© 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.

While life goes on in the Snowcross Mountains, three people that were very important to Nick and Octavia remained in the chains of slavery. Secretly Catrin Wolfe made plans to escape, the only thing holding her back was the need to get Felix and Jutta Aldana together when the opportunity made itself apparent. Meanwhile, back in Waelmore Castle, King Uric III finally made a decision that had been haunting him for six years.

Gods Save the Queen

Book 5 Part 2

Yuletide

Chapter 11 - Research

Whorl 3, 3438

Waelmore Castle, Uduithia

"Your Majesty, you left word that you were to be informed if the duke was in the castle again," said the new palace guardsman, Provisional Private Rhun Howell. He was shaking and sweating, but at least he didn't stutter.

King Uric looked up from the document he was drafting and looked at the young soldier. He looked so young! Did his mother know where he was? He looked past the trainee and saw Corporal Hugh Fahy, the chief trainer of the new guards, and brother of the head of the guard, Captain Sean Fahy. Hugh was an outstanding trainer, but at the moment he was standing at the study door, fighting to hold back a smile. This was Hugh's favorite part of training: breaking down the trainee's fear of addressing the king.

"Arise, Private Howell. Had an assassin crept in behind you, you would have met your demise ere you regained your footing."

"Y-y-yes, your m-majesty," said the young trooper, and he struggled to his feet.

Just a word from the king got him stuttering. Hugh had more work to do with the lad. "Kneeling before the monarch is quite proper for the nobility, as it instils in them a sense of humility. You, Private Howell, have a duty to perform, which elevates you to a caste above their own. Should you feel compelled to exhibit deference, a bow shall suffice, yet only to the extent your armor permits it."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Of which duke do we speak, Rhun? There are two whose whereabouts I am ever desirous to know."

The guard was startled that the king called him by his first name. "Sire, Duke Stein is in the castle."

"Kindly inform His Grace, the Duke of Wægn, that I wish to speak with him at his earliest possible convenience."

"Yes, my lord!" and the young guard bowed and hustled out of the king's study. "He called me by my first name!" he gushed to his trainer, Hugh.

"That means he knows you, and that he's keeping an eye on you."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It is, but only if you don't fuck up. Come on, we need to find the duke." The two guardsmen walked through the castle at a quick pace because when the king says, "At his earliest possible convenience," he actually means, "Now." They traveled through ancient passageways illuminated by torches that recognized palace employees and lit as they approached and extinguished themselves after the employees passed. Without those torches, the passageways would be completely dark. They finally reached the pub that the king used for relaxation after court meetings, and there was the ratty old wooden door that the Wizard Izhar places hither and yon throughout the castle, as the king would say.

The door was not on hinges, it was just leaning against the wall of the king's pub, and if you picked it up, it was just a piece of wood. But if someone grasped the doorknob, then twisted and pulled, it would swing open like it was on hinges and reveal the room beyond. If it was lying on the floor, it would swing up revealing a staircase down to a different room. With a nod from Corporal Hugh, Provisional Private Rhun Howell grasped the doorknob and opened the door, revealing only gloomy darkness beyond.

They stepped through the old wooden door and found themselves in a broad, open dungeon. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and a few torches burned with greasy, rancid smoke. They guttered and crackled and gave off very little light. Chains hung from overhead beams and each chain ended in a manacle. There were ancient devices of extracting information throughout the dungeon. The iron maiden stood open, ready to consume a victim, a rack was next to it, built to rip limbs from joints. Next to the rack was a particularly nasty device called the Scavenger's Daughter. Just the threat of the Scavenger's Daughter was enough to extract a confession.

On the far side of the dungeon was another door, this one actually hanging on hinges. They opened that door and found Izhar's laboratory. It was a converted dungeon, but well-lit and filled with all forms of devices needed for astrological study. There was a large mobile of the Thaalian system. The sun Thaal was in the middle, hanging from the ceiling on wires. The large planet Zigu hung nearest to Thaal, and outside of Zigu hung their own home world, Kodu, with her three moons.

Izhar was lecturing two elves on the history of the Thaalian system and Kodu. "The rogue planet Tānlán passed close to Zigu in our past. Back then Zigu orbited outside of Kodu. The passage of Tānlán drew Zigu closer to Thaal, and when it passed Kodu, one of Zigu's moons, Aestea, struck our moon, Hiphus, causing planetary destruction. Life only survived because the elves created underground cities."

"We did that because the gods warned us," said the male elf Tanithil Glynrie.

"The gods warned you because they were living on the moon Aestea. The remains of their home world are now rings around Kodu and our moons Kuu and Rahn."

"What about Livi?" asked the female, Tsarra Naedove, a beautiful dark elf with flowing white hair that cascaded over her dark brown shoulders. She was taller than other elves but not as slim. She was muscular like her companion Tanithil, and her figure was curvaceous like the Duchess of Wægn. Tsarra's breasts were large and wobbled with every movement. It was not unusual to see dark skinned humans, they were known throughout the northern regions of Kodu, but dark elves were rare. Her parents were King Erolith Xillee and Queen Thaola, rulers of Silvanor, the elf kingdom in the Leaterel Forest northeast of Torwin-Armistad.

Finally the elf warrior turned to the palace guards and said, "Yes?"

Provisional Private Rhun Howell cleared his throat and said, "Sir Tanithil, Princess Tsarra. The king would like to speak with Duke Nicholas as soon as possible." Rhun followed Hugh's instructions: he kept his eyes locked on Princess Tsarra's forehead because that was the only part of her body that didn't appear so appealing.

"Thank you, we will notify him," growled the elf warrior.

Rhun drew himself up to his full height and said, "Sir Tanithil, we were directed by the king to deliver the message to his grace. We were informing you as a courtesy."

Princess Tsarra choked back a giggle. This young boy was telling her that he needed access to the duke? Before she could tell him to piss off, Tanithil said, "follow me." He led them through a door to a library where books filled shelves. The duke was sitting at a desk meticulously copying the text from an ancient tome. His cramped, spidery text filled the page, and a leather portfolio showed that he had copied many pages. Rhun cleared his throat and Duke Nicholas glanced at him, then went back to writing. "Mister Howell, how are you settling into palace life?"

Rhun glanced at Hugh nervously. Did Hugh know that the duke picked him from the gutter in Torwin-Armistad and brought him to Uduithia and asked Hugh's grandmother, Nanna Fahy, to find a home for him? Rhun was officially one of "Nick's kids," children he rescued from the slums of Torwin-Armistad. "I hope I am living up to the king's expectations, Your Grace."

"He says you are. I suppose you have brought me a message from the king?"

"Aye, sir," said Rhun, bowing. "His majesty said to tell you that he wishes to speak with you at your earliest possible convenience."

"That means now," said the duke as he began to blot dry his page with a rocking blotter. He collected his papers, left a bookmark in the book he was reading, blew out the candles, then closed up his portfolio and stepped off his stool. "Lead on, Guardsman Rhun."

"Aye, yer grace," and the young lad proudly led the duke all the way back to the King's study. "Your majesty, I present the Duke of Wægn."

"Thank you, Rhun. Please close the door and ensure our privacy."

"Yes, your majesty." Rhun closed the door, shaking horribly, but he didn't stutter.

"Well done, young private," said Corporal Hugh Fahy and he patted Rhun's shoulder.

"How did the duke know I had a message from the king?" asked the trembling guard.

"By the way we allowed you to interrupt him at work," said Tsarra Naedove. There was nothing soft and feminine in her voice.

"Be kind," growled Hugh. "Young Rhun is one of Nick's Kids. Plucked from the very gutter that spawned our duke, he was. Me own grandmother found Rhun a bed and three squares. Then, when he was old enough to live in the barracks, she turned him over to us to train up, and make a man out of him."

"Does he do that a lot?" asked Rhun.

Tsarra softened for the first time Rhun had ever seen. "If we didn't set a limit on how many he could rescue, he'd come back with half the city of Torwin. We nearly filled a tramway car last time."

Tanithil nodded in agreement. They had all been tiny children that time, two and three years old, all of them cast into the gutters... how could humans do that? An elf would never consider doing such a thing. The birth rate of elves was so low that every elf child was precious. Elflings were practically worshipped and were famous in the village or linn (city) they were raised in. It appeared that the only elf settlements that are producing babies were the combined settlements. They were towns that welcomed all races of elves: plains, forest, and mountain elves. The motto of the village of Irla Stein Anore was Koos Oleme Paremad Päkapikud, which is Ühine Keel (Common Elvish) for "Together we are Better Elves."

Soon Duke Nick stepped out of the King's office and turned to his guards. "Let's go." He turned to the palace guards and said, "Rhun, Hugh, thank you. We can see our way out." They left without another word.

It was a brisk evening as the sun set behind the Snowcross Mountains. "I didn't realize it was that late, the duchess will have my hide," said Nick as he reviewed the papers he had in his portfolio.

"Find anything interesting, Your Grace?" asked Tanithil.

"Hmm? Oh, yes... indeed. I found where my great-grandmother bought all of Black Mountain for fifty dollars in gold..."

"An entire mountain for fifty Torwin dollars?"

"Well... fifty dollars was worth more back then... and it doesn't say Torwin dollars. Fifty Xuantang dollars would have been a fair fee for a large chunk of that mountain... oops, thank you." Nick was so entranced by the results of his research that he nearly fell off the walk into the gutter. Tsarra nudged him back onto the flagstone sidewalk before he stepped into the gutter.

They were soon blocks away from the palace in the narrow city streets of Waleston. The streets were crowded with people, many heading home from a long day of toil, while others headed off to work the night shift. As they walked through the streets, the crowds grew thicker. Nick remained oblivious to the crowds as he looked at his papers in the waning light. Then he snapped the portfolio closed and his left arm shot down and grabbed a small wrist.

"Normally when I reach into my pocket I expect to find my own hand, not an extra." He looked down to see who the pickpocket was and gasped. "Toby!"

The tiny boy looked up at Nick with tear-filled eyes, his chin trembled. He was filthy again, and his clothing was worn and filthy. "Missus Edna died..."

"... so they turned you out onto the street. Where's your sister?"

"Aunt Margo."

Nick frowned, showing his displeasure. Toby's sister Gwen went with Missus Edna's daughter Margo and Toby was put back on the street. Toby was one of "Nick's Kids." Nick rescued Toby from the pits of hell in Torwin-Armistad's Tubes district nearly a year ago. "Where are your shoes?"

"Your Grace, you're going to be late for court," whispered Tsarra.

"Sod the court," barked Nick as he hoisted the little boy and held him close. The poor tot was shivering. "Come on, let's find you a new home."

"I don't like it here," said Toby, as he tried to hide his face from the crowd of people.

"Let's see if village life is better suited for you," and they turned off Bakeberry Street and went up an alley to a large, ungainly looking warehouse. Nick grabbed the doorknob and turned, and it opened. He didn't need to use a key; a silver temple key, hanging from his neck on a ribbon, gave him access to all temples. The key was a sign of trust between Nick and the gods, and it even allowed him use of the Æther portals in the temples.

