bought a fine mule. She's still got a bit of filly in her, but she's a fine animal. That wagon is old but with a bit of care... are you ok?"

Nick frowned and said, "No. Just when the three of us made a good team and I got them paid off, I have to head out, and I don't know when I'll be back."

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Chapter 24 - Jumping the Sea

Nick stepped out from between a pair of columns in the Temple of Saehrimnir, and Octavia was waiting over by the entryway to the University. She squealed and dashed into his arms and covered his face with kisses. Nick's heart leapt, and the sullen mood he had been feeling since the night before evaporated when Octavia was back in his arms.

Octavia was excited and spoke so fast that Nick could barely understand her. "We found all three pieces of the rite; we just need to go collect them, assemble them, write them out on vellum and cast the spell the moment he pokes his nose out of the cave! Wait, what's wrong?"

"It's silly, come on, let's chart our trip."

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

Nick's lips tightened up and said, "I need to talk to Saehrimnir."

"What's wrong? You're shaking."

"I'm sorry, I should be strong for you... I was doing fine until I dropped Teddi and Kaleb off at Eric MacClenny's farm and they looked so sad, like I was never coming back."

"Awww," whimpered Octavia. She threw her arms around Nick and gave him a tender hug. "You and your mules, what about Nanny?"

"She was happy, she was jumping all over his farm." Nick clung to Octavia, terrified to let her go. The image night after night of her receding down a deep well terrified him more than the image of the demon-god Zeddicus. Thanks to the dreams, he now knows how to kill Zeddicus, but he doesn't know how to save Octavia. Then he realized that Octavia was weeping now. "What's wrong?"

"You and your animals... I just know you're going to be worse with our children." She leaned back, and Nick saw that she was smiling. "You're going to fret and weep over every scratch and bruise, aren't you?"

"Of course not," lied Nick. "On their fifth birthday I'm going to give them a hoe and not feed them until the entire corn field is weed free."

"Come on you, come meet your troops," and Octavia led Nick to the reception area in the University. There three fierce fighters leapt to attention. Hugues Du Gouey, the muscular demi-giant, Bughac Orebeard, the dwarf roughian, and Vesstan Aedi, the elf warrior. Each one had a filled pack by his or her side.

Nick was happy to see them, but he was also confused. "Guys, we're not ready for this. The queen and I have to travel the world and collect the spells that combine to make the Rite of Prose Mino. She said it could take weeks just to gather the spells, and longer to translate and..."

Vesstan Aedi stepped forward and said, "Captain, Lord Saehrimnir ordered us to travel with you. Who are we to tell a god that we will disobey?"

"Come on sourpuss," said Octavia, and she led the four warriors into the library, where her notes and work were waiting. "I found that the Rite of Prose Mino was broken into three spells: Sapience, Silverlight, and Surcease. Individually, they are very powerful spells, and it takes a very powerful wizard to cast them. But individually they do nothing. It's only when they are translated to the same language, combined in the right order, transcribed on Thaumatin Vellum, granted to three gods, then merged."

"Bloody hell mate!" cried Bughac. "Is magic just a bit of bumf? Nah mate, I ain't into that paper shuffle."

"When that's done, then Octavia and I will cast the spell on Zeddicus," said Nick. "He'll lose his ability to cast and use magic for ten minutes. That's when we strike." When Nick said that, Hugues Du Gouey grinned and nodded. He was ready for action.

The elf Vesstan raised his hand. "Where are these spells?" he asked.

"The spell Sapience is here in this book," said Octavia, and she tapped the book she had in front of her. "This is the Bond of Wraith. The next part, Surcease, is in a book called The Summoning of Last Hope, and Silverlight is in a book called Tome of the Ended Dream."

"Ok, we got our work cut out for us." Nick gestured to the ranks of bookshelves and said, "Let's fan out and see if we can find these books so we can..." He was interrupted by Octavia poking him in the ribs. "Is there a problem?"

"I know where these books are, and they're not in this library. Summoning of Last Hope is in Steil Thein, in the temple of Bet ha-Kise, and Tome of the Ended Dream is in the temple of Cloacina."

Hugues and Vesstan groaned, but Bughac grinned and cried, "How bonza is that!"

Nick looked at the dwarf and said, "Buggy, where is the temple of Cloacina?"

"It's in the bloody greatest place on Kodu. Bovuka! on the bloody Nairood Archipelago! Fahkin' A mate. It's the only bloody place on Kodu that fahkin' speaks properly... Too roit, mate!"

"That's out in the middle of the western ocean!"

"Ain't it bonza, me ol' cobber?" grinned the dwarf.

"The name Buggy fits him perfectly," groaned Hugues.

Octavia noticed that Nick had his eyes closed and his brow was furrowed. "Are you unwell?" she asked.

"Just concentrating on a route to Bovuka," said Nick. Memories he never had before swam before him, and he was able to find non-congregational temples on small islands scattered across the western ocean. A non-congregational temple is a consecrated temple but not patronized by any particular god. If you had a temple key, you could 'hop' to that temple. He grabbed a scrap of paper from the library desk and a small pencil, and he wrote down the island temples that he selected. "Here's my proposed route," said Nick. "I need to ask Saehrimnir's blessing and I need to ask two favors then we can go."

"You believe he will grant you favors?" asked the elf warrior Vesstan.

"He wants this to succeed more than we do, so he might," said Nick. He turned to the dwarf and said, "We will need an offering, please go to the cafeteria and obtain a piece of raw meat."

<><><><><>

Saehrimnir gave his blessing to Nick on the route and granted two favors. He sharpened and hardened both mithril steel swords that Nick received from King Alfrich after seeing the dreams that Nick had every night. "Lo, my son, what thou dost perceive are not mere dreams, but sacred prophecies bestowed upon thee. Fear not for Octavia, for she shall traverse the path of safety and grace."

Soon they stepped out into the twilight world of Elbreshowth on the Moor, in the temple of Snupp, god of wolves. "Put the meat in the offering plate over there," he told Buggy, and the fierce dwarf dropped a steak on the offering plate. "Now go sit down and rest," said Nick. "Watch the queen's hourglass before rising again."

"I smell beef!" came a roar from the foggy darkness. "And the odor of human fills my temple." Through the fog strode Snupp, eight feet tall, and no matter what Nick did or said, the god always looked hungry, and he always eyed up Nick like a lame chicken. "Captain Pommeraie," growled the god. "Do we move toward victory?"

Nick stood with his hands open, showing he was unarmed. "Aye, Lord Snupp, I bear two swords blessed by Saehrimnir, one the elves named Aen-Belth, the God Slayer."

"No, Captain Pommeraie, they named you the God Slayer. I hope they're right and I hope it's not a habit once you're done."

"I just want to return to my farm and cut firewood for the winter." Nick stepped closer to Snupp. "How are your children doing? Do they have anything to report?"

"They follow and harry the construction crews across Breaze, there are now four construction sites and if they are all dedicated, Zeddicus could emerge from any one of them."

"What god would dedicate a temple to Zeddicus?" asked Nick.

"My children report seeing Rahn in the construction sites."

"Gods damn him!" shouted Nick. "I always knew he was a bastard!" Rahn was a minor god, the god of blood. Probably the most unneeded god in the pantheon. "I should kill him too if he does consecrate the temples."

"Is that wise?" asked Snupp with a toothy grin.

"Saehrimnir told me that the gods are here to serve the people. You and I may disagree, but you serve the werewolves and vampires of Elbreshowth, and for that I admire you."

Surprised, Snupp nodded and said, "Thank you Captain."

"But releasing a demon god onto Kodu? Who does that serve? I will pray to Saehrimnir for permission to kill Rahn also... after all, what is Rahn going to do to me? Bleed all over me?"

"You never fail to entertain," said Snupp. "Tell King Lars of Teurnia to keep his eyes on Biatal, Montlon, Halsen, and Wagestadt."

"Thank you Lord Snupp," said Nick as he bowed to the god of wolves.

Snupp returned the bow and said, "Good hunting, Lord Aen-Belth."

Nick returned to Octavia, and the warriors, and the sand in the hourglass had run out. "How do you do it?" groaned Hugues. The demi-giant looked nauseous; he clearly wasn't recovering from the hop. "You parlay with gods and I lay here weak as a kitten."

"Kittens grow to tigers with enough practice," said Nick as he helped his large friend to his feet. "Hoist your bags up, hold hands and keep an eye on each other," and he led them back through the columns in the temple.

<><><><><>

Deep in the Mons Sunnah mountains, on the River Arn, the fortress of Termagant's Bane was clearly on war footing. Troops of several allied nations were billeted in warehouses and homes emptied by fleeing citizens of the city/fort. Soldiers marched through the streets, some heading out to the field to keep the remaining Breazian army at bay, other units returning from whatever mission their king had ordered.

Inside the Temple of Sapona, the god of stone, Nick crouched over a stricken demi-giant. "I'm afraid we're going to have to leave you here my friend. The next four hops are longer than the two we have taken."

"I've sworn my allegiance to Queen Octavia and now I can barely stand," said Hugues. "What can I do here?"

Nick smiled and said, "The queen's royal mounted guard is here. They are sworn to protect Queen Rania and they swore their oath on your kinsman's sword."

"They what?" gasped Hugues.

"It's true," said Octavia. "Jehans Du Gouey died in the attack in Breaze, and my captain rescued his sword. The sword of Jehans Du Gouey slayed his killers and guided us to safety and it is here in Teurnia. It is a symbol of strength and fidelity to the Royal Mounted Guard."

"Mounted guard? There's no horse large enough to carry me."

"No, but mounted soldiers get unhorsed and they've never trained for that eventuality," said Nick. "Train the queen's guard and when we get back, you can form up with us when we head off to end this threat."

The Queen's Mounted Guard gave Hugues Du Gouey a warm welcome and immediately accepted him as the hand to hand combat training sergeant. He swore his oath on Jehans' sword and immediately began evaluating the men and women before starting a training program. "Gods below he's good!" said Leomaris Autumnfall. "I'm going to run all our troops through his training regimen."

"Leo, I have a message from Lord Snupp," said Nick. He led his old friend off to the side and quietly said, "his wolves have been following and harassing the construction troops. He said to watch Biatal, Montlon, Halsen, and Wagestadt. He believes they are working to build a temple at all four sites."

"Thank you, I had suspected Halsen and Montlon, but Wagestadt and Biatal? They're both on the shore, that puts their backs to the sea," said a confused Leomaris.

"I know, how odd is that. It may be a diversion but how can we be sure? Look, Leo, Hugues is a great guy with a lot of heart, but he can't take the temple hops and we've got four more to go today."

The elf looked shocked. "Where are you going?"

"Bovuka, out on the Nairood islands."

"Be careful out there, those people are crazy and the place is crawling with dangerous animals." Leomaris hugged Nick and said, "Come back safe."

"You got it buddy." Nick went over to Octavia, who was talking with Queen Rania. He came up behind Octavia and hugged her from behind. She reached up and gently caressed his cheek with her hand and pushed her bum back at him as they hugged.

"I think he's trying to tell you something," said Rania.

"Yeah," said Olah Ulavaris, Rania's co-wife and lady-in-waiting. "He wants to throw her down and make wild passionate love to her."

"He always wants to do that," said Octavia as she put her hands on his and moved them up closer to her breasts.

"Look, Pommy is blushing!" squealed Olah's sister Nora. "I could never get him to do that!"

"We better go," mumbled Nick, who was furiously blushing, and the male witch led the female wizard, elf, and dwarf back into the temple of Sapona.

Their first hop went from Teurnia to Oakroy Cay, a cold, damp, rocky island full of quaint villages and rough-looking fishermen. The quick peek they had out to the village reminded Octavia of Haddosa Bay and the first time she ever stepped into a boat. She spent the fifteen minutes of recuperation thinking back of their flight up the coast in a stolen sailboat, and she kissed Nick the entire time.

The next hop took them to Pinbron Haven, a warmer island covered with ferns and palm trees, which startled the travelers, having never seen them before. The next island was Varenver Reef. It was hot and humid there. The local people were dark-skinned and wore little clothing, and spoke in a language that was musical to hear. Instead of fifteen to thirty minutes to recover from the hop, it took over an hour before they all felt comfortable and able to face the final and biggest jump. "Strewth, we just scraped through that ripper! How the fahk are we getting back to Teurnia, skipper?" demanded Buggy.

"We're not going back to Teurnia, not at first. We're going to build a tunnel back to Elm Springs where we can hop to Steil Thein."

"A tunnel?" asked Octavia and Vesstan Aedi at the same time.

"It's one of the favors I requested from Saehrimnir. I requested permission to create tunnels to Elm Springs, and he gave me permission to build three. I made one to his temple, and I'll make another as an escape tunnel from Bovuka. I'll save the third one for future use."

"Oi, what's this about a tunnel, mate? You're pulling my leg, aren't ya!" demanded Buggy.

"No, it's a link between any two Æther Portals that isn't affected by the usual pressures on your lungs and heart."

"Crikey! Never heard a that before, mate!"

"You never heard of temple hopping before either," said the elf. "Are we ready to go or do you want to sit around and whine more?"

A large-breasted topless native girl walked by, and Buggy and Vesstan stared as Nick just leaned back against a coconut tree and hugged Octavia, who was sitting on his lap. "Bloody fahkin hell... let's hit the road, cobber," groaned Buggy after the girl left.

They got up, and Octavia said to Nick, "You didn't even bother to look at that girl, I'm proud of you."

"I've seen the best, she's not it."

"That is the rudest compliment I've ever received," said Octavia as she kissed Nick and pinched him at the same time.

Nick and Octavia walked back to the temple, hand in hand. The temple was constructed as a pavilion and had no walls. Looking around, they saw that few of the buildings had walls, and the walls they saw were made from woven mats. Varenver Reef was a tropical paradise. Everywhere they looked were beautiful brightly colored flowers and large rainbow-hued birds with long tails that flew through the trees. The temperature was perfect; the natives were beautiful and sexy, most only wearing skirts made from woven grass. There was always music coming from somewhere, and Nick wished he had brought his dulcimer.

They stepped through the temple portal and stepped out into a large temple similar to the Temple of Saehrimnir, and they immediately fell to the ground panting and gasping for air. Nick tried to get into a kneeling position, but he was completely exhausted, every muscle ached, and he felt like he had been holding his breath for over two minutes.

Octavia lay panting, and she tried to get up onto her hands and knees. She looked around and saw that Buggy and Vesstan were in a similar situation. She saw a temple priest heading toward him, and he cried out, "Oi mate! No chance you're crashing here, find a dinky-di room, will ya?"

"Finally," groaned Buggy. "A bloke who chats in posh Torwin."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 25 - Vook, the Land 'Way Over

Nick, Octavia, Vesstan, and Buggy were led, and half carried, to a set of couches in the university reception area that was attached to the temple of Cloacina. A temple priest offered them water and said, "Welcome to Bovuka, or as we call it, Vook, the land 'way over."

"Way over?" asked Octavia.

"Aye, if you keep traveling west, the next land mass you reach is Lääne." To people of Edux like Octavia and her team, Lääne was the far east, the land of the first rays of dawn, the land where the fabled Empire of Xuantang, the land of gold, was said to exist.

"We traveled halfway around the world?" asked the stunned elf Vesstan.

"Where are you from?" asked the priest.

"Edux..." said Nick. "I'm Nick Stein of Uduithia, this is Vesstan Aedi of the Montagne Charmant elves, this is Bughac Orebeard of Goimusdurth Mountain, and this is Queen Octavia of Breaze. We started our journey from Teurnia."

Just then a man in bishop's raiment approached. "I am Bishop Bruce Neurath, the Carileph... the top dog here. Crikey, you legged it all the way from Edux, did ya? Never seen that before," said Bishop Bruce Neurath. "Oi, what's the deal with pullin' a stunt like that, mate?"

"Followers of Zeddicus are building a temple dedicated to him," said Octavia. "If they succeed, Zeddicus will be free to walk Kodu."

The bishop sat down with them and ordered refreshments from an acolyte, then turned back to Octavia. "Who's the fahkin' froot loop that cooked up that dodgy idea?" asked Bishop Neurath.

"We think it was the commander of the Breazian Army, General Victor Steinhauer. We're not sure who's in charge over there now," said Octavia.

"Why? What's the go with General Steinhauer?"

"I chopped his arms off and let him bleed to death," said Nick in a dead voice.

"That's fahkin' cold," gasped a temple priest that was listening.

Nick said nothing, so Octavia said, "it was Mystara eleventh, Nick had just married his lieutenant, I had just married King Alfrich and was crowned queen. At the wedding ball, the two couples were dancing to celebrate and we switched partners, and General Steinhauer killed the king and lieutenant."

"Bloody fahkin' hell!" gasped Buggy. "Strewth, I had no idea! Did ya know that mate?"

"Shhh!" responded Vesstan, who didn't truly know much about that. He knew what everyone else knew, there was an Army coup, and the king was killed. Like Buggy and Hugues, he thought everyone called Octavia "queen" because she was so beautiful and well mannered. They didn't realize she was an actual queen.

"Your university inventory says that somewhere in your library is a book titled Tome of the Ended Dream. We need that book," said Octavia. "In the text is a spell we need to reconstruct the Rite of Prose Mino."

A temple maiden coughed, and a temple priest laughed. "Crikey, we've got a whopping hundred thousand books - good luck scavengin, for it, mate!" said the priest.

Suddenly, a loud female voice filled the air. "Find The Fahkin' Book!" Then, a ten foot tall woman stepped into the university reception area. Her skin was an olive green hue; her hair was thick, long and sandy brown. Her facial features were strikingly handsome, with a sharp pointed nose, piercing sapphire blue eyes, and a mouth drawn up into a mischievous smile. She wore only a short leather skirt; her firm breasts, the size of watermelon halves, bobbled on her chest. Her legs were long and muscular. On her belt, she wore a hunting knife so big that it made a knight's broadsword look like a nail file. She had a quiver of arrows and a bow slung on her back. This was Cloacina, the goddess of the hunt.

Priests, acolytes, and university employees dashed to the library to find the book for Octavia while Buggy stared at the giantess. Buggy was in love. He leapt to his feet and bowed deeply before the brazen goddess. "My goddess, allow me to offer you my undying love and my service at anything you wish... if ya know what I mean. I am Bughac Orebeard, which translates in the local lingo as Bonzer Root." In Bovuka, telling a woman in a bar that your name translates to 'Bonzer Root' will get you slapped nine times out of ten. But that tenth time... you better be on your game, because you just promised that girl the night of her life.

"Bughac Orebeard," the goddess said with a grin. "You look like a ripper Friday night, mate, but this bloke... he's a whole weekend of shenanigans!" She reached out and touched Nick, who was holding Octavia's hand, and the goddess gasped. Through that touch, their minds opened up to her. She felt their concerns and their mission. The bishop was stunned too when he saw his goddess recoil in surprise. "The Lady Of The Sapphire Flame... The Keeper Of The Mithril Blade."

When the Bishop heard that, his eyes grew wide in wonder as he looked again at Nick and Octavia. "Is it fair dinkum my goddess?"

