© 2026 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

Nick and Octavia continue to rule Xuantang with great results. A large portion of society is cheering them on as Nick desperately looks for a resolution for the famine that is tearing the country apart. In the meantime, Octavia discovered that the constitution that has governed Xuantang for the last 93 years was never ratified, and together they discover who the true emperor of Xuantang is, and they begin his education.

Gods Save the Queen

Book 3 - Part 2, The Last Elf King

Chapter 11 - The True Emperor

Bughac Orebeard relaxed now that they were on the straight portion of the ancient road. The winding path down from the mouth of Artafána was a bit nerve-racking. The turns were tight; the road was narrow; the drop could be fatal; and Nick spent the entire time arguing with his walking stick. His walking stick, Teivas, claims not to be a walking stick, but the broadsword carried by the last Ergonian Elf king, Elandorr Cailee. Teivas showed its true form only when Nick needed it. Not only could Teivas change shape, but it could talk. It spoke with a gentle, feminine voice with an elf accent that had a hidden layer of power under its words. "Teivas, why didn't you speak to me before? Saatus gave you to me a year ago."

"The celestial decree had yet to grant me audience with your essence," said Teivas.

"So, I had to prove myself worthy?"

"Verily. Whenst thou didst assure King Uric his reign, 'twas proof enough of thy virtue."

She meant that when he asked the elves to swear an oath of fealty to King Uric and not himself, that was proof of his noble virtue. "Teivas, could you speak in the common vernacular please?" asked Nick.

"By divine decree, it shall never come to pass."

She sounded firm in her decision. In fact, Teivas sounded a lot like Saatus, the goddess of fate. "Teivas, are you related in any way to Saatus?"

"I am no goddess, but a blade, a servant, and a symbol of your station. Yet, my voice echoes Saatus for we are one in the celestial tapestry."

"Teivas, cutlass!" and suddenly Teivas became a perfectly balanced cutlass in Nick's hand. The blade was razor-sharp and reflected the cloudy sky brightly. There was no etching or engraving, but it was as beautiful as it was deadly. "Teivas, walking stick." And the sword of destiny became an ebony walking stick with silver ends.

"Are you going to play with that all day?" asked Buggy.

"It's a new toy," said Nick as he twirled the walking stick in his fingers like a baton.

"Eryri said that you were going to talk to my boss? I thought you were my boss."

"She meant King Oakenarmour. I had a chat with his highness this morning."

"Oh? What about?" Buggy was worried that Nick was talking to King Oakenarmour about him. Dwarves have a unique position on Kodu. When they're in a country, they're required to obey all of that country's laws, but their sovereign is not the local sovereign but King Oakenarmour. If there is an issue, the local king reaches out to Samrel Oakenarmour to find out if King Oakenarmour has allowed that dwarf to operate in that area. If King Samrel says no, the local king may treat that dwarf like a spy and execute them.

"Since I have dwarves in my employ, I meet with his highness whenever he is in Uduithia. We had a little talk about Peregrine and Aegir Mining. I demanded that all assets be transferred to the Duchy of Wægn or I go to King Uric with proof that the dwarves declared war on humans in Uduithia."

"You blackmailed my king? What did King Samrel say to your declaration of war?"

Nick just shrugged. "I left it hanging for the two kings to figure out. They'll probably accept the proposal I left on the table."

"Which is?"

"Turn over all assets of Peregrine and Aegir Mining that are within the Duchy of Wægn to the duke and duchess, allow me to assign personnel to assume management positions in the newly formed Hay-on-Wægn Mining company; allow me to decide what is mined by who and how."

"That's gutsy!" gushed Bughac. "I'm impressed! It will never happen - dwarves working for humans? King Sammy will never go for it."

"I think he might, I justified my demands by illustrating what happened to a mine full of dwarves without adult supervision," said Nick. "But that's not the extent of my demands. I want Copper."

"There's no copper on Black Mountain."

"No, not copper, COPPER."

"Copper Mountain? That's not in Uduithia, it's in Elbreshowth on the Moor," said Buggy.

"Actually, it's part of the Duchy of Spatz Mountain which isn't in Uduithia either. I don't trust their new duke, Duke Chimo Vivas. He killed his father, Balun Vivas, to take the Duchy."

"Seems that goes around in this part of the world."

"What do you mean?"

"How do you think you got control of Wægn? Because you look like a pirate?" asked Buggy.

"Oh for Livi's sake!" groaned Nick, and he pulled off his eyepatch and put it in his pocket. "There. Better?"

"Much better," said Buggy, who couldn't see Nick's golden false eye from where he was sitting. "As I was saying, your predecessor was dropped by his own son." The word 'dropped' is a dwarf expression for 'murdered'.

"There's no evidence of that," said Nick. "Investigators still think it was a dwarf."

Buggy looked at Nick as if he were stupid. "And you let them?"

"But he was killed with dwarven crossbow bolts."

"If you took that frog-sticker of yours and dropped King Sammy, would they be looking for King Elandorr Cailee? King Oakenarmour was killed with Elandorr Cailee's sword, right? For their theory that a dwarf killed Duke Henna Roem, you need a dwarf. Waleston is almost 100% human, somebody would have noticed a Dwarf carrying a crossbow in town."

"There are three crossbows in the Honeybutter Lane house."

"They're all human crossbows," said Buggy. "You can't shoot a dwarven bolt with a human crossbow." He pulled a crossbow bolt from his bandolier and handed it to Nick. "Dwarves use very fine wire for the drawstring on a crossbow. Humans use much thicker archery drawstrings on their crossbows. The nock on a dwarven crossbow bolt is small, and it's lined with brass."

Nick examined the crossbow bolt that Buggy had handed him. "To use this with a human crossbow, someone would have to pry out the brass nock liner and re-carve the nock." Nick studied the bolt closer. "A dwarf would know about this, and he wouldn't dream of using this on a human crossbow; he'd just use the bolts that were stored with the human crossbow." He shook his head and frowned. "If the bolts that killed Duke Roem were modified, it was someone who didn't have access to a dwarf crossbow." Nick considered the nock of the bolt in his hand. "Can a human crossbow be strung with a dwarf wire drawstring?"

"Possibly," said Buggy. "Just a reminder, Duke Roem's youngest son Stefen is still out there, and he's probably pretty mad at you."

"Why would he be mad at me?"

"He went through all this trouble to kill his father, and you took his job."

Nick put the bolt back in Buggy's bandolier and patted it in place. "Thank you. For a moment I thought I didn't have enough to worry about."

"I'm here to help, not to hurt," said Buggy.

Nick suddenly felt pain, both physical and emotional. "Octavia... she needs me!" Nick stood up and looked at the trees overhead. Their branches covered the road; a dragon couldn't fly here. "I have to go, meet you at my cottage, drop the kids off there." With a flap of an eagle's wings, he was gone.

<><><><><>

Ned and Moira Darby, the Duke and Duchess of Torwin, relaxed in the car of the Armistad Scenic, a horse-drawn tramway. Armistad is a beautiful, upper-class town, but why they called their tramway Scenic is anyone's guess. The primary times people ride the Armistad Scenic to see the Armistad scenery is in the autumn for the colorful leaves, in early Cosong, the twelfth month of the year, to see the first snow fall, Æther, the fifth month, to see the flower gardens, and all the sixteen day long month of Yule to go to the festivities out at the polo grounds. For the rest of the year, the horse-drawn tramcars were nearly empty.

They clip-clopped along in the afternoon; the trolley car rolled almost soundlessly on the iron rails built into the streets, making it an easy load for the horse to pull. The rain had stopped, and they were traveling through the beautiful cobblestone streets. The entire family was traveling, and they made up the majority of the people in the horsecar. Ned, Moira, their son Garth, and Ned's conscience, Arden. They passed beautiful mansions that were surrounded by ancient stone walls. The leaves were gone, so they could see what was going on beyond the privacy hedges. "Oh look. Sir Randolf and June are putting up their Yuletide decorations quite early," said Moira happily. "I hope we don't forget them this year."

"I've reached out to Derrick, my love. He has us on his schedule," said Sir Ned. Derrick is the neighborhood fix-it lad who was a wiz with exterior Yuletide decorations. For the interior of the house, only Moira may touch the house, but a platoon of her girlfriends will be there to help. Moira is famous for turning the Darby family mansion into a Yuletide Wonderland.

Soon they found themselves on the Shelwick Bridge, crossing the Eldrin River into Torwin. The Shelwick Bridge is the only bridge over the Eldrin that isn't covered with buildings. It has two sets of trolley tracks for horse carriages. The bridge also carries occasional foot traffic. The other three bridges, the Shrewmond, the Esterbury, and the Luseburns bridges, are all overbuilt with houses and stores. The busiest bridge, the Esterbury, is always packed with carriages, wagons, trolleys, and foot traffic. It can take two hours just to cross the bridge. Here on the Shelwick Bridge, a rider in a horse-drawn trolley car can see up the river to the Esterbury Bridge, and down the river to the Shrewmond Bridge. Both were huge stone bridges packed with buildings. A rider crossing either of those bridges would be unaware that they were even on a bridge and crossing the Eldrin River. From the commuter's point of view, the two bridges look like a crowded Torwin neighborhood.

Coming off the bridge, they were on the streets of Torwin, passing through noisy, crowded neighborhoods. Young boys played games in the street. Men sat in doorways drinking from bottles wrapped in cloth or paper, while Skim addicts stood motionless, staring at the ground in front of them. Women shouted invitations to come up and keep them company from upper-story windows. Then the neighborhoods disappeared, and the Palace of the Seventeen Kings, the nerve center of Torwin-Armistad, came into view. Not far away, they could see the series of buildings that made up the Temple of Saehrimnir, the University, and the Hospital.

Not long after, the trolley stopped at the entrance to an immense building. "Main Paramount Terminal!" called the carman. "All out!"

"Grab your bags, let's go people," called Aiden as he took command of the trip. It was only two hours ago that the General came into the house and said, "We need to go to Uduithia." The family grabbed their bags and headed into the cavernous man-made cave. Inside, they found the ticket window. "Four passengers for number fifteen."

"Yes, of course," chuckled the ticket agent. Number fifteen, the Snowcross Crawler. A mixed freight/passenger train from Torwin-Armistad to the end of the line at Slate Bottom Creek, with work at every town, village, and henhouse on the line. That's an all-night journey. Four tickets? No problem. Every seat was open on that train. Nobody was desperate enough to take it past Steil Thein.

"First class accommodations please," added Aiden.

"Yeah right. Buddy, this is a mixed freight daily, that means coach seating..." Then he noticed who was standing behind Aiden. "General Darby?"

"Yes?" said Ned.

"Sorry sir... just getting your travel set, we have to add a car to the consist which means a larger engine...."

"Just put my car on the tail end, and leave it in Slate Bottom Creek. What is my car number again Aiden?"

"Two seven one seven four, sir."

"Yes sir, two seven one seven four." The clerk scribbled down the new train order on a flimsy sheet of paper and handed it off to a courier, who ran it up to the train master's office, and soon the duke's private car was attached to the rear of train fifteen.

"I'm glad to see we're getting some use out of this old thing," said Moira as she eased into an overstuffed easy chair in the beautiful railcar. The interior of the car looked like a well-appointed parlor with comfortable furnishings and a kitchen. There were three bedrooms at the forward end of the car and a beautiful balcony at the aft end where the family grilled on summer excursions.

"If they ever finish building this tramway we're going to spend a week in Edhellond, rent a boat and do some proper fishing!" said Ned as he crouched at the potbelly stove, getting a fire started. It gets cold in the mountains at night, and Ned wanted a warm fire to beat back the cold.

"General, would you like something from the bar?" asked Aiden.

"Do we have any of that Elbreshowth swamp water?"

"Do you mean the Lenzstätten Very Rare 3201 release 231 year old single malt Elbreshowth whiskey?"

"Yeah, that stuff, neat."

"Sire, 'that stuff' as you so colloquially call it, is worth thirty two dollars an ounce."

"And who owns the distillery that makes 'that stuff?'"

Aiden groaned. He should have known, but he looked at the bottle that said in small print, Made in small batches exclusively by N & M Darby Distillers. "That would be you and the missus, sire."

"It's the first thing we bought when we inherited the Darby estate checkbook," said Ned. "We bought up an unheard of distillery in a mine that hasn't sold a bottle since it opened in 3201."

"We octupled the suggested price and relabeled the bottles to add snob appeal," said Moira.

"Where was I that I missed this transaction?" asked Aiden.

"You were teaching Garth how to ride."

The professional butler rolled his eyes. "Oh yes. I almost forgot."

"I had fun," said Garth.

"Aiden," Moira almost shouted. "Try to keep in mind that Garth grew up in the gutter eating trash and drinking out of puddles," she scolded. "When the Darby family properties were forced on us, we wanted our son's dreams to come true."

"So why didn't they sell any of this whiskey?" asked Garth as he sipped from the glass that Aiden had set out for him.

"It was made by dwarves. Dwarves are great at manufacturing, but marketing, not so much," said Moira.

"May I imbibe a sip, sire?" asked Aiden.

"Of course, sit back, relax, it's going to be a long trip," said Ned. "And if you're very good, maybe Maz Dracus will leave a bottle or two in your stocking for Yuletide."

<><><><><>

Four cargo ships sat at anchor in Mearbras Harbor -- the Ayrshire, the Raposa, the Lady Meredith, and the Dufferin. The Ayrshire was an enormous ship with four masts with square-rigged sails, so she was relegated to towing the Sudenstern, a two-masted dhow from the desert coasts of Sotis. The masts had been removed, and the Sudenstern was relegated to being an open ocean barge carrying eight sailors, a barge master, and cargo, which included a dragon.

Brainard Alby, captain of the Lady Meredith, watched as the commodore's pinnace approached. A pinnace is merely a ship's boat, but larger than the common yawl. The yawls (each ship had four) were manned with four to six oars; the pinnace was manned with eight oars. The pinnace drew up alongside the Lady Meredith, and the bosun called to be hoisted aboard.

"See it done," sighed Captain Alby.

"Aye sir," said Dalton, "Black eyes" Ross, the first mate of the Lady Meredith. "Lower the davit lines!"

"Aye sir!" called a seaman, and the block and tackle pulleys spun, lowering the lines to the pinnace, and when the lines were secured, the seaman called, "All's ready sir."

"Hoist away," called Dalton Ross, and the sailors hauled at the ropes in the block and tackle pulleys to raise the pinnace until the crew of the pinnace could step onto the deck of the Lady Meredith. A stern-looking sailor in common garb, with an officer's jacket from the Royal Army of Breaze as his only badge of rank, stepped aboard and strode up the stairs to the command deck and faced the captain.

"Permission to come aboard for myself and my party."

Captain Alby recognized Captain Whitbeck James, known as "Black Dane," to nearly all sailors. "Permission granted and welcome aboard."

Captain James surveyed the rigging of the Lady Meredith with a jaundiced eye. She was clearly the fastest ship of the four, probably faster than anything any navy could muster. "I shall move my flag here, Captain Alby. Make ready my state room."

"Yes sir," said Captain Alby with a groan. He had just lost the cushiest stateroom in his forty years of sailing. He turned to the first mate. "Fall to it Mister Ross."

"Aye sir," and the first mate relayed the order to four sailors.

Captain Alby continued, "This is my Sailing Master, Sutton Reeve."

Captain James nodded with the shadow of a smile. "Mister Reeve and I have sailed together in the past, have we not, Mister Reeve?"

"Aye we have sir, to the Barrtou coast and back in eighty nine days if I remember right."

"Mister Reeve, you will be navigating for the entire convoy, are ye up to it?" asked Captain James.

"Verily, captain."

"Ye had better be," growled Captain James. "Boatswain, pipe the crew to attention."

The boatswain raised the five inch long pipe to his mouth and blew a loud, shrill whistle that everyone on all four ships heard. When the crew grew silent and turned their attention to the command deck of the Lady Meredith, Whitbeck James stepped up to the rail. "I am Captain Whitbeck James, You may address me as Commodore James. It is my sorry task to command this convoy to Xuantang where we will put into Gao Yating Harbor. We will not stop for customs inspection; instead, we will sail up the Lu Yazi river to the capital city of Chéngshì Jin where we will avail ourselves of all the gold and silver we desire."

The crews of the ships that heard him cheered until the bosun blew the pipe again and order was restored. Commodore James continued. "As we put to sea, I will make something absolutely clear to our passengers, who are all registered members of the Thieves Federation. Their federation exists only in the borough of Torwin. Outside of Torwin, the rules of their federation do not exist, and on ship only the rules of the sea exist. Over on the Raposa a passenger was caught stealing items from the ship's crew. If you will look over toward the Raposa..."

All eyes turned to the small, two-masted coastal merchant ship. The boatswain blew his whistle again, and the crew of the Raposa threw a body overboard. A moment later, they threw the head that used to be attached to that body overboard as well. "That was just for stealing," continued Commodore James. "Do not try my patience with worse infractions. First Mate, raise the Blue Peter, we weigh anchors in one hour. Men, to your ships!"

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 12 - The Rightful Emperor

Octavia looked and saw Jia lying next to the front vegetable garden, peering between the plants. She knew what he saw: small people hiding behind the plants, peering back at him. "There's people here!" gasped Jia. "Tiny people, and they move!" He reached out to touch one, but the little woman, who was holding a tiny garden hoe, ducked to avoid his touch and raised the hoe to protect herself, which shocked Jia. "She tried to kill me!"

"Of course not you silly boy!" said Agness as they grew near the garden and Jia got to his feet.

"Relax Agness," said Esmeralda Fahy. "He's a lad in ferrin parts tryin' to learn."

"This is why children should not be allowed near royalty; it puts ideas in their heads!" Ning frowned when Agness said that, but Nia held her silence. "And he's not in ferrin parts, we brought him here from ferrin parts!"

"Relax!" demanded Eryri firmly. "We should be seeing to the duchess."

"I'm better," said Octavia with a sigh. "Marlon is napping now."

As they approached the garden, they could see several small people hoeing and weeding in the garden. None of them stood over a foot tall. There were three struggling around with a carrot. They had dug it out around the base of the plant and were trying to pry it out of the ground, but it was stuck fast. Ning and Jia watched in fascination as the tiny characters industriously worked the garden. "Need a hand, Poppa?" asked Octavia.

"Aye, lassie," called a gnome. He was wearing a kilt and smoking a pipe. "This moru is giving us a dickens of a time."

"Let me try." Octavia grasped the carrot and gently eased it out of the ground. "That's a big one you found there."

"Aye! Eat it in health, me lady!"

"Do you have lots of these?" asked Jia as he reached out to touch a gnome, who crouched to avoid the boy's touch.

"We don't have any of them," said Octavia. "They're friends that come to help and we share our crop with them."

"Can I have one?" asked Jia.

"No, you can't have one. They're people, just little," scolded his mother, Ning.

"They don't look like people, they look like him," said Jia, pointing to Eryri.

"He's a she," said Octavia, "just like your mom."

"Except with a pickaxe," said Eryri, taking a few swings with the pickaxe.

"She looks like Mister Buggy, but his beard was better," said Jia with all the assurance of a world-weary six-year-old.

"You know Bughac?" Eryri asked.

"He was in the courtroom with the dragon. He said the dragon was going to eat the empress, but she was going to like it."

"WHAT?" demanded Octavia, not sure who she should slap, but a slap was in order.

"That sounds like Bughac," grumbled Eryri.

Jia stepped up to Eryri and squinted at her as he studied her face. "Your eyes!" His gaze went from face to face. He even dropped to the ground to look at the gnomes. "Everybody has... strange eyes!" The lad was confused. He was used to everyone having dark brown to black, almond-shaped eyes. Now, he and his mom were the only ones with eyes like that. Blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, and they were round. Jia stood up and stepped up to Eryri and found he was almost taller than her! He was so used to being the smallest person in the palace.