This warehouse was actually a temple. A mysterious golden light illuminated the interior which was filled with lumber and crates of building materials. It was all building supplies that were collected over the years by the previous duke, but then a god moved into the warehouse and turned it into a temple, and suddenly Duke Henna Roem no longer had access to his booty.

A goddess stepped out from behind a stack of lumber. She was about seven feet tall, and her appearance was much softer than usual. Ruhena, goddess of Revenge, can change her appearance to suit her mood. Normally she had short red hair and dressed like a man, but this time she was wearing an ankle-length plaid skirt and a silk blouse, and her crimson hair was long and thick. She had an athletic figure and she looked at the child with curiosity. "I heard you had another child."

"This fellow is not mine; this is Toby. We are trying to find a foster parent for him."

"What's that?" asked Ruhena.

"It is someone who will watch over the lad and raise him. Maybe even adopt him."

Ruhena looked at Toby and nodded. "I'll do it."

"Ruhena, this is a human boy, do you know how to raise them?"

"It can't be very hard; you survived."

"She's got you there, Your Grace," whispered Tsarra.

"A child must be fed three times a day and must get at least 8 hours of sleep. He needs clothing and shoes, and he needs to learn his numbers and to read."

"I have a room ready for him," she said and she gestured to a corner where a small bedroom was set up and walled off with neatly stacked lumber. The goddess looked hopeful and anxious to hear Nick's response.

"Why do you want to do this, Lady Ruhena?"

Now the goddess looked worried and nervous. She steeled herself and said, "I'm lonely."

"You can associate with the other gods when you get lonely. Is there anything else?"

"I..." she steeled her courage and said, "I am a later Astean. I was born here on Kodu, and was not raised among peers. I've been alone my entire life, and I can only guess at what love is. My mother said that this was the best way to learn love."

Nick suspected as much. Astean is the term that the gods use to identify themselves; they came from Zigu's Kodu-sized moon named Astea, which was destroyed above the surface of Kodu and caused the Starfall.

"Who is your mother?" asked Tanithil.

"She considers Sir Nicholas one of her dearest friends. She is Saatus, goddess of fate."

Nick tried to suppress a chuckle. It had to be Saatus. She's always been nice to him; she even gifted him with a mule. "I need to speak to Octavia before I make up my mind," said Nick firmly.

"Surely you can make a decision on your own," said Ruhena.

"Of course I can, but when I want to make the correct decision, I talk with Octavia. And you should talk with your mother to see what she thinks." When Ruhena looked like she was going to scream, Nick said, "I'm not a mother, and neither are you, so we should consult the mothers we trust the most. I'll talk to Octavia, you talk to Saatus. Tell her I insist on careful deliberation. Meanwhile, I will take Toby home and clean him up, maybe find new clothes for him. Tomorrow morning, I will start him in school, and then we will meet at the Temple of the Woods. If everyone agrees, Toby can go home with you."

<><><><><>

Octavia and their four children were at The One-Eyed Duke by the time Nick walked in with Tanithil, Tsarra, and Toby. Octavia glared at Nick's elf guards and demanded, "Do either of you know how to read a clock?" She scooped Toby out of Nick's arms and said, "It's bath night for you, mister. What a mess you made!"

"Your Grace, we were in Izhar's laboratory..." started Tsarra, but Octavia held up a hand.

"Say no more. I haven't been there in weeks to set his clocks; I'd be surprised if any of the clocks there are still running."

"He had some wooden clocks with weights that I reset, but I don't know where the key to wind his other clocks is," said Tsarra.

"Oh, he lost those keys years ago. They have to be wound magically."

"If they have to be wound magically, couldn't you cast a spell that would wind them when needed?"

Octavia nodded in agreement. "I tried that. He wiped out every spell, grumbling that he was being spied on. Now, where did you get this little ball of dirt?"

"I'm Toby."

"He's one of Nick's Kids; we brought him out of Torwin-Armistad last year and placed him with a widow who loved him. She died and poor Toby ended up on the streets again."

Just then Ena McCrory, who was waitress that evening, brought out hefty beef sandwiches for the elf guards and a plate of fruit slices and cheese for Toby. The starving tyke tore into the dinner as the bar filled. It was Wednesday Night - the Duke's Court was being held. It was more of a town meeting than a judicial proceeding. So far charges needing Nick's judicial authority were rare. The occasional drunk and disorderly charge was brought up, the penalty was always the same, twenty-dollar fine and four weeks of birch beer or soft apple cider at the pub, no wine or ale.

Nick finished spreading red cole on his beef sandwich. Red cole is prepared horseradish and as Nick says, "Hot enough to light a pipe with." He gave Octavia and Hollie a kiss then carried his sandwich to the bar and sat on a stool facing the crowd. "Sergeant Harris, if you will call the court to order."

Sergeant David Harris, desk sergeant at the Wægn Gendarme Office (Annabelle picked that name) stood and rapped a beer mug on the bar. "Hear ye all! County Court of Hey-on-Wægn County is now in session, his grace, Duke Nicholas Stein presiding. All who have business with the county please bring your business to me for inclusion on this evening's docket."

"Thank you, do we have any criminal actions?"

"Yes, Your Grace." He handed the list of charges to Nick as a rough-looking man was led before him. "Zander Spivins is charged with highway robbery. He was apprehended on Breeders Peak Road in the act of holding up the afternoon coach."

"Uphill or downhill bound?" asked Nick.

"Uphill, Your Grace."

"MISTER Spivins! Do you have any idea how hard those horses have to work to get that carriage moving again on the uphill incline? What do you plead?"

"Not fucking guilty," growled the accused highwayman.

"Fine. Bailiff, hold Mister Spivins over for the king's court. Add charges of contempt of court and unnecessary cruelty to animals to his already impressive accomplishments. Who is next?"

"An old friend Your Grace," said Dave as Zander Spivins was led away cursing. "Leighton Doyle was apprehended assisting Zander Spivins in the act of highway robbery."

Nick sighed sadly as a skinny, sickly looking little man was led into the pub. "Aww Leigh, again? Why?"

"Nights grow chill, yer grace. Six weeks a-scrubbing stables, an' I gets me three hot meals an' a warm kip. A right fair bargain, that be."

"Leigh, you know, one more time and I have to send you to the king, and he gets pretty grouchy about highwaymen. Have you ever considered gainful employment?"

"Who'd be hiring a doddering old codger like meself, eh yer grace?"

"How do you plead, Leigh?"

"Guilty as Satan, yer grace."

"Fine. Take him away, and give him an extra blanket." Nick turned to his friend and longtime subordinate, Preston Prescott, the Captain of the Wægn Gendarme. Before he could speak, Preston nodded.

"I'll find room in the budget to hire a stable hand. The boys say he's quite good with the horses. Used to be a jockey in Armistad."

"Thanks, Captain," said Nick. "Just an announcement, the king's annual duck hunt is week after next, and I will be limiting all duck hunting on my pond to bow only. No nets, no crossbows, no blunderbusses." There was a groan from the crowd and Nick chuckled. "If you like ducks so much, why don't you raise them yourselves? We want these ducks nice and complacent for the king's bow. And sorry, but I will be fencing off my land that weekend." Another groan from the crowd. "It's your own fault; your cheering and applauding every shot two years ago scared off the ducks. Mayors, do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, I do," said the bartender, Trei Metsker, who was mayor of Elm Springs. "We're preparing for the Harvest Festival. We have plenty of games planned: Ninepins, Quoits, Skittles, and Shovelboard. We have many contests lined up: archery, wrestling, pitching the bar, foot races, long jump... and Deasil has challenged the village of Widdershin to a football mob match."

"I can't wait for that," said Nick. Mob football was hilarious, usually most of the audience ended up playing along with their favorite team. A pole was erected at each end of the field and the idea was to touch the ball to the pole without using your hands. The only other rule was no weapons. Great training for people interested in medical careers. "Vesstan, anything from our friends in the woods?"

"Yes, Your Grace," said Vesstan Aedi, mayor of Irla Stein Anore, a united elf village. "The Black Mountain Mounted Guard will be putting on an equestrian display of precision riding, and after the bodies are removed from the football pitch, we will play an exhibition game of polo. The duchess said she may also join us and show off her favorite mount."

That brought a lot of applause and cheering. The Black Mountain Mounted Guard all rode unicorns. They were mares, so they were even-tempered and didn't have horns, but they were lightning fast, huge, and strong. They were also incredibly beautiful. There was a lot of excitement about Octavia's mount, a pure-bred, black Tianma mare. It's still young, so it probably won't be flying yet, but winged horses are extremely rare on Edux, and Octavia has two of them.

"One more thing," said Nick. "I want to hear your thoughts on this matter. The goddess of revenge, Ruhena, has volunteered to foster a human child. Does anyone have thoughts on this?"

From behind the bar Trei said, "Yer grace, ain't no one here knows the gods like you and the duchess, and you're both a dab hand at raising the young. I'd say that you'd be the best ones to make that decision."

Nick nodded and pointed to the raised hand in the crowd. It was Allyn Evans, the ferrier. "I was a-thinkin' yer grace, if'n she raises him up right and proper, he'd become a wise hand as a temple priest. Imagine one who knows what the gods actually are thinking!"

Nick nodded in agreement. "Wouldn't that be something."

<><><><><>

When they returned home they discovered that the cottage grew. Its outside shape was different. When they investigated they discovered that a third room was added to the upper floor. The room was divided in half by a curtain. The room that Marlon and Hollie shared was now a proper nursery for two, meaning that the twins were moving out of their parents' bedroom. "How did it do that?" asked Marlon as he helped his mother bathe Toby.

"This is witch magic, I never studied that," said Octavia.

Marlon turned to his father, who was making a bed for Toby on Marlon's couch, the former throne of the Xuantang emperor. Nick was Kodu's only known male witch, he should know. "Witch magic is based on the belief that everything is alive in one form or another, so all it needs is a nudge and a suggestion and it will conform to your request."

"Does that really work?" asked Marlon as Nick tucked Toby in.

"I made you and I'm a witch."

"Mom made me more and she's a wizard."

"That means you are exceptionally blessed."

"Dad? I want to study magic. I want to be a magic duke like you."

Nick smiled and said, "I would be honored to help you in your goal, but just keep in mind, the real magic isn't in the duke, it's in the people. The people are where it all belongs. Now, off to bed."

"I think I'll ask mom to teach me."

Octavia put the twins to bed and Nick put Hollie and Marlon to bed. He was still chuckling when he finally slipped into bed with Octavia. "Tsarra told me that you had a very short meeting with the king," said Octavia.

"Yes, he was studying ancient Uduithian law. Royal Aggregation? I don't think that's right..."

Octavia sighed and said, "Royal Adrogation?"

"Yeah, that's it. He said we needed to talk it over."

"He was probably studying a legal term called adrogatio. It's an ancient law; it goes back before the modern calendar." Octavia felt Nick's hands travel over her body, and they weren't unwelcome, but adrogatio chilled her to the bone.