"Oi, mate! They were sussed out to waltz in 'bout two thousand four hundred and seventy-seven years back."

Nick leaned over to Vesstan Aedi and said, "What the hell are they babbling about?"

"The goddess seems to think that you are The Keeper Of The Mithril Blade and that Lady Octavia is the Lady Of The Sapphire Flame. It's from a prophecy that was told in the year 953."

"Nah, bloody no way!" said Bishop Bruce Neurath. "You two'd have to be proper greenhorns to make that prophecy stick. No chance you're still virgins, eh?" he said with a grin, but Nick and Octavia looked at him with blank expressions. The bishop was shocked. "No root? No gobby? Never had a naughty at all?"

Nick and Octavia shook their heads slowly, mostly because they didn't really understand what he was saying. Then Nick finally realized what he had been implying. "I was alone most of my life, and when I moved to Breaze I was far too busy with training, and my fiancée was my subordinate so we had to be careful," said Nick. "My wife was killed on our wedding night."

"I was temple maiden in a very strict order, I had to sneak over to the university to even see a man," said Octavia. "When I moved to Breaze and married the king, he was murdered on our wedding night."

"When she casts a spell you can see a blue flame around her," said Nick, "Especially if she's angry."

"His blade is a rare mithril steel alloy that was only made in Breaze," said Octavia. "We hear that the foundry has been destroyed and the personnel that worked there have escaped to Teurnia."

Nick rose, still wobbly on his legs, and unwrapped his sword and drew it. Tiny sparks traveled up and down the sharpened edge as dust motes were split by the unnaturally sharp edge. The silver was so polished that it looked like Nick was holding a cutlass-shaped mirror. "This is actually the queen's blade. The other is the captain's blade. I requested two favors from Saehrimnir. One was to sharpen these two blades to unearthly strength and sharpness, and to build tunnels, which he granted." Nick turned to the goddess Cloacina and said, "My lady, I humbly request a tunnel between here and the Temple of the Woods in Elm Springs."

"So granted, it'll be tied to the Temple of the Woods keys."

Suddenly the bishop was staring at the point of the sword. "You reckon you can wave a sword at a bishop?"

"I've threatened two different gods with this sword, what makes you special? I suggest you refrain from ever speaking about Queen Octavia's sex life."

"He will," boomed the goddess.

"I will," intoned the bishop, "and I apologize. Conversation over here can be... different from what you are used to." Nick sheathed the sword and sat down. He was beginning to have a bad feeling about this place.

An acolyte appeared with a tray full of beer steins and bowls of pretzels and began handing them out. "Our refreshments are here... the nectar of the gods," sighed Bishop Bruce Neurath. "Our beer has marvelous restorative properties." And he raised a stein to the four warriors. "To a successful mission!"

As they drank their beer, an acolyte came up to the bishop and whispered in his ear. "Sire, the book is not on the shelf."

The bishop looked at the young acolyte and said, "It's London to a brick that it's been checked out. Go check the file before you throw a wobbly."

"Is there a problem?" asked Nick.

"Tome of the Ended Dream wasn't on the shelf where it belonged. I'm having Bruce check the sign-out file.

Octavia looked worried, and Nick put his arm around her, trying to re-assure her. Soon the acolyte who ran off returned with another acolyte wearing a hooded, sleeved robe. His hands were clasped in front of him, and his sleeves covered his hands. He wore a belt of red rope tied in an ornate knot. "Lady Octavia, this is Bruce Bruckner, our top book wrangler for the uni."

The head librarian pushed back his hood, and he was a cheerful-looking fellow with blond hair and a deep tan. "The book you're after, Tome of the Ended Dream, has been signed out."

"Who has it?" asked the bishop.

"Doctor Bockschecker."

"Bloody hell," said the bishop. He turned to Octavia and said, "The book was signed out by the Assistant Viceroy of Thaumistic Sustainability. He's a good man but he's on vaycay."

"He took a library book with him on vacation?" asked Nick.

"He works on vacation; he has a station... a ranch north of the temple. It's a few hours walk to get there."

"Do you have a wagon or carriage we can borrow?" asked Nick.

"No, sorry."

"Let's go," said Nick as he pulled his pack on. Nick, Octavia, Vesstan, and Buggy prepared to hike. "If you can point us in the right direction."

"You should rest up," insisted the bishop.

"We don't know how much time we have," said Octavia. "And we don't know how long the translating, merging, and coalescing is going to be."

"Well, Bruce is a top bloke, always keen to lend a hand," said Bishop Bruce, and he led the four outside into the stifling heat. Outside, away from the beach and the trees, Bouvia was a barren desert. "Head inland to that tree." He pointed out over a flat, barren plain. Far off in the distance was a scraggly tree. It was miles distant. "His station is just past that tree next to the river."

Nick extended his staff and climbed on it like a witch on a broom, and he floated up as high as he could and he spotted a cottage past the trees. When he returned to Octavia, he saw that Vesstan and Buggy were staring at him in shock. "There's a cottage and barn past the tree. There's a lot of sheep roaming around loose and that's it between here and there," reported Nick.

Octavia tightened her pack straps, extended her staff and said, "Let's go."

<><><><><>

They walked for several hours, and the tree never seemed to get any closer. "You really are a bloody witch," said Buggy. "Oi, I thought you Sheilas flew on brooms."

Suddenly, short bristles sprouted from the end of Nick's staff. "They're not required, it's just for tradition," said Nick.

"That's not what they said when you flew into the coven the first time," said Octavia.

"The girls are kind of stodgy," said Nick. "It's not as comfortable as it looks. Most witches only do it once a month to fly into the coven meeting. Other than that, it's just for emergency."

"Wot sort of kerfuffle would need an ancient sheila with a broom, mate?"

"In the mountains, witches are the only medical aid available to people and livestock. We are also a shoulder to cry on for anyone that is having issues. We deliver babies, perform marriages, and perform last rites. We report all of these to the king and we work for barter."

"Bloody hell!"

"His first patient was a baby with a compound fracture on his arm," said Octavia.

"Bloody fahkin' hell! How did that happen?"

"I didn't ask," said Nick. "That's not my job, but if they had asked me to have a word with the person who did it, I would have a word or two." He reached over and tugged a crossbow bolt off Buggy's bandolero. "Where did this come from?" He studied the bolt, and it looked exactly like the bolts that killed Duke Roem.

"That bolt is from the top-notch dwarven weapons shop in downtown Torwin-Armistad."

"How much would he charge me for a dozen?"

"You?" laughed Buggy. "You're far too tall. Dwarven Arms only sells to dwarfs."

"So, if you found someone with two of these bolts sticking out of his chest, you could assume that a dwarf did it."

Buggy glared at Nick and said in perfectly modulated Torwin, "Dwarves don't murder humans."

"What if this human owned a mountain full of iron ore and refused to give the dwarf mining rights?" asked Nick.

"Murder is a poor negotiating tool," said Buggy.

"You were ready to kill me in the temple," said Nick.

"There's a difference between killing someone in a fair fight and murdering someone over money." Nick scratched his chin but didn't say any more. At least not out loud.

Octavia's voice came to Nick's mind. "You think Stefen Roem killed his father the duke."

"It's a distinct possibility. After Fabien died dwarves were blamed. Sean wants to blame dwarves again with the Duke's death," came Nick's response.

"How could it be Stefen?"

"This is just a guess - Stefen got away with murdering Fabian who was the next in line to the duke's crown and was the custodian of Black Mountain. He signed a deal with a dwarf mining company who knew he was next in line."

"So where is Stefen?" asked Octavia. "Was he working with a dwarven mining company?"

"I don't know and I don't know. That's the problem with my theory."

They continued hiking to the tree, sipping their water cautiously. It was hot, but they had only a few canteens of water to share. Finally, they reached the tree and collapsed in the shade it cast. "Bloody hell!" cried Buggy. "Now ya savvy why a true dwarf stays underground, mate!"

"We get no weather like this in the forests of Spatz Mountain," said Vesstan.

"Why are there no elves on Black Mountain...Morna Oron?" asked Octavia.

"I was told there were issues with the duke who controlled that area so they moved away," said Vesstan.

"That's my mountain," said Nick. "As long as my family lives, you will have a home up there."

"Thank you," said the forest elf. "I think we should concentrate on surviving our meeting with Zeddicus first."

Octavia looked up and saw that many of the branches of the tree were leafless, so she could see small creatures up in the branches. "What cute little bears!" she said. "They're so cute and little!" She looked at Nick and said, "Honey, I want one." Nick began laughing, and Octavia stood to look at the little bears.

"They will freeze up on Black Mountain."

"I'll keep it in the cottage." She turned and saw that Nick was on one knee and looking up at her with his soft blue eyes. He's been so stressed out lately, but now she felt waves of love, even adoration, coming from him, but he was shielding his thoughts. That was something he rarely did.

"Octavia, my queen, you are the one who taught me what love truly is. I love you beyond measure and I now know without you; there is no me. You make me whole; I want to build my life around you. I want to protect and shelter you, to raise our children. I know our life on our farm is going to be hard work, but I'll gladly work around the clock to make your life better, if you consent to marry me." He held up a silver ring with a small diamond on it.

Nana's ring! It had been in a drawer on the little side table next to her rocking chair. Nana had told Octavia that the ring had a curse, that only the woman that truly loved him could wear that ring. She had been calling Nick her fiancé for months, so he had to know what she would say. "Yes! Yes I will!"

Nick took Octavia's left hand and gently slipped the ring on her ring finger, and it fit like it was made for her. If there was a curse on the ring, it accepted her as the proper owner. As they kissed, Vesstan and Buggy clapped. " How romantic, mate," said Buggy. "To pop the question under a gum tree loaded with drop bears, eh?

"It's beautiful!" gasped Octavia.

"I love..." Nick was about to kiss her, but he looked out into the desert and said, "What the hell is that?" There was a dust cloud rising, and something was creating it... a lot of somethings were creating it.

"It's a fahkin' stampede!" shouted Buggy. The dwarf was clearly terrified.

"Everyone, in the tree!" shouted Nick. The stampede was getting closer by the second. Vesstan shot up the tree, and Nick grabbed Buggy and lifted him up to a low branch, and Vesstan hauled Buggy up into the tree.

"I can't climb!" wailed Octavia.

Nick took his staff, slipped it between her legs and said, "hang on tight...UP!" and the staff hoisted Octavia up into the air. Then Nick tossed their packs up to Vesstan and Buggy and grabbed a low branch and hoisted himself up into the tree.

"Sheep!" cried Buggy. "Fahkin' sheep..."

"A sheep will stomp you to death like any other herd beast," said Nick as he tried to find a better branch. The one he was on was too low, and it was obviously dead.

Then everyone saw what was driving the stampede - the locals in Bovuka called them "dingaroos" and claimed they were half wolf and half kangaroo, but in reality they were huge warm-blooded reptiles that could walk upright like a flightless bird. Like a bird, it was covered with coarse feathers. Unlike birds its hind legs had knees and huge talons that it used when it jumped on its prey; the talons would slash the prey and pin it to the ground while its smaller forelegs and huge powerful jaws with razor-sharp teeth tore apart the prey. Several dingaroos were tearing sheep to shreds behind the stampede.

The terrified sheep were under the tree now, and Nick was trying to climb higher, but the branch he pulled himself up on wasn't near another branch. He tried to work his way back toward the main trunk when a sickening crack was heard over the bleating of the terrified sheep and the branch broke. Nick and the branch were both dropped into the milling stampede of panicked sheep. "POMMY!" shrieked Octavia as Nick disappeared into the crushing mass of terrified animals.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 26 - Goolah River Station

Octavia reached out with her magic and began shoving running sheep aside, but still, Nick was getting run over. He had curled up in the fetal position and covered his head with his arms, but he was still being stomped by the sheep's hooves. A dingaroo made a beeline straight towards Nick, and Octavia screamed, "Välk!" and a bolt of lightning shot out from her staff, hit the ravenous beast, and stopped the dingaroo's heart. The Dingaroo fell dead, and the other dingaroos fled back to the sheep they had already killed and began to eat.

Octavia looked down and saw that there was now a wolf by Nick, and she prepared to hit that with lightning as well, but she stopped when she saw the wolf standing at Nick's feet growling and snapping at the oncoming sheep. The already terrified sheep were stumbling over each other to avoid the ravenous wolf, which created an opening in the stampede so the horribly injured Nick wouldn't get hurt more.

When the last sheep had passed, Octavia forced Nick's staff down and hurried to Nick, but the wolf growled and blocked her way. It growled and snapped at her and then said, MINE!

Nick was a bloody mess, but he was still conscious. He was talking to the wolf, but his head had been stepped on several times and he was in tremendous pain. Arms, legs, ribs all broken... and he had lost an eye. The wolf laid down next to Nick, whimpering, and it kept saying Nick over and over as it cried. Octavia and Vesstan tore her slip skirt into bandages. As they carefully bandaged Nick's most serious bleeding wounds, Buggy was forming a stretcher out of the two staffs and a couple of shirts.

"Ba-by" muttered Nick.

"Shhhh, don't talk," said Octavia.

"Do... it..." he rasped.

"Please, we're trying to help," said Octavia, fighting back the tears.

"En... chant... me..."

Nick, please not in your condition, she pled silently.

His response came back through his agony, but it was clear. I don't want to die without feeling your love.

Octavia frowned. She didn't want to enchant Nick; she wanted him to feel the freedom of their love and know that he has the ability to leave if needed. Enchantment doesn't just enchant him; it enchants her as well. They will be bound by love forever... and what if he dies from his wounds? She'll be alone, spending the rest of her life mourning him. Then again, if he dies from his wounds, his temple key will return to the Temple of the Woods, and she'll be stuck here in Vook until she can hire out on a sailing ship and sail home on a three-month voyage.

She placed her hands over Nick, one over his eyes, the other over his heart. She began a soft moan, a gentle sound that called powers from deep within her. This is the spell she was born for. A silent sapphire flame surrounded them, and she began to cast her enchantment...

When first mine eye beheld thy gentle grace,

A hush did fall upon the winds of time,

As though the stars, in solemn, holy rhyme,

Did mark the hour and consecrate the place.

No earthly bond, nor oath in written trace,

Could match the pull of love's eternal chime,

Which drew thee near, as bells in sacred clime

Call wayward hearts to find their dwelling space.

Now art thou not beside me, but within

Thy breath my breath, thy sorrow mine to bear,

Thy light the flame that keeps my spirit whole.

No priestly rite nor parchment could begin

To bind as tight as love's unspoken prayer,

Which seals the flesh through union of the soul.

Vesstan and Buggy gasped when they saw Nick and Octavia encased in a sapphire glow, like they were both radiating the deep blue light. The glow grew so intense that they had to look away. As for Nick, it felt like a limb that was removed in his youth was replaced, and he was whole. Octavia also felt whole. This wasn't the loss of her parents being repaired; this was deeper. She and Nick were now one, and she wanted to hold Nick and never let go, but she was terrified to touch him. Everything was bleeding, twisted, and broken.

"Thank you," whispered Nick, and he closed his remaining eye. When he did, Octavia gasped, terrified that he had died. Hearing her cry, Vesstan hurried over, and the wolf began barking and snapping at him, but inside her mind, Octavia could hear "STOP!" with every bark.

STOP!

STOP!

STOP!

STOP!

"Pepin," Nick whispered. "He's a friend."

The wolf backed up and growled, but in her mind Octavia could hear Pepin growl, Alien beast! I'll drink your blood.

"Pepin, he's an elf, and a friend," said Octavia. The wolf listened to her and sat next to Octavia. Did it notice the emotional and spiritual link between Octavia and Nick? Or was he just confused?

My Nick! came Pepin's thought unbidden.

"OUR Nick," said Octavia, and she reached out and patted the wolf's head.

Watch it!... well... you're allowed.

Buggy came over with the stretcher they created and said, "Alright mate, here's the tricky bit - gotta roll him on his side, no worries! Just take care he doesn't roll face down..." They eased Nick onto his side, and three of them cried in pain -- Nick, Octavia and the wolf. As Octavia held Nick on his side, Buggy and Vesstan set their makeshift stretcher on the ground behind him. They took two shirts and ran the two staffs up inside of them, and it made a great stretcher. Then they rolled Nick back onto the stretcher. "Righto," said Buggy as they eased Nick into position. "Before we hoist him up, we gotta tie his mitts together or they'll drag on the ground."

Octavia took the remaining strips of her slip skirt and tied Nick's hands together as Buggy requested. Finally bandaged and bound, Buggy and Vesstan shouldered their packs then carefully lifted Nick and began the long walk to Dr. Bruce Bockschecker's Goolah River Station with Octavia and Pepin walking on either side of the stretcher.

<><><><><>

"G'day mate!"

Nick slowly opened his eyes, but everything was blurry, and one of his eyes wouldn't open. He muttered, "G'day mate," which was the official greeting in Vooka. His entire body ached, like an entire flock of sheep had been tap dancing on his body, from head to foot, which was a very accurate assessment.

"How are ya feelin', mate?"

In Torwin-Armistad there's two answers to that question: "Chewed up and spit out" which generally means "Not so bad" and "Chewed up and shit out" which generally means "Not so good." But this time Nick chose something he had never, ever said before. "I feel bad," which in the Breaze royal guard was generally heard on a deathbed.

"Well mate, ya autta. Ya' been run ragged, baked by th' sun, chase up a tree by a packa dingaroos, stomped near to death in a sheep stampede, then nearly chewed up by a nuther dingaroo." Nick was helped to a sitting position and was told, "here, drink this, it'll help ya sleep. Sleep is what's gunna heal ya up more'n anything."

Nick was reluctant to sip whatever was in the cup held to his lips, but a strangely familiar voice in his head said, "It's ok, I sniffed it." Thus reassured, Nick took a sip, and his witch training kicked in, and he too determined it was safe. He drank the potion, which tasted sweet and fruity, but something in the background of its flavor told him he was going back to sleep for a very long time.

"Here, now, drink this up. It's got vitamins and minerals and will help with dehydration."

"What's a vitamin?" groaned Nick.

"Somethin' ya tell the kids is good for ya. They're lots of them in carrots I hear."

A mug was held to his lips, and he drank deeply. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until he started drinking. The draught was bitter, but he wanted as much as he could drink, and his host obliged him as much as he wanted. "What is that?" gasped Nick.

"Sumpin' you seppos don't get in Edux - a proper beer."

After drinking three entire mugs of beer, his host laid Nick back on the bed, and he thanked his host with a loud, long, raucous belch. "Yer welcome mate!" came his host's response. Then Nick tried to discern the source of the familiar voice to his side, but he was soon asleep.

"How is he doing?" Octavia nervously asked Bruce Bockschecker, professor of Adscititious Cyanthropy and Assistant Vice Dean of Thaumistic Sustainability at Cloacina Temple University.

"He's not cactus, but he sure is crook. The lad was stonkered when the sheep touched him, so it will be a while before he can chuck a sickie."