"Jia, this is Eryri, she's my friend and my head of security until Dexter and Bertie are healed up," said Octavia as she placed a gentle hand on Jia's shoulder.

"She? I'm taller than her!"

"I'm a dwarf!" said Eryri proudly, and she held out her pickaxe for Jia to hold. Jia grasped it eagerly, but when Eryri let go, gravity took over and almost pulled Jia into the dirt with it.

"It's heavy!" he gasped, "like Mr. Metzgar's hammer!"

Eryri laughed her rolling laugh and helped skinny little Jia sling the pickaxe over his shoulder like a true dwarf and said, "There's more to life than being tall, we dwarves have built some of the greatest cities on the disc, and all underground!"

"Mr. Buggy didn't have a pickaxe," said Jia as he almost fell over backward from the weight of the tool.

"Of course not, it's his day off," said Eryri with another rolling laugh.

"Come along Sir Jia, let's go meet the animals," said Octavia, and she led them around back to the "Critter shed" where there were chickens, goats, sheep, a cow, and a hutch full of bunnies.

Jia found himself overwhelmed by the goats. They were aggressive and kept pushing him around; the cow was huge and scared him, even though Miss Eryri sat down on a stool and placed a bucket under the cow and started milking it. The sheep were fascinating; they didn't seem to mind him. In fact, they didn't seem to care that he was there, but the baby bunnies were the best part of Jia's petting zoo experience. Sadly, the empress made him put the baby bunny he was rubbing on his face back in the cage and said, "Come to the cottage porch, the emperor wants to meet you."

Pouting with disappointment Jia put the baby rabbit back and gave it a pat goodbye then sadly left his new friend and followed the pregnant farm girl/Duchess of a tiny Duchy, Empress of the richest empire on the disc to the porch and there was no emperor there. Just him, his mother, Octavia, two witches sitting at the table sipping tea, the weird walking stick, and the dwarf. "He's not here," said Jia with a pout.

"We're waiting for Buggy to put the mule away," said the female dwarf.

"Buggy is here too?" Jia was grinning from ear to ear.

"You like Buggy?" asked his surprised mother.

Jia nodded firmly. "He's funny. He taught me the dwarf's secret handshake and their secret greeting."

Ning and Octavia looked at Eryri, who just shrugged. She didn't know of a secret handshake. Shortly, Buggy joined them. "I had to put Dave away... Hi ho little buddy!" Buggy held out a fist at waist height, facing Jia.

"Hi ho, mister Buggy!" said Jia happily, and he brought his tiny fist down on Buggy's extended fist three times, causing Eryri to chuckle. The "secret handshake" was a game that dwarves played with their young miners, a symbol of their mining heritage. "Where's the emperor?" Jia whispered a little too loudly to Buggy, "we're the only men here."

His remark caused everyone to laugh, including Aunt Agness, who tried to hide her laugh. "You're a good man, Mister Jia," said Eryri. She didn't have the heart to tell him that dwarves are not men, and Jia is a few years short of wearing that title.

Finally, Buggy pointed toward the pond and said, "Look out over the water. What do you see?"

"A bird."

"That's a Uduithia Black Eagle, the symbol of this kingdom and the symbol of the Duchy of Wægn, the land we are standing on," said Buggy. "Keep your eye on him."

"Why is he flying weird?" asked the boy.

Octavia stepped off the porch as if she were hypnotized. "He's flying figure eights," she said to no one. She walked out past the garden, and all the garden gnomes paused to watch as she waved to the eagle. Nick's words came back to her from the first time they made love as he traced his finger around her breasts in a figure eight.

"This is the figure eight, the number of perfection, the sign of Octavia, the sign of my love for you. It's the symbol of infinity, which is the length of time I will love you."

The eagle saw her and turned toward the cottage. He locked his wings and began gliding straight toward the cottage, then as he crossed over the pond one last time there was a silent pop and the eagle became a man who plunged down to the pond. Then there was another moment, and the man became a Xuantang dragon, huge and powerful, shining gold wings glittering even in the cloudy early autumn day. He wasn't a typical dragon. The Xuantang dragon is a ceremonial animal; the golden Snowcross Mountain dragon that Nick prefers is a killing animal. The Xuantang dragon's body was a huge, elongated Xuantang sabretooth lion, but with golden scales on its body rather than hair. His head was covered with fine, soft hair; his foot-long teeth glimmered when he opened his mouth, then suddenly a tongue of flame twenty feet long roared out of its mouth.

"Wow!" gasped Jia as the enormous dragon gently came to a landing in the meadow between the pond and the cottage. "Can I go see it, mom?"

"Ok," said Ning, but she didn't sound convinced of the safety of this idea.

"We'll go with you," said Eryri, so the four set out to see the dragon. Buggy and Eryri walked on either side of the Xuantang mother and son as they approached Octavia, who was stroking the fur on the cheeks of her "big golden kitty."

"Is this the emperor?" asked Jia as they neared the immense beast.

"Yes he is," said Octavia. "Let him sniff you so he knows who you are."

The cat/dragon sniffed Ning, then it sniffed her son. The dragon stopped mid-sniff, then backed up a couple of steps, spread its wings, and bowed deeply.

"The dragon likes me!" said Jia with a laugh, and he ran up to the dragon and began rubbing his hands through the soft golden hair on the dragon's right cheek. "Even one of his eyes is made of gold!"

Octavia gently stroked the bridge of the dragon's nose. "Ok darling, come back to us," said Octavia, and without a flash or a bang or a puff of smoke, the dragon simply became Nick. He was a bit dazed coming out of a creature that big; it had put him into shock the first time. This time was better because he expected it, but he was close to passing out. The change from the Snowcross Mountain dragon, like he became to fly Octavia and Izhar to Waleston, didn't bother him. The Snowcross Mountain dragon was a real animal. The Xuantang dragon, on the other hand, is a myth come to life. When his senses returned, he found Octavia holding him up, and he saw a small boy bowing to him.

"Greetings, mister emperor," said the boy politely.

"Hello Jia," said Nick, returning Jia's bow. "Did you enjoy seeing that?" He started to slump. Standing up after the bow made him dizzy, and Octavia caught him. Jia was a little dizzy himself, dizzy from the airshow he had just seen. He was trying to recreate what he saw with his hands.

"You were an eagle, and you swooped around and around, then you became a man and you fell, 'oh noooo!' then you were the DRAGON!" he held his arms straight out and began running around in a big circle.

"Why did you bow to him?" Octavia asked as Jia was running around the meadow.

"I was returning his bow. It's being polite."

"No, when you were the dragon, after you sniffed Ning and Jia, then you backed up and you spread your wings and bowed to Jia."

Nick looked concerned and whispered softly, "About that... we need to talk."

"DOG!" Jia saw Pepin, and his excitement over seeing the dragon disappeared as he ran toward the cottage where Pepin was drinking from a dish of water. Hearing a boy calling "Dog!" he looked up, saw Jia running toward him, and suddenly Pepin felt like a puppy again. It was time to play! They were soon running around the meadow, chasing tossed sticks and barking at frogs.

"Pepin, keep him busy right here where we can see him, will you do that buddy?"

"Eye ill!" said Pepin around a stick he and Jia were tugging on.

Nick wrapped his arms around Octavia and whispered, "Please forgive me."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"You're carrying our baby and I haven't been here for you," said Nick, trying to hold back the tears. "Look, you're practically carrying me now." Which wasn't quite true, but she was supporting him as they returned to the cottage.

"We carry each other when we need the help," she whispered.

Nick's mind was awhirl with everything that had gone on in just the past couple of months since Octavia had rescued him from the throne room. He needs to get his mind focused; the baby will be here soon, and he's going to need a daddy. Octavia is going to need a husband, the people are going to need their witch back, and the king needs his duke, and now Xuantang needs their emperor. "I didn't like being the dragon. It didn't want me there, and it was telling me I wasn't his emperor."

"How did you feel when you were in the eagle?"

"It felt like I could stay an eagle. Being the dragon felt alien. It was too much work to remain the Dragon. It was like the Dragon knew I wasn't Xuantang and it was trying to kick me out of that body."

As they drew near the cottage, Nick regained his strength, and his hold on Octavia was no longer a crutch. It was more tender. And then he said, "dear, I think we're in trouble again."

"It wouldn't be us if we weren't. What's wrong?"

He stopped her before they were within earshot of the cottage. "It wasn't me that bowed to Jia; it was the dragon. It bowed out of respect."

"Why?" Octavia was getting nervous.

"The future of the empire is on the line."

They finally made it to the cottage and joined the adults, who sat around the table on the porch of the cottage, dividing their time between watching Jia play for the first time in his life and listening to Nick. He started out by asking, "Ning, what is your family history?"

Ning looked embarrassed. Her hands twisted together in a knot on her lap, and she stared at her lap, hoping the half-dozen people and dwarves would disappear. Finally, she said, "I come from the Hau Chung family."

"Your family held the throne for several centuries, didn't they?"

"Yes," her voice was small, terrified, but she didn't hold back. She was sure that she knew what was coming next. "Seven centuries that we know of, some say, twelve centuries."

"Until the brat Emperor Fu Ki died, the throne was held by the Shì Pha family, wasn't it?" Nick had nothing nice to say about Fu Ki, the mad child emperor who had held him captive for months, but he held his anger. He was whispering, but he was insistent.

"Yes, they stole the throne and kept it for ninety-seven years and bled our country dry. They kept someone from the Hau Chung family close to the throne in servile positions to humiliate us and our entire clan. I am just the most recent."

Nick was torn. How to ask the next question without harming poor Ning, who looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. He gestured to Octavia, Eryri, and Granny Weatherwax to move close to Ning as he moved a little farther away. He wanted them close to support her. "Jia is the son of the Hau Chung family, and he has Shì Pha blood also, doesn't he?"

Ning's face was an amazing series of emotions -- sorrow and torment, but mostly shock. Trying to hold back the tears, she whispered, "how did you know?"

"I didn't know, but the dragon knows. He could smell Jia's heritage, he could smell the Hau Chung and the Shì Pha blood, he bowed to the rightful emperor."

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Chapter 13 - All Through the Night

Ning's head spun. She knew that Nick was right, but she didn't want it to be real. Yes, his being emperor would solve so many of their problems, like where their next meal would come from and where to sleep next. She was paid almost nothing, and many a night she fed Jia her food and went to bed hungry, always telling Jia, "I ate earlier." But her little boy would be lost to her. He would be swallowed up by that pit of hell called the throne. Visions filled her mind of sweet Jia succumbing to greed and power and becoming as bad as that monster Fu Ki, the brat emperor. Before she knew it, she was terrified of the death of her beloved son's soul and began weeping uncontrollably.

Out in the meadow, Jia and Pepin played and ran, but Jia suddenly stopped running. His trouser legs were soaked up to the hips due to an unfortunate misjudgment of distance when jumping over the creek, but that didn't slow Jia down. This was his very first chance ever to go outside and be a boy. He would not waste the opportunity by weeping over wet shoes. However, a sound carried on the breeze from the cottage stopped him in his tracks.

Grateful for the break but not about to show weakness, Pepin spat out the stick he was wrestling with Jia over and panted until he could talk normally again. "Getting tired there, kid? Did ol' Pepin wear you out?"

"My mom is crying."

"Moms do that."

"She needs me, I can tell." The boy started walking back to the cottage, and Pepin could tell that there was a shift in the wind. Jia's boyhood had just started, and in a moment, it ended. Pepin caught up with the slowly walking Jia because, as sometimes a mom needs her boy, a boy needs his dog.

On the porch, Nick sat hating himself while Octavia, Ezme Fahy, and Eryri tried to comfort the emotionally shattered Ning. Soon the saddened Jia joined them and crawled up on his mother's lap while Pepin sat next to Ning so the boy emperor could reach down and pet him for comfort.

Nick sat on the porch step, watching the garden gnomes continue with their harvest until Ning slowly lost the energy to cry at the level her soul needed to purge the pain and fear. A shadow appeared next to Nick, and a stern voice said, "walk with me."

"Yes ma'am," said Nick as he got up and brushed the dust off himself and caught up with Aunt Agness, who started walking without waiting for him. When he finally caught up with the witch, she said, "You cannot hand an empire over to that lad and his mother."

"I didn't want this to happen," said Nick. His head was spinning; it was both aching and spinning free, threatening to pop off his shoulders. "I didn't want for any of this to happen. I just want to hold my wife and watch our baby grow. I want to be a husband and father, not an emperor or a duke, just a witch. I can't even speak their language! I don't understand it. I've even tried to use magic the way Nana Peacock used magic to teach me to read. There's no way Xuantang is too alien and complex! No wonder why the illiteracy rate is so high over there."

"So what would you do if you were king for a day?" asked Agness without looking at him.

"I would demand that people be taught the Torwin alphabet. I'd just give it a different name, like Xuantang-Yi, Yi means easy."

"How did you know that?" demanded Agness. She glared at him and saw a fairy on his shoulder clinging to the collar of his jacket. The little winged creature smiled and waved at Agness. "You use a fairy?" she gasped in shock.

"Ok, I cheated, my little buddy translates for me, but I'd make the government learn it so they could communicate with other countries."

"Well, Sir Nicolas Stein, if an imaginary king can do that, why can't an imaginary emperor?"

It never occurred to Nick or Octavia that being an emperor or empress carries some weight when you speak. They were settling squabbles and maintaining the status quo. He can tell somebody to do something, and it gets done. He doesn't have to worry about a polite way to ask; he can just tell people to do it, and it gets done. "I can do so much to improve the empire, but I have no idea how to get him ready for his duties."

"Who trains a prince to be king?" asked Agness.

"The king. I've heard Princess Sophia and her brother complaining constantly about her father's indoctrination. I know what you're going to say. If a king can do that, why can't he also teach a future emperor?"

Agness smiled. She wasn't going to say that, but Nick would never come to that realization on his own. He had the basic idea, and now that idea was growing, maturing. Before she could tell him what she was thinking, he was far ahead of her, expounding on his ideas. Suddenly, there was a red-tailed falcon flapping its wings and heading south toward Breeders Peak and beyond that, Waelmore Castle. The nice thing about being a duke is that you can request an immediate appointment with the king and get it right away.

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Night grew dark over the cold southern ocean, and Horatio Tinsmith didn't believe he's ever seen anything this dark. There's always a source of light somewhere, but out here on the ocean there's naught but the moons and the stars for light. On this night, a thick blanket of clouds settled over the ocean, blocking all light from the moons and the stars, making it utterly black. Horatio almost bumped into Thaldir, the minor god of tricks, as he moved across the deck of the ocean-going barge, the Sudenstern. Sudenstern was dwarvish for "Southern Star" which was odd because dwarves care nothing about stars.

"How are you doing Thaldir?" asked Horatio.

"Hungry," rumbled the dragon. "Leave it to Saehrimnir to change me into a dragon that hates fish."

"You pushed him too hard. I tried to warn you and now we're both screwed," said Horatio. That was a lie. Horatio knew if he pushed Thaldir into cheating people out of their savings that Saehrimnir would grow angry with him and turn him into something, and a nice, passive, obedient black dragon would be a perfect punishment.

"How were you screwed?" demanded Thaldir, the former minor god of tricks.

"I'm stuck with you," said Horatio. "Now I have to figure out how to get you back into fighting shape. Hopefully they'll have something to convert you back into your original form in Xuantang." Actually, Horatio Tinsmith got everything he demanded -- five ships, boatloads of thieves, and enough food and rum to get them to the Xuantang in time for the Spring festival where the emperor would appear to his people and address them on the first day of the month of Ætherflame. That's when Horatio Tinsmith and his drunken horde of bandits will attack. He will embarrass the so-called emperor and start a civil war that will leave the riches of the Xuantang empire wide open to his hands.

"You seem happy," rumbled Thaldir.

"I love it when a plan comes together," laughed the failed wizarding student.

"I'm going to find dinner," said Thaldir, whose eyesight was perfect in this darkness. He rose, and with a flap of his wings, he was airborne. Black dragons are creatures of the night, which is why they're rarely reported. It's also why people along the seacoast don't wander outside alone at night. Thaldir wasn't sure what he was going to eat; he was hoping for a seal, or a walrus, or possibly a sailor. He was gone in the darkness in seconds.

As for Horatio, he learned exactly what he wanted to learn at the Bet ha-Kise Temple College of Wizardry. His failing grades were a guise to mislead those who suspected his true identity. He learned enough about magic to understand his adversary, the Duke of Wægn. Or so he thought. Horatio studied modern magic theory, the use of mana and theoretical particles called thaum. Thaum is supposedly what makes up mana and gives mana its power.

Modern magical theory states that magical events cannot exceed the amount of mana that was accumulated. According to modern magical theory, every time Nick becomes a creature, the transformation costs him X amount of mana, and to maintain that shape, it costs him Y amount of mana per moment. Horatio Tinsmith's plan was to create such an uproar that the acting emperor of Xuantang would have to change into something to stop the uproar. The larger the uproar, the longer Nick would have to remain in the body of that creature. At some point he would run out of mana, and Horatio would kill the emperor and take the throne.

The plan was a good plan except for one slight problem: it was completely wrong. It only applies to magic users, like himself or Octavia. Horatio never completed the advanced courses that covered the origins of magic and the pre-calendar magical societies from the pre-human era thousands of years ago.

Magically speaking, Nick is not human.

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"It's beautiful up in the mountains, I can't wait to get up there," gushed Moira Darby as she and her husband, Ned, cuddled on the observation platform of their private rail car. They finally got out of the flatlands of the Pirangi Valley and were now on a siding in Steil Thein. North of them were the Barrdes Highlands, a range of low hills that watched over their travels all the way from Main Paramount Terminal on the riverfront in Torwin-Armistad. To the south of them were miles of farmland and swamp that ran all the way to the Chamhazy Rill. These two east - west running features, the Barrdes Highlands and the Chamhazy Rill, formed the wide Pirangi Valley. Not as fertile as the prairies of Breaze, but more than rich enough to feed Torwin-Armistad.

Moira and Ned both grew up dirt poor, almost as badly off as Nick. At least both had a hovel they could return to at the end of the day, where Nick only had a heap of trash to crawl under. At the age of eight, Moira and Ned realized that they were meant to be together and began to build a life together. Moira worked as a clothes washer while Ned did anything he could, eventually becoming a night guard at the Palace of the Seventeen Kings.

Ned was always a thorn in the side of the City Dominus, Orazio Laurita. He insisted on arresting many of Dominus Laurita's friends and acquaintances, merely for the crime of robbing the city blind. Ned became popular among his men and the city because of his constant rants against the ultra-rich, who were robbing the city blind, many of whom were close friends with Orazio Laurita. When Ned's crusade against the ultra-rich saved the city money, Dominus Laurita "rewarded" Ned by making him the top cop, promoting him to the rank of general. When that didn't slow Ned's crime crackdown, Dominus Laurita "found" a series of documents that "proved" that Ned was the rightful heir to the title of Duke of Torwin. That didn't work well either. Ned doubled his budget, opened a training camp, trained a new group of law enforcement specialists, and put several top cops in charge of the police force, then went into semi-retirement.

As they clung to each other and watched a wheezy old locomotive shunting cars around in the small Steil Thein rail yard, a figure appeared from the dark, crunching through the snow as he walked along the siding on which their car was parked. The figure carried a "bug" - a mostly indestructible oil lantern carried by railroad workers. A bug was similar to a common hurricane lantern but had a cage of heavy-duty wires around the tempered glass globe and around the base to prevent from tipping over. "Wotcher Aiden," called Ned from the observation platform.

Aiden groaned. Wotcher is a slang greeting used in the slums of Torwin-Armistad, and never used among the right people. "How did you know it was me, your grace?" groaned Ned and Moira's butler.