"I need you," whispered Nick.

"Not just yet. Trust me. Just be a kitty for a little while."

Nick rolled onto his side and sighed. "As you wish." He soon became an ink-black Sadhana Tiger and began to purr as Octavia wrapped her lithe, curvaceous body around him. They bathed in each other's warmth until a tiny scream was heard from the nursery. The scream became a three-month-old wail of anger.

"Somebody doesn't like being wet," whispered Octavia as Nick returned to his human form. Loo-loo's cries woke her brother, and he joined her in wailing.

"Somebody doesn't like to be hungry," said Nick, as he got out of bed and pulled on his kilt and ducked into the nursery.

"We could have been very rudely interrupted," said Octavia as Nick returned with an infant in each arm. He handed her Lou, who was suddenly hungry. and he laid Loo-loo on the bed and began to change her diaper.

"You are an incredible mother. Your timing is impeccable." Then Nick saw her frown in the candlelight. "What's wrong?"

"Royal Adrogation. King Uric was right, we need to talk..."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 12 - Haljas

Nexusflare 26, 3437

Qudura, Hamz Al-Jasrer

Hamz Al-Jasrer was a desert kingdom of a thousand oases and a hundred cities, each one with a patron god watching over the city like a child watching an ant hill. In the heart of the desert, at Wahat Almaebad, the Oasis of the Temple, sat Hamz Al-Jasrer's capital city of Qudura. The king of Hamz Al-Jasrer, Amaan el-Mousa III, had his primary palace there at Qudura. He also had palaces at the port city of Abu Hitmaiah, and at Sebikhan, Ad-Dahizz, and Al-Qa'idhimiya.

As for transport across the barren desert, the king had a royal caravan made up of three mare olliphants hauling his rolling palace. These were not the Mandril Olliphant that everybody is aware of. A Mandril Olliphant only stands fifteen feet tall at the back of the neck and spends most of their lives submerged in cypress swamps with the tips of their trunks above the surface of the water to breathe. The olliphant foot umbrella stand at Nick and Octavia's front door was from a Mandril Olliphant. An umbrella stand made from a desert olliphant would be over three times as big.

Nearly forty feet tall at the shoulder, the six-legged desert olliphant was a fierce hunter of giant sandworms and could live for a month without food or water as they hunted the giant sandworms in packs of up to twenty. To feed their voracious thirst, olliphants can drink water of any purity, including sea water. Special wizards called Sahir were used to tame the massive beasts. Along with the wooly triceratops, a close relative, they pulled King Amaan el-Mousa's rolling palace caravan from city to city.

It wasn't that Amaan el-Mousa had business to conduct. He would arrive at a city that had one of his palaces, and be transferred from his rolling palace to the city palace in a windowless sedan chair. There in the city palace the king would eat and sleep and entertain himself with dancing girls and young boys until the appetites of his caravan caused financial hardship on the host city. At that point he would be put back on the rolling palace and they would head back out into the desert.

Felix Aldana was a slave in the king's caravan and had served faithfully for twenty years. He was one of the finest olliphant drovers in the kingdom. He knew that if he did a good job and kept the king's olliphants calm and healthy, he would be rewarded with a visit with his wife Jutta who was currently at the Palace of the Sacred Rings in Qudura.

"Aldana!" came the call from Amir Taalib el-Jafri, the caravan leader.

Felix ran up to el-Jafri and bowed deeply. "Yes, sahib."

Amir Taalib el-Jafri was a relative of the king and therefore carried the title of Amir, or Prince, but it's doubtful that he was in the line of succession. He was happy living in the moving palace with a bevy of the finest slave girls and with subordinates like Felix, the job was easy. However today was a day that he dreaded. He twirled his long thin moustache on a finger and said, "My friend, we must talk."

"Yes, sahib."

"I mean really talk. Please call me Taalib."

"As you ask sa... I mean, Taalib."

"It appears that Mazeed el-Jaffer, the head of olliphant training has taken a liking to you. As soon as we arrive in Qudura, you start working for Mazeed as head trainer."

"I... I am honored sah... I mean, Taalib." Then he gave his owner a sly grin. "I hope I cost Mazeed a fair penny." Felix had no illusions; you don't hire or fire slaves. You buy them.

"We made a nice profit... a very nice profit. And as a thank you, when we get to Qudura you will receive a portion of that revenue to spend on that pretty wife of yours."

Felix's heart gushed with joy. He hadn't seen Jutta in several years and he missed her so much. "Thank you my lord. Thank you so much!"

"Do not thank me; your hard work has earned you this privilege, and earned me a nice profit." Then Taalib looked around and whispered to Felix, "The mark of Saehrimnir is on you."

Felix scoffed, "The god of Divine Fools. I was captured in his temple."

Taalib nodded sadly. "Are we humans not all divine fools? But it has been revealed to me that the men who captured you were singled out by Saehrimnir and were tossed onto the slave ship you were on. Alas, they did not survive the journey to Hamz Al-Jasrer."

"No?"

"Apparently their fist fights were so entertaining, the crew insisted they continue the fight until both men refused to go on. Then they were thrown overboard."

"I wish that helped. I shall miss you sahib; you were always fair to me."

"And I shall always miss you, my finest drover. His majesty shall miss you as well."

"Really?"

"No, but he should."

Chuckling, Felix returned to his job of getting the animals chained up in their harnesses. It was the same thing as harnessing an ox team, but block and tackle had to be used to lift the heavy chains into place. The olliphants had a heavy wooden beam on their necks and back and the chains were hoisted on either side by block and tackle. Felix had a crew of eight men. They were freemen but were of the lowest caste, untouchables. Felix didn't care about their caste or status as free versus slave; if they got the job done, he was happy.

The chains were stretched out and the first olliphant was placed between them, a young princess as the females were called. Felix was able to get her between the chains by himself. Her name was Shaakida and her tusks were coming along nicely. All four tusks had their very first bright brass knobs on the ends, just like the mature princesses and Shaakida appeared to be proud of her "jewelry." Two men on her back hung from ropes as the chains were hoisted by the three men on the ground, along with Felix. The two men on her back, one fore, and one aft, coupled the lifted chains into her harness then stowed the block and tackle and moved over to her left side where the ground team was lifting the left side chain into place.

The next princess was Tahleela, an older princess whom Shaakida was following. Tahleela was even tempered and didn't mind a young princess copying her every move. When Tahleela was coupled up it was time for the queen, Felix's favorite olliphant, Rozeena. Rozeena was the sweetest, most even-tempered olliphant Felix had the pleasure of working with. "Rozy darling!" called Felix.

Rozeena's trunk sniffed Felix up and down and he could feel her rumbling purr of greeting in his chest. Most people think of olliphants as murderous beasts that tear cities apart and crush people underfoot, which can happen, but to Felix, they're sweet, misunderstood, beasts of burden. "Who's a good girl then? Let's get you dressed up and ready to take a walk. What do you say girl?"

Rozeena was huge, fifty feet high at the shoulder. It was said she could drain an entire oasis by herself as she filled up with water and got ready to head out into the open desert. She liked to look pretty, so after she was coupled up to the huge anchor chains that would pull the palace, Felix would polish the brass knobs at the end of each tusk, then polish the brass bands wrapped around the tusks at the halfway mark. Then he hung glittering chains from the end knobs to the brass bands, making a sparkling display for all to see. To top it off, he hung a single brass bell from her tusk, and Rozy loved it. She would shake her head to ring the bell all night as the men worked on her. Up on her back, Felix's team laid out the beautiful rugs that Rozy would wear. Atop those rugs they erected a tent where they could find shade from the blistering sun, and they set up the drover's chair atop Rozy's head.

Felix and his team worked through the night putting the ornamental rugs and tents on the backs of Shaakida, Tahleela, and Rozeena. When that was done they hung ribbons and glittering bobbles on their chains, letting all know that this was the caravan of Amaan el-Mousa III. Finally, they rigged the golden walkway, a rope bridge from Rozeena, to Tahleela, to Shaakida, to the palace itself. When the sun peered above the horizon, Amir Taalib el-Jafri arrived to inspect the train. "Outstanding work as always my friend. Tell your people to get some sleep, we leave at noon."

"Yes, sahib," said Felix and he bowed deeply.

Taalib then introduced the man who was with him. "This is our navigator, Naasif el-Pirani. It's his first trip from the Port of Abu Hitmaiah to Qudura."

"Should be no problem, Rozy knows the way, sahib."

Suddenly Naasif el-Pirani hissed at Felix in Torwin, Felix's native language. "I'll have no half-breed slave tell me how to navigate. I will tell you the direction, you will follow my lead. Understand?"

It had been a long time since Felix was cursed for being half-elf, so Nassif's curse caught him off guard. Felix looked at Taalib and it was clear that Taalib didn't understand Torwin. "I understand," replied Felix in the local language, Al Fransic. "I am not to let Rozy follow her traditional path, and I must follow your directions."

"Do not play with me, half-breed slave!" roared Naasif as he spit in Felix's face and stormed off.

Felix looked at his owner and said, "He's going to get us in trouble."

<><><><><>

Trouble came sooner than Felix expected. Naasif el-Pirani was an arrogant, self-absorbed man who believed that his connection to the second wife of King Hamz Al-Jasrer entitled him to special privilege. He didn't sit in the forward tent on the back of the lead olliphant where a conscientious navigator would sit. He remained in the palace and would come out on the rope bridge two or three times a day to shout orders at Felix. Orders that Felix responded with, "I obey because my master bade me to obey."

The palace came to a sudden halt and Naasif el-Pirani raced along the rope ladder, from olliphant to olliphant demanding from the untouchable bottom caste filth an explanation. Every one of them said the same thing. "Wrong way."

When Naasif el-Pirani reached Rozeena, the olliphant was confused and upset and Felix was on the ground trying to calm her down. Naasif shot down the rope ladder and came up to Felix and demanded to know what was happening. Felix said, "Navigator, I followed your directions by the letter, you approved the course we took, every day for two weeks, and here we are." He gestured forward to a huge yawning canyon in front of them.

"How could you do this?" shrieked Nassif.

Felix smiled, his owner Amir Taalib el-Jafri appeared behind Nassif. "I followed your orders."

"Bow when you speak to me, half-breed!" shrieked Nassif. "I am royalty!"

"Yes, navigator," said Felix and he bowed deeply.

"Elven scum!" screamed Nassif, and he pulled a sword from under his robes, raised it high, and sliced off Felix's head. Taalib fell backwards in shock, unable to understand what happened. And to make matters worse, the moment Felix fell, Rozeena trumpeted in anguish. She roared and screamed, her trunk flailing, her front legs coming up off the ground. The other two olliphants began to join her; their convulsions of misery shook the portable palace.

"Shut up you stupid animal!" shouted Nassif and he waved his sword at Rozeena, who roared with anger and dropped her forefeet to the ground, crushing Nassif into the sand.