"What?" asked Octavia. She's able to speak half a dozen foreign languages, but this one has her stumped.

"Nick is in serious condition, but I expect him to recover," said Bruce, exaggerating a bad Torwin-Armistad accent.

Octavia went over and looked at Nick. She wanted to be there when he woke, but Bruce asked her to stand back because he wanted to put him back to sleep as soon as he drank some medicine-laced liquid. Octavia took her staff and whispered to it, she said, "don't make me regret not throwing you on a fire." Then she tucked the staff under the covers with Nick which raised a few growls from Pepin.

"It's ok, she said she'll behave."

I still don't trust that stick, grumbled Pepin. His complaints were echoed by a grunt from Buggy, who sat in a wicker chair on the porch where he could monitor the comings and goings of those checking on Nick, and strike from below if needed.

As they left the sunny, airy room where Nick was convalescing under the trusty eyes of Pepin and Buggy, Bruce asked Octavia, "Did that wolf just say something?"

"Seriously, have you ever heard of a talking wolf?"

"Nah, I guess you're right... care for a beer?"

"Don't you Ecksans have anything else to drink?"

"Like what?"

"Water."

Bruce chuckled. "We have water, but it tastes like sheep piss, because the sheep piss in it, the only thing that lives in it is frogs and crockelgators, and you have to boil it to drink it first... but if you're going to boil it anyway, you might as well make beer."

Octavia decided to join him before getting back to work. "This is an interesting ranch you have here," she said as she sipped her beer.

"Station. Here in Vook we call it a station," said Bruce between sips of beer.

"What do you raise here?"

"Sheep."

"At the temple, Bishop Neurath called this a hunting station. What do you hunt here?"

"Sheep."

His answer almost made Octavia spit out a mouthful of beer. "Sheep? You hunt sheep?"

"Why not? It never made sense to me to hunt something that's hard to find."

Pepin joined them, and he curled up next to Octavia's chair in time to hear her when she asked, "What happened to us out there?"

When Bruce didn't say anything, Pepin said, A pack of dingaroos attacked a large herd of sheep and caused a stampede. It looks like the tree branch Nick pulled himself up on was rotten and broke. I tried to keep the dingaroos and sheep away, but when you killed that dingaroo, the others ran away.

Finally, Bruce said, "A pack of dingaroos attacked a large herd of sheep and caused a stampede. It looks like the tree branch Nick pulled himself up on was rotten and broke. That wolf of yours tried to keep the dingaroos and sheep away, but when you killed that dingaroo, the others ran away."

Pepin whimpered in frustration. Every time he says something, it seems like some human repeats what he says and takes credit for saying it. But this time Octavia's slim, elegant hand came down and scratched him behind the ears, and she whispered, "I know, you're such a brave puppy!" and she gave him a bowl full of beer to drink. What more could a wolf want?

Meanwhile, in Nick's bed, her staff whispered to Nick in his sleep, and they were both changing. The staff was a gift from Saehrimnir to Octavia, and it became her wizard's staff, and as a wizard's staff, it absorbed the magical knowledge and energy that Octavia gained. She unconsciously shared that knowledge with it, and now the staff shared that knowledge and energy with Nick. As the stick began sharing, Nick associated the new knowledge he received with the knowledge he received from Saehrimnir months ago, and some of it was starting to make sense.

<><><><><>

While Nick recuperated in the spare room of Bruce's cabin, Buggy monitored him. As a 175 year old warrior, Buggy was a dwarf of legend. He's fought in more battles than most historians on Kodu could name, and in the past 50 years he'd become a battlefield medic, which was exactly what Nick needed. As Buggy treated Nick, under the watchful eye of Pepin, Vesstan was collecting herbs that the local bush-witches said would encourage healing. These herbs did indeed help Nick with the pain, and he was healing much faster than Buggy had expected.

This wasn't wasted time; Octavia and Bruce were hard at work preparing the Rite of Prose Mino. He indeed had the Tome of the Ended Dream, and Octavia was hard at work transcribing the passages that she needed to make it work. Once they were transcribed and lined up with the phrases she got from the book Bond of Wraith, she realized that there were several languages she could transcribe it into, but Mägede Keel, high elvish, the elvish of the Mountain Elves was probably going to be the correct language to use. She wasn't told which language to use. The instructions of the Rite of Prose Mino said that "the correct language would make itself apparent." She hoped that the phrases she culls from Summoning of Last Hope would do just that.

<><><><><>

The screams of pain from Nick's room were unbearable to Octavia. The staff promised it would keep his pain to a minimum as they rebroke and reset his shattered foot and ankle, but it didn't sound like it was accomplishing anything. "Stay here with me Octavia," said Vesstan to the horrified-looking young woman.

"He needs me!" she complained.

"I know it hurts him, but it has to be done, or he'll never walk again, and it will hurt him worse if he sees that look on your face."

Pepin placed his head on her lap and whimpered, which drew some gentle scratching behind his ear. She and the wolf had become close, and Pepin quickly realized that Octavia was Nick's mate. Finally, Buggy and Bruce Bockschecker came out of the room, and Bruce said, "You can go see him now, and... someone is going to have to tell him about his eye. He's trying to pull the bandage off."

"Don't. I'll tell him," Octavia said softly. Shuddering in terror, she slowly walked into Nick's room and sat next to him on the bed, facing him.

Nick was pale and covered in sweat. The pain from having his foot and ankle re-broken and reset was clear, and she wasn't sure if he was conscious. She took his hand and found that he was trembling violently, but he gripped her hand weakly.

"Octavia," he said quietly, "I need you to press on without me. You have a mission to fulfill, and I'm holding you back."

"No, I need you to..."

"I lost an eye!" Suddenly the room was silent, and it stayed that way for a long moment, then Nick continued. "A sheep stomped on it. I thought I saw lightning, but that was the eyeball popping like a grape... It's been itching and I asked the staff to find out what that means. It's phantom pain. It means my eye is gone." For some reason, that hurt him worse than the thought of possibly losing his leg or several of his ribs. Both are eventualities that may still happen according to Buggy, who was an expert at battlefield medicine.

"Nick, please... these things will heal..."

"Sweetheart, don't. I know enough to know that I'm just an anchor now. There's no way I can make it back to the temple. I can't walk, I can't see... I'm no use to you."

The wolf began whining, and Nick added, "You can take my dog too if you want."

"Pepin, do you want to come with me?" asked Octavia.

Pepin huffed and laid his muzzle down on his forepaws. Not without my pet. It's only fair; you get a pet; I get a pet.

"And what is your pet?" said Octavia as she scritched Pepin behind the ears. "A dozen or so fleas?"

You call him Pommeraie de la Montesquieu.

Nick started shuddering, and it took Octavia a moment to realize that he was laughing. "What's so funny?"

"My dog has me for a pet."

"Well, you're my pet too," she insisted, "and you're coming with. Don't worry how! You're coming with, and that's final."

"My leg will heal," he said. His voice was fading. He was exhausted from the rigorous treatment. "I'll be walking again eventually, but my eye is not going to grow back..." In his mind he realized that with only one eye he can only look at Octavia half as much as he wants.

"No listen, I don't..."

Nick patted her hand. He was drifting off to sleep, and he needed to get his thought out before he slipped under. "Octavia, honey, I... this is all my fault, so let me pay my penance. I..."

"How is it your fault?" she demanded.

"I'm the one who climbed out on a rotted limb to see what was going on. I've climbed enough trees to know to stay near the trunk..."

"Fair enough," said Octavia. "Unfortunately for you, we are bound by enchantment and you are now my apprentice, and if you think this inconvenience is a penance, then you are in for an entire world of surprise."

"Apprentice?" asked Nick and the staff at the same time.

"Yes, apprentice. You have a strong magical potential, you can speak with Pepin and my staff, only someone with the magical potential of a master wizard can do that, and most of those daft acolytes wandering around in the temple universities have barely enough magical power to talk to each other let alone a magical being."

"How can I swing a sword with only one eye?" cried Nick. "Especially a sword that sharp? I'll cut my own leg off!" He was close to suicidal; only the thought of losing Octavia kept him from slashing his wrists open. "Go on without me. Buggy, Vesstan, or Hugues can do my part."

"No, they can't, this spell needs two wizards to cast it. As much as you argue with my staff, it's training you to use all that knowledge that Saehrimnir dumped on you. Can't you see? He already knows how it's going to turn out, he knew you would need that knowledge and would have to become a wizard."

"I need a beard and a pointy hat with sequins..."

"You work on the beard, I'll make you a pointy hat, and your broom has been taking lessons from my staff to be your staff..."

Octavia's staff started to protest, but Nick shushed it with a whispered voice, "Quiet, she's on a roll."

"... as soon as you're able to get up and move about, we're going to resume OUR mission. In the meantime, your staff and my staff will continue lessons and will act as your crutches when you are ambulatory. Are there any questions?"

"I don't know if I'm emotionally strong enough to stand by your side with you as you... enchant other men..." whispered Nick.

Octavia leaned close and kissed his cheek, the tear-soaked bandage that covered his empty eye socket, and his lips, which she kissed gently again and again, as her hand gently caressed his body, traveling lower and lower. "I only have to enchant one man to be an enchantress..." she whispered softly between kisses. "Is it working?"

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 27 - The Temple of Bet ha-Kise

Nick walked out to the supply wagon using the two wizard staffs as crutches, but he walked. He was wearing a hunting cloak that matched the colors and patterns of the bush of Bovuka and was making plans to hunt Black Mountain as soon as possible. Surely the new duke would let him get a buck to feed his future wife. He was also wearing a Bovuka Army campaign hat, a standard hat with a short crown compared to the fashion of western Edux nations like Teurnia or Elbreshowth on the Moor, and it had a wide brim to keep the sun out of his eyes. For some reason, the soldiers of Vook folded the right side of the brim up, so that's how Nick wore it, he pinned it in place with the badge of Uduithia, an eight-point star with a mountain in the middle that a huge dragon was standing behind.

Bruce Bockschecker decorated the crocklegator hatband of Nick's hat with fangs from the Dingaroo that Octavia killed, and he gave Nick a necklace with an eight-inch fang hanging from it. He also collected dozens of Dingaroo quills for Octavia's translating tasks.

"Four months," muttered Nick as they rumbled across the Bovuka desert. "We were here all of four months."

"And the entire Yule season," said Vesstan, who enjoyed the gaiety of Yule.

"Ha, bum fug," grumbled Buggy. He saw the sixteen days of Yule merely as a compromise in a calendar that is in use only because it's been in use for three thousand years. Being a dwarf, he spent winters in the deepest of mines where it was warm. For Nick and Octavia, Yule is a sixteen day long winter festival, even though Octavia has never seen snow accumulate more than a dusting.

"How did you get here to Bovuka old friend," Nick asked Pepin.

On a grain ship, said Pepin. He told them a story of looking for Nick after Nick was taken, then a sailor grabbed the puppy thinking it would keep down rats. Imagine their surprise when they opened the hold and a full-size wolf jumped out.

"Oh gods yes," laughed Nick. "I went from a tiny runt to a teenage kid in weeks. Nana couldn't find clothes for me, so she sent me to Metsker's to buy hand-me downs."

"What do you mean?" asked Octavia.

"We were drinking Holy Water in the temple, we didn't age for three years," said Nick. "Pepin remained a wolf pup for three years."

"So Holy Water kept you immortal?" asked Vesstan.

"It killed most people," said Nick. How many little friends did he lose for a variety of reasons? One of which was drinking the holy water found in the temples. He never knew what temples used it for, but it's there in every dedicated temple.

The supply wagon took Nick, Octavia, Vesstan, and Buggy to the Temple of Cloacina, where they were met by Bishop Neurath, Bruce Buckner, the head librarian, and Cloacina herself. Octavia handed the Tome of the Ended Dream to Acolyte Buckner. "Thank you so much. I feel like I have this book memorized now," she said.

"Really? It's written in Havanesque."

"I know, it's been a few years since I got to delve into that language," said Octavia happily.

Meanwhile, Nick was getting a dressing-down from a goddess. "Oi mate, what the fahk happened to your peeper?" Cloacina demanded.

"A sheep stepped in it," said Nick shyly.

She crouched down like a mother with a small child and ran her hands over Nick. "I can sort ya out and heal ya up, but I can't whip up a brand spankin' new eye, mate," she said sadly. She ran her huge but delicate hands over his body, and Nick felt the pain going away; bones that were trying to knit were suddenly reset and healed. Even the constant headache was gone, as was the phantom pain in his eye.

He opened and closed his sword hand, which had been paralyzed with pain for months, and smiled at Cloacina. "Thanks, this was the worst."

"I can't send you out to whack me brother with a dodgy mitt, can I?" she asked as she drew herself up to her full height.

"Zeddicus is your brother?" asked Nick.

"It's complicated." Then she turned to Pepin and said, "you keep an eye on this bloke," but Pepin just gave her a questioning look.

With that, the four heroes trudged up to the four columns and stepped in. Nick led the way, followed by Octavia. Although an elf tries to always show an air of calmness, Vesstan Aedi was clearly concerned. The trip to this temple caused him and the others a lot of pain, and he didn't want to experience it again, but when he stepped between the columns, they exited in the tiny Temple of the Woods. There was no exhaustion, no shortness of breath, no hammering heart. Clearly it was due to setting up a 'tunnel' between the two temples.

Over by a window, Nick and Octavia were kissing passionately. They survived! Outside the window, one could see the last snow of winter falling. "It's so beautiful!" gasped Octavia as she watched the huge flakes spiral down from the heavens.

"Yes it is," said Nick, but he was looking at Octavia.

"Can we go look?" she gasped.

"Ok, let's go," and he led her outside after forcing the door open. Over at the blacksmith shop, the boys were gathered around the forge watching Trei and Wayne work together to forge a large wrench. They looked up when they heard the scraping sound of the door to the temple being pushed open against the two feet of snow.

When Nick stepped out leading Octavia, Sieffre Merrick raised his coffee cup and called, "You're late, coffee has already been served."

"Where's the temple custodian?" called Nick. "Why hasn't the temple been shoveled out?"

Without looking up, Trei said, "He ran off to Breaze about nine years ago," causing chuckles in his constant audience of onlookers. Wayne and Trei greeted Nick and Octavia, and hearing Octavia's voice, Erin and Ena came out of the house to greet their neighbors.

"Oh bloody gods Nick! What happened to your eye?" cried Erin Metsker, who considered herself Nick's surrogate mother. She lifted the patch and saw the empty socket and gasped. "How did this happen?"

"I fell out of a tree."

Meanwhile, fast friends Ena and Octavia were hugging. "Where were you?" asked Ena.

"Bovuka!" said Octavia happily.

"Ok, don't tell me, I'm just glad you're home." Bovuka to the mountain folk of Uduithia was a mythical faraway place full of strange and beautiful animals and cheerful people who talk funny, drink beer, and walk around half naked. Little did they know how right they were.

"I was there! I was doing a study of an ancient scroll and it was written in a language I haven't used in ten years so it took longer than expected."

"What happened to Nick?" asked Ena.

"He fell out of a tree."

Buggy and Vesstan refused to come out of the temple. It was far too cold out there, but Pepin stepped out into the first snowfall of his life. The enormous wolf eyed the snowflakes with suspicion, then he snapped at one and missed. So, he tried another, and another. Soon he was bouncing around like a huge puppy, snapping at snowflakes and rolling in the snow. He was in the mountains! He was where he belonged! He dashed over to Nick and started yipping. The terrified onlookers watched Nick and Octavia pet the waist-high wolf, who was panting and yipping. Nick and Octavia heard Pepin speaking; he was as anxious as a young boy.

Can I?

Can I?

Can I?

"Ok, just this once," said Nick.

Pepin turned to face Black Mountain and howled. It was a howl of an alpha male wolf. It was a sound that made a hiker's blood run cold, but Pepin wasn't hunting human flesh. His long cry was letting all wolves in the area know he was in town, and from this day forward, all wolf pups would be his children.

"That was a good one!" said Octavia as she crouched and hugged Pepin.

"That wolf is your pet?" gasped Trei.

"He's a friend," said Nick. "He doesn't like the taste of people or chickens."

"What about sheep?" asked Wayne's wife Silver, who looked like she was ready to give birth any day.

"He said he'd protect me from sheep."

Sieffre Merrick didn't seem perturbed in the least. "Linsey Davenport, the old fellow that had the hardware store, he had a crow for a pet."

Pepin looked at Nick sadly. I just got compared to a crow.

"We need to be going," said Octavia sadly. "Hopefully we'll be back for good in the spring." They shook hands and trudged through the snow back to the temple, where a shivering elf and dwarf were waiting for them.

<><><><><>

They stepped out into the Temple of Bet ha-Kise in Steil Thein, the capital city of the Kingdom of Chelmsford. Chelmsford was a farming kingdom, mostly cabbage and root plants like potatoes, onions, carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, beets, yams, shallots, horseradish, turnips, and ginger. It's said that when riding the Torwin, Pirangi & Elbreshowth Tramway (TP&E) you can smell when you come into Chelmsford.

The only one to greet them was the god of harvest, Bet ha-Kise. He was barely taller than Nick and dressed as a peasant farmer with worn, rough-spun trousers and jacket, worn boots and a straw hat. His skin was dark brown, and his eyes were yellow. "Welcome to the temple," said the god in a rustic voice. "How may I help you?"

Nick looked around. There weren't any acolytes, priests, or maidens in the area. Is it lunchtime? "We were told there is a library here, we need to find a book."

The god pointed toward a doorway and said, "Probably in the university. It's a small university but I understand that the library is quite extensive."

"Thank you," and they headed into the university reception area where a single tired-looking clerk was behind the desk. "Where is the university library?" asked Nick.

"Are you a visiting student or professor?" asked the clerk without looking up from the word puzzle he was working on.

"Yes," said Nick.

"Which is it?" asked the bored clerk.

"Professor."

"Professor of what?" He still didn't look up.

There was a ring of steel on steel, and a mirror-bright mithril-steel cutlass blade appeared between the clerk's face and his word puzzle. "Fencing," said Nick.

"Uhhhh..." the clerk looked up and there were Nick in his hunting cloak and bush hat, eye patch, beard and scar, holding the sword toward him, Octavia in her wizard's robe, hat and staff, and a dwarf and an elf warrior, both armed to the teeth.

"I'm keen to check out the latest releases, mate!" said the dwarf as he fiddled with a razor-sharp dagger.

"Down that hallway and to your left," said the nervous clerk.

"Cheers, mate!" said the dwarf with a grin through his full beard, and they were off.

The god Bet ha-Kise was correct; it was a HUGE library for the tiny university campus. It was a donation from a rich alumnus who made a fortune with parsnips during the potato famine of 3390. Using her lamp that emitted a rose-colored glow, Octavia searched for the third and final tome that she needed, Summoning of Last Hope. She had looked it up in the card catalog and had to memorize the shelf address because there were no pens, pencils, or scrap paper to jot the address down. "This place is a disaster," hissed Octavia as they searched the shelves for the book.

"Can you feel it?" whispered Vesstan. "The books are terrified."