"Your lantern has a blue globe, that's supposed to be hung on our car. It's a signal to tell a work train not to couple onto us. Did you send the Flash message?"

"Yes your grace, a carriage will be waiting for us when we arrive in Slate Bottom Creek." Aiden pronounced "Slate Bottom Creek" as if he were trying to prevent the words from touching the insides of his mouth.

"Come on up Aiden, and douse that lantern, it's near time we got rolling again."

"Aye, your grace. Will you join us inside or will you and her grace remain out here... sewing?"

Ned gave Aiden a smile he hoped the butler would see in the gloom of the rail yard. To "thread the needle" was a euphemism for sex among the upper crust that Aiden lived with most of his life, and "sewing" was a direct reference to that. Before he could respond, Moira called down, "Since Garth is asleep I was going to practice my flutistry,"

They could hear Aiden cough, trying to hide his shock. Was she referring to oral sex? "Yes m'lady." And he walked to the far end of the car and climbed aboard.

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Dinner was average farm fare: stew and fresh-baked bread with butter that Jia churned, and canned pears for dessert. The young emperor beamed with pride at the table because he was able to contribute to the meal. "I made this from the milk that Miss Dwarf made!" he pointed out as he proudly placed the crock of butter on the table.

"I didn't make the milk," said Eryri. "I just convinced Bossie to share her milk with us."

Jia was full of questions about farm life, and many of them dealt with farms in Xuantang. "Where are your rice paddies and tea plants?" asked Jia. He had seen glimpses of the terraced rice paddies and tea gardens in Xuantang and wanted to see them up close.

"It's far too cold up here in the mountains for tea and rice," said Nick. "Our winters are far too cold and they're setting in. You may even get to see some snow tomorrow morning."

"Snow?" The young emperor's eyes were wide with wonder. He had heard the palace workers speak of snow, and it sounded magical. "I can't wait!"

"Me also," said Octavia. "I spent most of my life in school in Torwin-Armistad and we never really got the chance to go outside and see the snow."

After the dishes were cleaned and they bid farewell to Aunt Gladys and Nana Fahy, they sat before the hearth watching the fairies flutter about on the mantle, singing little songs that Nick tried to emulate on his grandfather's dulcimer. "Lung Mist plays the banjo better."

Nick smiled and said, "I'm trying to teach my fingers how to do this. A very blessed musician, Rys Oladi, tried to teach me to play. I have the knowledge in my head but my fingers don't know how to do this."

A fairy, probably Starbell, came up and said, "That's because it's out of tune. Have you even tried to tune this?" she demanded. Yep, that's Starbell.

"I don't have a tuning fork."

"All you need is an A," said Starbell, and she sang a perfect A. The other fairies joined in and sang the single note until Nick got one of the strings tuned to that note. Then, using that note, he tuned the other two strings. "Now play!" demanded Starbell, and Nick searched his head for folk music that was played on a dulcimer. He settled on an ancient children's song called "The Sleepy Old Bear," a lullaby that told the story of a bear that didn't want to hibernate.

As Nick played, Sundrop sat on his shoulder, whispering encouragement, and his playing improved. The gentle melody and soft rhythm had their effect on Jia, and his eyelids drooped, and like the bear, he didn't want to go to sleep. Nick had promised Jia that he was going to meet Prince Exavier and Prince Abraam, both boys, and he was excited. "Were you always a farmer Mister Nick?" asked Jia.

"No, I've always been a witch, but I did lots of other jobs at the same time."

"A witch?" gasped Jia. He met two of the most powerful witches in the mountains, Aunt Agness and Nana Fahy. Nana Fahy made him laugh, but Aunt Agness scared him.

"Here in the mountains, a witch is a healer, like a doctor, and they're women, but my Great grandmother Nana Peacock taught me how to be a witch when I was your age. I even went to a school to learn to be a physician to make me a better witch."

"Can I be a witch? Or do I just have to be emperor?"

"Who told you that you had to be emperor?"

"You did!" insisted Jia. "When you were the dragon, you sniffed me and said, 'this one is emperor.'"

Nick saw Ning and Octavia tighten up in fear, but Nick continued to strum the dulcimer softly. "That rascally old dragon. He says a lot of things. You don't have to stand in front of everyone who wants to yell at you. You can let lady Octavia and I continue to rule while you go to school and learn how to be a great emperor."

"How do I do that?"

"You need to learn what's best for your people. A lot of times, they just want to hear you say 'hello' to them. They want to know that their hard work isn't unnoticed. They want to be proud of their country and their emperor." Nick continued to play, then he said, "The best lesson an emperor can learn is when someone is lying to you."

"Why?"

Nick played softly as the fire snapped and popped. Jia was lying on the floor by the fire, wrapped in a blanket with the wolf Pepin snoozing next to him, and they listened to Nick playing his dulcimer. Finally, Nick spoke. "A long time ago, Lady Octavia and I were married to other people. She was married to a king, and I was married to the king's guard. At the time, the king told me I was his guard, and he told Octavia that she was his love, and together we had nothing to worry about. Queen Octavia is very wise, and she realized he was lying to us, and his generals were lying to him. The generals attacked and killed the king and my wife, and I was able to escape with Queen Octavia. If the king knew who was telling the truth it never would have happened."

"Is that true?" asked Jia.

The fire snapped and popped; flames danced, sending shimmering shadows around the room. "Yes, that's what happened," said Octavia finally.

"You remember how Fu Ki wanted his eagle to turn into a dragon. Mister Orebeard told Fu Ki if he removed the purple ring it would happen. He was telling the truth but Fu Ki didn't believe him. The dragon grew weak and when his leg and the ring finally fell off, he turned into the dragon, but he fell on Fu Ki."

"That was you!" said Jia.

"Yes it was," said Nick.

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Chapter 14 - The Emperor and the King

It was cold that morning as Nick and Buggy loaded up the wagon. They loaded up Ning, Octavia, and Jia in the back, along with burlap sacks of fruit and vegetables for the palace, then the farm manager Hugues du Gouey climbed in the back while Buggy, Nick and Eryri climbed up on the bench seat and they were off. Buggy waved farewell to the garden gnomes that were tilling up the flower bed that surrounded the guard shack as they exited the farm property and headed down Nana Peacock's drive.

"A horse is coming!" cried Jia, and sure enough, from out of the woods behind them came a horse and rider. The rider was tall and slender, but very muscular. His pointed ears and emerald-green eyes showed he was a forest elf. The jagged facial tattoos in green ink showed he was a member of the Maethor Nos, the warrior class. Jia watched in awe as he approached, tall and proud. "Is he going to attack us?"

From under the blanket came the response, "Na, that's Duke Stein's drinking buddy Vesstan."

"Pepin!" warned Nick.

"A good morrow to all in the wagon, including the dwarf in the front," called Vesstan, which made Eryri stand up on the driver's box and glare at the elf.

"And a good morrow to you as well sir elf!" called Jia.

Vesstan looked down at Jia and smiled. "Well, well! A gentleman of breeding and refinement. So rare to find two of us in the company of dwarves and demi-giants." His remark caused Jia to giggle and Buggy to snarl.

"He thinks I'm a gentleman!" Jia whispered to his mother.

"Sir elf! I can see why my chosen has such a low opinion of your kind," said Eryri as she glared at Vesstan.

"I see that I have been remiss on my visits to the front cottage," said Vesstan. "I apologize to you fine dwarven lady. Brothers of the sword tend to poke at each other, and I mistook you for a dwarf who glues on a beard every morning."

"Maybe I should point out that I am the one who wears a skirt while Mister Orebeard wears a kilt," said Eryri as she sheathed her sword and sat back down.

"And what, pray tell, is the difference between a skirt and a kilt?" asked Vesstan.

"The difference is what's beneath the fabric," said Eryri, causing everyone in the wagon to laugh. Everyone except Jia.

"I don't understand."

"It's a grown up joke... here, come meet Marlon." And Octavia took Jia's hand and put it on her tummy so he could feel her child rolling around inside of her.

"How are you doing that?" asked Jia.

"That's not me, it's our baby. I think he and you are going to be good friends when he gets a little older."

As they talked, Nick handed the reins for Kaleb and Teddi over to Eryri and said, "I'm going to see what's ahead."

"Don't get lost!" cried Eryri as Nick became a red-tailed hawk and flew off. The red-tailed hawk was one of Nick's favorite "Spy Birds." It could hang almost motionless in the sky while its incredible eyesight scoured the area for information. It could dive slowly and accurately, or fly nearly as fast as a falcon. He scanned the road ahead to the top of Breeders Peak and noticed a nicely appointed coach coming up from the east, probably from Slate Bottom Creek. It didn't appear to be a threat, so he returned to the wagon where Jia was telling Hugues about the dragon that Buggy had brought to the palace in Xuantang.

Nick met the wagon at the blacksmith shop as it rumbled onto Breeders Peak Road. Nick swung aboard, and Eryri handed him the reins. "Is that true? Did you really appear as a dragon at the palace in some ferrin port?"

"Pretty much. Buggy and I were inspecting..." Nick searched for a word that could encompass the entirety of what he and Buggy had found on Black Mountain yesterday. "we were inspecting an asset I was presented with up on Black Mountain, and when I got the door opened, I saw Octavia on the throne in the Palace of the Jade Lotus and..."

"Wait," said Eryri. "Palace of the Jade Lotus? It sounds like a whorehouse out on the Breazian coast."

Nick shrugged. "That's what their palace is called. Anyhow... the folks were getting angry that Octavia was demanding proper treatment of their farmers. So I put on my dragon suit and let them know that I supported her decisions. They soon saw the error of their ways."

"So Black Mountain is in Xuantang?" asked a confused Eryri.

"No, I think it's something that I did. I'm not sure what or how, but it happened." He took his walking stick and said, "What caused me to appear in the Xuantang palace?" He waited for a moment, then the walking stick said, "Magic," but it offered no other explanation.

"That coach is catching up to us, what should I do?" asked Eryri.

"Nothing," said Nick. "He's not going to pass you, but stay on your side of the road, we have downbound traffic." The road that zig-zagged up the face of Breeders Peak could be terrifying for teamsters. An impatient coachman could take up the entire roadway, causing a nightmare for downbound wagons. Nick gestured to Vesstan, and when the elf caught up, Nick said, "Stay behind us, that coachman back there is too antsy for my taste. Don't let him get too close and don't let him try to pass, we have three wagons coming at us."

"Aye, your grace." Vesstan dropped back, but the carriage driver wanted to go past the wagon carrying the duke, duchess, and emperor in the worst way. At one point, where the road was straight and steep, he tried to pass on the inside. Vesstan tried to block him, but the carriage driver forced his horses up between the wagon and the face of the mountain, but a downhill cargo wagon appeared and suddenly there were three vehicles on a road barely wide enough for two.

Nick looked to his left, and the ladder to mount the driver's seat on the coach was right next to him. He patted Eryri on the back and said, "I've got work to do. Stop at the apex." With those words, he climbed onto the fancy carriage. He worked his way up and found the carriage driver appeared to be asleep, and the brakeman was driving the carriage. "Yilos balls! What are you doing?" cried Nick, calling on the god of hatred for the first time in his life.

"He's got a gun, he's drunk and crazy," said the brakeman.

"Gun?" Guns were not unheard of; they were mostly comical. A blunderbuss was a handheld cannon that never went off properly, but it could cause damage. Temple priests said that in ancient times they were used in warfare, and the gods called a halt to the use of that form of magic. "Give me the reins and climb down to the wagon, hurry."

The brakeman scrambled down and, just before he hopped into the wagon, Nick handed down the driver's gun. "Give this to the pregnant woman." Then Nick untangled the tangled mess of reins that the brakeman handed him. He's never driven four horses at once, and he didn't have gloves on. This was going to be fun, he thought sarcastically as he pulled back on the reins.

The horses immediately slowed down; they were clearly tired from the climb up Breeders Peak. They also swung in nicely behind the wagon, letting the downbound cargo wagons go past. Soon they were on the wide-open pasture on the peak of Breeders Peak. The flat pasture allowed the wagons and carriages to stop and let the horses rest from their arduous climb up the mountain. The coachman was unconscious, and a bottle of Old Winkleman's peered out of his coat.

Nick brought the coach to a full stop and set the brakes, and the rider emerged furious. "What in the divine halls of hell are you doing up there?" he demanded.

Nick peered down at the angry rider and smiled. "Ah, Sir Ned! I am so glad you've enjoyed the ride to this point. It gets truly exciting from here on down."

"Sir Nicolas?" General Sir Ned Sinclair Darby, Commander of the Torwin-Armistad City Guard and the Duke of Torwin, swung out of the coach. "What are you doing up there?"

"It appears that this morning's ride paid a premium and your coachman spent his premium on a substandard beverage." He held up the half-empty bottle of Old Winkleman's Select, and said, "As Duke of Wægn I hereby relieve thee of thy coachman's badge for the crime of operating a coach within the city limits of Elm Springs and on the north face of Breeders Peak under the influence of a truly foul whiskey." He dug under the passed-out coachman's overcoat and removed the professional driver's badge and pinned it to his own jacket.

Nick then climbed down from the rig and pulled Octavia into his arms and kissed her, then showed her the badge. "What do you think? I have a respectable job now."

"You were always happiest when it was you and Teddi hauling cargo over the mountain," she said as they stepped up to greet Sir Ned. They were joined by Vesstan, Buggy and Hugues. Nick introduced Buggy as his head of security, Hugues as his farm manager, and Vesstan as the mayor of the elven city of Irla Stein Anore.

"I know you three, you're the Eldrin River Pirates!" said Ned. "I've been trying to nab you three for nearly ten years but Saehrimnir kept blocking me!"

"It appears that Saehrimnir was saving them for me," said Nick. "They've been in my employ after someone kicked their asses at Saehrimnir's temple and they've been upstanding citizens and employees and all three were heroes in the Battle of Tähelepanek Point, and the Battle of Black Mountain."

"They kept me sane when it looked like Nick was dead," said Octavia, "both times."

"As long as you're vouching for them," said Ned, "But don't let me catch you comporting with the wrong crowd in my city."

"So why are you here with us today?" asked Nick.

"I seek an audience with your king regarding..." he looked around at the people Nick had brought with him, and Ned simply said, "regarding your other position."

"Well... let's head down then. Buggy, you follow the carriage, if we break loose I don't want to ram into the back of you."

"Break loose? What do you mean break loose?" asked Ned.

"It'll be fine, don't worry about it," said Nick as he climbed back up into the driver's seat box. "Brakeman! Get your butt up here," said Nick as he shoved the drunk driver off the carriage. The drunk hit the ground and muttered, then went back to sleep. Meanwhile, Nick handed the reins to the brakeman. "You drive; I'll evaluate. Let's go."

And they were off. The south side of Breeders Peak down into the Barkridge Defile isn't as difficult as the north face of the mountain down into Elm Springs, and the brakeman did a superb job handling the horses and the brakes. As they neared the royalty entrance to Waelmore Castle, Nick said, "Outstanding job! Very well done."

"Been riding the driver's box near thirty years, man and boy," said the brakeman.

Nick took the driver's badge from his jacket and pinned it to the brakeman's overcoat. "By royal appointment by the Duke of Wægn, you are now my official coachman. You should be able to charge any rate you desire." Nick swung down from the driver's box, saying, "Don't forget to hire a brakeman before heading back over the hump."

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"Awww, do we have school today?" groaned Prince Exavier.

"Yes we have school today, it's Thursday, is it not?" said Nick as he pulled on his uniform. Nick and Octavia usually wore their typical farm clothing on the ride over Breeders Peak, then at the castle they changed into their uniform of the kingdom of Uduithia. Nick's deep blue jacket with silver piping was adorned with the badges he earned in service to King Alfrich of Breaze and King Uric II of Uduithia. He wore several special medals for his victory in the Battle of Tähelepanek Point, and Octavia wore the Uduithian Medal of Freedom for her command of the victorious armies in the Battle of Black Mountain. He and Octavia took longer to change than usual because it's been so busy over the past weeks they haven't spent time together.

When they emerged from the changing room, Octavia in her wizard's robes with her staff Virga at nearly seven feet tall, the Orb of Jørn looking about curiously... it knew something was up. Tavis was hanging from Nick's belt in a cutlass sheath, his left hand on the hilt so Tavis could speak to him silently if needed. They were met by Captain Sean Fahy. "Good morrow captain," said Nick as they emerged. "We bring gifts for the king."

"Oh? And that is?"

"Fruit, vegetable and meat from the larder. Gifts from the farmers of Hay-on-Wægn county."

"We have a gift for you," said Sean. "We scoured your route last night because we were expecting your arrival today, and we found several troops in arms," and he led Nick to the dungeons.

Nick took a deep breath. "That's not good."

"They were on your side of Breeders Peak in full armor waiting for your train."

"Livi's teeth!" hissed Nick in exasperation. "Thank you for hauling them in, my wagon was full of food and riders."

"Stan is questioning them," said Sean. "I don't think we need Mr. Morose to free their minds." He gave a sardonic grin as he opened the cell door. In there were two men in only their underwear, curled up on the far side of the cell. Near the door was Stan, the skeletal remains of the head jailer who died four hundred years ago. Stan still wears his armor, breastplate and helmet, and his method of questioning is to stare at the prisoners. He'll stare at them for up to several months if necessary. They always crack.

"Why were you in the County of Hay-on-Wægn in full armor and armed with swords?" demanded Nick.

"We tried to kill the duke, we did. Just make that thing go away!" shrieked the leader of the conspiracy as he pointed at Stan.

"Wot, Stan? He's an old friend of the palace, aren't cha Stan?" said Sean.

"These two mercenaries were operating on Uduithia soil intending to kill the Duke of Wægn," said Stan. "I'm sure you'll find them willing to talk about how they ended up in Wægn under arms."

"Who hired you?" asked Nick.

"It was Henna Roem," said the younger of the two.

"Henna Roem is dead," said Nick.

"I know," said the leader of the two. "But he said, 'tell Duke Stein that Henna Roem sends his love.' That's exactly what he said."

"Aye it is!" said the younger. "He said 'Don't worry about his wife, she's pregnant, she's afraid to use magic so get her too.' He said it."

"Who is the man that hired you?" demanded Captain Sean Fahy.

"I believe it was Stefen Roem," said the younger of the two.

"You bastard!" spat the older man, but he realized his reaction gave it away. "Aye, it were Stefen Roem."

"Should we let Lady Octavia speak with them?" asked Stan, moving for the first time since the two prisoners were dropped into the cell. Stan likes Nick and Octavia. Octavia is nothing but sweet to him, and Nick gives him a strong challenge in chess.

"No, if she finds out they meant me or the baby any harm she'll burn their brains out," said Nick. "Let the king decide their fate. They threatened two members of Uduithian royalty. He doesn't take kindly to that."

<><><><><>

The King and Queen of Uduithia were on their feet greeting their guests, Queen Elinor cooing over Octavia's growing belly and King Uric shaking hands with Jia. "My, what a grand-looking lad. How old is he now?"

"He's seven, your majesty," said Ning.

Uric was taken aback a bit. At seven years of age, Jia was tiny, but in a country ravaged by famine, tiny children were the norm. Being able to eat at the palace, Jia was a little larger than other Xuantang seven-year-olds. "Why are we laughing, little one? Do I amuse you?"

"No, your highness, I'm not a prince."

"Well, if you stay with us for a while, we can teach you how to be one. How does that sound?"

Jia clung to his mother and said softly, "I'll think about it."

Just then, another boy appeared, larger and huskier than Jia. Queen Elinor said, "Prince Jia, this is my son Prince Exavier. You two are about the same age. Would you like to spend the day together?"

Both boys nodded eagerly. Then Exavier said, "Come on!" and off they ran into the depths of the castle. Ning gasped but didn't call Jia back. It was the first time in his life he had run off on her, and something very precious deep down inside hurt.