The olliphants only calmed down when one of the untouchables covered Felix's body and head with a blanket so Rozeena couldn't see him anymore. She calmed herself by scuffing Nassif's body into a bloody stain in the hard-packed-sand, then she sniffed the blanket sadly.

By now several guards and curious riders walked across the hard-packed-sand toward the head of the convoy. Felix's team of untouchables gathered around Taalib el-Jafri who finally got up from the ground. "Can any of you drive these olliphants?"

One terrified man stepped forward and said, "Yes affendi, Master Felix taught us all."

"Let's get this caravan moving again, I'll navigate us somehow."

"Affendi, the princesses will not move, not with Master Felix lying there."

"Then let's bury him, let the olliphants see him laid to rest with respect. Will that work?"

"Yes, affendi. Then Rozy will lead us home."

"Guards, gather shovels. You, go back to the palace and get a high cleric, we are going to have a ceremony."

"For a slave?" asked a guard.

Taalib el-Jafri shook his head and turned his back on the crowd that was gathering. "No. He is a free man now."

<><><><><>

Qudura was a marvel of mud bricks. Tightly packed two and three story buildings reminded Catrin Wolfe of The Tubes in Torwin-Armistad. However, the closer to the palace you get, the better looking Qudura gets. Five-story and six-story reddish-brown tower houses crowding narrow streets, each floor slightly different from the one below. White geometric plaster surrounded the windows in ornamental shapes. Carved wooden screens bulge outward from upper stories. Bright cloth awnings stretch across alleys. Rooftop terraces are hidden behind ornate crenellations. Bridges occasionally connect neighboring buildings several floors above the street.

At night, Jutta Aldana and Catrin Wolfe would climb onto a palace rooftop terrace, and gaze at Qudura stretching around them: hundreds of flat roofs at different heights, lamps glowing behind carved screens, cooking fires, palace towers, gardens hidden behind walls, and beyond all of it the black desert. They would both see the same thing, but both would be looking for something different. Jutta was looking for signs of the caravan coming in. Catrin was looking for evidence of a witch's coven. Normally Jutta and Catrin wear white as they're cooking and serving the nobles that didn't rank high enough to be waited on properly by a waitress. However on the rooftop at night they wore all black so nobody could see them looking over the edge of the rooftop walls.

The rooftop was their only access to the outdoors. All of the palace entrances and exits were closed and guarded. The central palace courtyard was off limits to them, which is just as well, when King Amaan el-Mousa is in town, the courtyard becomes a sex garden, so the dancing girls claim. For two decades Jutta and Catrin made do with a small charcoal brazier and some spicy sausage that followed them out of the larder, and on the rooftop they would cook their dinner and plot their escapes.

A black cat with glowing green eyes often joined them. The cat was completely average except for his glowing eyes and the fact that he faded away into the night, but his eyes sometimes remained behind for a few minutes. One evening after dinner, Jutta and Catrin were passing a jug of wine back and forth and the cat was sitting on Catrin's lap. "How come that cat always sits on your lap?" slurred Jutta.

When Catrin didn't say anything, the cat said, "Because she's a witch."

Catrin was too shocked to speak, but Jutta continued and slurred, "You are her famnilar?"

"Familiar. Yes."

"What's yer name, Sir Cat?" But the cat was silent. "If you won't speak, I am going to name you. I dub thee, Felix, after my husband. 's a good name fer a cat."

"No. It's a dumb name for a cat. It sounds funny. Only my mistress can name me."

"Then I name you..." Catrin paused and took a swig from the jug. "Wha was I sayin'... Oh yeah. I name you Haljas. It means 'prince' in Varresh Keel."

"What's Varresh Keel?" asked Jutta.

"Issss... elf talk." Now Catrin was seeing double. "Their royal language. Only Kings, and Queens, and them fancy types speak it..." and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Catrin woke up when the sun rose above the horizon and the Horns of Wudon, the god of life, sounded from all eight towers in the city. "Damn horns!" she groaned. She was fifty-six, she should be bouncing grandchildren on her lap. Next to her Jutta was curled up, slowly waking up.

The damn horns stopped finally and Catrin shook the wine jug. It was completely empty. As she made her way to her feet another set of horns started chiming. "Yilos' balls!" roared Catrin as the sound of the horns threatened to split her head apart. "Again?" she groaned.

"No, those are the Caravan Gate horns," said Haljas. The cat was sitting on the wall that ran around the edge of the palace roof.

"Oh good, Felix is coming back, at least one of us is going to get laid." Catrin looked over the edge of the wall between two crenellations at the same time Jutta stood and watched next to her.

"I don't understand..." said Jutta in a small voice as she watched the king's caravan leave. Why didn't she get her promised visit with Felix? Did he take someone else? It's something that happens to slaves that are separated from their spouse for long periods of time.

"He's not on that caravan," said Haljas. The cat looked at Catrin and locked eyes, and suddenly Catrin knew.

"I don't understand!" said Jutta for the fourth time. Now she was crying. She lived for those visits, to be in Felix's arms, to smell his manly sweat, to feel his arms around her, his hands smelling of olliphant.

"Come look," said Haljas as the black cat ran along the top of the wall to the rear of the palace where the olliphant pen was. "Look!"

Both Jutta and Catrin looked down, and they saw one olliphant in the pen. She was huge, taller than the forty-foot-tall walls. She just stood in the corner, occasionally she would shake her massive head. "That's Rozy!" said Jutta. "She's the queen! They left without their lead? What is going on?"

Jutta suddenly raced for the corner tower and tore down the steps. The tower opened into the olliphant pen, so its entrance wasn't guarded. Soon they were in the huge olliphant pen, where Old Deha, the olliphant handler, was waiting. Rozy stood in the shady corner of the pen looking at the ground, and every now and then she would shake her head and the brass bell on her tusk would ring. Jutta walked up to the giant unafraid, and Rozy sniffed her, then started making a squealing noise.

"What's going on?" asked Catrin as she watched the enormous beast gently touch Jutta with her trunk. Rozy continued to make a mournful squealing sound.

"She's crying," said Old Deha. "Ever since her master was killed, she's been out of sorts."

"Her master? Who?"

"Why Mister Felix, Miss Jutta's husband. The queen's nephew was navigating and got them lost, and he blamed Mister Felix and executed him."

"Gods among us!" gasped Catrin.

"Rozy stomped that bastard into a bloody puddle she did. She wouldn't move the caravan until they buried Mister Felix proper with prayers and clerics and wailing. They built a stone cairn over him and was declared a free man. They say Rozy cried all the way back to here."

"Oh no, Jutta!" The tiny witch dashed across the olliphant pen to where Jutta was standing in front of Rozy. Catrin had never been that close to an olliphant before and was startled at Rozy's size.

"Something is wrong," said Jutta. "She's apologizing to me!"

"Jutta dear, Felix is gone."

"How?"

"It doesn't matter. Rozeena avenged him and made sure they buried him right." Jutta burst into tears and Catrin held her tall, half-elf friend and let her weep. There was a sniff and Catrin noticed Rozy's trunk sniffing her up and down. "I'm taking Jutta home, Rozy," said Catrin. "You should go home too."

Catrin led Jutta back to the palace and said, "Let's get some supplies and go." They went to their workspace in the kitchen and filled a cloth sack with dried fruit and vegetables. When they turned for the door, their owner, Safar al-Azad, Governor General of Qudura, stood waiting for them.

"We dress in black for work now?" he asked, his words dripping with sarcasm. "You look like a couple of Edux witches." They were still wearing the black robes they usually wore on their nightly visits to the palace roof.

"We're leaving," said Jutta. "We've paid our price. You've dragged us off to your bed like we were the sluts you bring into this palace every Friday night, but now it's over. My freedom was purchased with Felix's blood."

"Ah that. These things happen when you deal with unruly beasts..."

"Unruly beasts meaning the royal family?"

"That will get you whipped!" roared Safar. "If you get back to work immediately I may change my mind."

Catrin stepped up to Safar and drew herself up to her full five feet in height. "You don't own me, Governor General, because you know it's illegal to own a slave with magical abilities."

"YOU?" Safar started to laugh but Catrin clapped her hands over his ears. A lightning bolt shot out from the palm of each hand and met in the middle, and Safar al-Azad sagged to the ground and lay there twitching.

"Never doubt the word of a Peacock Witch!" Catrin grabbed Jutta's wrist and led her out of the kitchen while the entire kitchen staff looked on in shock. Haljas appeared in front of the two women and led them straight to the king's apartment. The king's rooms were luxurious--carpets, cushions, painted plaster, tiled floors, bronze lamps, carved furniture, and gold. Everywhere was golden statuettes, chalices, plates, trophies.

"Ignore the gold. See that rolled-up carpet? That's the king's most prized possession. Roll a cheap rug around it and let's go." They were heading for the tower when the dozy guards realized someone was in the king's apartment. All the guards who were called down to the kitchen for the assault on the Governor General, had returned to their normal post where they found two women dressed as witches making off with the king's carpet.

"HALT!" they cried as Jutta and Catrin shot up the stairs to the roof. The guards tried to follow, but the door was jammed. They wasted precious time fighting the door before they realized there were other staircases to the roof.

On the roof, the sounds of alarm horns were blaring from the palace and from the olliphant pen. The sound of shattering wood giving way announced Rozy's bid for freedom. Catrin ignored the horns and concentrated on Haljas' orders. "Unroll the old rug, but leave the carpet tied up. Now sit on the rug toboggan style..."

"What's a toboggan?" asked Jutta.

"A mountain girl would know, now hurry." As soon as Jutta and Catrin sat on the rug and Jutta crossed her legs over Catrin's crossed legs, Haljas howled, "Hold on to the rolled carpet, do not untie the ribbon!" The cat sat on the rug in front of Catrin and the rug rose into the air.

"Wait, if this rug flies, what's this flying carpet for?" demanded Jutta as they sailed over the palace roof wall and toward the Kağan Gate.

"Insurance. Now let me fly this thing."

Catrin saw where they were heading then asked, "Why are we going toward the Kağan Gate? That's on the far side of the city."

"Half the army is chasing Rozy one way, the other half will have to ride through all those narrow alleys to follow us, we should get a good lead." Catrin turned and saw Rozy flatten the Olliphant Pen Gate and rumble to freedom.

"What is going on?" demanded Jutta. She was starting to break down. "Talking cats, flying rugs, mad olliphants, how are you not scared?"

"Jutta honey, I know I've told you in the past, I am a witch. My grandmother Nana Peacock is the most powerful witch on Kodu. I grew up with talking dogs and flying brooms. My Uncle Martyn loved giving the farm animals voices so they could all complain that the grass was too dry."

"I can't take it..." wept Jutta. "They're going to catch us and kill us."

"I can let you off right here, but I'm going home," said Catrin firmly. "I waited over twenty years for this moment; I tried to get you and Felix together and the three of us would leave, but he was always gone, and I couldn't leave you alone with that bastard Safar.