"Seriously?" asked Nick.

"They are," whispered Octavia. "The principal subject taught at this university is magic. Magical books often take on a life of their own and are sensitive to the surrounding conditions... like a poorly managed library."

There was a cough of dust, and an ancient tome fell to the floor. Nick picked it up carefully and examined it. It was written in a foreign language with hieroglyphics that he didn't understand, but realized that the book was dying of neglect. Vesstan peered over his shoulder and whispered, "Broken Spine." Then he gestured to Nick to follow him. Vesstan led Nick to a small breakroom in the back where the bookbinders work... and memories that Nick never had sprang to life. The smell of ancient books, leather, vellum, and glue triggered more and more memories that were not his. Why did Saehrimnir give him the knowledge needed to repair books?

Nick placed the book in the bookbinder's clamp and began to operate, removing the end cap carefully with a scalpel and magnifying glass, using the knowledge he gained from Saehrimnir. Then, he repaired the cracks in the end cap, reinforcing it with mulberry paper and glue. As that dried, he searched for the other equipment he would need, including several colors of paint.

While Nick worked on the book with a curious dwarf assisting, Octavia and Vesstan continued to search for the book. It was not on its assigned shelf spot, so Vesstan sat down at the librarian's desk and began searching the checked-out files while Octavia continued to search. Her lamp was made of two magic crystals that emitted light when they were moved closer together. The lamp could also put out heat if you added a third crystal, but a flameless lamp was important because in a room full of dried paper books, it wouldn't start a fire.

As she searched, a yellow light moved through the library and the books went into a full panic again, shuddering and flapping in terror. Yellow light means fire, and magical books that are hundreds of years old understood that. Octavia called out to Nick silently, and he took a break from his book repair.

Poco Curante moved through his library in his nightshirt and his fuzzy slippers, holding a candle trying to identify the source of the noise that woke him from his afternoon nap. As usual, the books were nervous but sod them. This is a library, not a daycare center. Poco had been the librarian since the founding of Bet ha-Kise University, and he ran an orderly library. None of those late-night shenanigans where students sat up all night in the library "studying." Library hours are nine am to four pm with an hour off for lunch, no excuses. It was four thirty-six, and he was angry that someone was in the darkened library.

He turned the corner and there, in the dim light of the candle, was a Bovukan Bush Witch wearing a slouch hat with huge fangs from some unknown beast tucked in the crocklegator hat band, short beard, eye patch, and a cloak that made him look like a slim pile of leaves. The Bush Witch snarled at Poco and said, "Feel lucky punk?" and blew out the candle. A muffled cry let Octavia know that Nick had followed her directions.

When the pillowcase was pulled off of his head, Poco Curante found himself tied to a chair in his own break room, with a bright light shining in his eyes. He could see the Bush Witch repairing the spine of a leather-bound book, and a very shapely but very angry-looking woman was glaring at him. Long flowing dark hair splashed over her shoulders, a very cute face with dimpled cheeks and a narrow chin, a tiny nose, enormous violet eyes, and breasts! Her figure took his breath away. At any other time, he would try to charm her with his personality, but at this point in time, he didn't think it was a good idea, especially considering that he didn't have a personality. Also, he was tied to a chair and gagged.

"An open flame in a magical library?" she demanded as she pulled his gag out of his mouth. "How stupid are you?"

"I-I-I uh um, ah..."

"Have you heard of the Mystic library of Far Elbreshowth on the Moor?" demanded Octavia as Nick continued to sew the spine of the ancient book back together.

"Me? I... er... uh... No."

"That's because now it's known as the von Hornung Crater. Seventeen point five cubic acres of solid rock were turned into gravel and blown four miles into the ocean because some moron walked into a magically overcharged library on a dark and stormy night with a lit candle. Thousands of illuminated single editions were lost because of a single candle." She shuddered and closed her eyes at the thought of the loss.

Not only ignorant, Poco Curante was mind-numbingly stupid, and that combination was dangerous. "Who are you?" he demanded. Reading a room was another skill he lacked.

"I'm your worst nightmare pal, a female wizard with a clipboard and a wolf." That was Pepin's cue to growl, and he did a masterful job.

At the same time over in the faculty dining room, the Dean's meal was interrupted when word spread through the dining room that Poco Curante had a female student in his breakroom with him. "Dean! I demand to know what is going on here!" called the Speaker of the Buttery. Angry wizards agreed, and instead of returning to a perfectly roasted joint of beef, with roasted potatoes, haricots vert, and liquid perfection that was gravy, he pulled on his robe and a dozen angry wizards followed him across the rainy campus to the library.

"Poco!" called the Dean, but there was no answer as the faculty stormed into the library, all dressed in their bathrobes and carpet slippers.

"I knew it was a mistake to hire your brother-in-law," grumbled the Seer of Past Events to the Dean.

A light was on in the side office, and in there they found an exquisitely beautiful but extremely angry woman chastising the head librarian while what appeared to be a Bush Witch was taking a book out of the book binders' clamp. Watching him were an enormous wolf, an elf in assassin's robes and a combat-ready dwarf who was carving a wooden sword from an old table leg.

"And finally, finding number twenty-seven, you stored the magical codex's with the grimoires. You can NOT store those tracts on the same aisle let alone the same shelf! There is a warning in Library Manual 127-1-1-301 Periodical Display and Checkout that clearly states how these publications are to be handled." Then she looked up and saw the senior staff members of the college. "You're here gentlemen. You, with the fluffy slippers, you're the Dean?"

"I..."

Not giving the Dean time to finish his sentence, she thrust her clipboard into his hands and showed him her badge. "I am Façade Incognito, I have a minor degree in library sciences specializing in magical libraries from the University of Saehrimnir at Torwin-Armistad and this is my associate, Captain Pommeraie de la Montesquieu of the Breazian Royal Guard. We came through the temple to complete an arduous spell, and I found your library in a total nervous breakdown and your librarian stumbling around with an open flame!"

Dean Meece, the only person close enough to be considered a leader at this university, completely ignored her list of complaints against the librarian of Bet ha-Kise University and shouted, "Who do you think you are?"

"I told you who I am. I am Façade..."

"YOUNG LADY!" shrieked the Dean. He grabbed Octavia by the shoulders and yanked her close. He put his broad face close to her terrified face and shouted. "This is an institution of higher learning, not some bawdy house where a loosely dressed bint can simply waltz in here and..."

Nick didn't hear the rest of what the pudgy, pink excuse for a man said, because the universe slowed to a crawl the moment he grabbed Octavia. She turned in the little man's grasp and looked back at Nick with terror in her eyes. What can a skinny, injured street urchin from the streets of Torwin-Armistad do when a senior wizard grabs the only person who ever truly loved him?

More than he realized, actually. Much more.

Nick's hand was still on the book he calmed down and saved with emergency surgery, It was titled Vanemate Rasside Jõud, The Power of the Elder Races, a long forgotten book, a book thought lost by most, and a book unreadable to almost all. Written in Metsa Keel, the language of the Mountain Ergonians, the last Mountain Elf race on Kodu. The book wasn't about the power of the elder races; the book actually contained the power of the elder races, and its feelings of gratitude to Nick showed no bounds, and it gladly gave Nick a hand. It doesn't always matter if you can read a book, because a book this powerful can always read you.

As the Dean shook Octavia, he didn't realize how close to death he came. What kept her from turning the Dean into a newt was the energy and knowledge that was flowing from the Vanemate Rasside Jõud into Nick. As the wizards concentrated on Octavia (actually on Octavia's jiggling breasts) a sound filled the room, a sound that defied description on Kodu, but other men on other worlds would say that it sounded like the cries of tens of thousands of teenage girls shrieking in excitement at the opening set of the current favorite boy band. The high-pitched, multi-hued shriek filled the minds of the men there with terror.

Where Nick once stood now stood a seven-foot tall, feathered monster... but the more intelligent of the men realized that this was not a large version of a robin that hopped about the garden and pecked for worms, the savage jaw filled with eight inch long fangs that could sever bodies in three pieces with one bite was a hint.

The "robin" grinned, and a maw filled with long, razor-sharp teeth opened wide in greeting to the shrieking academics. It was a bull dingaroo, the most dangerous predator on the Bovukan sub-continent. As the dingaroo roared its challenge, the academics wet themselves and ran.

Poco fought against the ties that bound him and shrieked, "For the love of the gods! Let me go!"

The dean was no longer holding Octavia. Instead, she was holding him, keeping him from escaping. Out of the nightmare vision of the dingaroo stepped Nick, who snarled at the head of the college. "Send us one dozen underclassmen by sunrise so we can start to clean up this trash heap that you call a library and find a new librarian. This one is being placed under review."

The way Nick said, under review caused Poco Curante to whimper in fear and faint, but Nick wasn't done. He glared at the dean. "Send those twelve students and provide the resources we require for the clean-up and the condition of this heap will be forgiven. But the sin of touching my woman has consequences." His proclamation was accompanied by a flash of lightning and a blast of thunder so loud that it almost drowned out the cheering and applause of the books.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 28 - Spring on Black Mountain

They had been searching for weeks, inspecting every single book and checking every classroom and office with no luck, but that didn't let Octavia down. Nick was becoming very skilled at book repair, calligraphy, and he was studying medical texts to further his skills as a witch. "My man!" sighed Octavia as she settled her shapely ass into Nick's lap. "Did I tell you that whenever you say, "My Woman," that I almost cum?"

"Yes," said Nick, as he set his quill down and put his arms around Octavia. "But you never told me where you went."

Octavia looked at Nick in shock. "You don't know what cum means?"

"Of course, it means to move closer, to arrive at a destination, to approach..." he was stifled by her lips and as they kissed their souls melded, their hearts beat in unison, and further down, their bodies ached for each other.

"You are silly," she whispered in his ear, "I almost had an orgasm!"

"Is that dangerous?"

Octavia's jaw actually dropped. "You don't know what that is?"

Sorry honey, came a voice from under Nick's desk. He ain't never had a bitch.

"Pepin! We talked about this," warned Nick. He loved teasing Octavia with his innocent country boy persona. "Yes, I know what you mean by orgasm... but I never had one with someone else in the room."

"That's ok sweetheart," said Octavia when she stopped laughing. "I love being your woman and I want to feel this way forever. We have time..." and with one more heart-stopping kiss she got up. "I'm going to check on the children. You continue with your calligraphy." She rose reluctantly and stepped out into the main library where "their children," the underclassmen who had been cleaning up Poco Curante's mess, were trying to repair decades of neglect in a desperate attempt to locate Summoning of Last Hope.

As Nick was re-lettering the front cover of an ancient book, the entire library went dark, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled and a tall, elegant slim woman with milk white skin, jet black hair, and burgundy red lips which matched her eyes stepped out of the stacks and announced, "I vant to see zee qveen." Their search had been joined by Lucretia Vladimíra von Reichenbach, the widow of the rich alumnus who donated the library. She was the only member of the von Reichenbach family who was both a vampire and a werewolf of the primarily werewolf family. She's the fanged sheep of the family.

"Can I help you?"

Lucretia Vladimíra von Reichenbach bowed deeply before Octavia and said, "Your majesty I would be deeply honored to assist you."

"Please miss... missus... uh..."

"Please call me Lucretia, your majesty."

Octavia blushed. She will never get used to being called that. "Please call me Octavia. I wore the crown of Breaze for six hours before the government fell."

"I vas not talking about zat crown," said Lucretia as lightning flashed and thunder boomed. "I understand zat you need vun more tool before going into battle."

"Yes, we are searching desperately for Summoning of Last Hope. We've been here for eight weeks and nothing! It is not in its assigned location and was not checked out. We now have two dozen undergrads helping. They're checking every book to insure that the cover wasn't changed."

"I vas speaking vith gods and am allowed to reveal zat it vas zee perfect bedside reading for those with insomnia."

"DEAN!" Octavia shouted. The panicked dean raced up to Octavia. "Yes my lady." All he needed was one more dingaroo sighting, and he was sure he would die.

"Who on your staff has insomnia?"

"That... that would be Professor Teitelbaum. He's been fighting that for years."

"Take me to his chamber."

"My lady!" gasped Dean Meece in shock. A woman in a man's apartment? Unthinkable! But anything to get her out of this building! So, he led her through the winding corridors of the building to Professor Teitelbaum's apartment. The apartment had newspapers stacked up out front, and the mailbox was full to overflowing with unread mail. The dean knocked a secret code on the door then called, "Eliya, we're coming in," said the dean, and he led the two women into Professor Teitelbaum's apartment.

"Dean! I must protest!" said Professor Teitelbaum, who was wearing a robe and slippers as Octavia and Lucretia searched through his rooms. There were stacks of books everywhere, and every book that Octavia checked was overdue back at the library. As a train of undergrads carried back all the overdue books, Octavia and Lucretia scoured his apartment with no luck.

They had almost given up in frustration when Lucretia noticed a book holding up several coffee cups on the kitchen table. The cover was so damaged with coffee stains and rings from countless cups being placed on it that Octavia had to open the book and turn to the title page to see the words Kadunud Lootuse Kutsumine... That was Ühine Keel, the common elvish language that any school child could read. It was indeed Summoning of Last Hope.

With a squeal, Octavia and Lucretia ran off, leaving Dean Meece behind with the professor. Octavia raced into the library, her face glowing with excitement, and she clutched a book to her sumptuous chest. "We got it!" she cried, her voice rich with excitement. She molded her body to Nick's, and they kissed one of those head-spinning kisses that even break other people's hearts when they end.

Finally, with a sigh and a bit of a gasp, Nick and Octavia's lips parted, and she showed him the book. It was ratty and aged, and covered with rings from an untold number of coffee cups. The damage to the cover showed that it had spent at least a decade face down, absorbing spills while holding the collected coffee cups.

Nick carefully removed the cover and began the restoration project as Octavia began copying the verses she needed for the spell. Like the other books, the verses were not all in one location. She had to move back and forth in the text to find the verses of the spell and get them in the right order. It was hours of work, but in the end she had one third of the spell written down and Nick had the cover finished and ready to go back on the book.

While Octavia gushed over the cover of a three hundred year old book, Nick poured over the word salad that Octavia gained from the text. "I'm glad I don't have to read this mess," said Nick out loud. It was the first words spoken out loud in several hours. All afternoon long, they've been conversing on a different level.

"A spell this powerful kind of reads itself. If it's in the right order, you're only conscious of the first few words."

Nick grasped her hands and looked her in the eye and said aloud, "Marry me."

"Huh? I already said yes," said Octavia with a bit of a laugh.

"No, now. Before we go a step further. I do not want to go into battle alone, just another lonely soul to die for someone else's cause. If I have to die I want to know that maybe there's a bit of me that will survive."

"You're not going to die..." but deep down inside she realized that there's no guarantee of that. All she's doing is removing Zeddicus's omnipotence; Nick still has to combat whatever unholy monster Zeddicus is. There's no surviving dialog describing the demon-god. "If we have time, I would like to be married on Nebulique first, my re-birthday," said Octavia.

"Re-birthday?" asked Nick.

"It's the day we first met," said Octavia. "We met in the king's chambers and suddenly my life had hope. The moment I saw you I knew that one way or another, my life had changed for the better."

Nick remembered that day; he saw Octavia as a danger, and a usurper. He was sure the king was marrying her just because of her tits. But then, he was paid to assume anyone near the king was a threat, tits or no. "Let's go check with King Lars and see if we have time."

<><><><><>

"Your majesty," called Lord Smithson, herald to the court of King Lars Ranzau, ruler of Teurnia. "Lady Octavia Anghart wizard in the court of Uduithia and Mister Nick Stein, witch, health advisor to King Uric the second."

Nick bowed deeply, and Octavia curtsied. Both were wearing simple farmer's clothing, although Nick was wearing his hunting cloak. "Arise friends," said King Lars, then he gasped, "Good gods Pommy, what did you do to your eye?"

"I fell out of a tree."

"You need to do better than that," said Queen Rania. "We are counting on you."

Nick sighed and said, "We were in Bovuka searching for a lost book of enchantment. There was a stampede and we climbed a tree to avoid it but the branch I was on broke and I fell into the stampede and got trampled." Nick firmly believed that the best lie was the truth told unconvincingly.

King Lars looked at Nick for a long moment then said, "I'm sure you'll tell us all about it when you're ready. Until then I hope you are bearing good news?"

"I am," said Octavia. "We have assembled all parts needed for the Rite of Prose Mino. I am currently translating it and should be done any day now."

"Splendid!" cried King Lars. "Our troops have been marvelous in stopping the construction of a temple for Zeddicus, they've also been successful in the destruction of construction tools and supplies. We're costing King Engeramus a fortune in men and equipment. Our troops move freely in Breaze now. His army is a pitiful ghost of its former self."

"King Engeramus? Duke Leslie Engeramus is king now? What happened to the Duke of Westshore, Ermes Flaminio?" asked a shocked Nick. Duke Engeramus was a slimy toad on King Alfrich's court; he was the titular head of the army and an underhanded bastard. However, Duke Flaminio was next in line for the throne, even if he was a weak, senile old fool.

"The official story is that Duke Flaminio was cutting himself an apple for a snack, and the knife slipped and he accidentally stabbed himself in the back sixteen times. Duke Engeramus and his army seized control and the army crowned him King Leslie."

"How long do we have before Zeddicus breaks free?" asked Octavia.

"The Breazian forces have started work on an old mountain fort, Fort Enlil, and they're going to turn that into their temple. They are dug in and we cannot get to their construction forces. Are you familiar with that location Pommy?"

Nick nodded. Fort Enlil was old, older than Breaze. He was sure it was a tomb before some pre-modern era people rebuilt it into a military fort. He remembered seeing odd skeletons, caskets ten feet long, and cavernous catacombs that tunneled deep into the Caldeen Mountains. "The catacombs go for miles under the mountains. I explored it as a lieutenant and suggested to the king to seal it off, but that never happened."

"Blast," grumbled Lars. "They could be anywhere under those mountains..."

"Maybe some joyful news is in order?" asked Nick, and he handed Lord Smithson an envelope addressed to "The Royal Family" (because neither Nick nor Octavia knew how to address to a harem). "I have been studying calligraphy."

The herald handed the envelope to King Lars, who opened it and read the page inside and smiled. He handed the page to Queen Rania, who wanted to cry out, but the elven queen maintained her regal composure and handed it to her handmaiden Nora, who passed the wedding invitation to her sisters. "This is good news, indeed, my friends. You couldn't keep us away," said King Lars.

<><><><><>

The next few weeks flew past like a rocket. The Snowcross Mountains were lovely in the spring; many types of trees had flowers, and Nick's grandmother had planted cherry, peach, and apple trees back when Nick's mother was a child. They were covered with blossoms, and Octavia spent the days under the flowering trees looking forward to the fruit they would produce. They needed pruning when Nick and Octavia moved into the cottage, and when Nick was done trimming the numerous 'suckers' and branches, he was sure they would produce fruit in the next year or two. They fell into a pattern. Nick worked on the farm all morning, happy to be working with Teddi and Kaleb again. Those mules loved to pull, and they were happy to be pulling a plow. Nick only plowed an acre, and he swore that if he lived, next year he'd plow five acres. He also increased the size of the front garden for Mr. Highgrower, who wanted to put in tomatoes.