Elinor placed a motherly hand on Ning's shoulder and whispered, "It will be fine. Exavier is a good boy; he will have Prince Jia back in time for lunch." And true to her word, the boys were back a few moments after the bell for lunch rang, out of breath and full of stories of everything they saw and did.

During lunch, Nick and Octavia outlined what they wanted to do with the Duchy of Wægn, but filling in for the emperor was taking some time. "We're trying to find trustworthy advisors for Ning, then build up some enthusiasm for a return to Hau Chung rule."

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Ning. "famines were fewer then. I worry about his current employment becoming a point of ridicule."

"Current employment?" The king looked perplexed.

Nick shrugged because he had never seen such a thing before, and neither had Octavia. "He would hold a bucket and..."

"Oh! A piss boy!" said the king. "I haven't seen one of those since my grandfather ruled this kingdom. Many places still use that institution. It shouldn't be a point of ridicule. Many leaders started that way, and many secrets were overheard by the lads."

"Where are the soldiers?" asked Jia unexpectedly.

"Bughac and Eryri? They are dining with some friends in the kitchen. They'll be back once they get the vegetables unloaded from Teddi and Kaleb's wagon," replied Nick.

"No, the other soldiers," insisted Jia. "The ones you found on the road."

The King and Queen looked questioningly at Nick. "Did he confuse a county watchman with a soldier?" asked King Uric.

"Your majesty, we don't have watchmen on Breeders Peak yet, they're guarding the railhead in Slate Bottom Creek and the road from there to Elm Springs. Captain Fahy ran a sweep of the road before we crossed over Breeders Peak and found them, and I had a chance to speak with them."

"Stan will have them talking soon enough," sighed Queen Elinor. "But armed soldiers inside our borders raise questions..."

"My queen, I will be back shortly, could you introduce Ning and Jia to our little school? I need to give Vesstan and Hugues a look in my mansion."

"I thought you were selling that," said King Uric.

"I am... if Duke Ned will take it," said Nick with a wink.

"Wait a minute, what am I buying?" demanded Ned.

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Chapter 15 - All the King's Men

In the end, all three members of the Eldrin River Pirates followed Nick, Ned, and Sean Fahy to 2121 Honeybutter Lane, where the big, blocky, gray stone mansion stood. "This is the home of the Duke of Wægn," said Nick.

"This is incredible, and it is yours? Why don't you live here?" asked Ned as Nick fidgeted with the lock.

"For one thing, it's not mine, it belongs to the duchy, it was purchased with their tax money. The primary reason why I don't live here is because it's not inside the Duchy of Wægn."

"I don't live in the Duchy of Torwin," said Ned.

"And you don't rule the Duchy of Torwin, so why bother living there?" said Nick as the stubborn lock finally opened.

"Exactly."

"I don't think Teddi and Kaleb would like living here," said Nick as he lit a lamp to illuminate the interior of the enormous mansion.

"Who is Teddi and Kaleb?" asked Ned.

"My mules."

Ned looked to the guys for clarification, but they all nodded. "Yeah, Teddi would hate it the most, she likes a big pasture to relax in," said Buggy. He said that just to see the look on Ned's face.

Inside the mansion, the furniture remained where it stood, although it was covered with sheets. However, in the Duke's office, almost everything had been cleaned out. All the records were removed to the castle for safekeeping, except for the recent lists of landowners; those were in Nick's cottage. All the artwork was returned to the castle and to the museums it was "on loan" from. "Sean, you were here with me when I discovered the duke's body, could you sit exactly like he was sitting."

Sean sat down in the duke's chair; the leather was still covered in dry blood. He turned in the chair until he was facing the enormous full-length portrait of himself on the wall behind Nick, Ned, and Buggy. "He was sitting in his chair like this, facing that enormous portrait. He had stacks of money stacked up here."

"Thousands of dollars," said Nick, who knew exactly how much there was. It was all going to repair the roads and bridges in Hay-on-Wægn county. "From the records he had open in front of him, no money had been taken."

Vesstan stood behind Sean and studied the full-length portrait of the dead duke and said, "He had a serious love affair with himself."

"I don't think he was looking at the portrait," said Nick, who swung the portrait out on its hinges and opened the safe behind the portrait. Inside the walk-in safe were swords, bows, arrows, and crossbows. "I should get some of this stuff appraised," he said as he looked at the three crossbows.

"The swords are all crap," whispered Teivas.

"Who are you talking to?" asked Ned.

"My sword. She gets a bit jealous," said Nick as he took a crossbow, cocked it and handed it to Buggy, and said, "Shoot the duke's chair. Use one of your dwarf made bolts."

"Ok," said Buggy. "Everyone needs to get behind me." And he took one of his crossbow bolts, loaded it into the crossbow. Taking careful aim, he squeezed the trigger, and with a loud snap, the crossbow bolt flipped and fluttered and landed point down on the desk. "These are standard dwarven bolts. They're designed to work in all dwarven crossbows, not human crossbows. Dwarves use a finer, steel string on our crossbows. The nock is much narrower and it won't engage the drawstring of the human crossbow."

Captain Sean Fahy picked up Buggy's bolt from the desktop, and Nick handed him a standard bolt from the duke's armory. Then Sean took one of the bolts that was embedded in the previous duke's body and held the three of them up to compare. The human bolt had smaller flights (fins) and a longer shaft than the dwarven bolts, but the biggest difference was the nock. The nock of a dwarven arrow is smaller and lined with brass. The bolt they took out of the duke's body was clearly a dwarven bolt, but the nock was carved out with a knife and had the brass liner removed to fit on a human crossbow bolt.

"Why would a dwarf bring a dwarven bolt, and modify it to shoot in a human crossbow, when there's over a hundred precision bolts here where the crossbow is stored?" asked Nick.

<><><><><>

The king's council met once a month, and more often if needed. The meeting was already in progress when Nick returned from the Honeybutter Lane mansion. Since he wasn't a member of the king's council, it really didn't matter whether he was on time. Octavia was a member, and she was here. "Sir Nicolas," called King Uric. "Dame Octavia conveyed that you persist in the inquiry into the Duke of Roem's untimely demise. Pray, are there tidings to impart?"

"I thought the verdict was clear," said the Prime Minister, Lord Cadence. "A dwarf broke into his house, killed him, and cleaned out the duchy treasury."

"There's no evidence to support any of those allegations," said Nick as he sat down next to Octavia. "Every penny and farthing was present and accounted for in Duke Roem's ledgers.

"But Henna Roem was killed by a dwarven crossbow bolt," said Lord Cadence with a snotty, stuck-up tone of voice. "It's clear that his murderer was in that case a dwarf."

Suddenly Lord Cadence found himself staring at the point of a beautifully engraved broadsword. It was clearly one of the finest examples of the art of forging mithril/steel. "This is the broadsword of his highness King Elandorr Cailee. If I cut your head off with it, does that make me a four thousand year old elven king?" Lord Cadence stifled a small scream and saw that Nick was holding an ebony walking stick. "Well, does it?" Nick asked again with a satisfied smirk as he pulled back his walking stick and sat down.

"Well stated young duke!" said Lord Baltimore, the Duke of Pellingham and head of intelligence. "Are we to assume that someone smuggled a dwarven crossbow into your mansion?"

"No, there's no evidence to support that," said Nick. "Captain Fahy?" and Sean handed the murder weapon to Lord Baltimore. Nick knew that there were few men on the king's council that could be trusted, and somehow he believed that one of the few was Lord Baltimore.

"Oh yes," said Lord Baltimore as he turned the bolt over in his hands. "Without the brass nock lining the shaft was splitting. This bolt can never be used again. Definitely not a human design but it was clearly used in a human crossbow... wouldn't painting the flight red and black on a human crossbow bolt be enough to throw off the investigators?" Nick got the distinct impression that Lord Baltimore had asked that question only to let Nick answer it and educate the rest of the council.

"I believe that Captain Fahy would immediately know the difference between a dwarven bolt and a human bolt painted to look like a dwarven bolt and that would have raised suspicion very quickly. I believe the murderer did this to confuse the investigation long enough to get away." Nick glared at Lord Cadence and said, "Some are more easily confused than others."

Octavia patted Nick's hands to let him know that she was proud of the way he handled himself. Even Octavia didn't see what Teivas did to Lord Cadence, one of the least trustworthy men on King Uric's royal council. Unfortunately, Lord Cadence was the prime minister of Parliament, and his elected position put him on the King's council. The people of Uduithia weren't happy about having a parliament; they figured that the king was doing a good job, so the parliament should be held in reserve until they got angry with the king.

Finally, the King went around the table inquiring about the state of the kingdom. "Lord Harcourt, pray, how fares life in Mallburg?"

"No changes from last meeting sire."

"Lord Baltimore? pray tell, how fares the Duchy of Pellingham?"

"The harvest is seventy five percent complete, and new devices have been built to clear the roads of snow this winter."

"Ah, indeed! I should be most interested to observe their function, should their success be substantiated. Well done, that! Lord Slipspring, pray tell, how fares Stormchester?"

"All is well sire..."

And so it went. Nick made a note of the men who said, "no changes from last week" They did not appear to be paying attention to their responsibilities. The only member of his council that he trusted but did not give an accounting of their property was Octavia; she deferred to Nick.

"And finally, Lord Stein. I am aware you are not a member of this esteemed council; however, its composition is flexible. Should I deem your presence necessary, room shall be made. Pray, tell me, sir duke, how fares life in the Duchy of Wægn?"

"Since I took office, my lord, your kingdom has grown by fifteen newborn subjects, all but three were delivered into your kingdom by my hand. Those three were delivered by my Aunt Agness who was covering for me while I delt with other issues."

"Exceedingly well, young Duke. Pray, is there further to report?"

"I am currently dealing with King Samrel Oakenarmour. Since the previous tenants of the north Black Mountain mining district mismanaged their opportunity, I have asked King Oakenarmour to allow me to manage the mining district with humans, elves, and dwarves of my choosing. I shall keep you appraised of what his majesty decides..."

"You are negotiating with a foreign power over how Uduithia assets are managed?" roared Lord Slipspring, the head of national security. "Tis naught but treason!"

"Clearly thou does not have dwarves working in Stormchester or you would know that King Samrel Oakenarmour is the chief negotiator when it comes to mining and mining activities."

"A most felicitous pronouncement, Sir Nicolas," said King Uric. Then the king glared at Lord Slipspring when he said, "Duke Stein's actions were judicious and entirely within the purview of the law. King Oakenarmour and I are in conference regarding the northern mining district's future, and we shall advise you of our determination. Furthermore, I extend my gratitude for the occasion to converse with King Samrel, a cherished acquaintance of long standing. Pray tell, Sir Nicholas, is there aught else to report?"

"Sir, your kingdom has increased by one village. I would like to introduce the Mayor of the village, Mister Vesstan Aedi."

Vesstan rose from the viewers' gallery and stepped forward and bowed to the king. "I am Vesstan Aedi, once known as an Eldrin River Pirate without a ship. Sire, Duke Stein gave our community land from his personal holding on the west shoulder of Oromorna. The village of Irla Stein Anore is now a reality and for the first time in human history is the first settlement with all three tribes of elves living peacefully and in unity of spirit."

"An elven village, within my kingdom's boundaries?" gasped King Uric. "A most felicitous day, indeed!"

"Oh, we've had some problems," said Nick. "A squad of dwarves from the mine attacked the village and killed two elves, but Lady Octavia held the peace and in turn solved the issue and used dwarves to enforce the laws of the land among the rogue dwarves."

"I can see an elf uprising in the very near future, your majesty," said Lord Slipspring, the head of national security. "Duke Stein could build an army with these elves and attack this castle!"

King Uric held up his hand, silencing Lord Slipspring. "A distinct possibility, considering the lamentable state into which you have permitted my army to devolve." Then the king turned to Vesstan and said, "Mayor Aidi, pray tell, do you harbour intentions of raising an army and launching an assault upon me?"

"We had a few members of the village who wished to swear their allegiance to Duke and Duchess Stein," said Vesstan. "But Duke Stein found an ancient relic of our last elven king, Elandorr Cailee, and bid we swear allegiance to you on that sacred relic. Every elf in Irla Stein Anore would sooner cut off their child's head before violating that sacred vow. And every new elven family that joins us takes a vow to the peace between the three tribes and vows allegiance to you."

"I should be most delighted to witness such a ceremony. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and welcome to Uduithia. Does anyone else possess tidings to impart?"

"Just one more thing, your majesty," said Nick. "Due to overhunting on Black Mountain in the past few years, the levels of stock are dangerously low. For the next four years, only subsistence hunting will be allowed. Then my wildlife manager will review the herds of elk and deer and we will re-evaluate the ban."

That imparted groans from the lords on the council and in the gallery. Now they'd have to do trophy hunting on their own land.

"Absent any further matters requiring address..."

"One more thing, your majesty," said Lord Singe, chief international advisor to the king. "A member of this council is working in league with a foreign adversary and is currently placing themselves as emperor of their government."

"Oh?" asked King Uric. He didn't look confused or surprised. "Pray, illuminate us with your allegations."

"Your witch! The court wizard is..."

"Excuse me!" called Nick. "I hate to interrupt your ranting, I'm sure it's going to be creative and entertaining, but who are you talking about? One of us at this gathering is a witch, another member here is a wizard. You can't be both."

Seething with anger, Lord Mayhew Singe began shaking. "That witch!" he sneered. "Ever since that witch was allowed to become a member of this holy council..."

"Excuse me again!" called Nick. "But I'm not a member of this council."

"Huh?"

"You said the witch. I'm the witch. She's the wizard," said Nick. "The difference is if you said the wrong word or brought forth an incorrect allegation she would turn you into a newt. Me? If you questioned my honor, or if you said something untoward about my wife and the mother of my child, I would kill you. There's a difference."

King Uric nodded and said, "That is indeed the case."

Octavia tried to hold back her laughter, but she let forth a girlish giggle that angered Lord Singe even more. "This woman, this wizard. Ever since she was allowed membership of this holy council..."

"Excuse me!" called Nick. "This is a HOLY council? Let it be known that Lady Octavia is a sanctified priestess and a daughter of Saehrimnir. As for myself I am a priest in the temple of the god of health Tervis, as well as a son of Saehrimnir, and an adherent of the goddess Saatus. If this were a holy council it would be the two of us leading this council and I don't think you would be a member."

"Your majesty, must I put up with such insolence?"

King Uric glared at his international advisor. "Lord Singe, Sir Nicolas Stein is a hero recognized by four kingdoms, a knight, and a duke of the realm. You are but a civilian advisor. Therefore, the answer is affirmative; you must put up with such insolence. Now, pray get your facts in order and state your case correctly, or be seated, that we may adjourn in peace and have dinner."

Singe now knew where he stood, and politically he was on thin ice. He was about to bring charges against what he now realized was a favored daughter of the throne. "Your Majesty, Lady Octavia is acting as a foreign agent. She is running the government of an enemy nation and may be plotting against us."

"Pray, of which nation do you speak?" asked the king.

"Xuantang, your Majesty."

"Hmmm, permit me a moment to converse with the rightful emperor of that dominion." He thought for a moment, then turned to Nick and said, "Has your wife, perchance, usurped the throne from your very person?"

"No your majesty. She holds civil court, but she stays within bounds of my plans for Xuantang."

The court exploded in a combination of shocked shouting and laughter. Nick and Octavia had just made a fool of the most detested man in government. "THERE WILL BE SILENCE OR I WILL START COLLECTING TONGUES!" roared the king. Silence fell on the courtroom like a dropped anvil. "For those unaware, Sir Nicolas endured enslavement and subsequent sale to the Emperor of Xuantang. His escape inadvertently resulted in the Emperor's demise, thereby, by Xuantang custom and law, elevating him to the emperorship. This is the very reason he doth not yet grace this council. Upon the coronation of the true sovereign, he shall join our ranks in perpetuity."

"Thank you sire," said Nick. "I apologize for any misunderstanding."

"No, Sir Nicolas the fault is mine. It was my expectation that my foreign policy advisor would be possessed of such knowledge," said the king as he glared at Lord Singe. "With that understanding, we are dismissed forthwith." The king rose, and his court rose with him, and he left. A simple hand signal to Sean Fahy, his head of security, kept followers from pestering him.

"You will have yours coming," snarled Mayhew Singe. "Just keep watching over your shoulder." And he turned to leave and walked into a pillar that's been there for three thousand years.

"Oh! That looked incredibly painful, not to mention humiliating," said Nick. "Would you like me to render medical aid?"

"Just fucking leave me alone!" cried Singe as he held his bleeding nose and ran off.

"Naughty, naughty," said Nick to a softly grinning Octavia. "I don't know what you did, but I felt you do something."

"I just made him think he was somewhere else in relationship to that pillar. Minimal magic. Marlon didn't even notice."

"Naughty girl," said Nick with a smile. "Shall we gather the gang?"

"We are spending the night here in the castle," said Octavia. "While you and your pirates were looking at the mansion, they spent the time with Queen Elinor and Prince Exavier and they love it. Princess Sophia wants to keep Jia as her new brother."

"Excellent job Sir Nicolas!" said Ned Darby as he stepped up to Nick and patted him on the back. "You managed to antagonize and make political enemies of the Exchequer of the Kingdom, the head of national security, the prime minister and the chief international advisor to the king. Did you miss anyone?"

"Just the lead lord in the house of lords," laughed Lord Baltimore, the head of intelligence and the only member of the court that Nick trusted other than Octavia. "Come, let us talk. My wizards tell me that Sir Ned has something he needs to speak about."

"Pardon?" asked Ned

Nick tapped his fingers to his lips, asking Ned to remain quiet. There were still too many ears in the courtroom, and Nick didn't feel comfortable around any of them.

"Follow me," said Octavia.

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Chapter 16 - The Business of Business

Octavia led Nick, Ned, Moira, and Lord Baltimore down a steep flight of spiral stairs that were so worn that they were concave in the center of the treads. "How old are these stairs?" groaned Ned.

"About three thousand five hundred years old," said Lord Baltimore

"That's impossible, there were no buildings left standing three thousand five hundred years ago," said Ned.

"Our history is older and more terrible than you'll ever know," said Octavia as she led the crew through a dark dungeon. It was wide open in this portion of the dungeon. Occasionally, a crystal attached to a column glowed in the darkness, lighting the path she was leading them on. Far ahead, they saw light leaking from beneath a door.

They reached the door, and Octavia shushed for silence, then she knocked on the door. Three knocks, a pause, then two knocks, another pause, then four knocks. Suddenly, the light under the door went out. They could hear fumbling at the latch, then a long, drawn-out moan. The door opened inward slowly, and their torchlight revealed a skeleton wearing an armored breastplate and a helmet. "Good Afternoon," said the skeleton in a deep, terrifying voice.

Moira and Ned both screamed and clutched each other as the lights came back on behind the door, and they were met with riotous laughter. "God's blood, what madness is this?" demanded Ned.

"That depends on which god you're cursing at the moment!" laughed Buggy. When the lights came back on, they found they were in a basement pub and taproom. Buggy and Eryri were already deep into their ale, sitting at a table with Hugues Du Gouey, who was drinking with a female demi-giant from the laundry.

"What is this?" demanded Nick, who was almost as shocked as Ned. But when Nick saw the jailer Stan at the door, he knew something was up.

"This is my escape from the job," said the bartender.

"Sire?" gasped Nick.

"In this room, the name is Triston Kingson," said King Uric. Next to the king was Queen Elinor, who flirted with and kissed the king repeatedly.

"I'm just Elinor Garland," said Queen Elinor, who whooped and laughed as Triston pinched her fine ass.

"I know this name..." said Nick as he searched his memory... "Aunt Agness once told me about a student named Elinor Garland who had so much promise but failed miserably."