"Let's just go home," whimpered the tall brunette.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 13 - Wægn Harvest Festival

Nexusflare 7, 3438

Elm Springs, Uduithia

"Do you like to read, Toby?" asked Marlon at breakfast. Marlon was proud because at six years old he was learning to read and could sound his way through the children's books in their tiny home library.

"I can read my name," said the little boy around a mouthful of fried potatoes.

"How do you spell it?"

Toby looked at Marlon and chewed his potatoes thoughtfully, then swallowed. "I can't spell it; I just read it."

Marlon started to laugh. "How can you read without spelling?" but Toby just shrugged.

Octavia cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow. "I remember a little boy who memorized the letter M and decided that every word that started with M was his name.

"Mom!" groaned Marlon.

"That word too!" said Octavia.

Just then there came a tap at the back door; it was Silver Metsker and Ning Chung Hau, the mother of the Emperor of Xuantang. "Auntie Ning!" cried Hollie and she jumped off her chair to hug Ning.

"And what am I? Pasture pancakes?" demanded Silver.

"No one ever said you were that sweet," said Marlon.

"Such... a... rude... boy!" cried Silver as she swatted Marlon with a kitchen towel, making Toby and the twins to laugh riotously. Then Silver noticed their guest. "Hoy! Who are you?"

"I'm Toby."

"Do you belong here?" demanded the blacksmith's daughter-in-law. Toby looked worried and glanced from Marlon to Octavia for help. "If you don't know, then you probably belong with this motley assortment," said Silver. She turned to Octavia and asked, "How did you slide one between Hollie and Marlon?"

"Isn't that how you do it in the mountains?"

Just then, Nick entered behind the visitors and shook off the morning chill. "It's getting nippy out there!"

Ning made sure her back was to the children, then thrust her shoulders back, forcing her nipples against her silk dress. "Yes, it is."

All conversation stopped and everyone looked at Ning in wonder. The beautiful Xuantang woman blushed and cringed. Nick's jaw dropped and he finally said, "A joke? Ning, you told a joke?" She nodded nervously. "Ning! I'm so proud of you!" cried Nick as he scooped up the tiny woman and swung her around.

"My parents are crazy," said Marlon to Toby who nodded in agreement.

Nick set the stunned Xuantang princess down, then looked at the children at the table. "Come on, eat up, we have school this morning. Toby, do you have any shoes?"

Toby fought back crying and said, "They were stolen."

"You shouldn't take them off, especially when you're living in the gutter."

"I didn't," and Toby started crying. He shrieked in sorrow, threw down his spoon, and ran out of the house through the front door.

"Toby!" Nick started after him, but Octavia stopped her husband.

"Let me. He needs a mother right now." She pulled on her long black robe and her wide-brimmed wizard hat, then picked up Virga and headed for the door.

"Ah-hem! Who's the witch here?" demanded Nick.

"This is not the time for ego, darling," said Octavia, and she gave Nick a kiss, then headed out after Toby. He was running down Nana Peacock's drive crying as he ran. He was barefoot and the grass was frost-covered, which didn't help the little boy's feelings. Suddenly a witch holding a big stick with an eyeball on the top stepped out of the trees in front of him. She left the stick behind her and it stood on end, the big round eye watching her as she crouched down and gently pulled Toby into her arms. He recognized her as the breakfast lady but that didn't ease his crying.

"Hush, little one, why are you crying?"

"Shoes!" he wailed. Through his weeping, Octavia was able to hear that a woman chased Toby, knocked him down, then held him down with a knee on his gut as she took his shoes off his feet. When she got up she kicked him and walked away.

When Octavia got Toby settled down, she heard a woman say, "Is this the sacred manner by which mortals nurture their young?" Octavia looked up and saw Ruhena, goddess of Revenge. She was dressed like a farmwife in a rough-spun dress and linen blouse.

Octavia was shocked to see a goddess outside of a temple. "No, it appears that Toby was assaulted by a thief."

Ruhena crouched down to Toby and kissed him on the cheek. Then she stood and suddenly she was dressed for combat. She wore leather trousers and a leather breastplate, with a sword on the left hip and a short sword on the right, the same way that Nick used to arm himself when danger was near. "To take from the innocent is an affront to the divine order. I shall restore balance."

"Ruhena, no, wait!" but the goddess had disappeared. "Oh poo," said Octavia as she stood and lifted Toby in her arms. She wanted to say worse, but she had learned how children learn and...

"Poo!" repeated Toby.

"Yes, poo. This is a farm, there's lots of poo around here." She walked back to the cottage carrying Toby on her back and Virga floated along with her. Her staff was close enough to Octavia to look like she was carrying her staff to a distant observer. When they got to the cottage, Tsarra was standing on the porch glaring at Octavia.

"You should not leave without an escort, your grace."

"I was still on my property," scolded Octavia. "I notice you don't care when I go out to milk the cow, or the goats, or collect the eggs, or pluck a chicken, or..."

"My apologies, your grace." The elf warrior followed Octavia and Toby into the house where Ruhena waited. She was wearing her farmwife dress again and she held a small pair of shoes. They were nicely made, and whoever purchased them spent a lot of money. They were shoes that would last generations.

"Are these the sacred vessels of your earthly journey?"

"My shoes!" Toby wiggled from Octavia's arms and reached for his shoes. "Missus Edna bought them for me..."

The shoes held a special memory for Toby, so Octavia cast a spell that would insure the shoes always fit. As Toby took the shoes from Ruhena, Octavia asked "What do you say?"

"Thank you," said Toby and he dashed to a corner where he could put on his shoes.

"Don't forget your socks," said Nick as he gave Toby a pair of Marlon's stockings.

The little boy had cleaned up nicely. Toby, Marlon, and Hollie had taken a bath in the washtub last night while the twins were bathed in the sink. Then today while Toby's other clothes were tossed in the burn barrel outside, he put on some of Marlon's old clothes that were hand-me-downs from other boys in Elm Springs.

"These are things you have to do every day," Octavia informed Ruhena. "On very nice days, little boys will run off in as little clothing as possible, and will wear it until it's so filthy it can crawl. In the winter they will habitually rush outside underdressed also, but they could die in the cold."

"Die?" asked a startled goddess.

"Humans can be fragile creatures, especially if they are young. You need to keep them warm, fed, rested, and exercised, several times a day, every day, until they move out on their own."

As Nick helped Toby put on a hand-me-down jacket, he said, "Ruhena, we're going to take these kids down to the village where they will be in classes. You should take the time to learn about children from my grandmother. When you're done with her, come meet us and we'll talk about a permanent placement."

Ruhena looked around the small cottage, then said, "Grandmother?"

"Well, great-grandmother. She'll pop up if you wait. She stays away when we're trying to get the kids ready for school because they want to play with her." He stood and called out, "It is time to go, let's step out!"

Everyone stepped out of the cottage, tugging on their jackets, and began the walk down to the village with Tanithil and Tsarra providing escort. Soon the cottage was empty. Ruhena looked around, she didn't see anything that would be considered a great-grandmother. A few fairies fluttered around as they chased down late-season houseflies. Then Ruhena heard the soft click-click-click of knitting needles. She turned and there in a rocking chair was an elderly woman and she recognized her.

"Nia!" gasped Ruhena.

"Oh dear me!" laughed Nana Peacock. "I haven't been called by that name for many a year. But you look as fresh as the day we met."

"Nicholas is your grandson?"

"Great-grandson," corrected Nana as she concentrated on her knitting. "His mother is the daughter of my youngest girl Gertrude. Gertie had the skill of proper witching! And her daughter, Nicholas's mom Catrin, was even better at witching. She can put full blood wizards to shame. That's where Nicholas gets his temperament, she'd put up with anything, to a point. But what brings a goddess to this little cottage?"

"I want to be a mother. A little boy..."

"No," said Nana firmly. She looked up from her knitting and said, "I know you gods even better than my great-grandson knows you, and I know what you're feeling. You are curious and you want to find out what makes humans so human, so you decided to start with an orphan boy. Am I right?"

"Yes, but..."

"Humans need something more than curiosity, they need love. Honey we talked about this years ago while I was still alive. That was back before I bought this mountain. Humans need love, especially little boys, and girls. They need love to grow. Without love, they starve emotionally. Poor Nicholas was nearly starved to death, if it weren't for Pepin, he would have died in that garbage heap."

"But I want... I want to learn how to love."

"Here's what you do, honey. Talk to your mother and the new god in the temple, Tervis. Tell them you want to learn about people. Tervis is exceptionally good with people. Then talk to Joanne Haven, her husband Kevyn is the miller. They've been praying for a boy for years. Tell her all about how wonderful Toby is, and if they say they will take him in, you let Toby go." When Ruhena looked confused, Nana added, "While Toby grows with a loving family, you can visit and watch how he matures."

"I want to raise him myself."

"Ruhena darling, this is your chance to answer the prayers of two very wonderful humans."

"I can do that?"

"If you want to call yourself a goddess, that's a big part of the job, dear friend."

<><><><><>

The Harvest Celebration was one of the finest in years. There was music and laughter all day long. The main street was lined with booths selling food or drink, other booths featured games and challenges. The field behind the Emporium General Store was cleared and that's where the athletic events were being held. The Wægn Gendarme had a ten-piece band that played often, and their ranks were swelled with former prisoners who were recruited to play with the band during their incarceration.

Next to the Gendarme office a tent was erected with tables and benches where people could sit and eat. The One-Eyed Duke Pub provided several barrels of ale and cider for the adults, and root beer for the children and the adults who had enough ale. Due to the festival's popularity over the years, the Wægn Harvest Festival attracted people from as far away as Slate Bottom Creek. Wagonloads of people came over Breeders Peak, and there were dwarves and elves mingling with humans in a way that hadn't been seen for centuries.

In the big tent, minstrels from all over Uduithia stepped up on the stage in turn, giving each band a chance to rest and lubricate their throats with a pint of Old Codger, the One-Eyed Duke's most popular ale. (It was named for Sieffre Merrick.) Even the duke got into the act. Over the years the king had taught him to play the lute, and the duchess was quite good on the autoharp. They would play and the village minstrel, Rickets, would sing with them and the crowd loved them.

When Rickets and Duke Nicholas played a duet to the old bawdy drinking tune The Wizard's Daughter, several members of the other groups joined in. Drum, fife, recorder, lute, and fiddle all played together. The crowd, young and old alike, got up and danced to the sprightly tune. In the corner next to the bandstand, a couple sat and clapped in time with the music. He was an old minstrel himself, and the fun and excitement of the celebration took him back to a simpler time. The harvest was in, a year of toil ended, and it was time for a fling before winter set in.

Finally, after the song ended, Nick turned to the couple and nodded. It was their turn. They rose and stepped out of the magical ward that kept the crowd from seeing them and they stepped onto stage. Suddenly the reverie in the tent stopped. Humans, elves, and dwarves alike gasped and dropped to one knee. "The king! King Uric is here!"