Nick's baby goat, Nanny, was fully grown and seemed curious about what Nick was doing, so she followed him as he plowed the acre and practiced his sword work. Nanny also liked Pepin, who was oddly afraid of the goat and often ran away when Nanny chewed her cud next to him.

The afternoons were spent in blade practice with Buggy and Vesstan. The three of them worked hard on Nick's blind spot. An attack on Nick's right was death at first; it took a lot of practice to overcome his missing right eye. They started sparring one on one with wooden swords, clashing until Buggy tired, then Vesstan sparred with Nick until Octavia called them in for dinner. After a week of that, Buggy and Vesstan began swapping out without warning Nick. Soon they were sparring two on one, and Buggy and Vesstan were shocked at how good he was. For his part, Nick felt slow and off balance and wanted to keep sparring. He wanted to feel like he did a year ago when he was undoubtedly the best swordsman in the north.

And when Nick was not farming, fencing, or kissing Octavia, he was practicing his animals. Nick would use that magic power and change; then, he and Pepin would run all over the face of Black Mountain. Sometimes Nick was in a wolf's body, other times, as a stag. At Octavia's suggestion, they started their races with Nick in his human body. She wanted him to be able to switch to something fast to get away if the fight with Zeddicus went bad.

Octavia and Ena McCrory, along with Ena's sister-in-law Silver, had fun planning Octavia and Nick's wedding. Octavia wanted a traditional "city wedding," but she also liked the witch wedding because it's quick and you can get to "the good stuff" quicker. In the end, the women combined the two traditions and came up with something of their own.

"Girls," said Nana from her rocking chair. "Go downstairs, there's a box you may want to look at. It's red."

"Downstairs?" asked Silver, who was sitting on the loveseat nursing her new daughter, Nicole.

"Nick showed me the door once but I didn't go downstairs," said Octavia. She moved a small rug to the side, and there was a trapdoor. "There's a big door outside too," she added as she opened the trapdoor and climbed down the ladder. Ena soon joined her and was shocked at what she saw.

"Look at all the food!" said Ena. The wall was covered with shelves of jars filled with fruit, vegetables, jams, jellies, even pickled meat and eggs. A large wheel of cheese sat on a shelf, and bins full of root vegetables sat at the ready. The other side of the basement was ice cold, and there were several plucked chickens, skinned rabbits, and portions of a cow all frozen solid.

"Nick said the root cellar was enchanted but I didn't realize..." gasped Octavia.

"Spring is worse than winter," said Ena. "By spring you're so tired of eating canned beans, but that's all that's left."

"Here it is," said Octavia as she found a flat red box and pushed it up through the trap door.

"This will be a great place to hide the Yuletide presents," said Ena as she climbed out of the basement.

They got up in the living area, and Octavia opened the box. "A wedding dress!" she gasped, and she lifted the snow-white gown from the box.

"That was my dress," said Nana.

"It's beautiful!" gasped Ena, as Silver looked on with jealousy.

"It will fit, if you can get your man to wear his uniform," said Nana.

<><><><><>

The next morning, Octavia rode a beautiful black stallion up Breeders Peak Pike. She would have preferred a pony, but in the end they decided on a full-size horse. Octavia didn't have a saddle or a bridle; maybe that would come later, so for now she clung to the horse's mane. This is so fun, thought Octavia. It's almost like being on my own.

It was a beautiful spring morning; the last patches of snow were finally gone, which Nick had told her was a surprise. The winter snows can last throughout Nebulique, the fourth month of the year, well into the fifth month of the year Æther. This morning was sunny, and the sunlight felt warm. The leaves on the trees were providing cool shade. "I'm so glad I chose to live here," she said. The love she felt for Nick and this beautiful country filled her heart to bursting, and she was almost moved to tears by the beauty of it all.

At the peak, they stopped, and Octavia slid off the horse, and it suddenly turned into Nick. "They didn't jump out at us," said Nick. He almost sounded disappointed.

"It's Saturday," said Octavia. "Maybe they took the day off."

"Bandits don't take time off," insisted Nick. He stepped up to the edge of the peak and then looked out over the town of Waleston. Summoning his courage, he suddenly became a Black Eagle, the official bird of Uduithia. He tried to figure out how to start. He had all these new muscles to deal with, and he wasn't quite sure how they worked. Being a horse or a coyote was easy; he just let the animal run. "Maybe I'm overthinking this," he said to himself, and with his eyes closed, he pushed off.

Octavia gasped in terror as he plunged through the sky, but Nick's wings opened and caught the wind and after a few wobbly moments, he was flying. He spread his wings fully and found some air currents and circled over Breeders Peak, keeping Octavia at the center of his circles. He tried a few things, like changing directions, flapping hard to gain altitude, and finally landing, which was awful. The eagle aimed for a branch to land on and missed and tumbled in the dirt. Nick stood and brushed the dust off and said, "You're right, it is hard to land. You win." They had a wager on his first flight as an eagle, and he blew the most important part - the landing.

"Goodie!" cried Octavia, and Nick turned into a cute pony with a long flowing mane and tail, and she climbed on and rode the rest of the way to Waelmore Castle. As Octavia rode the pony down the hill, two bandits woke up from their nap and watched her cross the river and ride up to the castle. "Ya know Carl, I think she was a bit crazy."

"Ridin' alone with thugs like us on the road? I think you're right Alfie."

At the Nobles' entrance, Octavia slipped off the pony and took her robe and staff out of the little backpack and put the robe on while the pony became Nick. Octavia expected a flash or a poof of smoke, or at least a twinkle when he became an animal, but it just happened. The pony changed to Nick with no magical fanfare. Nick the human took his sword from Octavia, and they walked up to the Noble's Entrance. "Captain Stein and the court wizard to see the king," said Nick, and he handed his sword to the guard.

"The king and queen are waiting for you in their apartment," said a page, and he led them to the king and queen's home on the seventh floor. There was no staircase that went from the ground floor to the seventh floor. The quickest way was to take the main spiral staircase to the sixth floor, then follow a hallway to a staircase that goes down to the fifth floor, a floor that was missed by the main staircase. On the fifth floor, there was a staircase from the fifth floor to the seventh floor with no access to the sixth floor. It was at the opposite end of the building from the king's apartments. "This maze is all security driven," said the page. "One wouldn't want to give an invader a direct route to the royal family."

When they entered the king's apartment, they found a broad sitting room with an enormous fireplace. One wall was all glass. Beautiful glass doors showed them a balcony that overlooked the kingdom. Over the fireplace was a large portrait of King Uric, Queen Elinor, Princess Sophia, and newborn Prince Exavier. Beneath the portrait hung a sword. As Nick admired the sword, the king's voice came from behind him. "That is my father's sword. He suspended it there in the fervent hope that it would remain undisturbed."

"I believe that's what I'm going to do to my sword in the very near future," said Nick as he bowed to the king, who was entering the room with his queen.

"What tidings dost thou convey from Teurnia?" asked King Uric.

"Probably nothing that Lord Baltimore hasn't already told you," said Nick. "Lars has pushed the Breazian forces back against the Caldeen Mountains where they are attempting to build a temple inside Fort Enlil."

"You have a concern?" asked the king, who didn't look surprised at this news at all. Lord Baltimore, his head of intelligence, kept King Uric up to date on all forms of matters, regardless of the distance between the event and Uduithia.

"Fort Enlil is connected to a vast underground network of catacombs. I shudder to think of the nightmare Zeddicus could cause in there. We don't know how far those ancient tombs go."

"I am certain that there exists a method to capture his attention and ensure his presence remains above ground," said the king.

"Such as?" asked Nick. King Uric was not stupid, he was not ignorant, but he was cagey.

"An entity akin to a steed, capable of transforming into a rather inept avian creature, which in turn may become a child's playful pony. I am confident such marvels would captivate his attention." Nick tried to keep still, but there was no way he could hide his shock. "Shall we take our leave to the outdoors, permitting our ladies to engage in discourse unencumbered by our presence, lest we inadvertently overhear their confidences?" King Uric led Nick out onto the patio. The castle was built on a rise, so it was already above the town, even at the ground floor, so up a hundred more feet gave Nick an incredible view of Waleston.

"Waelmore Castle is reputed to be the most ancient fortress upon the entirety of Kodu," said the king. He patted the stone rail at the edge of the balcony and said, "She maintains her grace for her years, yet some of the more exquisite features are faltering. The towers, for instance. An evening atop the southwest tower with a view of the city would indeed constitute a splendid honeymoon retreat; however, regrettably, the internal staircase has succumbed to disrepair, limiting ascent to scarcely fifty feet, merely half the elevation we presently occupy."

"It's a beautiful building, your highness," said Nick as he examined the king's telescope. The telescope that he used to watch him turn into an eagle, then a pony.

"Sir Nicolas, I need your help."

That stunned Nick. Not the name the king made up for him, he's been doing that for a while. But asking a dirt farmer who fills in as a witch for help? "Your majesty, any aid you need, I'm there for you."

"His Royal Highness Prince Exavier requires the services of a tutor."

Nick was stunned. "Sire, I'm not exactly an educated man. I can read, write, and cipher, but to educate the next king..."

"Exavier possesses the ability to read, write, and engage in ciphering; however, there exist numerous pursuits beyond his grasp. He is unable to swim, lacks the skill to camp in the great outdoors, and cannot prepare sustenance over an open flame," said the king.

"Sire, I'm a farmer, most of my time will be in the field... that's if I live against Zeddicus."

The king seemed to ignore Nick's concerns about Zeddicus and said, "Exavier must master the existence of his subjects if he is to govern sagaciously. I toiled with hay for five seasons, gleaning profound insights by assisting the village sorceress in the delivery of calves and lambs. It is this wisdom that I hope Exavier shall acquire."

"This I can do," said Nick. "I'll make him my assistant."

"I entreat you to impart to us both the exquisite art of trout fishing as well," said the king.

"I can do that too, if you stop calling me Nicolas."

"I shall, therefore, seek an alternative appellation for you," said King Uric.

"Nicolas is good, I can deal with Nicolas," said Nick, who began to worry what name the king would think of next. The king guided him back into the apartment.

As they entered, the queen looked up from her conversation with Octavia. She smiled at her king and said, "Dear, we have a task for you."

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Chapter 29 - Enchantment Perfected

"I really hated Octavia when I first saw her," said Nick.

"No, really?" gasped Trei Metsker.

"What are you, stupid?" asked Nick's friend Wayne Metsker. "Couldn't you see her..." He held his hands cupped in front of his chest.

"Yes I did see her tits," said Nick. "And I saw how King Alfrich stared at them, and I realized the king I was sworn to protect was hypnotized by them." Wayne and Trei laughed as Trei's wife, Erin, trimmed Nick's beard with comb and scissors. "I'm not kidding. I could have set his hair on fire, he wouldn't have noticed, so the first thing I thought was 'honey trap.'" The boys roared with laughter. Sweet Octavia, a honey trap for a foreign power? The thought was inconceivable.

"Let them laugh," said Erin. "I would have suspected the same thing."

Outside they could hear the village minstrel, Rickets, tuning up his lute, and someone else was out there with their fiddle. Nick sighed, "Later I discovered that my king had a thing for the ladies, which included my own wife."

"Wait," said Wayne, "you were married?"

"Yeah," sighed Nick. "She was killed with King Alfrich... I told you that story."

"I didn't realize you actually married her," said Wayne.

"I don't think it counts, we didn't consummate..."

"I don't think you're going to have that problem this time," said Erin.

"This is the anniversary of the day we met," said Nick. "This has been the longest, most pain filled year of my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

"There you go mister groom," said Erin as she took the apron off of Nick. "You are ready for your lady."

"Thank you mom," said Nick as he gave Erin a kiss on the cheek, then he stood and pulled on his dress uniform jacket. "This damn thing," he groaned as he pulled his jacket on. "I had left this behind! Sure as shit, some mounted guard comes riding up, 'Hey captain, I found your uniform for you, it was in a farmhouse!'"

"Your troops were looking out for you," said Erin as she left the temple office and walked across the street to Octavia's tent to see if Octavia needed any help getting ready.

"This is the last time I put this on," said Nick.

"Yeah, yeah, let me guess, this isn't the first time you said that," said Trei as he helped Nick straighten up his medals.

"You're right, it's not the first time, but it is the last time," insisted Nick.

"Ok, I'm going to go make sure they haven't tapped the kegs yet," said Trei, and he left the temple office.

"I'm going to go see if they're ready. I'll be back for you when it's time, are you all right?" asked Wayne.

"Yeah, I'm going to try to unwind and maybe have a chat with grandpa," said Nick.

"Ok, say hi to grandpa for me," said Wayne, and he left too.

Nick rested in the temple, trying to ease the beating of his heart and his spinning head by looking up at the mural on the ceiling. "That was rude Grandpa, you could have said hello," said Nick as the image of his great-great grandfather (seven times removed) appeared behind the desk.

"Nick, I'm so proud of you," said grandpa. "You are taking the next great step in becoming a man."

"Grandfather, I was the captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Breaze, I saved Queen Octavia from countless dangers, mostly against her will, I returned home and became the only male witch on Kodu..."

"Yes, yes, I've heard those stories," said Grandpa. "They may even be true." Nick was about to shout at him, but the ghost called Grandpa leaned across his desk with a grin. "Now you come to the hard part. This is what makes a man. The test starts today and continues until the day you die, and if you succeed, then you can call yourself a man."

<><><><><>

Over in Octavia's white tent, there were sounds of giggling and laughter as the women described their personal wedding disasters. Nick and Octavia's neighbor Lala MacClenny was talking about her wedding. "So Eric comes in from the field and there's me and the witch Gertie Wolfe waiting for him. He said, 'Let's get it over,' and a few minutes later we were married and he's back in the field plowing."

The women laughed, and Ena McCrory said, "Snowcross Mountain proposal?"

"Yep," said Lala. Lala was a sweet woman in her early sixties with perfectly silver hair, and she still had a figure that made her husband Eric want to come in from the field for lunch every day.

"What's a Snowcross Mountain proposal?" asked Octavia.

"It goes something like this," said Ena. Then, in unison, all the women in the tent simulated a man's voice and said, "YOU'RE WHAT?" followed by a lot of laughter. Octavia never understood it until Ena explained it to her. "Most children in the Snowcross Mountains are born at nine months, except for the first, he's born at six months."

"Oh," said Octavia. Then realization came over her. "OOOOHHH!" which caused even more laughter.

"You're scared, aren't ya honey," said Erin Metsker as she started to comb out Octavia's dark brunette locks. Octavia said nothing, but she nodded. "It's ok to be scared your first time..." When she said first time the entire tent went silent in shock. Mountain girls grow up knowing the facts of life. In fact, a farm girl knows more about sex than the average city doctor just because it's going on all around her. Chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, sheep, goats, cows, horses, Mom and Dad, grandma and grandpa are all doing what comes naturally, and it's not unusual at all for the farm kids to try it themselves. So, a first time for someone in their mid-twenties is a shock to them.

"Don't you worry, honey," said Erin as she continued to brush out Octavia's hair. "I've known Nick since he was eight. I couldn't believe it when I was told he was a soldier. 'MY NICK?' I said. My Nick still cries over chicks that don't survive hatching. He isn't a monster; he wants you to feel as good as you make him feel."

"I know, it's just... I was raised in a very strict convent. We were told that all young men were evil and we were raised to marry rich old men and royalty, not young men in their prime."

"You were in a princess factory?" asked Silver Metsker.

Octavia nodded and explained. "You can call it that if you want, it's quite fitting. In the Temple Orphanage we were raised to act like we were thirty years older than we were, and when we reached marriageable age, we were adopted by lower-ranking royalty who wished to make a political connection. I was adopted by Oren Anghart, the Baron of Folstonborough."

"What was he like?" asked Ena.

Octavia shrugged. "I never met him. I met his wife Alzina, she was in her seventies, so I assumed he was as well."

"So you were sold off like cattle?" gasped Lala.

Octavia nodded. "It was all political. Baron Anghart wanted to have a daughter that was a queen, so he adopted me because King Alfrich was interested in me. I was told he was at my wedding but he wasn't well enough to give me away."

"Give you away?" asked Silver. "What's that?"

"In city weddings the bride is escorted to the groom by her father or someone that cares for her well-being."

"So, who gave you away?" asked Silver. The young mother was excited that she was sitting with a queen.

"Captain Pommeraie de la Montesquieu, commander of the Royal Guard."

"Wow," gasped Silver. "I want to see him."

"You will," said her mother-in-law, Erin, as she began putting Octavia's hair in an updo. "He's going to marry Miss Octavia."

"Huh? What! I don't get it," said a confused Silver as her son Trei crawled up on her lap. Her response started new gales of laughter.

"Ooooo! Looks like you two have started early!" laughed Ena as Octavia's hairdo exposed her long ivory neck.

"What do you mean?" asked Octavia.

Her friend Ena held up a hand mirror, and Octavia could see the round bruise on her neck. "How did that get there?" she gasped.

"The usual way," chuckled Erin as she reached for the makeup to cover the hickey.

<><><><><>

Wayne Metsker led Nick across Slate Bottom Creek Road to the meadow next to the mill pond, where a large group of people were gathered. Wayne's tiny son Trei dashed out to Wayne, and Nick scooped him up as he headed toward the edge of the pond where Agnes and King Lars waited. Trei tugged at Nick's medals and almost fell out of Nick's arms reaching for the mithril epaulettes, those dangly bits that hang from the end of his shoulder boards.

"Here's your mommy, buddy." He handed the tiny lad to the shocked girl. She hadn't seen Nick since they returned from Bovuka, so the beard, eyepatch, and longer hair hid his identity from her. Her estimation of her husband Wayne went up because he was friends with someone so dashing.

Silver turned to the girl that was next to her and said, "That must be Captain Pommeraie de la Montesquieu."

Princess Sophia smiled and said, "Yes, but he doesn't use that name anymore." Princess Sophia was getting near the age when she was close to selecting a groom. She was sure that no foreign prince would want to make an alliance with tiny, mountainous Uduithia, so she would be free to romance someone of social standing. Hopefully, she'll find someone as dashing as Nick. Currently, she was holding Silver's newborn daughter Nicole, and she and Silver were becoming friends as Silver told Sophia about babies.

Nick shook hands with the friends who clustered around Agnes. There was Vesstan, Bughac, Leomaris Autumnfall, King Lars Ranzau, Queen Rania and her handmaidens Lana, Nora, and Olah, Captain Sean Fahy and Queen Elinor. The royalty were wearing nice clothing but not in their noble raiment, for it would not do to outshine the bride.