"Well, to your Aunt Agness, giving up witchcraft and marrying the king was failing miserably," said the king as he placed a pint of ale on the bar top for Nick and a pint of root beer up for Octavia.

"'twas a true Snowcross mountain engagement," said Elinor. "I said those magic words to him and he immediately replied with a Uduithian proposal."

"You're what???" cried everyone in the bar, laughing.

"I don't get it," said Hugues.

His date smiled and said, "Here in the mountains, the firstborn are always three months premature."

"I don'... oh!" causing the entire room to laugh. The thing about the Kodu calendar is that it's exactly in tune with a woman's natural cycle... until the two weeklong celebrations of Yuletide knock everything out of whack, but then many babies are born 40 weeks (10 Kodu months) after Yuletide.

"This is where our king comes to relax after a council meeting," said Conan Baltimore. It was clear that Lord Baltimore was in favor with the king; other than Octavia, he was the only member of his council that was down here. "Bartender, we have some business to discuss and I'm sorry to say you are invited."

"Can it wait?"

"I think it has waited far too long as it is, sire."

King Uric sadly drew himself a beer and followed Nick, Octavia, Ned, and Conan into a side room where a table was clearly set up for a game of Quicksand, a card game popular in gambling dens. A dim oil lamp lit the table as they sat around it and sipped their ale. Finally, Nick said, "You dragged me in here, what is it?"

Conan and Ned looked at each other uncomfortably, then Ned said, "Do you know a wizard named Horatio Tinsmith?"

Nick sipped his beer and thought. He remembered assuming an eagle's body and flying over his own land... He saw Horatio Tinsmith lying on the ground as if he were injured. Nick was concerned that he had been thrown from his horse, so he dropped down, planning to land and give him aid. Instead, dwarves appeared out of concealed trenches and holes and started shooting at him, paralyzing him. They caught him, put a ring of Shonyx on his leg, preventing him from returning to human form. They wrapped him in silk, then after a series of extremely painful temple hops, he was sold to Emperor Fu Ki. Nick sipped again, then said, "Yes. I intend to kill him. Why do you ask?"

"He has raised an army and a navy and is enroute to Xuantang," said Ned.

"An army?" asked Octavia.

"Well, more like every unsuccessful thief in the Thieves Federation.

"A navy?" asked Nick.

"Four barely seaworthy scows towing a barge with a dragon lying on it."

It was so absurd that Nick laughed. "A dragon? Him? That's hilarious!"

"It's not really a dragon, it's Thaldir," said Lord Baltimore.

"What?" Octavia nearly screamed. "Thaldir is a minor god! He's a nasty foul little road-apple!"

"To help raise money for his little army, Tinsmith enlisted Thaldir to con folks out of money. Gods aren't allowed to hustle money from humans and elves and dwarves, and when Saehrimnir found out, he turned Thaldir into a dragon and gave him to Tinsmith to take with him on his journey," said Conan Baltimore.

Ned looked at Conan and grinned. "That's pretty good," said the cop. "How did you figure that out?"

"I have eight wizards working on peering into the future. Torwin-Armistad is easy, they have numerous newspapers we can read. Nobody on my team can read Xuantang chicken scratches and we're actively looking for someone who can.

"The dragon!" said Nick. "What color is the dragon?"

"Black," said Ned and Conan at the same time, which caused Nick to laugh.

"They might as well be sending a beagle!" said Octavia as she joined in the laughter.

"Look, if they can pull it off, it's a worthy plot," said Ned. "They intend to reach Xuantang in time for the Spring festival where the emperor appears to his people and addresses them on the first day of the month of Ætherflame. That's the day that Horatio Tinsmith and his drunken horde of bandits will attack. He will embarrass the emperor and start a civil war that will leave the riches of the Xuantang empire wide open to the hands of his thieving scum."

"It will probably work," groaned Nick.

"Why? You have an army, and a navy," said King Uric.

"The navy barely knows how to float. The army is ill equipped, and scattered everywhere. The units send each other signals with fireworks. The roads are a mess; the bridges are nearly all out."

The King grabbed Nick's wrist and said, "Look, this is what you do. Go over to the local smithy's tomorrow, collect a couple of steel cans full of steel filings you sweep up off the floor. Take them to Xuantang and trade them for an equal weight in gold. Take that gold to the armory in Bovuka and get them to build armor and weapons then ship it all to Xuantang. Tell the generals that new steel swords and armor is on their way, the unit that fixes the most road and the most bridges gets the first steel armor. Meanwhile we do everything we can to get young Jia up to accepting the burden they're going to drop on his shoulders."

"Do you think it will work?"

"It will beat fretting and worrying," said Ned. "Hey, if they get sunk in a storm, Xuantang will still be better off and they'll have you to thank for it."

"Young Jia is wise beyond his seven years," said King Uric. "He asked that we teach him how to tell if someone is lying."

"He's a very fast learner," said Queen Elinor. "Already Exavier is leaning what to say in front of Jia."

After unwinding in the King's pub, they all retired to the dining room for dinner. Talk was light and laughter ruled the evening as Jia and Exavier talked about their explorations of the castle. "He's got a skellington with a hat that guards the bad men!" said Jia. "He pretends to be scary but he doesn't fool me."

"Stan is quite good at chess," said Nick. "You could learn a good game of Go from him too."

"We went out to the stables and helped feed the horses," said Exavier. "Jia said he had never seen horses before."

Nick frowned; he's never seen them because his people had eaten all the horses. He heard rumors of wild horses out west. Maybe he should send the western army out to collect and break some horses.

"Mister Nick and Miss Octavia place is best, we play music and sing, and he's got bunnies!" said Jia.

"Bunnies? You got to see the bunnies? No fair!" cried Exavier.

That night Octavia and Nick slept in a private room together for the first time in a long time. At home there's always someone there at their house, in the future nursery or just down the stairs in the living room. His hands roamed over her body, both worshiping his love and marveling at all the changes that had happened as their baby matured. "I wish I could talk to him," said Nick as they finished gently making love.

"Why? What would you say to him?"

"I'd tell him how proud I was of him, and how beautiful his mommy is."

"Are you sure he would understand?

"I'd tell him how pretty his mommy looks when we go swimming together or when we soak in the hot springs, and how bath night is the best night of all."

"We need to kick some of these people out of the cottage so we can have a proper bath night," scolded Octavia. Their bathing inside the cabin is quite sensuous and often leads to passionate lovemaking, which requires more bathing, which leads to passionate lovemaking...

<><><><><>

The next day, Nick collected two cans full of steel filings from the local pipe fitters' supply shop and another can of steel fragments from the local blacksmith shop. He placed the cans in the back of the wagon and gave Teddi and Kaleb each a hug and an apple, then he climbed into the wagon and said, "Let's go home master driver."

Buggy flicked the reins, and they began to move, but Vesstan, who was on horseback alongside the wagon, said, "Did you sell the mansion sir?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look yonder," said Vesstan.

Nick stood up in the wagon and looked, and there were several freight wagons a couple of blocks away in front of the duke's mansion. "Buggy, go around the block and head for the mansion."

"Aye sir," said Buggy, and he brought the wagon around the block and pulled up to the duke's mansion on Honeybutter Lane. There they found Sean Fahy arguing with a man who had several workmen clustered around him.

"The Duke of Wægn did not mention anything of a sale to me," Sean kept insisting.

"I have the bill of sale here and the key," said the man. "I have come to take possession of my new summer home and I'll thank you to stand out of my way."

"Is there a problem, Captain?" asked Nick.

"Mister Liederman insists that he has purchased this house and he wants to move in."

Nick turned to Mister Liederman and said, "Good day to you Mister Liederman. I'm Nicolas Stein and I'm quite familiar with this property. If I may ask, who sold this to you and when?"

"I purchased it from the Duke of Wægn, Sir Stefan Roem."

"And when did you purchase it?" asked Nick.

"It was on Sunday, now if you don't mind I would like to enter my house!" and he shoved Nick aside and tried his key in the door. Nick and Sean looked at each other and shrugged as Mister Liederman fought at the door trying to get his key to turn.

"I can put an end to this now if you let me," said Buggy as he hefted his pickaxe.

"Nah, it'll be fine," said Nick, and he let Mister Liederman try all the external doors.

"Ruhena's Cunt!" shouted Mister Liederman, calling on Ruhena, the goddess of revenge.

"Can I see your bill of sale?" said Nick. Liederman handed him the bill of sale, and Nick viewed it, then handed it to Octavia, who pointed out several errors. They showed it to Sean, who carefully reviewed the document.

"This is a fraudulent bill of sale," Sean told Liederman. "You need to get back to the bank and nullify the payment immediately."

"Why?" demanded Liederman.

"Stefen Roem is not the Duke of Wægn, he's wanted in connection with the murder of Duke Henna Roem. Second, the building was not owned by the Roem family, it was owned by the duchy, so even if he was the duke, the money would go to the duchy's account. I hate to say it, but you spent a lot of money to buy a key."

"The gods be damned!" shouted Liederman.

Nick patted his shoulder and said, "Maybe we can do some business, let's step into my office." And he pulled out his own key and unlocked the door. "Do you have business or property in Hay-on-Wægn county or Slate Creek County, Mister Liederman?"

"Um, yes, I have a lumber business in Slate Bottom Creek, the TP&E is expanding the tramway and I am contracted to provide the ties."

Nick sat down on the chair in which Duke Roem had been murdered and began inspecting the desk drawers for anything left behind. "If you truly want this house, I suggest you send your lawyer over to the Bank of Waleston, and divert those funds to the Duchy of Wægn's account." Nick took a quill pen and wrote out the account number followed by "I authorize a single deposit of $400,000 in Uduithia gold payable to the Duchy of Wægn, signed, Sir Nicolas Stein, Duke. Dame Octavia Stein, Duchess" he signed his name and handed the parchment to Octavia, who also signed.

"You're the duke?"

"Yes sir. This home is the property of the duchy, not the duke. My mules don't like the barn so we stay at our farm."

"Your mules?" laughed Liederman.

"I think he loves Teddi more than he loves me," said Octavia.

"Aww, honey, that's not fair... I met Teddi first."

"You!" Octavia swatted Nick, and then they kissed. "Can't forget Kaleb, he was a gift from the goddess Saatus," she added.

"I like you two," said Liederman with a rolling laugh. He handed the document to his assistant, who ran on foot to the bank. Then he turned to Nick and stuck his hand out to shake. "Elis Liederman. Construction and Lumber."

"Nick and Octavia Stein, Farmers" said Nick, shaking his hand.

"Don't let him shortchange himself Elis, he's also a priest, a soldier, a witch, a physician..."

"Ok, stop," said Nick, and he pulled Octavia back for a kiss, but she was feeling naughty. She turned back to Elis and rubbed her tummy.

"He's also the first man in Kodu history to impregnate a wizard."

When Elis stopped laughing, Nick introduced Vesstan, Buggy, Eryri, and Hugues to Elis. "Elis here bought the old mansion and everything in it except for the files on the desk and the contents of the safe has to go." As they shook hands, Nick said, "Sir, I suggest getting a new portrait hung here. The guy in this painting, died in that chair," he said as he pointed to the duke's office chair. Then he swung open the painting and revealed the safe, which he opened.

"It seems like there's more in there every time I look," said Vesstan with a sigh.

"Let's load up the wagon and maybe Triston has room for it in his basement."

"I shall see it done, your grace!" said Hugues with a smile. He turned to Vesstan and Buggy and roared, "Do thy office!"

"Guess who wants to go back to the castle and spend some time with Lucy Anne," said Buggy as he carried an armload of swords out to the wagon.

"What are you going to do with all these weapons, your grace?"

"They belong to the duchy, I'll arm our guards when the time comes," said Nick as he slung a dozen bows over his arm and scooped up three bundles of arrows with the other arm.

"Aren't you worried that the king will become anxious you have that many arms?"

"I don't think he'll get too nervous. We're going to stack them up in his basement," said Nick, which caused Elis to laugh. "Come with us while your men get the paperwork done. I'll introduce you to the king."

It took an hour to empty the safe and load up the wagon, which was dangerously overloaded with bows, crossbows, arrows, bolts, swords, long swords, rapiers, sabers, spears, pikes, halberds, maces, morning stars, flails, bludgeons and a dozen other weapons nobody recognized. With Nick's permission, Buggy, Eryri, Vesstan, and Hugues grabbed a dagger and strapped it to their legs. "Were you guys expecting a war?" asked Elis.

"Sadly no, but we got a war just the same," said Vesstan. The loss of life from Rifty Peregrine's senseless attack on the village of Irla Stein Anore still hurt.

The "Four Pirates" pushed on the back of the wagon as the poor mules pulled uphill to the castle and as they walked, Elis talked about a short line tramway he was planning to build on the north bank of the Gjorgiev River to service the mines of Copper Mountain. "I've got a mine on the north face of Black mountain, on the south bank of the river," said Nick. "There's got to be some way to get my coal in your coal cars."

"Depending on how much coal you pull out of the mountain we could rig something up."

They bought the wagon around to the rear of the castle where the entrance to the armory was located, and Sean Fahy negotiated for some storage space for the duchy with the Armory Master. When Sir Gylaw Randoul, the Armory Master, saw the wagonload of equipment, his good eye sprang open. "May I look?" When Nick nodded his approval, the master armorer began inspecting weapons, and as he did, King Uric entered the armory.

"I am given to understand that you have returned, your grace," said the king as he and Ned Darby entered the armory. He was wearing work clothing and there was nothing to identify him as the king.

"ROOM! TEN-HUT!" cried Sean, and everyone snapped to attention.

"As you all were. A veritable arsenal. Pray tell, Sir Nicolas, whence did you procure them?"

"Duke Roem had them in his mansion, sire," said Nick. "May I introduce to you your newest subject, mister Elis Liederman. Mister Liederman, this is King Uric the Second, lord of Uduithia." As Elis and the king spoke, Nick returned to carrying weapons into the armory.

"Nick," Ned whispered hoarsely. "There's enough weapons here to arm a huge insurrection."

"Shodite knows!" hissed Nick, invoking the god of the military. "I've been aching to get rid of these things since the day I first saw them."

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Chapter 17 - The Broken Bird

Attached to the Temple of the Woods is a bookstore. It was originally a congregational meeting area, but that was centuries ago when the temple was first built. The congregation has diminished since then, and now the unused rooms are Nick and Octavia's office, classroom, and bookstore. The sign on the door of Nick and Octavia's bookstore said, "Thee Wytch is IN" and even though it was a dark and stormy day, Nick was on an appointment at the Taggart farm. Grandma Taggart was close to passing on, and she wanted a witch there to comfort her and her family. Octavia sat in the bookstore, studying a translated copy of the Xuantang constitution. She was looking for the legality of turning the throne over to Jia as soon as he could run the country.

The clouds got darker, and it was getting harder to read, and Octavia sighed. She was going to have to get out the crystal lantern. The crystal lantern contains two magically charged crystals, and you turn a knob to bring them closer to each other. The magical fields interact with each other and produce light. The closer the crystals, the brighter the light; a gentle golden glow. It was so much nicer than the nasty, jittery crystal lanterns they had in college. The shaking purple light was effective at weeding out students who didn't really want to be there.

Just as she reached for the lantern, the surrounding area got brighter, and it was easier to read without her touching the lantern. Soon an autumn storm broke outside and it got even darker, but the little pool of light that Octavia was sitting in got brighter. Turning her head, Octavia realized that the source of the light was sitting on her shoulder. "Studying Xuantang politics?" said a tiny voice in her right ear.

"This is a pretty poor translation," said a voice in her left ear.

Octavia twisted her neck around and saw that she had a fairy sitting on each shoulder. "Who are you two, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Starbell," said the fairy on her left shoulder.

"I'm Moonpuff," said the fairy on her right shoulder. "The duke hired us to translate."

"And light up the bookstore," added Starbell.

"Did the duke name you also?" asked Octavia.

"Uh huh!"

"He's so dreamy..."

"I know," said Octavia more sternly than needed. "I married him."

"You are the duchess?" asked Sundrop.

"The baby!" cried four tiny voices, and suddenly Octavia had four fairies fluttering around her stomach, chattering in their tiny voices to the baby in her womb.

"Stop!" cried Octavia, "you're scaring him! I can feel him shaking in me."

"He's laughing!" said Starbell.

"He thinks we're funny," said Sundrop, the brunette male.

"Let him rest," Octavia insisted. The fairies stopped chattering and started singing, and soon their sweet, tiny harmonies had calmed the baby down inside Octavia, who sighed, "thank you."

"Why are you reading this?" asked Starbell as she examined the document.

"I'm trying to find a way to appoint a prime minister."

"It's not in this version of their constitution; this is from the Shì Pha dynasty... they didn't like Prime Ministers. They used evil Grand Viziers."

"Evil, evil, evil!" agreed Moonpuff.

"Damnit," Octavia muttered under her breath.

"Besides, they did not ratify this constitution. That's what the top line says in Xuantang," said Applewhisp.

"How do you fairies know how to read Xuantang?"

"Because you need us to." The expression on Sundrop's face told Octavia that he was shocked she didn't understand that. "That's why we exist."

"We are magic for people who don't have magic," said Starbell.

"Nick needs us, he doesn't speak Xuantang," said Applewhisp. "One of us sits on his shoulder and translates for him. Lung Mist isn't very accurate with his translating."

Octavia thought for a moment, then said, "You with the silver hair, come with me." She jumped up and turned the sign around on the door to read "No Wytches Here." She rolled up the document she had been trying to read and said, "I'll be back shortly. Tell Nick to wait for me." She dashed into the temple with Starbell clinging desperately to her collar and disappeared between the columns, temple-hopping to the temple of Phuelia, goddess of dreams in the Palace of the Jade Lotus. She needed to talk to Lung Mist.

"You should have told her about Nick's book," said Moonpuff, who now had neon green hair. "He needs his book."

"Why me?" demanded Sundrop.

"You're the boy!" cried Moonpuff and Applewhisp.

Outside, the first snows of winter were getting ready to sputter; the dark clouds released a few moments of icy rain followed by huge wet flakes. Trei and Wayne Metzgar finished erecting the shed over the forge and anvil before the winter weather set in. As they worked, Trei saw a large white owl land on the temple roof, and it sat there for a while. It looked as if it were having an internal argument. It was twitching and twisting, then reluctantly it spread its wings and glided to the ground where it returned to twitching and twisting. It flipped over onto its back and writhed on the ground, flapping its wings, then suddenly it became Nick who lay on his back panting.

"Yer grace!" shouted Trei as he and Wayne ran to help a sprawled Nick get up. "Are you well, your grace?"

"This power I got from the elves," said Nick as he gasped for breath when he stood up. "Lately I can get into an animal, but getting out has been difficult. The last smooth transition was the eagle I did a few days ago."

"If you don't mind my saying your grace" said a worried Wayne, "but this is the animal we need you to be."

Wayne had been his buddy since they were eight; to be called 'your grace' by Wayne was unnerving. "I may end up buying a proper horse," frowned Nick. Another expense they hadn't counted on. Those sheets that Octavia got were a godsend, but a horse is going to eat up any savings they got from that windfall and more. All the well-intentioned people in the cottage with them were eating up their savings. His head was spinning with financial confusion until Nick noticed that Octavia was waving at him from inside the bookstore, so he thanked Trei and went in to talk to her about this magical issue. Maybe she knew how to fix it.

He entered the temple, and Octavia met him at the door, saying, "Look what I found!" Octavia was excited and out of breath as she unrolled a large handwritten document. "The real constitution in Torwin! Remember, we couldn't find provisions for a Prime Minister or letting advisors live for more than a year? That's because it was the wrong constitution."

"What do you mean wrong constitution?"

"We were looking at the constitution drawn up by the Shì Pha dynasty. It was never ratified; they used it illegally for over ninety years."