With the king and queen was Lord Fraser Baltimore, the Duke of Pellingham, the duchy to the south of Waleston. Fraser stood on the king's left, and Nick stood on his right, and together the three men were the political power of Uduithia. "Pray, arise; I have come to partake of your revelry, not to bring it to a close," said the king. "I have arrived to undertake one of the most delightful duties a sovereign may discharge, and I trust this shall become a cherished custom."

With a nod from the king, several dwarves, including Buggy and Eryri, stepped up in front of Duke Baltimore, and a half dozen elves lined up in front of Nick. When all was quiet, the king boldly announced, "The Hammer of Yundraic Oakjaw." Fraser held out a golden war hammer. Then the king announced, "The Broadsword of Elandorr Cailee." Nick's walking stick, Teivas, suddenly became an elven broadsword, glittering in mithril perfection, with sapphire flames dancing on its silver edges.

"Silver and gold, mithril and malta, the formidable constituents about which we have molded our civilizations. I summon thee to step forth and lay thy hand upon the venerable emblem of thy people." When the elves placed their hands on the sword, and the dwarves placed their hands on the hammer, the king said, "Repeat after me: I do solemnly swear this sacred oath, to remain steadfastly loyal to the realm of Uduithia, to attend to her every need with devotion, and to act as a brother unto all her subjects."

When the oath was repeated, King Uric smiled and said, "Welcome home, my friends." The crowd roared its approval and the new residents of Uduithia were handed pints, slapped on the back, and in the case of the dwarves, hoisted into the air.

"Tabarnouche!" cried Bughac happily as he slammed an empty pint mug on the table. "Had I known there was ale involved, I would have sworn the oath years ago!" Nick, Octavia, and their children sat with their dwarven friends, Bughac Orebeard, Eryri, and their son Tuzmas.

Mayor of the elf village of Irla Stein Anore, Vesstan Aedi, patted his old comrade Bughac on the back. "Welcome to the kingdom, Buggy."

"You know you have to report your oath to King Samrel Oakenarmour," said Nick. King Samrel Oakenarmour was the king of the Dwarves. He was mostly responsible for mine safety and the geology of the land that was being mined. However he also made sure that dwarves were obeying dwarf ordinances and following the laws of the land they were residing in.

"This is a splendid affair you host, Lord Nicholas. Shall the next King of Breaze stage such a grand celebration?"

Nick looked up and saw that it was Leomaris Autumnfall. He was currently serving as Sovereign Prince of the state of Breaze. King Lars Ranzau of Teurnia wanted Breaze to regain its position as a sovereign state and start repaying Teurnia for settling the uprising and for dispatching the rogue god Zedicus. Nick didn't mind that Lars was charging for removing Zedicus, even though it was Nick who did all the work. "When you accept the crown, I'll be sure to give you our event calendar."

"No, not me," said Leomaris as he put his arms around his wives, one of whom happened to be a relative of Queen Rania of Teurnia.

"Looks like you're putting yourself in position to relax on a throne," said Nick.

"Me?" Nick's old friend laughed. "You're the one that married the last Queen of Breaze. That's setting someone from your farm up to be a throne keeper."

"Gods' wounds," sighed Nick. He hadn't thought about that. Even though Octavia was an orphan bride, she said, "I do," and worn the king's ring, and because of that, she has royal blood. Even though the wedding was never consummated, she was an official queen, and she, her spouse, and her children will be sought after by anyone looking for royal blood to refresh the royal family tree.

"Honey, you have to start the game," whispered Octavia.

"Hells!" swore Nick. "That is what the king came to see. Let's get over to the field. Buggy, Vesstan, are you coming with us?"

"Sort of, we're playing," said the feisty dwarf and they headed over to the field. As they walked, Nick put an arm around Octavia, but Ning wanted his arm also, so he put an arm around Ning as they walked from the big tent over to the contest field. On the way to the field they stopped and inspected the wares at the different booths and stalls.

Leomaris watched them walk and shook his head. "That bastard," he chuckled.

"What is it, my lord?" asked his second wife.

"My friend, Pommy. See that tall woman on his arm? She's the last Queen of Breaze. Now, see the short woman on his other arm? She's the new emperor of the Xuantang Empire's mother."

"And he harassed you for having a royal wife?" asked the princess.

Leomaris chuckled and hugged his young wife. "No, dear, that was teasing. Pommy and I go back years. He was still in his teen years when we met and we have been friends ever since. He and I studied medicine at the temple in Breaze, and to pay our tuition, we hired on as royal guards. We both remained guards, he stayed in Breaze, and I was hired by King Lars and moved to Teurnia."

The princess looked at Nick, Octavia, and Ning as the three walked toward the football pitch. "Does that mean we will be going home soon?" She wanted to return to Teurnia.

"I don't think he wants to come back to Breaze, he considers it his greatest failure. But, he has two sons, give it some time."

A stand with seats of honor was built for the king, queen, duke, duchess, and their guards and guests. The game was simple: two poles were erected, one at each end of the field. The first team to touch the ball to their opponent's pole was the winner. Nick stood up and held the ball. It was heavy, made of rubber and leather, almost two feet in diameter, but he had practiced with a heavier ball. He was ready for this.

When the two teams were on the field, Nick rose. "We will play until first goal," he said as loud as he could. "Deasil will defend the east goal post, Widdershin will defend the west goal post. You can advance the ball any way you wish, without using your hands. The only other rule is that you must keep the gameplay in front of me, I'm not going to chase you lot all over the village like last year. Any other rules are imaginary so ignore them." That last rule got the crowd laughing.

The two teams edged close to the stands, waiting for Nick to toss the ball onto the field. Without warning, Nick kicked the ball high into the air. The ball soared high over the heads of both teams and the players raced to get under the ball as it came down. The ball disappeared into the sea of humanity and the melee was on.

There were no seats other than the reviewing stand, so the edges of the field were crowded with spectators who did a decent job of kicking the ball back into play. If tradition repeated itself, most of the spectators would soon join the game.

King Uric leaned over and said, "This is a splendid affair you host, Lord Nicholas. Shall the next Duke of Wægn stage such a grand celebration?"

"I hope the tradition continues."

"With luck you will be able to occupy this seat," said the king as he slapped the arm rest of the seat he was in. "Have you talked to Octavia about the legal matter I mentioned?"

"A little. She mentioned the legal precedent."

"Please speak to her about it, and maybe Madam Ning as well. We need to talk before the first snows fall."

"Yes, my lord," said Nick, and he tried to concentrate on the skirmish on the field, but he suddenly felt very, very alone.

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Chapter 14 - Escape

Cosmosong 4, 3437

The Deserts of Hamz Al-Jasrer

Catrin, Jutta, and Haljas sailed over the city of Qudura seated on a tattered throw-rug and clutching a rolled-up flying carpet that was beyond price. Jutta was weeping in confusion and sorrow over the death of the man she loved more than life itself. Catrin was right, the guards were drawn to the northwest corner of the city where the broken-hearted olliphant had destroyed the huge gates to the olliphant pen. While the guards were rushing toward the northwest, they were headed southeast, over the tightly packed slums of the city.

The alarm that Governor General Safar al-Azad was found unconscious and the king's beloved flying carpet was missing, rang out from the huge palace complex. Guards chased the flying rug on foot and on horseback through the narrow alleys choked with vendors' booths and women shopping for the evening meal. Whistles and horns that announced the guards' progress through the city grew fainter and fainter in the distance as they flew at rooftop level.

Jutta was soon amazed at what she saw on the rooftops other than cooking and laundry drying. There were couples making love on several rooftops. They were on the highest buildings where they couldn't be seen by neighbors on the lower buildings. Jutta sank into a deeper depression, remembering how she and Felix would make love whenever time and chance permitted.

The Lieutenant Governor of Qudura, Fayyad Mourad, was being overwhelmed with news as it poured in. The olliphant that had been scheduled for execution had escaped and was last seen walking down the caravan road through Qudura. It was being followed by three olliphant calves that had been set loose by debris that knocked down their fence. The governor general was alive, but he was unconscious and twitching. Members of the palace staff reported that two witches had put a hex on him that killed him, and now he was a zombie. Several valuable items were stolen from the king's apartment, including his beloved flying carpet, a magic lamp, and several pieces of jewelry. The palace guard reported that many of the missing jewelry pieces were recovered; they were stolen by palace staff during the confusion. The two witches were now flying over the Slums of El Ahmad on the stolen flying carpet, and they were being led by a cat.

"ENOUGH!" roared Fayyad Mourad. "Put every man on the chase for the flying carpet."

"What about Rozeena?" asked General Khalid Joumari, the head of the guard.

"Who?"

"The escaped olliphant."

Fayyad looked at the general like he was an idiot. "The olliphant was sentenced to death. You can't kill it anyhow; you'll just make it mad. Let it go!"

"But the calves!"

"Let them go too. We'll make more. Just get every man after that flying carpet! If you knock the riders off of the carpet it will return to the palace, so get your archers at the wall ready. Put your mounted archers in the lead of the chase." Fayyad Mourad then stepped into the governor general's office and on the couch lay Safar al-Azad, his brother-in-law. He was lying on the couch twitching and trembling. "Did someone say zombie?" asked Fayyad.

"Yes," said the general.

Fayyad looked at Safar and sighed. He never liked the guy anyhow. "Better safe than sorry. I'm sure you know how to handle zombies." He turned and began to study his new office as the general's sword eliminated any possible zombie threat. "Hassan!" yelled Fayyad, calling for his secretary. "Gather his personal items and send them to one of his widows."

"To Zayna?" asked Hassan.

"My sister? Pah! Send her the body. Send the nice items to Tamou, the one with... you know." He cupped his hands in front of his chest.

"Ah! Tamou." Hassan grinned knowingly because all knew that Tamou was quite shapely. "Yes effendi."

"Send a rider to Abu Hitmaiah with a message for the king. Tell King Amaan el-Mousa of Governor General Safar al-Azad's untimely passing, which happened after he allowed the king's favorite olliphant to escape, and he allowed two witches to steal the king's flying carpet. Tell him that the olliphant is in the desert, and that we recovered the flying carpet."

"What if the flying carpet is still missing when the king returns?"

Fayyad twirled his pencil-thin mustache. "There's always someone to blame. Now, hurry and follow my orders. I have a young widow to comfort."

<><><><><>

The message to shoot down the flying throw-rug came to the city wall after Catrin and Jutta swept over the wall, knocking two guards into the sand twenty feet below. "We should stop and make sure they are well," said Jutta.

"They have helmets, they will be fine," grumbled Catrin.

"You're a witch, aren't you supposed to help people?"

"I did try to help people, and look what it got me! I was assaulted constantly by street thugs, including street thugs I didn't marry. I tried to bring proper witchcraft into The Tubes, and for my work and charity I was beaten nearly to death and sold into slavery. I am going home. I'm going to find my boy and we are going to take my grandmother's cottage back. You can come with me, or I can let you off anywhere you want."