"Can we have the bride?" called out Senior Witch Ezzie Fahy as she swigged her mug of beer, and the crowd parted, leaving a path for the bride. Rickets on his lute and Olah Ulavaris on the fiddle played a sweet march for the bride as King Uric II led her to the witch and her future husband. Octavia's dress was perfection in white. The wedding gown was off her shoulders and showed plenty of cleavage, giving Nick a glimpse at the splendor that awaited him. Her diamond tiara held a white veil in place, and she wore full-length lace gloves that matched the dress. "Who brings forth the bride?" asked Sean's mother, Ezzie.

"I do, in honor of her parents," said King Uric.

"Thank you, your majesty," said Nick as he took Octavia's hand, and the king stepped over to Queen Elinor.

"For those of you new to mountain weddings, and I can see there's quite a few of ya," said Agnes Dempsy, "we need a clear path in case someone changes their mind. If that happens, we let them go, and we console the one left behind. Here in the mountains, we want our marriages to last, so we give them three chances to change their minds. If that happens, it's part of nature, don't hold it against no one," continued the witch.

A witch next to Ezzie and Agnes said, "I am Xanthia Highmore, witch of Wret. It's tradition that when a witch marries, three other witches perform the ceremony. I will administer the first test." She then turned to Octavia. "Queen Octavia, are you being forced to do this against your will?"

Octavia was confused. Why did the witch call her queen? As far as she was concerned, her reign ended a year ago when the Breazian government collapsed. "No," said a confused former queen.

"Captain Stein, are you being forced to do this against your will? Is this a plot to regain the throne of Breaze?"

Nick glared at Xanthia. "No," he then growled, loud enough for Octavia and Xanthia to hear, "Gigi, it's not funny."

"You should have seen the look on your face, darling," said Xanthia, and she kissed Nick's cheek and stepped aside, then Agnes stepped forward.

"I am Agnes Dempsy, witch of Soilly and Nick's great-aunt. His grandmother Gertrude Wolfe was my sister." A murmur of approval went through the older folks in attendance. Gertie Wolfe was well known, and she was the top witch in the Snowcross Mountains. Now Nick becoming a witch made sense to them. Agnes gave a wry smile and nodded. "Now join hands," she said loud enough for everyone to hear. "If I determine the relationship between these two is too close the wedding is over..." She closed her eyes and concentrated... they were both blocking her; how could they do that? "What are you doing?" growled Agnes.

"Payback for the throne of Breaze nonsense from Gigi," said Octavia. The bride smiled at Agnes, and Agnes realized Octavia didn't say that out loud, but she could hear Octavia plain as day.

"I will have a word with her," whispered Agnes. When she said that, the reading settled, showing Nick and Octavia very remotely related. "There's no reason for me to stop this wedding," said Agnes aloud. She stepped aside, and Ezzie Fahy took her place.

"I am Ezzie Fahy, witch of Waleston and senior witch of Uduithia. She put a hand on Nick and Octavia's shoulders and said, "Now is your last chance. If you have any doubts or questions, now is the time to go. We'll stop the one left behind, and you can go somewhere and gather your thoughts..."

Silver leaned over to Sophia and said, "This is where I ran."

"You ran?" gasped Princess Sophia.

"I was scared, my mom had just died and I thought I was pregnant again, so I ran and cried for three days straight. We tried it again a few months later, and Nick was our witch and we're better for it."

Neither Octavia nor Nick moved; they stood holding hands, gazing in each other's eyes. "Nick, do you have any works for Octavia?" asked Ezzie.

"My love, I've faced steel and storm and will do so again for you if you ask. I carried you from Breaze to Bovuka, but nothing steadied my hand like your smile, your eyes, and your love. I fought for kings, and I thought I lost all, and then I stopped running and turned around to see you with me every step of the way. Soon comes the final test, and then I will lay down my sword--for you. From that day forward, I choose the quiet: the soil, the sunrise, and your hand in mine. Let the world rage, it's no longer my problem. I am yours. I love you Octavia Anghart."

Octavia replied, "I once wore a crown of gold for a few hours, but it was meaningless compared to the warmth of your shield that saved me. I've known thrones and titles, but none as noble as 'wife.' Today I trade court for cottage, decree for lullaby. When the last battle is over, I will be there waiting, my life will be with you. I choose the harvest, the hearth, and the laughter of our children. I am yours, now and always. I love you Nick Stein."

They kissed a passionate kiss, probably one too passionate for a gathering like this, but as they kissed, Gigi, Agnes and Ezzie turned to King Uric and said, "Your highness, on this day we have wed Octavia and Nick Stein."

"Thus, it shall be, and let their names be inscribed in the annals of Uduithia!" said the king loudly. With that, the crowd cheered, and the newlyweds turned and bowed to the crowd.

With one more kiss, Nick and Octavia walked through the crowd to the festival that had been set up in the street. As the crowd followed them, King Uric and Queen Elinor stepped up to Princess Sophia. Sophia was gushing with excitement because Silver was her first friend. "Mom, dad, this is my friend Silver Metsker and her kids Trei and Nicole."

"Ah yes, her father-in-law is the village smithy, is he not?" asked King Uric.

"Y-yes my lord," mumbled Silver. She didn't know that Sophia was a princess, and she didn't realize that the king knew Trei.

"He's a good man," said the king.

"Can Silver come visit some day?" asked Sophia.

"Of course honey," said the queen. "Your father will be out of town next week, that would be a perfect time."

"You will come won't you?" asked Sophia. "We'll have so much fun, and you can stay! Bring Wayne and the little ones! Please say you will!"

Silver was in shock. Her new friend was the princess? And she was invited to the castle with Wayne? "I've never been to a castle," said Silver.

"Please say you'll come! We'll have a room for you and your husband; it will be a holiday!" gushed Sophia.

"Yes! Yes, we'll do it!" said Silver.

<><><><><>

Nora, Lana, and Olah, the Ulavaris triplets, brought out their fiddles and played merry dancing tunes with Rickets and Nick, who strummed along with a dulcimer. The dancing and merriment went on for a long time, and even though Nick and Octavia asked people not to do it, they were putting money in a jar for the bride and groom. Any time someone dropped a silver or gold coin in the jar, Nick and Octavia had to kiss. It was a traditional kissing game that raised money for the couple, and Nick had spent a large part of their available cash on buying and boarding Teddi and Kaleb.

Nick and Octavia wanted to slip away quietly, but they were given a rousing sendoff, and their neighbor Eric MacClenny gave them a ride to their cottage. "That was a wonderful wedding and party," said Octavia. "How did you set it up?"

"Remember those five gold coins in Kaleb's bag? I used one of them."

"One?" asked Octavia. She never looked to see what the coins were worth. The lowest denomination is twenty dollars, which for many people is a month's pay. With joy, Nick carried Octavia across the threshold, and they kissed, their hearts beating as one. He set her down and turned to pour her a glass of wine. Octavia stood in the center of the main room and nervously said, "What do we do now?"

Nick shrugged. "I have as much experience as you do."

"I understand the mechanics of everything..." said Octavia nervously.

Then came a voice from behind them. "Oh for Pete sakes, I can draw a picture if you like." Nana showed them the needlepoint she was working on; it showed a naked couple making love.

"Nana!" Nick and Octavia scolded in unison. In her rocking chair, Nana sat and grinned at the newlyweds.

"We'll figure it out, give us time," said Nick.

"If you insist. In my day the best way to start was with a nice sponge bath..." and Nana faded from sight. "The stove is hot..."

"That sounds heavenly," said Octavia. "I danced with King Lars, and King Uric, and Sean Fahy, Trei Metsker, and Eric MacClenny, and Harry Neumann, and Uther Borsen twice..."

"I saw you dancing with Sieffre Merrick. Did he bite your head off?" asked Nick as he lugged a huge tin tub into the kitchen.

"No, he was sweet to me." She looked at the tub and said, "A person can't exactly stretch out in that."

"No, a person stands and lets another person pamper them."

He placed the tub on the floor by the stove and then checked the two pots of water on the stove to see if the water in them was warm yet. "Now, my love," said Nick as he took the woman of his dreams into his arms. "Now the secrets fade. We stop hiding from each other."

Without prompting, Octavia unbuttoned Nick's jacket. She was both terrified and eager to get started, and his uniform was in the way. She soon had him down to his shorts, which were tented out in his excitement.

She was easy to undress. Nick just had to undo the buttons on the back of her gown, and it dropped off, leaving her in her garter belt and stockings. Soon Octavia was naked and shivering, standing in the washtub with Nick hugging her from behind. "You're trembling," he whispered.

"So are you," she said as she felt his hands gently close over her full breasts. It felt so good to have his hands close over her breasts and squeeze gently. She moaned and leaned her head back on his shoulder, ready to give her body to this man who worked so hard to protect her. She sighed with pleasure, just enjoying the moment in the candlelight.

Nick reveled in the warmth of her body as she leaned back against him. Her breasts, so full and firm and he cupped them for the first time. Her neck was so elegant and sensitive. He began kissing her neck and started on another hickey. Octavia gasped at the sensations and turned in his arms and their mouths met. Their hands roamed over each other as they kissed, and Octavia indulged herself by grasping his taut ass, and Nick returned the favor.

Their lips finally parted, and Octavia said in a voice husky with passion, "I think I like these farm style baths."

"They are fun," said Nick as he scooped her up in his arms and planted her feet in the tub. The sides of the tub were only a foot high, but the tub was an oval three feet long. She started to sit, but Nick stopped her. "No, sitting is for the kids."

Then, he took the pot full of warm water and set it in the tub next to her, and he began washing her body carefully and slowly with a big sponge. "Gods above!" she gasped breathily as his wet soapy hands slipped sensuously over her body. He even washed her feet. "Will you do this when I'm pregnant and as big as a house?"

"Anything to make you feel loved," said Nick.

Soon it was Octavia's turn to wash Nick, and she marveled at the scars from the stampede on his ribs and back, but then she reached unexplored territory. The stories of a man's "equipment" she heard in the temple school were wild and exaggerated. The only one she had ever seen erect was King Alfrich, and it was half buried in Lieutenant Thornhammer.

Octavia washed Nick carefully, and at first she avoided his manhood. She didn't want to run away screaming like the girls in the temple orphanage were told to do. She explored his entire body at first with fear, which soon grew to anticipation. His penis and testes were an utter mystery to her, and she was sure Nick could tell her how it all works; but he enjoyed how she touched him. Her soapy hands slid up and down the length of his manhood, and Nick groaned and leaned back against her. "Are you well? Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh no, you're doing it absolutely right," said Nick with a sigh. "I thought you didn't know how to do that for a man."

"I didn't," she insisted. It just seemed to be the right thing to do, judging by his reactions.

They rinsed each other off and dried with soft towels, and Nick led Octavia upstairs to the big soft bed that the cottage magically grew while he was gone, and there they made love. Two terrified virgins attempted to figure out what the rest of the world knew, and somehow it worked. Octavia was shocked she could take something so large inside her, and despite the initial pain, it was fun! It was a silly game that two lovers invented by the light of a single candle, and they wanted it to last forever. When Octavia realized that her cries of passion were songs of love to Nick, she cried out with joy and in the end they both agreed that if they knew it was going to be so much fun, they would have ran off on Alfrich and Ziska a long time ago.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 30 - Tähelepanek Point

Nick's eyes opened as the sun came up, and the first thing he saw was Octavia lying next to him and looking at him. "Good morning husband of mine," she said. It's been a week since they married, and they finally embarked on their honeymoon. They spent days preparing the Rite of Prose Mino, all the while taking breaks to dash upstairs to enjoy each other. When done, they tossed their camping equipment in the back of the wagon, hitched up Teddi and Kaleb and headed up the mountain.

`

Nick smiled and pulled her close. "My girl," he said, and they kissed. Like him, she slept in the nude even though the mornings on Black Mountain were cool. Octavia had enchanted the tent to retain their warmth. In fact, when their passions soared, they had to open an end of the tent to cool off. When the kiss ended, they lay gazing into each other's eyes.

"Guess what I want," she said.

"I know what you want but I think you wore out your new favorite toy," groaned Nick. "I may need time to heal."

Octavia was sore too, but she would not let him know. "Then, while you recover, what do you want for breakfast?" asked Octavia.

"Mmmm... I want two eggs over easy, hash brown potatoes, venison sausage, and coffee," said Nick, and he gave her a kiss.

"That sounds good, make me some too," said Octavia as she crawled over Nick and dangled her large breasts in his face. She learned quickly how much he loved her breasts (and ass and legs and lips and...). He tried to kiss her breasts, but with a twist of her shoulders, she would move them out of the way.

"Come on you, let's go warm up."

"No! It's cold! Don't!"

Nick pulled Octavia out of the tent squawking and crying for mercy. He carried her through the chill mountain air to the hot spring, where he carried her into the hot water. The spring was enshrouded in steam from the hot, humid air hitting the cold, moist mountain air. They spent days camping next to the hot spring and exploring the mountain. They tethered Teddi and Kaleb nearby, and the mules seemed to enjoy the vacation and munched sweet grasses as Nick and Octavia played. Hiking, fishing and making love over and over, it was a perfect honeymoon.

As Nick and Octavia relaxed in the hot water, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard, and a voice called, "Captain Stein!"

Both groaned when they heard the messenger call out. Nick kissed Octavia and said, "you stay here, he won't see you through the steam," and he got out of the spring and dried off quickly. Soon the messenger saw Nick step out from behind a cluster of trees. A nervous palace guard astride a winded horse waited where Nick told the king he could be found. The messenger followed instructions, which said that if Nick were not at his farm, he could be found by going to the ancient mile marker on the old logging road and calling out for him, because he would camp nearby. "I'm captain Stein," said Nick as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Sir, a message from the king," and he handed Nick a sealed piece of parchment.

Nick broke the seal and saw in the king's spiderlike handwriting the news he dreaded to hear. How did Lord Baltimore know the actions in kingdoms so far away? He handed the message back to the messenger and said, "Tell the king I will meet his party at the Temple of the Woods at sunrise tomorrow. Anyone that wants to join me can meet me there. We travel on foot, so don't bring a mount."

"Yes sir!" and the messenger rode off back down the mountain.

Nick hiked back to the campsite and found Octavia dressed and packing up their gear. She gave him a forlorn look. "Is it time?" she asked.

"Yeah, according to Lord Baltimore we'll be lucky if we have a week to prepare."

"When do we go?" asked Octavia as she held Nick close and fought back the tears.

"Tomorrow," he said, and he held her tight.

They kissed long and sweetly, and Octavia could feel Nick's desire to run, to hide in the mountains and let Zeddicus rule the planet. When their lips parted, she saw the look in his eyes, and she wasn't wrong; he wanted to just let them all die. "They need us."

"Fuck 'em," said Nick. "We can hold out here for the rest of our lives."

"But Lars Ranzau and Rania, the triplets, Leomaris, Hugues Du Gouey, they are going to fight until the end. This is our chance to avenge Jehans, Touénot, and Elodie."

"I know," he grumbled. "It's... every time I build a life where I can settle down and just enjoy being alive, some damn thing happens..." He had that dream again last night, the dream where he fought Zeddicus, and he was able to defeat the god with two swords, one in the heart and one into the skull, then he saw Octavia dropping away in a well... Hopefully after the battle that dream would go away.

"Let's pack up and get back to the cabin and I'll make a nice dinner for us," said Octavia.

"That would be nice." They packed up their camp, and Nick gave a sharp whistle, which was answered by Pepin from far away. That wolf was inspecting the entire mountain for she-wolves in heat.

<><><><><>

They were packed and ready, Vesstan, Buggy, Nick, Octavia and Pepin. As they waited for the king's party, Nick took an item out of his pocket and turned to Octavia. "This is for you," and he draped a ribbon over her neck. The ribbon held a single old-fashioned silver key. "This is a temple key, it will allow you to use any Æther Portal as you see fit. You can even request permission to set up a portal tunnel."

"What's an Æther Portal?"

"The four columns in a temple, that's the Æther Portal" He kissed her and said, "This key makes you a key holder. If you lose the key, it will be found within a day. If you give it away, it will return to you; if it's stolen, it will return to you. And if you die, it will return to the office here in Temple of the Woods."

He was explaining the process of setting up 'temple hops' when the king's party approached. They came off of Breeders Peak in a carriage, King Uric, Lord Baltimore, and four young guards. Nick and his party bowed to the king. "Your Highness, we will travel to Teurnia using a series of temple hops. We will hop to Elbreshowth on the Moor, pause and regain our strength, then hop to Teurnia where we will pause again before exiting the temple of Sapona."

"You present it as if it were quite effortless, Sir Nicolas," said the king.

"It almost is. Everyone link hands," And holding hands, Nick led them into the temple and through the temple portal to the misty darkness of the Temple of Snupp. "Everyone sit down and relax."

"By the heavens, we have traversed but a mere handful of steps, yet I find myself utterly fatigued," groaned King Uric. "Whence this weariness hath sprung?"

Nick set an hourglass near the king and said, "In one step you traveled five hundred miles, the nature of the universe says that there must be a price paid and this is that price. When the hourglass is finished and you feel well, we can go." Nick placed a raw, plucked chicken on the offering plate and came back to rest while Pepin started growling.

A shadowy figure, something that wasn't man but at the same time wasn't wolf, stepped out of the shadows. "Lord Stein, you go to meet my brother?"

"Aye Lord Snupp. It appears that a temple was built in his honor and he will be freed."

Snupp growled and said, "We left enough warnings, prophecies and scripture warning against that. Do you humans ever learn?"

"Apparently not."

Snupp bowed to King Uric, who sat shocked to see such a thing as a god of wolves. "Your majesty," said Snupp politely. Then he bowed to Octavia and said, "Your majesty," and then he turned to Pepin and snarled and barked. Then the god of wolves took his chicken and disappeared into the mists.

"What did he say?" Nick asked Pepin.

He threatened to kill me if either of you two gets hurt, whimpered Pepin silently.

"When have you ever seen me do anything and not get hurt?" asked Nick.

I'm a dead dog.

<><><><><>

"Where is Queen Elinor?" asked King Lars as Nick led the Uduithia team out of the temple of Sapona into the fortress city of Termagant's Bane.

"She is at home tending to the children whilst overseeing the realm."

"You trust your queen to run your kingdom?"

"Indeed, she holds a profound affection for Uduithia and has diligently pursued her studies to adeptly govern our realm in my absence," said King Uric proudly.

Meanwhile, Buggy and Vesstan had a joyful reunion with Hugues Du Gouey, who loved his assignment as chief hand-to-hand trainer for the army of Teurnia. "Come to Teurnia!" boomed Hugues. "Enlist here! The pay is fair, the women are fine and Mad King Ulrich's day is worth the move!"

"Did I miss that again?" groaned Nick.

"You don't need to see that," said Octavia as she led Nick to the Queen's Guard that awaited his arrival. They wore the uniforms that they wore with pride in Breaze, but Lieutenant Hillingham said, "Breaze is gone, we're going to rebuild and put Queen Octavia back on the throne."

"Hang on buddies, I'm not... no... I wasn't a queen then and I'm not going to be a queen now," insisted Octavia.

"You were crowned our queen," said Sara McLeod. "The Prophecy of the Wife fits so well!"