"So, this is the original?" asked Nick.

"Drawn up at the dawn of the Hau Chung dynasty," said Octavia, nodding brightly.

"That is incredible!" said Nick. "You truly are a super librarian."

"Your little friends pointed that out. They know a lot about the Xuantang empire. By the way, how did," her voice softened respectfully, "how did Grandma Taggart fare?"

Nick sighed and said, "She was in a lot of pain. She was sure it was the end. The family was getting ready to bicker over her estate, then I checked her abdomen and said the magic words, 'When was your last bowel movement?' and she said two or three weeks ago. I loaded her up with a potion Ezzie Fahy gave me and one tremendous bowel movement later, she's good for a few more family gatherings."

After a lot of laughter and kisses, they decided to pack up the fairies and study the document in their cottage, and make plans. The fairies have a little traveling cottage all of their own, a small box with a couple of windows cut in the sides, so they packed up the fairies and documents then stepped outside and Nick stepped between the traces of Octavia's Ralli cart and without a second thought transformed into a Ramtops walking pony and Octavia quickly buckled him in.

He was so excited about the constitution that he forgot...

Soon Nick was trotting to the cottage, barely noticing Octavia's tugs on the reins. The snow swirled as they traveled, and they were halfway to the cottage when Nick realized that, out of habit, he had changed into a horse. "Oh no," he gasped, and his thoughts rang in Octavia's mind. "Oh NO!"

"What's the matter, honey?"

"It's wrong, it's all wrong!" Nick broke into a sprint, racing toward the cottage, ignoring Octavia's tugs on the reins. He slowed down but went past the cottage, still ignoring Octavia's tug on the reins. He stopped at the shed out back, and Octavia heard Nick's voice in her head weeping in terror, "I can't do it, I can't get out."

"Nick, baby, what's wrong?" Octavia stroked the horse's withers as the pony started to twitch and kick a little. Nick was fighting back the panic that welled up in him, and he didn't know how long he could control it. He spent months trapped in an eagle's body and eventually chose to starve to death to escape that nightmare, and now it's happening all over again. Octavia hurried to unfasten the belts and soon the horse was free from the cart, but Nick's voice kept saying, "I can't do it!" Octavia tried to reach out to Nick with her magic, but his magic was so different, so ancient, it would take her weeks to understand how it worked.

The horse became more hysterical and began kicking, and its last kick hit her Ralli cart. "Hey! That's my cart!" shouted Octavia, and she picked up Teivas and gave the horse a hard swat on the rump with Nick's enchanted walking stick and there was a bright sapphire flash of flame and suddenly the horse was gone, and Nick was laying in the snow panting and shaking.

"Nick needs his book," a tiny voice said from the fairy's box.

"I'm sorry," said Nick, shuddering in the snow. "I forgot, I was thinking of that constitution, and I wanted to get you home." Octavia helped him to his feet as the snow swirled around them. "Ever since the dragon I was in bowed to Jia it was getting a little harder each time to get out of the animal's body. Tonight it's been almost impossible... and each time is getting worse." He picked up the cart's traces and hauled the cart into the shed, hoping the familiar task would mask his horror.

"Papa needs his book," said a fairy in the box. "He needs it in his castle."

"What castle? And what book?"

Nick answered in a shuddering voice. "Buggy, Pepin and I were able to enter Artafána... she gave it to me. Saatus said it was built by the Mountain Ergonian Elves. They wrote the book of their power, the Vanemate Rasside Jõud, but it's not about their power, it IS their power." He lifted the box and looked in on the fairies. "Are you saying that I should move the book to the castle?" The fairies all nodded in unison. "And that will fix me?" this time the fairies nodded, but not as enthusiastically. "How do you know this?"

"You got the magic from the book; you get the magic fixed from the book." Sometimes fairies know things.

"That castle sent me to the Xuantang throne room," said Pepin from the porch.

Octavia looked at him oddly, then at Nick, who said, "As soon as I opened Artafána I felt your call and saw the throne room. I could see you and how scared you were and as I walked into the castle, I decided to show them a dragon."

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" asked Octavia.

"We've been busy with real people, and genuine problems. That ancient tunnel isn't going anywhere."

They entered the cottage, and Nick lit a fire in the hearth, and soon the dancing flames were casting shadows that danced on the walls. Octavia clung to Nick as the fire slowly warmed the cottage, and she could feel the terror in his soul. "Sit down and relax dearest. Play some music for Marlon and me while we make dinner." He eased back into the ancient chaise, picked up his dulcimer and strummed an old song that Teivas once gave him, and Octavia fell in love with it. It was an elven love song written long before the elves became so arrogant, a trait that Vesstan was fighting against. The fairies fluttered around him, singing the song in Mesta Keel, the language of the forest elves. Slowly the peace of their little cottage sank into Nick, soothing his terrified heart.

He looked up at Gula, who was preening herself (himself?) on the perch made from a barkless tree branch. She was multicolored with long tail feathers and a hooked beak. Kind of like what you would get if an eagle dated a macaw. "What kind of bird is Gula?" said Nick out loud.

"Teivas knows," said Moonpuff.

"Teivas, what kind of bird is Gula?" Nick asked.

Over by the door, Teivas stood patiently in the oliphant foot umbrella stand. "Gula is a tropical bird called a Gargoyle Eagle because their eggshells are hard as rock."

"She's a tropical bird?" asked Octavia from the kitchen. "What is she doing here?"

"Same thing I am," said Teivas. "Spying on you and your husband for Saatus."

"Is that true?" Nick could always tell when Teivas only told part of the story.

"She was in the garden in Artafána and followed you out so Saatus put her to work down here."

Nick strummed another tune, then asked, "Teivas, what's wrong with my magic?"

"It is what you expected. When you became a Xuantang dragon, it infected the elven magic in your soul. Xuantang magic and Elven magic are incompatible with each other. The fairies are right; you need to hold the book again and let it drive out the Xuantang magic.

Octavia busied herself in the kitchen behind the hearth. She had cast spells on the stove and all the cookware before her magic could cause a problem for the baby, so all she had to do was place a few pieces of wood in the firebox, close the stove door, and the wood burst into flame. The big cast-iron stove would be hot enough to cook or bake in a matter of moments. She put a stewpot on the stove, added the ingredients: meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, salt, pepper, flour, and water. Then she put the lid on the pot. She turned and watched the self-kneading dough roll around on the cutting board. When it was done, she put in on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. "Get to the table!" she called.

Nick sat down, and she gave him a hot bowl of stew, two slices of freshly baked bread and a crock of freshly churned butter, then sat down next to him with a bowl of her own. "How come the stew that you make with magic tastes better than the stew I worry over for five hours?"

Octavia just smiled and said, "because I made it."

Nick looked around, then placed his hand over hers and said, "When was the last time it was just you and me?" It was true, they always had someone there with them, one of their reformed crooks like Alfie or Carl, or the dwarven lovebirds, Buggy and Eryri. There was always somebody there. Now the farm crew cabin is finished and the demi-giants have moved in, and the guard house is finished so Buggy and Eryri have claimed it as theirs until spring.

"It's kind of nice, just the three of us here for dinner," said Pepin, looking up from his bowl.

"ESSS!" agreed the colorful bird Gula from her perch near the chimney as the house fairies fluttered around her.

"Where is the book?" asked Octavia.

"It's in the Bet ha-Kise Temple College. I figure I'll just temple hop over there and check it out."

"Ummm... there's a problem with that..." said Octavia, blushing with embarrassment. She explained how she destroyed the Bet ha-Kise Temple in her rage.

"All is well," said Nick. "Plowing and planting isn't for months. We'll put Teddi and Kaleb to work pulling the Ralli cart, and we'll get to Steil Thein when we get there."

<><><><><>

It still wasn't snowing down in Troyer's Corner yet. The village of Troyer's Corner sat southeast of Waleston in a deep valley. There was a circle of standing stones so old that no one remembered when they were erected. In the center of the circle crackled a small fire, and around it, several women gathered. All were wearing black, with black shawls and black wide-brimmed pointed hats. Each carried a broom as a conveyance and a symbol of office. "What are we going to do about him?" cackled one witch.

"Do? What is there to do?" cackled another. "We're not a guild, we don't charge dues, he's done nothing wrong."

"He's a HE and HE claims to be a witch!" screeched the eldest.

"That magic he practices!" cried a young witch. "He turns into other creatures. He doesn't borrow or enlist or follow like a proper witch, mind you, but he changes shape!"

"He's got a DOG for a familiar!" shrieked a witch who was disgusted with the idea. So was her cat.

"His broom has no bristles, and he SHARES it with a WIZARD!" screamed an old hag whose broom had few bristles itself.

"As if the broom's not bad enough 'e shares 'is BED WITH A WIZARD!" squawked a witch and with a "Whoomp!" the flames in the fire leaped up ten feet in the air at her words, brightening the faces of everyone there.

"Cleena, honey, could you stand back from the fire when you're pontificating with a cup of your 'special' tea?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do about him!" boomed one of the younger witches. "We're going to support him. We're going to help him just like any other witch."

"Matilda Potts, have you lost your senses?" asked Agnes Dempsey, the oldest witch at the gathering.

"The second child he ever birthed was a pair of twins and one was stillborn, and he brought it back to living!" shouted Matilda. "And none of us has yet to thank him for that child!" Witches believe that all children in Uduithia were their responsibility, and saving one like that is the greatest gift a witch can give to their sisterhood.

"Where was he when Mortimer Pick fell down and broke his ankle?" demanded a witch in the shadows.

"Mortimer Pick broke his ankle in Little Brimp, two score miles from Elm Springs. Where were you, sister Depraysie?" continued Matilda. "Isn't Little Brimp your village?" She glared at the gathered witches. "That male witch paid the taxes of every family in Hay-on-Wægn county out of his own pocket so everyone could have some money for their family for Yuletide this year."

The circle was silent for a long time, then a small voice spoke up. "He handed Granny McAlister's girl a gemstone when she had her first child, a naggate. Pure green it was, as green as her baby's eyes," said Sabia Gulch.

"He kept those dwarves from gutting Bear Mountain," said Derdrui Wintersmith.

"He found me an' Roddy on the road with naught but a cow and a box of chickens to our names. Married us up, planted us in a witches cottage and delivered my Little Nick and Darla. Now I'm learnin' from Granny Smolt, and Roddy is feeding us all with the farm" said Bella McTavish.

"At's cause he's your cousin!" snarled Agness Dempsy, Bella's grandmother.

"Don't matter!" said Bella. "He did it, he saved Roddy an' me. Where were you? My own grandmama..."

"He teaches readin' and writin' at his bookstore, a penny a lesson I hear," said Agrona Knith.

"He invented Messenger Candles for his expectin' wimmin," said Neas Forelock, a senior witch. "If she needs him, she lights the candle. The other end of that candle is in Nana Partridge's cottage and it lights up, letting him know he's needed, and he heads out."

"When needed, he doesn't lollygag along," said Agnes Dempsey, who was demanding his head moments ago. "He changes to a racehorse, or a falcon and he's there in moments."

"Most important, he makes her happy," said Matilda Potts softly. "The last time her rage was up, she launched fireballs from the top o' Black Mountain and hit Steil Thein she did. They say she hit the throne room in Chéng shì, alla way over in the Xuantang Empire, fired from right over there. What's gonna happen the next time her rage is up? Only he calms her, only he can save us. We need to give him our support."

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Chapter 18 - Winter

It was Octavia's first winter in the mountains, and she was amazed at the amount of snow that fell from the sky. They had to lock up the Ralli cart in the shed because the slim spoked wheels got bogged down in the snow and they were afraid that Teddi or Kaleb would rip the wheel off the cart. Luckily, they found a toboggan in the barn that Nick converted into a sleigh for Octavia. He attached a wooden crate in the center of the toboggan for her to put her groceries and other items in, and she could lean on the box when they went sledding down to Elm Springs. There she met up with Ena McCrory and Darina Ivers, and the three women, along with Ena and Darina's mother, Erin Metsker, helped the young duchess to prepare for Yuletide in the mountains and motherhood, which would soon follow.

The snow in the Snowcross Mountains normally fell quietly and slowly, although abundantly was a term that applied at times. Teddi and Kaleb made their living keeping Nana Peacock's drive clear of snow with the ancient horse-drawn plow, which in the spring is used to grate the roads and eliminate canyons, which in Torwin-Armistad are called potholes. To Teddi and Kaleb, it's the same as skidding logs, which they enjoyed, so the two mules remained fit and employed through the winter.

When the snow was heavy, Nick and Octavia spent their time snuggled together in the cottage, which thankfully was easy to heat. A small fire in the cookstove filled the cottage with warmth. Luckily, Nick had a book that detailed the art of playing a dulcimer; he was also given the knowledge of music from Saehrimnir, and together he and Octavia played and sang. They wanted to teach Jia all about a mountain Yuletide, which was still a month away. When the weather was fair, they would ride Teddi and Kaleb to Waelmore Castle and work on lessons with Jia. Sometimes they had a mule pull them on a toboggan. Crossing over Breeder's Peak on a toboggan pulled by Teddi or Kaleb could either be riotous fun or an arduous nightmare. Finally, the king asked, "Why don't you use the temple of Ruhena?"

Almost all cities and towns of good size have a temple of some sort to a god who needed a temple at the time of its construction. The Temple of the Woods was always Waleston's official temple, even though you had to cross a mountain to get to it. Nobody remembers who the original god was that was worshiped in the Temple of the Woods. Nick was sure that Grigeor de la Montesquieu, the ghost of his great-grandfather (seven times removed) would know; he's been there at the temple for over 400 years. However, sometime in the past century, a temple to Ruhena, the goddess of revenge, was quietly built in Waleston.

Why not temple hop to Waleston? Because it's Ruhena. Ruhena and Saehrimnir were always on the outs, and the animosity that gods hold for each other applies to their followers. Being the adopted son and daughter of Saehrimnir did not make Nick and Octavia welcome in Ruhena's temple.

The road over Breeders Peak was a kingdom-owned road, so the kingdom was in charge of snow removal. Teams of men and ox-drawn plows kept the road open as well as possible. The team of men working the north face of the mountain was joined by three demi-giants, Alfie, Bertie, and Dexter. Hugues and Carl worked on the south face of the mountain. It was a poorly kept secret why Hugues wanted to be on the Waleston side of the mountain; he was smitten by Lucy Anne Smythe, a demi-giant washerwoman in the palace.

"Aye, the big guy has it bad," said Buggy as he indulged in a pipe after dinner with the duke and duchess. Under the table his hand traced up the silky thigh of Eryri. "'Tis not often that a demi-giant falls for his lady love, but when the giant falls, the giant falls hard."

"Do you think he'll want to bring Lucy Anne over here?" asked Octavia as she leaned back after a delicious meal that Nick had prepared. It was Sunday, and every other Sunday the "Eldrin River Pirates" as Sir Ned called them, tried to gather for a meal, and sadly it was the first meal that Hugues missed. It was truly a sad thing that he missed it, because Nick went all out hoping that Hugues would bring Lucy Anne with him. Nick presented the party with a smoked turkey that he smoked for six full days, oven-roasted potatoes, baked parsnips and carrots, and Octavia's self-kneading bread.

Finally, at the end of dinner, Nick raised his glass. "To you my friends, Vesstan, Seldanna of the Rofir, Bughac, Eryri and our missing members, Hugues and Lucy Anne. It is you who protect Octavia and I as we try to provide a homeland for you. To the pirates and our women, long may we sail!"

"Hear, hear!" they cried as they laughed. The pirate jokes were getting out of hand, but they were still funny. They raised their glasses of wine, the name and origin of which Nick refused to reveal, and toasted their friends and the reason they had gathered. Because it was the men who prepared the meal and set the table, after dinner it was the girls' turn to clear the table and wash the dishes. They didn't mind because for some reason Octavia had the most incredible kitchen pump on the planet of Kodu. It looked like a normal kitchen well pump, but all you had to do was raise the handle and water flowed into the enameled steel sink.

"This is amazing! Is this your magic?" asked Seldanna of the Rofir.

"No," said Octavia with a laugh. "This magic existed before we were wed. I did push the magic a little bit and make the water hot or cold depending on how high you lift the handle, but the outhouse is all mine."

"I could spend the winter in your outhouse," sighed Seldanna. "So warm and toasty!"

"She bewitched mine too!" said Eryri. The outhouse next to the guardhouse was warm and toasty as well.

"Could you come to Irla Stein Anore and do the same thing for my outhouse?" asked Seldanna.

Octavia laughed. It was a simple spell, and it wasn't on the outhouse but on the ash bucket itself. "As a late wedding gift and baby shower gift I'll present you with a magical ash bucket after Marlon is born and I can practice magic again."

"Ash bucket?" asked Seldanna in surprise. The ash bucket was a part of everyday life on the planet of Kodu. Ashes from the hearth were collected in a bucket and set in the outhouse. After you used the outhouse, you tossed a scoop of ashes down the pit to keep it odor-free. Octavia enchanted her ash bucket to keep the outhouse warm through the memory of the fire that was in the ashes. It was a unique application of simple earth magic, but it worked like a charm. She was trying to come up with a way to turn her two-hole outhouse into a two person size sauna.

"At university in Torwin-Armistad we had indoor plumbing," said Octavia as she scrubbed a plate. Usually when she said that a man would laugh or claim no such thing existed, but for some reason any woman she mentioned that to would seethe with jealousy. No trekking outside on a cold, blustery night, no shuddering and trying to "hover" over a frozen toilet seat. The place that you need was right there, inside with you. The idea was heaven to the three in the kitchen.

From the other side of the chimney, they could hear Nick strumming his dulcimer while the fairies sang sweetly. "That's Varresh Keel!" gasped the tall, slim elven woman. "The fairies are singing yuletide carols in the royal language of the elves!"

"You act like its sacrilegious or something," said Eryri as she dried a plate and handed it to Seldanna, who could reach the upper cabinets.

"It's... it's not a secret language, but it's rarely used. I haven't heard it since I was in the Temple of Al Yrdite."

"It heals Nick," said Octavia softly. "His magic is ruined, and if he changes to an animal, he can't return to human. He has such horrific nightmares and he's heartbroken that he can't get to someone who needs a witch quickly anymore."

"He can use Teivas to fly like on a broom," said Eryri.

"Yes, he does it, it's not very fast and he says it's like using an enchanted broadsword to spread butter."

Nick finished the song he was playing, and the fairies returned to their favorite perch, a set of elk antlers that had been hanging on the wall forever, as far as Nick knew. Octavia wanted to take them down, but they just wouldn't come down. When asked about the antlers, the ghost of Nana Peacock said, "I tried to take them down when I was young too, but they won't come down. I was told by Granny Witlow, my great grandmama it was because the antlers were here first, and the cottage was built around them."

"That was a sweet carol," said Vesstan. "Your quartet of fairies sang in royal Varresh Keel as well, a nice touch."

"The girls like to sing in that language," said Nick as he strummed idly on the four-string dulcimer. He didn't say that it calmed the nightmares he's been having since that terrible day he was stuck in a horse's body. "So are you spending the night with us or are you trooping back into the woods then back out here in the morning? We'll be leaving early."

"I believe that Seldanna planned to spend the night here," said Vesstan. "If that is well with you."

"It's fine, we haven't spent much time together since you moved your people onto Morna Oron," said Nick, using the Elf name for Black Mountain.

"No we haven't," sighed Vesstan. "Seldanna and Octavia are becoming close friends. She grew up hating humans and blaming them for all the curses that elves bring on themselves. It's good to see her drawing close to Lady Octavia."

"Wait until she meets Ena McCrory," said Nick. Ena always considered Nick a kid brother and grew up torturing him. "She's a completely different breed of human."

"Meister vajad oma raamatut!" cried Sundrop from up on the elk antlers.