"Let's go to Edux," said Jutta, and she held Catrin close. It was so odd, their roles reversed. Catrin was always the quiet one, she was the one that came up with the ideas. Jutta was the assertive one, the one that would make Catrin's whispered ideas come to life. Most of the ideas were about how to create an imaginative meal. Following a magical cat, stealing a flying carpet, and escaping over the city wall were not the Catrin she knew! Catrin was always the timid, quiet one. The only time she spoke freely was during their wine soaked visits to the palace roof.

The sound of hoof beats on the hard-packed desert soil startled Jutta. She glanced back and saw horsemen gaining on them. The lead horseman lifted his bow and fired an arrow at them. Jutta watched in terror as the arrow flew toward her but dropped down and plunged into the sand a few yards behind them. "Faster!" she cried.

Instead of going faster, they rose into the air, higher and higher. Now Jutta could see more and more mounted soldiers. From this height she could see the city of Qudura and soldiers on horseback and on foot pouring out of the El Ahmad gate and streaming across the desert for them.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Dune country. We need a dune," said Haljas. He turned to look at the girls, and his eyes were glowing brightly. Then he turned to look forward, and they began to descend. The desert ahead of them resembled a vast unmade bed from their altitude, and as they descended they gained speed and dove for a valley between two tall sand dunes. "Get ready to untie the carpet," called Haljas over the rushing wind.

Catrin struggled with the knot in the ribbon that was holding the carpet tied up. She finally loosened the knot and held it in place with a finger. They raced through the valley, walls of sand on both sides rushing past. "Ready!"

"And... NOW! Throw the carpet!"

"Carpet away!" Catrin threw the carpet overboard as they reached the end of the valley. As they emerged from the far end of the valley, their rug dropped down to as low as possible and turned to the right and shot forward, ducking into another valley. The carpet, on the other hand, unrolled, straightened itself, then climbed above the valley and headed home. It was flying twenty feet over the heads of the mounted soldiers and drifted back toward Qudura as if it was sliding on a pane of glass. The soldiers turned left at the end of the valley and followed the flying carpet back to the city. Soon the entire army had turned and followed the carpet that flew along at a reasonable speed.

"We're free!" cried Jutta.

"We need to be out of this sand pit to be free. We need to get out of Idamaa and to Sotis before we can be free."

Idamaa was the desert continent where Hamz Al-Jasrer and a dozen other kingdoms fought over water rights on the scores of oases that sprouted up in the desert. Sotis was a combined desert and jungle nation with the Mbango River filled the water needs of hundreds of thousands of people. There was just one thing that stood in their way, the two-hundred mile-wide Kashoba Sea.

Catrin's head spun, she needed to lie down. Far ahead of them she saw trees among the sand dunes. "Try that oasis there," she said. The sun was setting by that time, so they slowly settled down among the swaying palms alongside a small body of water that could barely be more than an acre in size. As soon as they set down, Catrin pitched forward and collapsed.

"Catrin! Catrin, wake up!" cried Jutta and she tried to wake her up.

Haljas put a paw on Jutta's hand and said, "Let her rest, she has never flown that many people that far before."

"I thought you were flying us."

"Oh, no. She was levitating the rug; I was simply steering."

"Wait, you were what?" but Haljas had faded away, leaving just his emerald eyes to watch over Catrin while she slept.

<><><><><>

The next several days, they flew across the desert, hopping from one oasis to another. At each oasis they would pause long enough for Catrin to regain her strength. Most oases had brackish water, but one of the items that Jutta snatched was a funnel that purified the water. It was clearly using magic of some kind, and Catrin claimed it was elven magic, even though they hadn't seen an elf in decades. At first, the funnel was purifying the water so aggressively it was as pure as distilled. They found by twisting the spout that it would vary the amount of purification.

Among the other things that Jutta lifted from the king's treasure trove were various forms of jewelry. Catrin said that there was a spell or curse on each one. "I don't know what the spells and curses do, but keep them, we may be able to sell them."

Jutta shook her head. "My husband paid for these with his blood, I'll have the spells analyzed by a wizard." She wrapped the jewelry in a cloth and tied it off. Before she packed them, Catrin held her hands out.

"Let me help," she said. Jutta put the jewelry in Catrin's hands and the witch closed her eyes and concentrated. "There," said Catrin, handing the cloth pouch back to Jutta. "If anyone other than you tries to open this pouch, they will be filled with the fear of an evil spell."

"Did you put an evil spell on it?"

"No, just the fear of one."

<><><><><>

As they hopped from oasis to oasis, the distant mountains grew closer until they reached the foot of a tall cliff that seemed to stretch from side to side for miles. Upward it seemed to reach the clouds. It was a wall of solid rock holding the desert in place. "I can't do that," gasped Catrin as she looked up at the stone edifice.

"Trust me, we only have to go up a thousand feet," purred Haljas.

"I don't know," whispered Catrin. She sagged down to the throw-rug and sighed in defeat.

"Come on," said Jutta and she urged Catrin to her feet and led her down to the water's edge. It was a larger oasis than usual; the water was deep and cool, and the pond was the largest they had seen since leaving Qudura. "A bath will do you good." Jutta unbuttoned Catrin's black robes and let them drop to the ground and gasped. The tiny woman had lost so much weight! Last month they were both slightly chubby from working in the king's kitchen, now Catrin's ribs were showing. Jutta didn't realize that witchcraft was so much work. She led Catrin into the cool, refreshing water, and Catrin found a place where she could rest and float gently.

"There's a pond on my grandmother's farm where I grew up... I want to see it so badly..." and Catrin began to weep. Jutta slid into the water next to her and held her close and let her weep out her frustrations.

"Haljas says once we make it to the ledge, it's all downhill from there," said Jutta softly.

"Until we reach the Snowcross Mountains, then we go up," said the cat who was watching the women from the fronds of a date palm above them. Suddenly a large cluster of ripe dates fell from the tree and landed next to Jutta. The tall black-haired woman crawled out of the water and inspected the dates. They were deep brown and others were a dark reddish-brown. They felt soft and smelled like sweet caramel. She bit into it, and it was the best date she had ever tasted. They prepared a lot of treats using dates in the king's kitchen, so both women were familiar with dates. They both ate until their stomachs ached, then as the sun set, Jutta pulled the throw rug over them and they slept in each other's arms.

The oasis was a treasure trove of wild fruits and they filled their bags with hornberries, kiquila, bocket, sweet yushew, and a special treat, wild ecress. They stayed for days, eating from the "desert's bounty" as Husiliuman, the head chef in the king's kitchen, would say. They dried fruit in the merciless desert sun, and by the fifth day Catrin felt strong enough to make the flight.

"There's a large plateau up there, and in the back there's a passage that's easy to walk. Then it's a straight shot to Sotis and freedom," said Haljas as he took his place at the front of the perfectly non-magical throw-rug. "Up, please, my dear witch." And the rug began to rise. Once they cleared the treetops Haljas began steering the rug in lazy circles so they spiraled their way up until they were flying over a broad, level plateau.

They looked down, and there were faint outlines of what had once been building foundations. The back wall of the plateau was a mountain cliff where images were carved into the wall. Elf warriors, elf women suckling infants, elf royalty. The images were fading from centuries of being sand-blasted by desert winds, but they were still understandable. The central image was a huge sword that pointed down toward a doorway in the cliff. The carving of the sword was barely aged and Catrin could sense a magical ward of protection covering it.

They landed near the back wall of the plateau and rolled up their rug. "What is all this broken glass?" asked Jutta as they walked toward the doorway.

Catrin looked around at the ground and it appeared that the plateau was covered with shattered glass. She leaned over and picked up a piece. "It's glass... this was an elf city. They built a lot with crystal because glass is made from sand, it's beautiful, and sand is cheap."

As they neared the doorway, Jutta reached into her bag and pulled out a cheap brass lamp. "I thought this might come in handy for dark nights on the palace roof." She began rubbing it and said, "Why would the king have such a cheap lamp? Maybe there's a djinn in it!" There was a soft pop and a flame appeared on the lamp's wick.

"Not exactly a djinn, but it's what we need," said Catrin, and they stepped into the mysterious doorway.

The tiny flame illuminated the interior of the cave nicely. There was a wall inside that they could step around and they found themselves in an underground city. Doors and windows lined the side of the passageway, and the center of the passage was marked with a line of lapis lazuli tiles. "I suppose we follow this line," said Catrin as they walked cautiously into the mountain.

Above each door, unfamiliar words were carved into the rock. "What is this?" marveled Jutta. She prided herself on her ability to master languages but she had never seen such writing.

"It is ancient high elf," said Catrin. "Mägede Keel, high elvish. These are family names." They peered through a window opening and saw a small room with what looked like a stove carved from stone. "These are apartments?" she guessed. "Why would elves live inside a mountain?"

Jutta lifted her lantern high and inspected the walls and ceilings. "These walls were carved by hand... maybe dwarves, but it looks like the rock was melted then troweled smooth."

The deeper in they went, the farther apart the apartments were placed. A glance into one showed that the rooms were quite large; some were so big they had pillars holding up the ceiling. On one apartment the alphabet was different, more ornate. "What is this?" asked Jutta.

"That's Varresh Keel, the royal language." Catrin read and re-read the name over the door and she gasped in surprise. "That says Elandorr Cailee! He was the last Ergonian Elf King!"

"What's an Ergonian Elf?" asked Jutta.

"It is said that far in the past, all elves were one, they called themselves Ergonians, but there was a great falling out and the Ergonians split up into mountain, forest, and plains elves. One fable said that all elves were dark elves at one time, but interbreeding with humans caused their skin to lighten."

"Then how does that explain Husiliuman?" asked Jutta. Their boss, Husiliuman, was human and as black as midnight, and so were his three wives and fifteen children.

"There must be another fable somewhere," said Catrin as she entered the apartment. The dust of several millennia lay thick on the floor, like fine snow. The apartment was huge, but empty. Any furniture was long disintegrated by the years; any metal items either rusted away or were stolen. All but one object. A large knife, big enough to be a sword in Catrin's tiny hands, was hanging on the wall, and it seemed to call to her. There was a protective ward over the knife, but when she reached for it, the ward dropped and she lifted it off the hooks that held it. Released from the ward, the two hooks that held the knife became dust and drifted to the floor.

Catrin unsheathed the knife to find it was covered in ornate carvings of elf design. "This is a ceremonial knife, not a fighting knife," she said in reverence.

"How can you tell?" asked Jutta.

"These ornate carvings on the blade, you can never get the blood out of them. This blade was ceremonial." She slid it back into its sheath and hung it in her belt. "It's for my son," she said firmly. "There. Now we have to find him before Yule."

They walked for hours following the lapis lazuli line in the floor. As they went, the apartments became closer and closer together, and the words carved over the doors were less ornate. Jutta assumed that the lower-ranking families were placed closest to the exits. But why? Was there a war outside?

There was a wall at the end of the long tunnel that they could step around and they stepped out on another ledge even bigger than the first. They ignored the huge dimensions of the ledge because their attention was taken by the sight of the Kashoba Sea. Two hundred miles wide, blocking their way to freedom. It had been thirty years since either of them saw the sea and both were thinking the same thing: how do we cross?