Octavia reviewed the Prophecy of the Wife in her mind, and so much fit... too much, actually. But she knew that these prophecies would point to one person, and suddenly someone else more qualified would crop up. "Yes, I was a temple priestess, yes I was a queen and yes I married a witch, I'm not immortal and Nick is not a woman, or an empress. Guys, I'm a farm wife and I love it! When this is done we're going back and maybe buy a sheep."

"You were both virgins when you married right?" asked Private Isin Sozen.

"Ok, that's none of your business!" shrieked Octavia.

"Yep, virgins," mumbled the entire formation.

"Enough guys," said Nick. "Get ready to move out. Who's our top crossbowman?" Everyone pointed to their first sergeant, Dante Fletcher. "Sergeant Fletcher, come with me." He led Fletcher several steps away from the troops. "Dante, I need you to do me a big favor. I am going to be close to that beast, if it has me, if I cannot use my blades I want you to put a bolt in my heart or my head."

"What? Captain, no, I can't."

"Do you want Octavia to see me torn apart alive?"

<><><><><>

That evening, the king had a meeting with all of his commanders. He included King Uric of Uduithia and King Calum of Elbreshowth. The leaders of the small kingdoms in Western Edux did not send a representative, but Lord Orazio Laurita, the dominus of Torwin-Armistad, came with a contingent of assassins. "We do not have a standing army in Torwin-Armistad, but we have ways of making our concerns relevant to other principalities," said Lord Laurita in his slow, threatening manner of speech.

"I want to thank King Uric of Uduithia and Duke Hampton of Warwickshire for joining us," said King Lars as the meeting got under way. "Neither country has a standing army, but both were able to round up forces to make the long trek here."

"We were on a boat most of the way," said Duke Hampton. The Uduithia contingent of thirty men marched west to the independent duchy of Warwickshire, where they joined up with the thirty men from Warwickshire, boarded a boat to Edhellond, then took a barge up the Arn River and arrived just days ago.

"Captain Stein, your plan?"

"Wait," demanded Dominus Laurita. "Who is Captain Stein and why is it his plan."

King Uric turned to the Dominus and said, "I would advise that you remain silent, attentively listen, and pose inquiries once he has concluded."

"I'm just a witch that used to camp in the highlands around Fort Enlil where the Breazians built a temple to Zeddicus," said Nick. "I know the lay of the land and I know many of the men that are building the temple."

"Go on, Captain," said King Lars.

"If we travel up the Arn River Gorge, the gorge comes south of Fort Enlil. Right here is a flat plateau called Tähelepanek Point. If we can draw Zeddicus up here, Octavia and I can cast the spell that ends his omnipotence and our archers can pincushion him. With luck we'll be done in twenty minutes."

"That's a bit optimistic, wouldn't you say captain?" asked King Lars.

"It's incredibly optimistic, sire, but I want to focus on that outcome. We took great care in preparing the spell and we are confident it will work," said Octavia.

"May I ask, what procedures did you take to prepare the spell?" asked Dominus Laurita. Whenever he spoke, the image of snakes came to Octavia's mind.

"The Rite of Prose Mino must be written in blooded ink on thaumatin vellum and blessed by two gods before being recited by two wizards within 100 meters of Zeddicus. We intend to recite it within one hundred feet of Zeddicus to be sure," said Nick.

"You found some thaumatin vellum?" asked Lord Baltimore. "That is so exceedingly rare that no new spell has been published in a century."

Nick grinned, and Octavia blushed, but King Uric answered the head of intelligence. "It appears that our recently wed sorcerers have crafted it themselves."

"Huh? Oh, yes. Very good," harumphed Lord Baltimore. Thaumatin vellum is regular vellum (prepared sheets of sheep's hide) that were enchanted by being placed within two feet of a pair of wizards as they made love. Only spells written on thaumatin vellum will be blessed by a god, and once it's blessed by a god, it becomes an active spell and can be copied onto standard vellum.

"And who was the god that blessed your spell?" asked Dominus Laurita.

Nick glared at the Dominus. He was tall and slender, with dark hair and a pencil-thin moustache. He spoke with an accent that told Nick he was from the upper echelons of society and didn't care, nor did he know about the tiny children starving in the streets of Torwin-Armistad. "Saehrimnir and Cloacina," snarled Nick.

"Cloacina? Goddess of the hunt? She's on Bovuka, on the other side of the world!"

"Yes she is. What's your point?" asked Octavia.

"It's impossible to get there and back in a day."

"That's not exactly true. Are there any relevant questions?" asked Nick.

There were not, as far as Nick and Octavia were concerned. The rest of the meeting was a discussion of what to do with the surviving Breazian forces. Nick and Octavia slipped out as the generals swapped plans and made their way back to the enormous room that housed them eleven months ago. There they made love desperately, both terrified that they would never have the chance again. Both wept for their future as their climaxes overtook them, so terrified were they.

<><><><><>

Tähelepanek Point was a fine point to overlook a battle. There at the edge of the Mons Sunnah mountains they could see almost all the prairies of Breaze, right up to the edge of the mountains, and there to their right was Fort Enlil. They set up camp and quietly spent the night watching both armies. They could see the Breaze army encamped near the fort, and they could see the Teurnian army that had advanced quietly behind them.

When the sun rose, the Teurnian army began to advance, but the Breaze army didn't seem to notice; in fact, the Breaze army seemed to mill around their encampment in confusion. When Nick reported his findings to the kings, Dominus Laurita said, "Would you say that they were milling about like they just discovered all their officers were dead?"

"Blast!" said Lord Baltimore from his cocoon of blankets by the campfire. "That is not cricket!"

"My dear Lord Baltimore, I am not a farmer, but I do know that you do not kill a chicken by cutting off its feet," said Dominus Laurita. His assassins had slit the throats of every officer in the camp the night before.

"But what about Zeddicus?" asked someone. His question was answered by the ground shaking. The camp on Tähelepanek Point sprung to life just as the ancient stone edifice that was Fort Enlil exploded, showering the Breaze army with shards of shattered stone. The terrified soldiers ran and, in their panic, they ran into the entrenched Teurnian army, who showered them with arrows and crossbow bolts.

Nick watched the once proud army in shock for a moment until the reason for their panic became apparent. From the ruins of the collapsed fort, stepped a nightmare. It looked like an odd combination of a crocodile and a bear, but it had six legs and that odd glow that surrounds gods. It was huge and muscular, with thick dark gray leather armor for skin, a huge thick tail, and it could draw itself up on its hind legs and stand over thirty feet tall. As Nick watched, it was on its six legs heading toward the fleeing army, and lucky for them, it wasn't very fast.

"How do we get its attention?" asked Nick, who looked at Octavia and then, in shock, asked, "why are you naked?" He put his hands on her delicate shoulder and he could feel her robes, but he couldn't see them.

"Oh, do I have the wrong robes on?" she asked innocently. "People who are enchanted can't see them."

"Are they the thing to be wearing right now?" asked a confused Nick. He wanted to run off and make wild, passionate love to her, but he had a god to kill.

"You wanted something to get his attention," said Octavia with a pout. She reached out and pointed to Zeddicus, and there was a flash, and like she did to the Dingaroo in Bovuka, she hit Zeddicus with a blast of lightning. It roared in agony because she had hit it in the eye. "There, you got his attention."

Nick threw off his hunting cloak, grabbed his sword pommels, unsheathed them and drove their points into the soil, dropped his sword belt and handed Octavia a scroll. "Ready my queen?" he asked.

"I'm ready my captain." They kissed passionately, kissing as if for the last time before turning to face the beast, which was confused by their calm demeanor. Zeddicus, eater of worlds, demon god of lies, approaches. They should run in terror, but instead they kiss and wait for the inevitable. The name Zeddicus comes from a language long forgotten on Kodu, which means "Emissary of Hell."

Nick looked around and saw that Buggy and Vesstan were in position behind Octavia as Zeddicus pulled itself up the face of Tähelepanek Point. Then, as the demon god reared up, Nick and Octavia began to read. The words were in Mägede Keel or High Elvish, the language of the mountain elves, but they had worked so hard on the Rite of Prose Minos they knew what they were saying.

Thou dost embody the most loathsome essence that walks this hallowed ground.

Octavia didn't remember reading the line, but the words that she had read were floating in the air above them, written on the wind in sapphire fire, so she moved on to the next line...

Thy essence is as a foul wind upon the celestial realms.

The old excitement was setting in, it's been so long since Octavia cast a scripted spell she forgot the excitement, no wonder why wizards take a vow of celibacy, a powerful spell is like good sex and nothing could stop you, this spell was creating a feeling just like that...

Return thou to the abyssal dominions whence thy essence didst arise.

The words above them grew bigger and bolder with every word they uttered. Nick and Octavia were no longer reading the spell; somebody or something else was now reading it, but it wasn't them...

In the fullness of divine justice, I reclaim the gifts of your essence that once enveloped you.

Their voices were louder on the plateau of Tähelepanek Point in gale-force winds. Their voices had an echo. The words were burning and crackling in the air in bright sapphire flames; the words were huge and hungry. The spell was reading them.

Thy dominion here is finished!

The scroll in Nick's hands burst into sapphire flame, but the spell wouldn't let him release the scroll. He shrieked in pain as the vellum burned his hands, and as promised, Buggy and Vesstan pulled Octavia back. She shrieked and fought against the elf and the dwarf; she wanted to go to Nick and fight alongside him. She fought so strongly that King Uric had to join in pushing her back.

With a roll of thunder, the flaming words shot through the air and enveloped Zeddicus, wrapping him in sapphire flame, and then his glow was gone; he was mortal. The archers and crossbowmen opened fire. The crossbow bolts struck home, but the arrows bounced off the tough hide of the beast as it pulled itself up on Tähelepanek Point. Ignoring the pain in his hands, Nick pulled his swords from the ground and went on the attack, slashing, slicing, stabbing. Zeddicus roared in anger and slashed back with enormous claws.

Nick sliced off the lower left claw, then dodged, danced, spun and sliced off another, the upper right claw. He dove in, trying to get close to the heart of the demon god, but he couldn't get in the position he needed to be in...

Time was running out, and it appeared that they did little actual damage to the foul beast. He charged again, and suddenly he was clasped in Zeddicus's remaining claws. Nick twisted and fought; he had the swords in his hands, but his arms were pinned to his sides by the claws of the god of lies. He heard a thump, and he saw a crossbow bolt slam into the beast's tough skin next to his own nose. Dante Fletcher missed!

As Zeddicus lifted Nick closer and closer to his reeking, gaping maw, Nick heard Octavia shrieking in horror. No, it can't end like this! thought Nick. "NO!" he shouted, and with a roar Zeddicus found he was holding an angry Dingaroo. The dingaroo began clawing at Zeddicus' gut with those killing talons in his muscular hind legs. Pieces of the demon-god's flesh and muscles, and blobs of ichor splattered the ground as the dingaroo clawed at the demon-god with all its primitive anger. He began biting, ripping huge chunks of foul leather-covered flesh from the beast's underbelly.

In pain, Zeddicus dropped the dingaroo, and Nick slammed into the ground. Getting up, he found he was still holding his swords. Zeddicus leaned over to bite Nick, and the swordsman saw his opening. Like he did in his dream, he overcame the pain and drove his left sword, the queen's sword, into Zeddicus's heart. Then, driving upwards, he drove his right sword, the captain's sword, through the beast's jaw and into its brain.

Zeddicus shuddered violently and collapsed, nearly crushing Nick. As the monster quaked and kicked, Nick twisted the swords out of the beast, and it slid back down the face of the cliff and onto the plain below them. Exhausted, Nick stuck the swords in the ground and walked forward, hoping to watch Zeddicus in his final death throes. He leaned over the edge of Tähelepanek Point just as Zeddicus died in an explosion of magical release.

Octavia was almost laughing; it was over. She saw Zeddicus slide off the plateau, and she watched Nick lean over the edge to watch, and then the explosion that threw half of Tähelepanek Point into the air, and Nick was gone.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 31 - The Road Home

He was gone. The man she loved more than life itself was gone... and now she was enchanted, loving him forever, and very, very alone. She knelt at the edge of Tähelepanek Point between the two swords that Nick stuck into the ground. When he planted them there, the edge was twenty feet away. Now the swords are right at the edge of the cliff. Beneath her, she could see a sea of demon guts and ichor. The victorious Teurnian army was rounding up the Breazian army, but that was meaningless to her. Nick was gone. His body must be buried under the foul-smelling mound of viscera beneath her.

"My lady, we must talk," came a sniveling voice.

"Go away."

"Lady Octavia. You are the rightful ruler of Breaze. What are your orders?" Octavia turned around, and it was Hodgkiss, King Alfrich's steward. "Queen Octavia, what are your orders?"

"Bring him back."

"Pardon my lady?"

"BRING HIM BACK!" she shrieked. "BRING HIM BACK!" over and over, her heartbreak silencing the joy of the victory. One of the guardsmen went to console Octavia. He wanted to tell her it was over, that Breaze was hers, but she was inconsolable. King Uric held her as she wept. Buggy and Vesstan were weeping with her also, as was Nick's wolf. A confused and sad Hugues Du Gouey tried to console his partners. He collected Nick's swords, sword belt, hunting cloak and hat, and stood next to the weeping friends and wondered what to do next.

Octavia sagged to the ground and curled up in a small ball, and King Uric gently scooped her up. He carried her back to the camp, where the queen's guard waited in shock. King Uric handed Octavia to Hugues Du Gouey and then mounted his horse. Hugues and Vesstan handed the weeping woman up to the King. She had wept herself into exhaustion, and the ride back to Termagant's Bane was a nightmare of sorrow.

It was well past midnight when they reached the palace, and Queen Rania and her three handmaidens were waiting at the entry. "It's over, right? Zeddicus is gone?" asked Queen Rania.

"It's over," sighed Lars heavily as he dismounted his horse. "It is done." The king turned to help the guardsmen lower Octavia from King Uric's saddle. Octavia tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't hold her up, and she sagged to the ground. Her king stooped to pick her up, but she pushed him away and slowly got to her feet.

"Where is Pommy?" asked Queen Rania. But in answer, Lars shook his head no.

"Oh no," gasped Rania. "gods in hell no!" and she and her handmaidens rushed to Octavia's aid. They guided a weeping Octavia into the palace and instead of leading her up to the room she shared with Nick, they led her to the palace central garden, a forest that a king in Teurnia's past had created for the elf maidens in his life.

<><><><><>

"All rise, his majesty King Lars Ranzau and her majesty Queen Rania," called Lord Smithson, herald to the court of Lars Ranzau. The courtroom stood and bowed as King Lars took his throne. Several men sat in the front row in chains; a couple of them were gagged. "All hail, court of the kingdom of Teurnia is called to order on this day, Nebulique Thirteenth, in the year 3431."

"Bring out the first penitent," said King Lars.

"The court calls Queen Octavia Anghart of Breaze," called Lord Smithson. As Octavia entered the throne room, the men in chains began to struggle. Some were angry; others were shocked. She was dressed in the homespun farm dress that she wore when working on the farm. She looked exhausted. It had been two days since Nick had destroyed the demon god Zeddicus and disappeared, and she hadn't slept a wink.

"Your majesty," said King Lars. "You are the surviving member of the royal family of Breaze. We congratulate you for your victory over Zeddicus and the brigands that opened a portal for him to enter Kodu. We also grieve with you over the loss of your husband, Prince Consort Stein."

"I object!" shrieked Leslie Engeramus.

Lars looked at the brigand with a smile of amusement. "Yes, Mister Engeramus?"

"KING Engeramus!" shrieked the brigand. "I demand to be recognized by my position."

Lars lived by the old axiom, which states, "When you find your enemy in a hole, toss them a shovel." He turned to Octavia and was having problems hiding his smile. "Queen Octavia," said Lars, "Were you ever married to this man?"

"I have never been married to that man," said Octavia without looking at Leslie.

"I AM KING!" shrieked Leslie Engeramus.

"Lady Octavia, when were you crowned queen?"

"Mystara eleventh, 3430."

"And when did you relinquish your crown?"

"Relinquish? Never sir."

"Mister Engeramus, when were you crowned King?"

"Cosong fifteenth, 3430," said the former duke.

"You claim to be crowned to a throne that was already occupied," said King Lars. "This is treason." Lars turned to Octavia and said, "As the rightful queen of Breaze, it is well within your right to try these men for regicide, treason, and making war against an allied nation."

Octavia sighed. "All I really know of Breaze is that it is the breadbasket of the western continent, but political upheaval that caused my absentee rule has caused a loss of farm production and starvation in places like Torwin-Armistad."

The dominus of Torwin-Armistad didn't care if his people starved or not, but he didn't like it being pointed out, but before he could protest, Leslie Engeramus shouted, "See? I am completely innocent."

Octavia glared at the former duke. The throne room went dark, and her voice echoed loudly when she said, "Tell us the truth, tell us of your innocence."

The throne room lightened up, and Leslie stood and said, "In 3427 I ordered my men to kidnap Prince Talon, and allowed them to torture him for fun until he died. I paid MP Landia Domissi to try to kill King Alfrich. I funded General Steinhauer's attack on the coronation ball. I stabbed Duke Flaminio..." In shock, he sagged down into his seat, unable to believe what he had just said.

Octavia turned to King Lars and said, "He will be speaking the truth for the rest of his life, which may not be long. In his dreams, Duke Engeramus will relive the deaths of the people he killed every time he falls asleep."

"Queen Octavia, what do you want?"

"I just want to go home, your majesty. I don't want the crown, in fact, I give it to you to figure out what to do with it.

"You want to cede the kingdom of Breaze to Teurnia?"

"I don't want it," said Octavia. Exhaustion etched lines on her beautiful face. "I never wanted it. There was only one thing I wanted, and it's gone."

"Let the record show that Queen Octavia of Breaze has relinquished the crown of Breaze to the court of Teurnia. We shall mark this day with solemn commemorations," said King Lars. "The joining of two allied kingdoms, a union of peace, once we clean out the rats," he said, glaring at the chained men.

"I was just doing what I needed to become king!" said Duke Engeramus, unable to silence himself.

<><><><><>

Both gods Snupp and Sapona thanked Octavia for her part in removing Zeddicus from Kodu. "I didn't want to kill anyone," insisted Octavia.

It was Snupp who said, "Zeddicus is not dead; the body he inhabited is dead." She wanted to get more information from him, but he took his steak that King Uric had left on the offering plate and disappeared into the mists.

When Octavia reached the Temple of the Woods, it was a bright and sunny day. Captain Sean Fahy and one of his lieutenants had stayed in Elm Springs awaiting the king's return. When only King Uric, Pepin, and Octavia stepped out of the temple, a cold shock went through Wayne and Trei Metsker and Sean Fahy. The look on Octavia's face said everything. She didn't speak to anyone and went straight up "Nana's Drive" toward the cabin.

"Go get your sister Ena, son," said Trei as tears filled the old blacksmith's eyes. Wayne hurried into the house where his mother and two sisters were preparing a welcome home meal for Nick and Octavia.