"I know, I know," sighed Nick.

"Book?" asked Vesstan. "The fairy said 'master needs his book' and I'm assuming you're the master. What book do you need?"

"Vanemate Rasside Jõud," said Nick with a sad sigh.

"It doesn't exist, I tell you," said Buggy, muttering into his tankard of ale.

Vesstan had heard Nick mention the ancient book of Vanemate Rasside Jõud often enough to believe that a rogue copy of the oldest book known to Elvendom might truly exist. "Where is it?"

"It's in the worst kept library I've ever seen in my life," said Nick.

"The library of Bet ha-Kise Temple College of Wizardry," said Buggy with a burp into his tankard. He got up, walked over to the fireplace, opened a trapdoor in the floor, and started to climb down. "Anyone else for more ale?"

Nick slid his tankard across the floor to Buggy, and Eryri cried "Me!" from the kitchen and soon appeared with her tankard. "How did you know it's in Bet ha-Kise Temple College of Wizardry's library?" asked Nick.

"Worse kept library I've ever been cursed to peruse." Then, noticing the shocked looks on the faces around the room, Buggy cried, "Just because I'm a dwarf it doesn't mean I don't enjoy a well written tome or two on a snowy night." With that, he ducked down into the basement.

"He does read a lot," agreed Eryri, as Buggy handed up her refilled tankard from the keg in the basement.

"Why do you need this book?" asked Vesstan.

"Poppa is broken!" cried one of the fairies, but she was shushed down by her fellow fairies.

"His magic is corrupted," said Octavia, as she and Seldanna joined the men in the center room. She told Vesstan of how Nick changed into a dragon to greet Jia but chose a Xuantang dragon, and somehow the far-eastern magic involved corrupted the elven magic in his soul. "Now hush, and sing!" Octavia sat on the chaise next to Nick and handed him his dulcimer and took his ale from him.

"A lonely bear went a-hiking, hiking, hiking..." started Nick. The guys laughed and joined in. It was a silly drinking song about a horny bear that went looking for a mate and tried to have sex with every animal on the mountain.

As the fire died down, Nick and Octavia rolled out the mats, blankets, and pillows for their guests. Vesstan and Seldanna were naked before they could get under the covers. Eryri was blushing furiously as she crept under her blanket. Elves believe sleeping clothed was unhealthy, while dwarves have no problem being fully clothed at all times, including a bath.

Nick and Octavia climbed up the narrow staircase and entered their bedroom. It was the warmest room in the house, with vents on the floor allowing the warm air to rise. Octavia was soon in bed, pulling the fur cover over her, and Nick quickly joined her. They kissed and caressed each other, basking in their lover's warmth and scent. Octavia gently rolled on top of Nick, a very unsubtle way of letting him know she wanted him.

Gently they made love with Octavia on top, her cries and whimpers of delight muffled by Nick's arm as she sank her teeth into his flesh. The pain of her pearly teeth became an aphrodisiac, spurring him on as he made love to her from below, and finally they reached their zenith in a series of muffled squeals and grunts of delight.

As they lay panting in the dark, wishing each other a good night slumber, the curtain in the doorway into their room slid back and the bedroom was flooded with light, the four fairies were circling around the ceiling, glowing, illuminating the lovers, and there in the doorway was Seldanna of the Rofir, naked and enchanting. Her nipples were as bright red as her eyes. "Ahh, one last ride of the dragon foul empress?"

"What?" gasped Octavia as she rolled off Nick and turned to look at Seldanna. Then, with moves so fast Nick could barely register them, Seldanna turned, raised a bow and drew back on the arrow, and released the shaft in one smooth, polished move. The arrow crossed the ten feet in a flash and pierced Octavia's heart, killing her instantly.

"NO!" shrieked Nick. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" The bloodlust he thought was buried and gone rose up with a roar. Everything that he and Octavia had been through, and now she's taken from him like this. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" and he dove across the room, his hands reaching out for Seldanna's perfect throat to rip it open wide. No level of hell was bad enough for this elf, but she just smiled at him as he dove.

Just as his fingertips contacted that perfect throat, hands grasped him and pushed him back. "All is well, my love, it's over, all is fine," his dead wife whispered. "Darling, it's fine."

"SHE KILLED YOU!" Nick cried as Octavia held him back.

"No of course she didn't honey. I'm right here for you like always.

"Get his walking stick," said someone, and Nick saw the silver end of his staff, Teivas, come into his range of vision. There was the sound of a snap, and his sight was blinded by a flash of the purest sapphire blue he had ever seen, and he slumped back.

"What did I do?" wept Seldanna.

"You didn't do anything, zîrân," said Octavia. The elvish word she used meant 'beloved' which surprised Seldanna. "He's having horrible nightmares. It's to the point where he's terrified to come to bed. Touching him with Teivas seems to help, but Teivas isn't always nearby."

"Oh gods," groaned Buggy. "Who's that health guy?"

"Nick," said Vesstan. "He's a witch, they're all about health."

"No, the health god, we can turn around and stop at his temple."

"Tervis? He can't help, this is a magical affliction," said Octavia sadly. "We've tried."

"What did I do?" groaned Nick.

"You made this awesome canvas cover on the wagon," said Vesstan. "I think you worked on it all night."

"Oh yeah," groaned Nick. He remembered making love to Octavia, then after she fell asleep he slipped out to the barn and assembled the canvas cover on the wagon. Several hoops of sprung steel held the canvas up in a semicircle over the bed of the wagon. Fully assembled, it was like riding in a tent. It was dry and warm, and the only person caught out in the weather besides Teddi and Kaleb was Buggy, who lost the coin toss and was driving. Nick sat in the back snuggling with Octavia, and he fell asleep and had the dream.

"Your grace," said Vesstan. "You may be the duke, but as captain of this pirate ship I give the orders. You have a temple key so when the ceremony is over and the toasts are said, we come back to Elm Springs, and temple hop to Steil Thein and get your book."

"There's no temple in Steil Thein," said Nick and Octavia at the same time.

"The temple of Bet ha-Kise, god of harvest," insisted Vesstan.

"His temple has been moved to Pirangi."

"Ugh," groaned Vesstan. Pirangi is a large town fifty miles northeast of Steil Thein in the center of Brassica country; endless fields of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and sprouts fill the air with a noxious odor that's driven stronger vegetarians than Vesstan to an all-beef diet. "It's winter, we'll be safe, we temple hop to Pirangi, get on a train or coach to Steil Thein and grab his book."

"I want to ride a train..." mumbled Nick as he slipped off to sleep while a terrified Octavia held him.

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Chapter 19 - A Giant's Wedding

"Gods be damned, you look like all eight levels of hell," said King Uric. "When's the last time you got any sleep?"

"It has been a while. I'm sure Octavia is telling Queen Elinor of the issues I've been having," said Nick softly. He didn't want too many people to hear. "Vesstan and I are going to fix this as soon as we're done here."

"If you can stand," said the king. He turned and ascended his throne. "Is everyone in place?" called King Uric. He was excited; he loved witches' weddings, and the fact that the witch performing the wedding ceremony was a friend made it all that much better. It was rare that witches' ceremonies were held in the throne room, but the bride was an employee of the crown, so this was a benefit of her employment.

"Yes, your majesty," said Nick.

"Who is groom's witness?" asked Tiebald Mustel, the clerk of court.

"Vesstan Aedi, mayor of Irla Stein Anore, and Bughac Orebeard, mining executive," said Nick.

"And the bride's witness?"

"Miss Daisy Smythe."

"Thank you," said Tiebald, and he headed off to enter the names in the official register. Witches' weddings only need one witness, but for a palace wedding the king requires a witness for the bride and a different witness for the groom regardless if it's a witches' wedding, Pagan wedding, temple wedding, or civil wedding with the king officiating.

Nick turned to the groom, who looked nervous. "Hugues, relax, there's nothing to be nervous about... I can even deliver the baby if it comes to that."

"Your grace!" said a shocked Hugues. "She's not...! We're not getting married because of that!"

"I'm just trying to loosen you up a little. Relax my huge friend."

"I'm sorry," said Hugues Du Gouey. Then he added. "Well... maybe a little," which brought a chuckle out of Nick.

"At least you had an excuse to miss dinner yesterday."

"Sorry, the king and queen invited us to dinner. They outrank you," said Hugues.

"Yes they do."

"Would you two stop clowning around, this is serious," hissed Buggy.

"Said the one of us that's never been married," whispered Vesstan.

The courtroom was filled with palace employees, friends, and family. Finally, the bride, Lucy Anne, and her sister walked up the aisle, her parents seated with Hugues' parents, all four demi-giants so proud and happy. Then Nick noticed that Hugue's father looked just like Jehans Du Gouey, Nick's first sergeant, right-hand man, and closest friend for years. Nick told himself to relax; he's been gone over a year and a half.

Lucy Anne looked overwhelmed; the king and queen looked so regal in their finest, the king wearing a simple deep blue uniform with silver piping, the queen in her finest gown. Next to her were Princess Sophia, Prince Exavier, and Prince Abraam, so cute! With them was that little Xuantang boy who was of Xuantang royalty. He was always so sweet and polite to Lucy Anne. Then the witch, in a dark midnight black gown with a Uduithian Medal of Freedom at her throat for saving Black Mountain, and her husband, the duke, in a uniform similar to the king's but with many, many more ribbons and medals and he was clutching a black walking stick.

Nick stepped forward and said, "Friends, family we have gathered here today... what? Lucy Anne, do you have a question?"

"I thought the witch was going to perform our wedding," the seven foot tall beauty whispered. And she was beautiful, a darling, cute face, an hourglass figure and legs to kill for.

"I am doing the wedding, the pretty lady behind me? She's a wizard. Wizards can't do weddings. It's a union thing."

"I didn't know."

"It's fine Lucy Anne. Don't be nervous. You know us, Vesstan, Buggy, and me, I'm Nick. We're all Hugue's buddies."

"Pirates," she whispered.

"Shhh! It's a secret." That got Lucy Anne to laugh. "Shall we start?" Then, in a clear voice, he restarted. "Friends, family, we are gathered here today to look at the king and queen of Uduithia." He turned around and looked at the king and queen, which caused laughter to roll through the gathering. "Being serious, you all wanted to see the king and queen, didn't you? It's fine; they're wonderful people and I love them. While we're here, let's celebrate the love between Hugues Du Gouey and Lucy Anne Smythe."

He placed a hand on Hugues' shoulder and continued. "Hugues is a wonderful man, and I'm proud and overjoyed that you asked me to perform your wedding. This ceremony gives you three opportunities to break it off and walk away; after that, you're hitched for life. It's said that people who marry through a witches' wedding are closer to each other and understand each other's feeling better than people who marry at the temple or at court. Is it magic? Or is it the magic of their love? I don't know, but every time I do this ceremony, I feel drawn closer to Octavia." Nick turned and looked at Octavia, standing naked behind him. Even though it's been over a year since she enchanted him, every time he sees her in the robes of the Enchantress, robes that he can't see, he wants to sneak off with her and make passionate love in a place that they'll laugh about for years.

"For a witch's wedding all you need is a bride, a groom, a witness, and a witch. We have everything we need, let's seal our love, shall we?" He turned to Hugues and said, "Hugues Du Gouey, are you getting married of your own free will?" When Hugues said 'yes' he continued. "Did you cast a spell on Lucy Anne? Do you have any reason to believe that she cast a spell on you?"

"No."

"Very well, Lucy Anne, same questions, are you getting married of your own free will?"

"Yes," she said with a blush.

"Did you cast a spell on Hugues?"

"Just a little one," she said, blushing furiously.

"We'll find out in a moment if that's why he's here. Do you have any reason to believe he cast a spell on you?"

"No." Lucy Anne was surprised at Nick's lack of reaction to her admission of guilt.

Nick handed his walking stick to Octavia, and he took a moment to drink in her naked beauty and her blossoming motherhood. She wears that gown to public events to remind Nick that she will be waiting for him to finish the ceremony. For Nick, it's hard to believe that no one else can see her standing next to him, as naked as the moment she was born, but he remembers when she wore her enchantress gown for the first time. It was in Bovuka, and he still remembered how it slowly faded away, just for him.

He winked at his naked wife, then turned back to Hugues and Lucy Anne. "Let's join hands," and the three of them joined hands. "Many women use magical spells to get men to notice them, it's the magical equivalent of wearing a beautiful dress. Lucy Anne, your little spell got his attention, but that's not why he's here. He's here for the same reason you're here. Now join your free hands... let this circle remain unbroken..." This was the fun part, diving through the layers of relations, cousins, uncles, aunts... as she did at Wayne and Silver's wedding Octavia grasped Nick's wrist so she could see what he saw. Nick started exploring Hugues' family and found... "Jehans!" Nick cried out loud.

"Are you all right your grace?" asked Hugues.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize... Jehans was your first cousin." Memories of Jehans came flooding back, the good times and the bad. The affection and respect they had for each other were worthy of a grand novel.

"That's what I meant when I said he was my kinsman," said Hugues, as the memory of stumbling over Jehan's body in a darkened hallway came roaring back to Nick.

"I didn't realize," said Nick weakly. A tear streamed from beneath his eye patch, and it took Nick a moment to gather himself. "I'm sorry Lucy Anne, but Hugues cousin and I were very close." He took a deep breath and said, "Luckily Hugues and you are not close at all. I think tenth cousins? Twelfth? Not unusual for Demi-giants." He released their hands and stepped back.

"This is your last chance. If one of you wants to leave, go now. I will stop the other... with a lot of help from Vesstan and Buggy. Don't be afraid, my best friend Wayne's girl Silver walked off on him two ceremonies in a row, but the third time was the charm and now they're happily married with a house full of babies."

"I saw it happen," said King Uric with a chuckle, getting into the folksy atmosphere of the witch's wedding ceremony.

"Do we have rings?" Both Hugues and Lucy Anne produced a simple gold ring, and Nick smiled. The rings weren't necessary; in fact, in the poor mountain communities they were rare. "Wonderful. Hugues as you place your ring on Lucy Anne's finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge you my love, now and forever." Hugues placed the ring on her finger and repeated the vow. "Lucy Anne, as you place your ring on Hugue's finger, please repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed, and pledge you my love, now and forever." Lucy Anne almost squealed with joy as she repeated the vow. "Now hold hands, look into each other's eyes and tell them you love them. With the blessing of the king, I pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss now and seal your commitment, and you are married."

As Hugues and Lucy Anne kissed, Nick did an about-face and bowed deeply to the king. "Your majesty, on this day Cosong Second, in the year of your reign thirty four thirty one, I performed the wedding ceremony between Hugues Du Gouey and Lucy Anne Smythe."

"May the blessings of their gods go with them," said King Uric, sealing the wedding ceremony.

A reception was held in the dining room, and the king and queen attended. Princess Sophie took a sleepy Prince Abraam up to his room for a nap, and Jia was the darling of the event. He had only seen one demi-giant before, and now there were seven of them, and they were treating him like royalty.

Nick wanted to stand off to the side and watch the bride and groom celebrate, like he always did, but he got drawn into the party. King Uric was over to the side with the bride's parents, telling them about Lucy Anne's hard work as a washerwoman. "The king knows the employees of his palace?" gasped Lucy Anne's mother, Dottie.

"Of course he does," said Queen Elinor. "Whenever he has a run-in with his advisors, I find him in the kitchen or the laundry chatting and helping."

"Helping? Seriously you jest," said Lucy Anne's father, Walkelin.

"Elinor and I were not raised in a palace setting," said Uric. "Nothing settles the heart and mind like busy hands doing productive work. I was raised in the kitchen, cooking and serving. Elinor was raised to be a witch, and she helped train our Sir Nicolas."

"It was a busy day and a local jester introduced her to me as Missus Queen, and we went traipsing across Black Mountain for herbs and medicinals, and I never recognized her as my sovereign" said a still embarrassed Nick. Queen Elinor's musical laughter rang through the dining room, signaling to Octavia that Elinor was reminded of the "Missus Queen incident."

"You seem to be friends with the king and queen," Hugues's mother, Sally Mae, said to Octavia.

"They are wonderful and have been so kind to us," said Octavia.

"Did you ever think that when you moved here you would become friends with the queen?" asked Sally Mae as Elinor came over to greet them.

"When Lady Octavia moved here, she was a queen," said Queen Elinor.

"I was a queen for four hours," said Octavia.

Nick meanwhile sought Hugues' father, Seinfreid. "I knew the moment we met that Hugues and I would be friends," said Nick. "His cousin Jehans was my first sergeant in the Breaze Royal Guard. He was my right hand, and I miss him dearly."

"Why not?" said Seinfreid. "After all, you did kill him."

"What? No, it was an insurrection by General Steinhauer, he killed Jehans, and the king, and my wife Ziska. I had to fight my way to Jehans position at the rear entrance."

"AND HE WAS DEAD!" shouted Seinfreid. "You left my brother's son there to DIE!" Seinfreid pulled a cutlass; the edge was chipped and blunted from a long, hard night of fighting, but the scrollwork and the inscription were unforgettable. "Recognize this sword?" asked Seinfreid as he pointed at Nick's eye patch with the sword.

"It's Jehan's sword, I gave it to him when he became sword master. He was my instructor."

"Yes he was, Captain de la Montesquieu. You thought if you changed your name I could never find you, didn't you!"

"No! Jehan's sword... it's in Teurnia! I fought my way to Teurnia with that blade and I gave it to King Lars Ranzau when he asked me to disarm. It's in a place of honor now!"

"And soon it's going to be in your throat," snarled Seinfreid. "Jehan's death destroyed my brother, and now it's time you paid for that too!" He jabbed at Nick inexpertly, and Nick dodged his thrust. Out of habit, Nick reached for his own blade, but all that was there was a stick. He threw the stick at Seinfreid and ran off.

"I've never run from a fight," panted Nick to himself as he ran through the dark halls of the palace. "I cannot fight this bout, not against Jehan's uncle, not against Hugues' father." He had to hide until Seinfreid's anger faded.

Meanwhile, in the reception, Seinfreid stepped up to Hugues and said, "Is your employer well?"

"He's a bit crazy, but we fought together at Tähelepanek Point, a braver man I've never met. Why do you ask."

"I went to him to thank him for being a friend to you and Jehans but it looked like he was asleep, standing on his feet."

"Oh no," rumbled Hugues.

"He just looked at me strangely, then he said that something wasn't true and ran off... he threw this walking stick at me."

Hugues recognized Teivas immediately. "Lady Octavia!"

Octavia turned to Hugues and saw him holding Teivas. "Where is the duke?" she asked.

"He ran off," said Seinfreid.

Octavia closed her eyes as she clutched Teivas in one hand and gripped her staff tightly with the other. The engravings on Vestas glowed and flickered with deep sapphire flames, then the orb at the top opened to reveal a huge eyeball made of gemstone. It began looking from side to side. Then it looked up at the ceiling, sweeping from side to side. Then it looked down at the floor again, sweeping side to side, and stopped. Then the eye closed, and Octavia opened her eyes. "He's down in the holding cells with Stan. Vesstan, Bughac, come with me. Hugues, stay here and enjoy your party."

"The duke, is he well?"

"It's a magic thing," said Vesstan as he hurried to follow Octavia.

When they had left, Seinfreid turned to Hugues and asked, "What is a magic thing?"

Hugues sighed and said, "Papa, if I told you of all the magic things I've seen in the past year, you'd lock me in a cell with the duke."

Just then a deep-voiced bell was heard ringing; it was the Cloister Bell, calling for help somewhere in the castle. King Uric turned to Queen Elinor and said, "Keep the guests smiling, I shall be right back."

"Don't, let Sean handle it," said Elinor nervously.