"Ena, Octavia needs you," said Wayne, his chest tightening up. She looked at her younger brother with a confused look, and Wayne said, "Nick didn't come back."

"Oh no," gasped Ena, and she ran from the house, where the king stopped her. He handed Ena a scroll and a leather pouch full of coins. "Give these to Octavia. They're hers but she won't touch them."

"Aye sire," and Ena ran off after Octavia.

The king mounted his horse and watched Ena racing after Octavia until the tears clouded his vision. "Gods be damned," he said softly and wheeled his horse off up Breeders Peak Pike. Halfway up the pike, a masked bandit jumped out from behind a tree and said, "Yer money or your life!"

King Uric motioned the bandit closer with a waved finger. When the bandit was close enough, he planted his foot in the bandit's face and shoved, sending the bandit careening down the mountain. "Sorry about that gov'ner," said another bandit as he stepped out onto the road. "He's just an apprentice..." but Alfie found himself staring at three drawn swords and joined Carl as he careened down the slope.

<><><><><>

Octavia stumbled around silently, wordlessly for days, talking only to Pepin and Mister Highgrower. On the table sat a pouch of gold coins and a receipt for the kingdom of Breaze and a notice that her pension as a retired queen was $20 in gold coin per month.

One rainy day, Octavia decided she didn't want the temple key anymore. She remembered Nick once mentioning showering in the rain, so she took off her dress and walked naked to the pond. There she threw the key and ribbon as hard as she could, and she watched them splash into the pond. She turned around and spread her arms, feeling the cool rain splashing against her body as she walked back to the house. She stepped into the kitchen and dried off, and there on the table were the key and ribbon.

"Here boy," called Octavia, and Pepin came running. "Here, take this someplace and bury it nice and deep ok? There's a bone in it for you."

Right! And Pepin ran off with the key and ribbon in his mouth. Two hours later he returned to the cottage for a nice, huge bone, which he gnawed with joy. He was so loud that Octavia almost didn't hear the key returning when it dropped on the kitchen table.

The next day she stormed down to the Temple of the Woods and planted herself firmly in Grandpa's office, keeping her back to the joyful pictures of Nick on the wall. "Grandpa!" she called, but the old ghost didn't appear. "Grigeor de la Montesquieu!" she shouted, and hearing his proper name the old ghost appeared.

"How can I help you daughter?"

She threw the key and ribbon on the desk and said, "I don't want it."

Grandpa looked at her in confusion. "But you already agreed to take it. There's no option to return it."

"I can't take it, not with Pommy being dead, I just can't do it!" she wailed, and she collapsed in a chair.

"He's not dead."

"He was so brave and he made sure I'd be save and he killed the damn beast and... What?"

"You said he was brave, he made sure you were safe and he killed the beast... then you stopped."

"No, what did you say."

"I said he's not dead."

"I watched! I watched the entire hillside get blown into the air."

"Doesn't mean he's dead," said Grandpa. "If he was dead his key would be right here." The ghost opened a drawer, and the drawer was empty. "This is where they come if a key holder dies."

"He's alive?" she said in a tiny voice.

"You're a wizard, he's your mate. Reach out to him, you know how to do it."

"But what if he's dead?" she asked in terror.

"Just one minute ago you were sure he was dead. Prove yourself wrong."

Octavia closed her eyes and reached out with her mind... Pommy? She felt him far, far away. He was alive, and he was moving... he was flying. Come home Pommy! I'm waiting for you! She kissed grandpa and somehow she did it so they could both feel the kiss, and the ghost sat down in amazement.

"She's good," Grandpa muttered, and he rubbed his transparent cheek.

"He's alive!" she squealed. She danced up to Trei and Wayne and kissed them both. "He's alive!" She turned to Trei's semi-permanent audience, Sieffre, Merle, and Tiernan and gave each of the boys a kiss and then dashed off up the drive to the cottage. "He's alive!"

Trei turned to Wayne, who just nodded. "Yeah I know, get Ena." He walked into the house, and a moment later Ena flew out of the house, skirt flapping as she ran, and she dashed up Nana's Drive after Octavia.

<><><><><>

Nick watched in exhausted awe as Zeddicus shrieked and slid over the edge of the cliff at Tähelepanek Point. He planted his two swords in the ground and walked up to the edge of the cliff and watched Zeddicus's death throes. Hands on knees, he panted in exhaustion watching Zeddicus die... and then a massive release of magical energy announced the death of a god. The face of the cliff was blasted upwards at an accelerating speed, and Nick looked back at Octavia. It looked like she was dropping down into a well, but he knew it was he who was dropping... dropping up.

Nick clung to the huge lump of soil and grass as he rocketed up through the dark, gloomy clouds. He then passed upwards through a brighter, white layer of clouds, but he was out of breath and unconscious when he passed through that layer.

He woke with a roaring noise in his ears. The clouds were gone, and he was falling toward a glittering ocean. He realized that he had to slow down, or he'd hit the water with the force of a cannonball. He changed into the first bird he could think of - a seagull, but the change almost ripped his wings off. He quickly changed back to human as he plummeted. What bird dives? Cormorant? Duck? Falcon! He swiftly changed to a falcon and slowly brought its wings forward, slowing his plunge. He pulled up out of his dive at wave-top level only because it was exciting to the bird to do so, and he climbed back up to a safe altitude. Now what? There's no land that he could see, and he didn't know where he was... He tried to change to an albatross, but he couldn't do it. He changed back to human, which was terrifying, and as he dropped, he was able to change to an albatross.

Lesson learned, he can't change from one animal to another; he has to return to human form before trying a different animal form. Was that the way the elves designed this magic, or was this something that happened when a human used elven magic?

Nick soared in the albatross body for a long time. The problem was that he didn't know where he was and he didn't know where he was going. His best bet would be to find a ship, speak to the captain and hopefully find out where he was. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted; he needed to rest. He could set down on the water, but a sleeping waterbird in the ocean was merely a shark snack. He saw a small island, and he circled down to the island. It was completely devoid of plant life and animal life of any kind. Nick guessed it was a sandbar that gets completely covered at high tide. As he came in for a landing, he changed to human form far too soon and dropped the last couple of yards and slammed into the sand. It hurt when he crashed, and at the same time, it felt so good to be on solid ground again.

When he awoke, he was stretched out full length; his canvas farming trousers were shot. They were torn and tattered, as was his flannel shirt. He was hungry and thirsty, and was on a tiny island where there was nothing to eat or drink. The only thing on the island with him was Death. Droul, the god of death, to be exact. He was standing as always in his black cloak and hood; his eyes were merely two pinpoints of light deep back in the hood of his cowl. "THAT WAS AN AMAZING BATTLE, I AM IMPRESSED," said the god of death.

Nick spat sand out of his mouth and tried to drag his aching body toward the waterline to rinse the sand out with saltwater. He didn't need to do that. As the sun rose, the island was disappearing under the rising tide. "I'm not a wizard. I've seen you before but why am I hearing you?" gasped Nick. "I didn't realize you spoke."

"I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO THE LIVING."

"So... I'm dying?"

Droul said, "NO. YOU ARE A WITCH, A HEALER. WE WILL BE COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER FOR THE LIVES OF YOUR PATIENTS. WE WILL CONVERSE MANY TIMES IN THE FUTURE."

"I intend to beat you. I want to win every time."

"THAT IS VERY NOBLE, AND YOU MAY IF IT'S YOUR FATE. YOUR FATE IS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY."

"Why are you here if I'm not dying?" asked Nick.

"I AM HERE TO THANK YOU. YOU PERFORMED A GREAT SERVICE FOR THE SENTIANT CREATURES AND THE GODS OF KODU. ZEDDICUS NEVER UNDERSTOOD RESTRAINT." Droul then bowed to Nick.

"It was worth it, now I know how to kill a god," said Nick.

Droul made a noise that sounded like chuckling. "THAT IS TRUE. THE GODS OF KODU WILL SHOW YOU MUCH RESPECT FROM NOW ON."

Nick weakly spat sand out of his mouth and groaned, "Gods, am I thirsty."

"NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD OF A THIRSTY SHARK," said Droul.

"That was very nice of you, thank you," said Nick as he dragged himself to the waterline. Why didn't he think of that?

"LET'S CALL IT PROFESSIONAL COURTESY." Droul faded from sight as Nick slipped under the waves, dreaming of the day that he would teach his son to swim.

<><><><><>

"You seem to be in a good mood today," said Aelwen McLeish as she sat on the porch with Octavia. Aelwen was a neighbor; she and her husband Ian had a small farm east of Elm Springs, and she came hearing that there was a witch in Creel Springs, but unfortunately, he was out.

"I am in a good mood, Nick will be home soon, just in time for little Ceiriog or Ceredwyn," said Octavia as she gently patted Aelwen's huge tummy. "Maybe even today!"

"Ian and I will be happy when we get a proper witch again. We like Nana Partridge, but being a ghost makes childbirth a wee bit difficult. I'm always afraid that she'll drop the baby."

"And you're ok with Nick being a male witch?"

Aelwen McLeish reached out and took Octavia's hand and placed it on her tummy so Octavia could feel the baby kicking. "You will be feeling this soon. Do you think you're going to care if your midwife is human, dwarf, elf, man, or woman more than if they're qualified?"

"How do you know Nick is qualified, and what makes you think I'm pregnant?"

Aelwen patted Octavia's hand while her baby kicked at Octavia's hand from within. "The first one comes any time it wants."

<><><><><>

The fisherman who found the intruder was led to the throne room and thanked by the emperor of the Xuantang Empire. Actually, the emperor of the Xuantang Empire was too absorbed in a bi (a servant girl) to be concerned with a mere mortal simpering at his throne. Pú Rén, the Prime Minister, thanked the fisherman and gave him a Xuantang gold coin.

"Kill him," sighed Emperor Shi Hai, and the fisherman was led away by a guard, who then executed him for the sin of addressing the emperor while dressed in his work clothes. However, his body was not thrown to the dogs. There's a famine in the empire, and it's a sin to waste meat.

Once the fisherman was led away, Pú Rén turned to the naked, one-eyed prisoner whose only speck of clothing was a gold key worn on a ribbon around his neck. "Why did you invade the Xuantang Empire sir spy?" he demanded. He said this in a loud voice, which echoed throughout the palace.

"A spy?" asked the emperor without looking up. "So boring... can we eviscerate this one?"

"I'm not a spy," said Nick. "I'm a dragon."

"You don't look like a dragon," said the Prime Minister as he twirled his long, luxurious mustache.

"I was swimming home and got caught in that fisherman's net. He was nice enough to bring me to the nearest temple."

"Kill him," sighed Emperor Shi Hai.

Suddenly, with an earsplitting roar, the throne room was filled with a huge golden dragon. Chains snapped and guards were trampled underfoot. The emperor looked up too late, and he too was trampled underfoot. The dragon snarled and glared at the Prime Minister, who was frozen in mid-twirl. "You're a dragon," he said in a tiny voice as he died of a heart attack.

The dragon turned to a wizened little man, who was sheltering a young boy. "How can the humble Xuantang Empire serve such a noble dragon as yourself?" the trembling eunuch asked.

"Who are you?" demanded the dragon.

"I am but a mere servant, my name is Lung Mist, I care for the emperor's son."

"Lead me to your nearest temple," demanded Nick.

"As you wish!" With tiny mincing steps, Lung Mist led the dragon across the cricket pitch size throne room to a large golden curtain. With a wave of Lung Mist's fan, a pair of guards opened the curtain.

"Where is it?" demanded the dragon.

"Ummm" with his folded fan, the terrified Prime Minister pointed to a shelf that held a statue of a cat.

"DO NOT TRIFLE WITH ME!" roared the dragon.

"That is it!" shrieked Lung Mist. "That is the temple of Onn, goddess of Luck. His majesty grew tired of the columns and had them removed."

"YOU DESTROYED A TEMPLE AT THE DIRECTION OF A SELFISH MORON???"

"Now that you put it that way..."

"You tire me," groaned the dragon. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't bite you in half and then urinate on your corpse."

"We can restore the temple portal sir dragon!" cried Lung Mist. "And while you wait we can fix that eye problem of yours..."

<><><><><>

A carriage pulled by a pair of mules came up Nana's driveway. It wasn't very fancy, not for a queen, in fact it was a delivery wagon with a second row of seating facing backwards behind the driver, but this was Uduithia, and when the carriage isn't carrying the queen around, it's hauling bales of hay and sacks of feed for the Uduithia crown stables.

Escorted by a pair of palace guards in armor riding horses, the carriage pulled up to the front porch of Nick and Octavia's cottage. Octavia and Aelwen were enjoying the summer morning. The sun was up, and it was going to be hot. Already the sun and the humidity rising off the forests were becoming a fragrant haze that hung in the air. Cicadas buzzed as bullfrogs in the pond belched and growled.

Octavia was shocked to see the Queen of Uduithia pull up to her house, but Aelwen smiled and called out, "Good morning, your majesty."

Octavia stood and Aelwen struggled to get up, but Queen Elinor waved her hand and said, "Sit! It's a lovely morning to enjoy the view."

"Come, try this elixir, your majesty!" cried Aelwen. "It's a draft made of bitter fruit and honey and is perfect for summer days."

"Then I must try," smiled the queen. Once a novice witch herself, she was a firm believer in cures through natural products, and fruit and honey sounded like a perfect creation to her.

Starstruck that the queen would come to see her, Octavia poured the queen, the crown princess and one of the guards a glass of her curative, which Nana called Lemon Aid. "This is delicious, and why are you so nervous?" asked Elinor.

"I... it's just... queens don't visit people..." Octavia stumbled and fumbled, which she finally ended with an out of practice curtsy.

"My mother does," said Princess Sophia.

"Oh! My gift!" said the Queen. "Decatur, could you bring my gift for our new wizard?"

"Yes ma'am," said the carriage driver, and he stepped down, went around to the back end of the wagon and came back around with a young lamb in his arms. A baby sheep was Queen Elinor's traditional gift to a couple expecting their first child.

"Your majesty, I'm not..."

"You're still a newlywed. Give it time. Is your husband back yet? Lord Baltimore told me he'll be back today."

<><><><><>

A fox dashed out of the columns of the temple portal in the Temple of the Woods. In the mountain villages of Uduithia this wouldn't be a surprise, but the fact that it knew how to navigate the portals of the temples of Kodu was a bit unusual even for Uduithia, and it was able to unlock the door with the key around its neck which was very unusual. The fox stepped outside and changed into a man, who locked up the temple office, then stood, hands on hips, and took a deep breath of fresh mountain air. As he enjoyed the sense of being home, Homlette and Ophilia d'Marhk, a dear old couple in their nineties, were out for their daily stroll.

"Gods, how I love this place," he said, followed with "Good morning Mrs. d'Mahrk! Beautiful day, is it not?"

"Good morning Mister Stein, you better hurry. Hamlette and I saw the queen's carriage head up your driveway not a half hour ago."

"Thank you, ma'am," called Nick as he sprinted up Main Street. As he ran, he suddenly became an eagle and flew up the tree-covered street. When he neared an opening in the branches, Nick flew up through the gap and strained for altitude once he cleared the trees. His next trick should impress the queen.

"I must speak with the doctor about my spectacles," said Hamlette d'Mahrk. "I would swear Mister Stein was naked."

"Your eyes are fine dear," said Ophilia d'Marhk as she patted her husband's hand. "He was."

<><><><><>

"That is a darling wolf," said Crown Princess Sophia. "You don't often see a wolf in a farmyard. Did you raise it from a pup?"

"That's Pepin, he's not just a wolf, he's our friend," said Octavia. "He and Nick lived together when they were young in Torwin-Armistad. He can't wait to see Nick." Pepin sat at Octavia's side and rocked side to side in anticipation.

"I had been meaning to ask," said Sophia, "your husband has such a delightful name, Pommeraie de la Montesquieu. It simply rolls off the tongue. Why do you call him Nick?"

"Nick is his real name..." said Octavia, but she wasn't paying attention to the princess, she stepped off the porch and was looking up into the sky where an object far up was turning lazy figure eights in the sky... the sign of perfection, which describes his love for her... the sign of infinity... the length of time that Nick said he would love her...

As the object came lower, they could see that it was a bird, but it was huge! It had a black and gray body that was massive. It had a long neck with a big, heavy head armed with a sharp beak that was filled with even sharper teeth. Its legs were tucked into the body, which was amazing considering how long they were, and the tail trailed behind. Occasionally the tail would open to help slow down its flight, or maybe he was just showing off, but it was brightly colored, bright sapphire blue and silver feathers that reflected the bright sun. The most impressive part was the wings. They were incredibly huge; the overall wingspan had to exceed 25 feet from tip feather to tip feather.

"It's a rok," gasped Octavia in awe. Three times bigger than the emu, the rok is fully capable of flight and is only found in the far outback of the Bovuka bush country.

With a roar, the bird recognized Octavia as she stepped off the porch and walked out into the open and waved up at the bird. It tipped sideways in the sky and performed two very tight circles over Octavia, losing altitude, then it leveled out and shot out over the pond. It then turned 180 degrees and came back, wings spread, tail wide and folded down, shedding speed as it flew straight at Octavia, only inches off the surface of the pond. Pepin danced excitedly on the shore shouting, Nick! Nick! Nick!

Octavia walked out into the pond, a huge smile covering her face as the massive bird slowly approached. It was hard to believe it could still fly with such low airspeed! She walked out into the pond waist-deep and held her hands wide open. Finally, the bird pulled straight up, which brought it to a stop just above Octavia, then it fell from the sky and as it dropped, it shrank and became Nick as he slid into the pond and took Octavia into his arms.

Queen Elinor and her daughter, along with Aelwen, sighed as husband and wife reunited waist deep in their own pond, kissing like it was the first day of their honeymoon and no one was watching.

They pulled apart and looked at each other's smiles. Then Octavia gasped, "Your eye!" Nick's new eye was solid gold, but it could see so much more than ever before. He just grinned in response and kissed and gently gnawed at her neck.

"A fellow fixed it for me while I waited for them to rebuild a temple."

"Shut up and kiss me." They kissed passionately, with a hunger that they had left on hold weeks ago when they were interrupted at "their" hot springs.

"That was amazing!" gasped Princess Sophia, still shocked and delighted at Nick's arrival.

"I wonder if we can convince him to perform that trick on our emerald anniversary," muttered Queen Elinor. Next year will be the twentieth wedding anniversary of King Uric and Queen Elinor.

"I don't think we would want him to do that," said Princess Sophia as all three women's heads pitched to one side and their eyebrows raised as Nick pulled Octavia's dress off and tossed it on shore. His hands boldly explored Octavia's body, and hers pulled him down for another kiss.

"That is a favorite at my house," said Aelwen.

The couple eased down onto the soft grass at the edge of the pond, lost in their own world. Ignoring the visitors on the cottage porch, Nick began kissing his way down Octavia's body. Octavia ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed lower and lower. Aelwen cleared her throat and said, "is there any chance I could get a ride home from you, your majesty?"