"He's my duke, that makes this my duty," and the king gave his queen a quick kiss, and he promptly left the reception. The king knew immediately where the problem was from the sound of the bell. He called his guards to him and headed down into the dungeon. The king rushed down the stairs at a speed that unsettled the four men guarding him, and when they entered the prison section, they could hear Nick screaming. They heard other voices trying to calm him.

They turned a corner and there in the hall was Nick; he had a hold of Stan by what should be the skeleton's throat. "You bastard! I'm going to kill you again!" shouted Nick.

"I beseech you, your grace, I am not General Steinhauer," said Stan as he tried to push Nick away. Nick moved close enough to Octavia for her to reach out with his walking stick. She touched his head with Teivas, and a brilliant flash of deep sapphire light lit up the dungeon for a second, and Nick dropped to the floor.

"I do not know if I can do that many more times," said Teivas.

"He ruined everything... he killed everyone..." wept Nick as he slowly fought to wakefulness.

"He's gone," said Octavia. "You saved me when you killed General Steinhauer."

Wakefulness washed over Nick, and he realized what was happening. The look of shock and chagrin on the young duke's face was heartbreaking. "I'm so sorry," groaned Nick. "I embarrassed you again." His expression became one of unredeemable sorrow when he put his hand on Octavia's abdomen and said quietly, "Daddy is sorry Marlon, but I can't live like this any longer. Be good for mommy..."

With a movement so fast that no one could stop it, Nick snatched the dagger out of Buggy's leg sheath and brought the razor-sharp blade to his throat. Vesstan caught Nick's wrist and fought to pull his arm back. "Blood of Lohas he is strong!" called Vesstan, hailing Lohas, the elven goddess of life. Buggy grabbed Nick's arm also and helped Vesstan pull back Nick's arm.

As the men wrestled, Octavia rose and clapped three times loudly and boldly said, "Issand Phuelia! Ma anun teid!" (Lady Phuelia, I beseech you!) There was a sapphire blue flash, and standing before them was a minor goddess. She was barely taller than five feet. Her hair was black and straight; her eyes were dark brown and almond-shaped. She had the unsettling glow of a goddess around her, but around that was a sapphire halo of Octavia's magic.

"You hailed, daughter of Saehrimnir?"

"I plead for Duke Stein; his dreams are killing him."

The little goddess looked at the struggle, and she moved through the crowd that had gathered around Nick, passing through them the same way a dream slides through the night. She knelt and placed her tiny hands on Nick's temples, and suddenly the duke sagged to the floor. Vesstan and Buggy fell back as his arm went limp and he lost his grip on the dagger.

"Behold, the scion Duke doth embody twin arcane dominions within his very being," said Phuelia softly.

"What?" said Buggy.

"She said he's got two kinds of magic inside of him," said Vesstan. "Be quiet."

"Magic, bah! I've never even seen him pull a rabbit from a hat."

Ignoring Buggy, Phuelia continued. "Two divine energies wage an unseen war within the duke's soul, their conflict unending until dominion is claimed."

"I caught that one," muttered Buggy.

"What can we do?" asked Octavia.

Phuelia gave Octavia a look of confusion. "My tiny emissaries have whispered into thine ear the path ordained. Yea, they sang unto you." And saying that, the tiny goddess faded, and the sapphire halo around her disappeared as she left.

"The fairies? She was talking about the fairies?" said a confused Octavia.

"They said he needs his book."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 20 - Nick's Book

"OUT!" shouted Ruhena, goddess of Revenge. "By whose decree art thou permitted to trespass upon this sacred ground?"

"By mine," said Nick as he stepped out from behind Vesstan.

"The unworthy who venerate Saehrimnir shall find no haven within these hallowed grounds!" shrieked Ruhena.

"A warehouse. Your temple is a warehouse," said Buggy with a laugh. "And what is stored here? It looks like lumber... how sacred!"

"OUT" screeched Ruhena. She was seven feet tall with crimson hair chopped extremely short. She was wearing a man's flannel work shirt and trousers; over that she wore a leather combat halter, sword and scabbard, and over that she wore a cloak with a hood. Her facial features were sullen, almost masculine. "Thy presence is not consecrated to this sacred domain. Only those whom I have chosen may tread upon this sacred ground, for it is I who decide their worth!"

Suddenly the crate next to her sprouted three daggers all at the level of her heart. Nick, Vesstan, and Buggy all threw their daggers at once. "Dost thou dare challenge My divine authority with threats?"

"This is Duke Nick Stein," said Vesstan. "My people call him Aen-Belth, the God slayer."

"He is not, saith the Heavens," said Ruhena.

"You should ask Zeddicus," said Buggy. "This is the last face that sorry excuse for a god ever saw."

"Thou art devoid of the authority to utter threats against My being!" cried Ruhena.

"Actually we do have the authority," said Nick. He tugged the ribbon around his neck and pulled the key out of his shirt. "Attempting to block a temple key holder from using a temple is grounds for death."

"Sanctify this hallowed ground by departing hence, upon the consummation of thy purpose." With that Ruhena faded from sight, and the three looked around.

"Who owns this place?" asked Nick.

His question was rhetorical, but Vesstan began looking at shipping documents attached to crates and lumber. "It looks like you do," said the lanky elf. "All of this was addressed to the Duchy of Wægn. What are you going to do with it?"

"A blessing!" gasped Nick as he looked at the stacks of lumber. "I need to build police barracks; I need to build a house for my son..." then he smiled. "I want to build a pub for Elm Springs!"

"I will second that motion, but don't you think we should follow the king's direct orders and get you that book first?" said Buggy.

"Let's go, we need to link hands," and they stepped through the columns in the center of the warehouse and stepped out into another temple. There they sat, panting for breath, recovering from the transit from one temple to another. "I'm so used to traveling between temples that are linked by a tunnel," panted Nick. As he said that, the trio was greeted by Bet ha-Kise, god of the harvest. Bet ha-Kise was barely taller than a man 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.

"Captain Montesquieu! So good to see you again," called the god, speaking in the vernacular of the common farmer.

"It's just Nick now, your holiness."

"Aye, and your prayers for a rich harvest were answered, were they not?"

"Surely they were, and your prayers for a busy temple were answered as well, were they not?"

Bet ha-Kise smiled, but that smile disappeared when he looked into Nick's eyes. "You're not well, your grace." He placed his hands on Nick's temples and said, "Let me add my blessings to that of Phuelia and Ruhena. Now go! You must hurry or you will have to walk."

"Wait... you said I had the blessings of Ruhena?" asked Nick. "She hates me."

"No, my friend, she's your servant. Go!" With a salute, Nick followed Buggy and Vesstan out the door across a snow-covered field. There were well-worn footpaths through the snow heading from the town of Pirangi to a building out among a field full of tramway cars.

"That's the office King Uric told us to go to," said Vesstan.

"The king likes tramways, he and Prince Exavier have a clockwork model tramway," said Nick.

"I want a model tramway," mumbled Buggy as he fought his way through the snow.

Finally, they reached the office, and Vesstan stepped up to a clerk's desk. "We need transportation to Steil Thein."

"The next passenger train westbound comes into the Pirangi station at seven tomorrow morning. The cost is two dollars a ticket."

Buggy elbowed up to the desk and asked, "Is there any other way to get there? We're in a hurry."

"That's it for passenger trains."

"What about mixed trains? My friend Duke Darby swears by mixed trains."

"That's not for men of your standing," said the clerk, and Nick realized they were still dressed in their wedding finest.

"We'll risk it."

"I can only sell you tickets to the end of the line in Slate Bottom Creek Junction. There's a work stop at Steil Thein, you can get off there."

"Fine, how much?"

"Fifty cents each. And you need to hurry; they're pulling out soon."

"Now I know why Ned Darby likes mixed trains," said Nick as they dashed across the yard to train number 63. The train had a locomotive, a dozen box cars, a tank car, two stock cars, and a combined baggage car, mail car, and passenger car. They climbed on as the train was getting ready to pull out.

"Hope you're not in a hurry," said the conductor as he looked at their tickets. "We have about two hours of work in Steil Thein before we head west."

"Perfect!" said Vesstan. "We can detrain in Steil Thein, take care of our business, then hop back on the train. At Slate Bottom Creek we can catch the carriage to Elm Springs. Is that well with you, your grace?"

"I've always wanted to ride a train," said Nick as they pulled out of Pirangi yard and headed southwest for Steil Thein.

<><><><><>

Queen Elinor, Eryri Brawnkin, Seldanna of the Rofir, and Duchess Octavia decided to make it a Girl's Night at the palace. They were joined by Princess Sophia as they slipped down to King Uric's basement pub. There they were joined by Lizette Fahy, who was Sean Fahy's wife, and Octavia's mentor, the wizard Izhar. When he stepped into the pub, Octavia immediately grabbed him and led him to the back room where a couple of games of Diamond Witches were being played by off-duty guards. She pulled him into a darkened corner and whispered, "I used magic."

"How much?" asked Izhar.

"A lot. I summoned a goddess."

"Outside of their temple?"

"Down in the dungeon."

"Oh my," groaned Izhar.

"And I held her here until we were done with her. She had my sapphire halo around her." Octavia looked as if she were going to cry. "I tried to shield Marlon... tell me he doesn't have three heads and no feet or something like that."

"May I?" asked Izhar, and he placed his hands on her abdomen. A look of relief spread over the ancient wizard's face. "He's fine, he's taking a nap. I don't think he noticed mommy's magic at all."

"Thank the gods," gasped Octavia as she leaned back in her chair. "Please don't tell Nick. He's so terrified of magic harming the baby."

"He's not the only one. You are terrified yourself."

"I am... I used a lot of mana bringing her here from Xuantang and holding her here. I was afraid I hurt Marlon."

"You must love Duke Stein a lot," said Izhar.

"With all my heart and soul," sighed Octavia. She crossed her arms and hugged herself, pushing up her breasts. "I miss his arms around me; I miss cuddling with my kitty at night."

"So I don't have a chance?"

"A chance?" asked a stunned Octavia as she stood up.

"My lady, you were raised to be pampered, I could take you away from the farm, from the smell of animal shit, of cooking and cleaning and outhouses. You could live here in the royal palace in comfort."

"They don't have indoor plumbing here either," said Octavia as she put her arm around her old friend. "Good try though."

"Oh well," sighed the old wizard. "I'm always here if you get bored of cow shit."

"My friend, you know that there is no way to steal me from Nick."

"A boy can try, can't he?"

<><><><><>

By the time train number sixty-three stopped at the yard office in Steil Thein, Nick was a bleary mess. The blessings of the gods Ruhena, Phuelia, and Bet ha-Kise prevented him from drowning in a nightmare; the blessings nudged him awake as soon as a dream started, nightmare or not.

The train crew used the passenger portion of the mixed car as their rolling office. The conductor laid out his paperwork on a café table while the three rear-end brakemen gathered around the tiny coal-burning potbelly stove for warmth. They became friends with the overdressed human, dwarf, and elf who told the strangest stories of wars in faraway lands, of mysterious ancient temples right under their noses, and of kings and queens who were just regular people.

"Ok, we've got about two hours work in Steil Thein yard. When the eastbound mail passes at midnight, we're pulling out, whether you're on the train or not, got it?" said the conductor, Zander McKenna.

"Yes sir!" said Vesstan, and they set off across the yard toward the Temple of Bet ha-Kise College of Wizardry. Even though the temple had moved to Pirangi, the college was still there in Steil Thein. They were at the wall that circled the campus in a few minutes. Nick was dizzy from lack of sleep, but he could tell his personal purgatory was soon ending. "How are you doing, your grace?" asked Vesstan.

"The thought of returning to Octavia is the only thing keeping me going," said a saddened Nick.

"We're here... how in blazes do you get in?" demanded Buggy. "The gate is glued closed."

Nick looked and saw that the gate was covered with a cream-covered goo that hardened solid. "Octavia did that, I forgot."

"How did that sweet little thing do that?" demanded Buggy as he studied the sealed gate.

"Same way she shot my foot off," said Nick.

"SHE did that?" asked a shocked Buggy.

"How do you think it came off?"

"I thought it just fell off," said Buggy as he watched Nick inspect the ground. "It could happen... what are you looking for?"

"Footprints in the snow. They have to get in and out of there." Nick walked along the wall until he saw a well walked path in the snow. "There!" He ran forward, and further down the wall was a doorway that was inexpertly cut into the wall; a metal door stood open, inviting them in. "Here we go," said Nick, and he led them onto the campus and to the center of the quad. "The statue!" he gasped. All that was left of the statue of a wizarding student was an arm sticking out of the snow, holding what might have been a book. "That's the old temple, she said she glued the gate closed and blasted the temple columns away so Horatio Tinsmith couldn't escape."

"Aye," gasped Vesstan. "We watched the shots off Black Mountain from the mine, then days later from the village we saw her take her last shot."

"Over there, that's the back side of the library," said Nick. He was fully awake now, and he led them across the darkened campus to the library building, which was attached to the low-power magic research wing. Buggy gave the door a tug, and it wouldn't open. He fumbled and fumed with the latch.

"Who in every bloody level of hell locks a library on a college campus?" cursed the dwarf.

Nick stepped up to Buggy and snatched the dagger from Buggy's leg sheath. "Who wouldn't secure their dagger with a suicidal maniac wandering loose?" said Nick as he shoved the dagger blade between the door and the door frame, breaking the latch bolt with an angry twist, and the door swung open.

"Oi!" complained Buggy as Nick returned his dagger. "Why didn't you use your own dagger?"

"And break my blade? Not a chance."

Nick led them into the library, and it seemed bigger than the last time they had been there. All was dark and silent in the library, but it felt like the books recognized them and wanted to applaud in welcome and thanks for all the work they had done there a year ago. "Thanks guys but shhh!"

"Who are you talking to?" asked Vesstan.

"The books. Shhh!" Nick raised Teivas, and the tip of his walking stick gave off a soft golden glow, and they went looking for Vanemate Rasside Jõud, the Power of the Elder Races, with Teivas lighting the way.

Nick started by looking it up in the card catalogue. The book was still listed in the catalogue, but it wasn't in its shelf location. Buggy went up to the main desk and checked the huge mound of returned books that hadn't been shelved yet, but it wasn't there. In desperation, Nick went into the breakroom to see if it was being used as a coffee trivet like some of their other books, and thankfully it wasn't there.

He finally stopped in the bindery, a place where he had spent months learning his favorite hobby of restoring ancient books, and there it was, still in the binder's clamp where he had left it over a year ago. He released it from the clamp, and the book fluttered in his arms, happy to be held by the only human who cared about it. The gold leaf that Nick repaired on the leather cover gleamed, and the original vellum looked fresh.

As he held the book to his chest, he felt something: a feeling of being untangled, a feeling not unlike a comb being pulled through long, freshly washed hair. Everything straightened out inside his body, his mind, and his soul. Nick actually made a whimper of relief as he and Vanemate Rasside Jõud were reunited.

"How dost thou feel, my lord?" asked Vesstan.

In reply, the smiling, handsome body of Nick was replaced by a snarling Dingaroo. A vision of pure evil, a cute, white long-eared cotton tail bunny standing over seven feet tall with six inch long fangs, long claws on its paws covered in some other creatures' blood, and from its pouch protruded the bloody, mangled leg of some hapless human that the monster was keeping in case it became peckish later.

"Stop that!" snapped Buggy, and Nick returned to his proper body. "Gods below I hate it when you do that," mumbled the dwarf.

"Welcome back to health, your grace," said Vesstan with a laugh at Buggy's continued grumbling. The appearance of the dingaroo clearly caused Buggy to nearly soil himself. "How do you feel sire?"

"Good, I can't wait to try sleeping."

Looking through the pages, he still couldn't understand a single character in the book. He went to the card catalogue and filled out a transfer card showing that Vanemate Rasside Jõud was transferred permanently to Library L579935, placed it in the catalogue, took the original catalogue card and put it in the book's pocket, then headed out.

"Ok, let's put this in its new forever home," said Nick happily as he stepped out the back door into the snow.

"Shh!" hissed Vesstan. The elf held up a hand and cocked his head to hear.

"What is it?"

"Angry voices," said the elf.

"That's an invitation to leave, said Nick and he yanked Vesstan and Buggy out into the snow and he pushed the door closed. Then he held the tip of his walking stick to the broken lock and with a bright flash Teivas welded the door lock closed and the three dashed across the moons lit quad. Both Kuu and Rahn were full, the ring around Kuu and the double rings around Rahn were spectacular. Nick, Vesstan and Buggy gave off double shadows, one shadow tinted reddish from Rahn, the moon of blood.

"Gods how Octavia and I love to watch the moons on nights like this."

"What does she think about running?" asked Buggy as the library door burst open and the sound of angry voices grew louder. The dwarf broke into a sprint and dashed across the quad, passing Nick and Vesstan. Their pursuers spotted the three running men in the moonlight and gave chase.

"They spotted us," said Vesstan.

"Just concentrate on getting to that train, we'll take them with us if need be," panted Nick.

They reached the hole in the wall, and as they dove through, Nick handed the book to Vesstan. "Take this and go. I'll hold these boys back and catch up with you at the train."

The moment Nick dove through the doorway, he stopped and shoved the big metal door closed. Then he began welding it in place with Teivas. The light from Teivas's welds reflected off the snow, lighting the way for Buggy and Vesstan. Then from inside the wall, Nick heard Dean Meece, dean of The Temple of Bet ha-Kise College, call out, "Grab that beam boys, we'll ram this door down."

Oh yes, Nick remembered that voice. He also remembered when Dean Meece grabbed a terrified Octavia and said, "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 that mindless rant, because his hand was on Vanemate Rasside Jõud at that moment and he and that book were coming to an agreement.

Dean Meece was pink and pudgy and not well-suited for physical activity. To be honest, he wasn't well-suited for intellectual activity either, but his job required neither; he was chair of the faculty. "Hoist it up boys! Swing that end around and on three. Ready? One... Two... WAIT FOR IT!!! Three!"

The gathered students, many in their pajamas and boots, swung the heavy wooden beam back, then forward to crash into the metal door in the hole in the wall around the university. There was a loud "KUNG!" that rang through their bones, but the door stood. "Again boys!" shouted Dean Meece. "One! Two! THREE!!!"

The beam swung, and this time Nick's weld held, but the hinges shattered and the door pivoted open on its welded hasp, and standing there was the nightmare fuel of every man who ever hiked through the Snowcross Mountains in the winter. A massive, twenty-two stone beast of muscle and fangs. With a snarl, the snow-white Snowcross Mountain Lion opened its enormous jaw and thundered a roar that echoed off of each window and bowel in the college, then it dove through the open doorway and charged. Students scattered in every direction, but the shock-white mountain lion had an easy and filling meal planned and raced straight for Dean Meece.

With a scream of terror, Dean Meece bolted for the open library door, which was not the nearest shelter. Far from it, there were many doorways he could have ducked into for safety, but Dean Meece was not known for creative thinking... or any kind of thinking, actually. Dean Meece felt the lion's paws slam into his back, shoving him into the snow where he skidded face down in the snow for a half dozen yards with a white lion supercharged with anger on his back. Then the lion flipped Dean Meece over so the pudgy academic could see the anger and hate in the lion's eyes. It roared again, and Dean shrieked in terror. And then it was gone, and he was being held down by a muscular man with one eye and a military uniform covered in medals.

Dean Meece shuddered in terror; the slide through the snow had forced his pajama bottoms down around his ankles, his robe was soaked in melting snow and urine, and the man who was kneeling on Dean's gut just grinned at him. "You called my wife a loosely dressed bint!" The man took a handful of snow and scrubbed Dean's face with it, then said, "Who's the loosely dressed bint now? Bitch!" He grabbed Dean's hair, pulled his head up out of the snow and kissed him on the lips. "That's for next time, bitch." And he was gone.

Dean lay in the snow, watching a crow flap off into the distance. He took a deep breath, and the screaming began.