Just then the huge heap of rock to their right moved, and they soon discovered that it wasn't rock, it was a gray dragon. The drowsy dragon had been sunning itself in the late afternoon sun after a meal of tuna. It turned a sleepy face toward them and gave them a dragon-shaped smile that could either mean, "Hello," or it could mean, "You look delicious." Shaking nervously, Catrin stepped closer and said, "Could you give us a ride across to Sotis?"

The huge dragon rose to its feet and fluttered its wings then crouched back down and said, "For the mother of Long Won Di? Anything."

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Chapter 15 - Pepin's Legacy

Nexusflare 12, 3438

Elm Springs, Uduithia

"You are in so much trouble," said Octavia as she looked out the back door at the farmyard.

"Why?" asked Nick. "Is the sauna missing?"

"Oh, it's worse than that," she said. Nick came downstairs after ensuring that the children were asleep.

"How much worse?" asked Nick.

"It's snowing."

"Snow? Why is that..." Then the memory came back, less than a week ago, the king said, "We need to talk before the first snows fall." Five days ago it was a warm autumn day, the entire county of Hay-on-Wægn was enjoying a festival the likes of which rarely occurs north of Breeders Peak. Nick was still helping the folks of Elm Springs clean up after the party. The last of the booths was gone, but several couples that operated booths were looking for somewhere to open a permanent business in Elm Springs. "When is the next meeting planned?" Nick knelt down in front of Octavia and gently removed her prosthetic left leg.

"Tomorrow. We were invited to stay at the palace over the weekend." Octavia softened and looked sad when she said, "Queen Elinor loves to spend time with the twins."

Nick nodded then rose and scooped Octavia up in his arms. "I guess I need to become an expert at ancient Uduithian law."

"What you're looking for isn't in a law book," she said as he carried her outside. They were getting good at this; he would carry her in his arms and she would open and close the doors. "I hope the fire in the sauna didn't go out, it's freezing out here," she griped.

Nick stopped and looked up at the sky. In his softest, most romantic voice he said, "The snow is beautiful tonight. The first snow of the year is the most romantic, the most..."

"Oh, would you shut up! I'm freezing my tits off!" She squirmed and tried to get out of his arms but he carried her into their tiny sauna. "Much better!" She pulled off her towel and relaxed in the healing heat of the sauna. "We've never gone up to enjoy the hot spring in the winter."

On Black Mountain there was a hot spring where they would camp and spend a weekend soaking in the steaming water. "I don't know if I want to shovel four feet of snow for a warm bath."

"Tanithil said that there is a hot spring down in Rkund Hold."

"He also said that there's an entire fairy rookery in there..." An idea came to Octavia. "You know what we should do? Excursion tours for the fabulously wealthy. They get off the tramway and we meet them with a carriage and ride them up to Irla Stein Anore where they can spend the night in a united elf village, then they take the ancient road to a rustic cabin on the far side of the Zandstra River Canyon, then the next two nights inside Black Mountain in Elsenas. Hikes around the Rkund Hold machine shops, swimming in Duin Mar, guided tours of the underground cities. Elf lovers will love it."

"What will they say when someone with elf blood takes a royal throne?"

"You don't know that you have elf blood, you just have black hair. So do I, so do all of our kids."

"The only black-haired humans have at least a quarter elf blood in them. We could ask Nana Peacock."

"She won't answer. I've tried," said Octavia.

"She wouldn't answer?"

"She said she had to go check on dinner and disappeared."

"Do ghosts cook?" asked Nick as he traced a finger down Octavia's exquisite body. His fingertip followed a droplet of sweat that traced a path between her breasts.

"I'm cooking right now," she gasped, and she grabbed his short ponytail and brought his lips to hers. They kissed passionately, secure in the knowledge that no children could...

"Mommy? Why is it so hot in here?" They looked and little Hollie was climbing up on the bench next to Octavia. Nick quickly fastened his towel around his waist and leapt up.

"It is far too hot in here for you, little one." He scooped up his daughter and tried to hurry her up to her room before Octavia cooled off.

"Why?"

"Because little children are growing, their bodies can't take heat like that."

"Why?"

"That's how you're built. You can't get too cold and you can't get too hot."

"Why?"

"Because if you do, your bedtime will come earlier every night and you will not get any Yuletide presents."

"Wh... really?"

"Really, now get to sleep. We're going to the castle tomorrow." He tucked Hollie into her bed and gave her the stuffed doll that was her sleeping companion.

"Why?"

"Don't start, now get to sleep."

Ignoring her giggles, Nick turned and hurried down the stairs, hoping that Octavia didn't change her mind... "Bloody hell," groaned Nick. Octavia was at the stove, in her robe, heating water to make tea. She didn't light the stove, she was just holding the metal water kettle, heating it with her magic. She could reproduce the entire process of making tea with magic, but there was something about adding boiling water to the right amount of leaves, then steeping the leaves for five minutes that magic could not reproduce. She said that she could make her family's meals out of thin air with magic, and in a month they would die of starvation with full bellies.

Magic can only make copies. However, when you have the original item, magic can change it. If you hand Octavia a raw steak, in seconds she would return a perfectly aged, grilled, charred, and seasoned steak that would rival any chef's cooking. However, if you hand her the ingredients of a perfect stew, magic excels at peeling, chopping, and seasoning, but nothing can beat the magic of simmering all day over a low flame. Baking was Octavia's weak spot. Baking is the hardest thing for a magic user to reproduce. She only uses magic to mix the ingredients and knead the bread dough, everything else uses the magic of yeast and sugar, then resting in a hot oven.

They sat in their love seat, watching the fire dance on the firewood, while Nick softly played the lute. The festival semi-month of Yule was coming up and the king will again ask Nick and Octavia to perform at the New Year's dinner. Ever since Neth Skelm attacked the royal family, representatives of the neighboring kingdoms have gathered in Uduithia to enjoy a New Year's Eve meal, then on the first day of the new year, gather to swear their loyalty to the idea of peace.

As he played an old mountain holiday favorite, The Snow on the Holly, Octavia produced a legal book from the library at the Temple of Saehrimnir University School of Law. She looked up royal adrogation, and its core legal precedent, adrogatio. As Nick played, she explained exactly what the terms mean and how they applied to Nick. When she was done, he finally said, "I am so scared of what that will do to our family..."

"We will be fine, the kids will understand, and this will be exactly what you have been saying about being duke, just on a slightly grander scale."

Nick hit a discord then started the song over again. "Slightly? I don't have an army..."

"You surely do, every cop on the highways of Uduithia looks at you as their commander. You were a soldier for years, you were head of the royal guard, you know what to look for when it comes to mutiny and mutinous officers."

"I am trying to carve a path where my sons can live a life filled with the peace that only hard work and good friends can bring. A life where a pint at the pub and a song with the boys is worth twice its weight in gold."

"At the same time you are denying them the chance to serve the people of Uduithia like you've been doing since you rescued me," said Octavia firmly.

"Rescued you? You were queen of a fair and prosperous land."

"I was a bird in a cage; you freed me from that nightmare. I notice no cages in your home, I'm sure you run your dukedom the same way." She gestured to Gula, the multicolored bird who took up residence in their cottage and occasionally squawked a word or two.

"What are you going to say when the king asks you?" asked Octavia.

Nick struck a discord but got back into the song. "If he orders me, I will obey, if he asks me, I will never say no to my king."

<><><><><>

Nick went into the village early the next morning. Harvest season meant that the farmers had money in their pockets, which meant that they could pay their taxes. He offered them a discount if they came into the pub and paid him. Otherwise he would send a tax collector, often himself, and that cost an extra fifteen percent. A free pint of Old Codger came when someone paid their entire tax bill.

When Nick and Octavia traveled to Waleston to spend time in Waelmore Castle, Wayne and Silver Metsker stayed in Nick's cottage to keep an eye on the house and the farm. Nick passed the Metskers on his way into the village. As they exchanged pleasantries, back at the cottage, Octavia saw someone who should not be there.

She pulled on a shawl and limped back to the barn and entered. The barn smelled of wood, horse, hay, and leather, a smell that was comforting and often brought peace to her heart. The memory of the lovemaking in the hayloft helped also. There, in the back, something moved. She closed her eyes and muttered "vision in the dark" and the first spell that Nick ever learned came to life. She clearly saw everything, the carriage, the sleigh, all the horse, mule, and ox tack hanging from the walls, the hay rakes, the plows, the tools. With her eyes closed she made her way through the barn without tripping or making noise. Her false eye allowed her to see much, but for navigating a crowded room in the dark, nothing beat that spell.

She cloaked herself against being seen and carefully moved through the maze of equipment until she found it, a man in the back of the barn crouching, looking to see if he was noticed. She was standing over him now and she could see what he was doing. He had a wooden box full of puppies. They looked like wolf pups. She was startled when she recognized the crouching man, but even more startled when one of the pups clearly said, "I'm scared."

"Izhar! What are you doing?" Suddenly a soft yellow light came to life above Octavia, the light flooded the rear of the barn with soft golden light. She saw that the old wizard had a box of five wolf pups, old enough to eat solid food. The old wizard was breaking up a joint of meat and feeding the pups.

"Momma?" said a pup.

The startled old wizard fell back on his rump which caused the pups to peer over the edge of the crate and begin yapping. "Your grace!" gasped her old friend. "I was... I..."

"Speak to me, old friend. This looks like an odd form of mischief for a man of your years and knowledge."

"Your grace... the duke, ever since Pepin died, the duke has been in a black mood. I found a litter of wolf cubs that are related to Pepin and I thought..."

"Pepin has children?" asked a startled Octavia.

"I dare say that most wolves in the northern Snowcross Mountains are related to Pepin in some way. This litter is second generation, his grandchildren you might say."

"A mountain range full of talking wolves?"

"No, my dear friend. The gift of speech was just that, a gift. I gave one of these pups that gift in the hope he would lift the duke out of his funk. I also imprinted Duke Nicholas onto him as his master."

"I want to go home, mama."

"I take it that that was the one? What about the rest?"

Izhar looked worried. "I haven't figured that part out yet. Their mother abandoned them, I do hope she wasn't trapped or shot."

"That is not a problem. Can you teach one to speak Torwin and Xuantang?"

"I surely can."

"Let's get to work... by the way, did you imprint their grandfather, Pepin?"

Izhar froze. He knew that he couldn't lie to Octavia. She would know in an instant, they had known each other since she first started training as a wizard. "I promised that I would never speak of it."

"Tell me who you promised and that will be the end of it."

Izhar quietly said, "My sister."

<><><><><>

The bell in the Temple of the Woods struck five of the clock, it was time for the tax office to close. Those who paid their taxes were now on their second and third pints of Old Codger while Nicholas filled two bottles and corked them with the porcelain stoppers. "A little something to help with the weekend," said Nick as he filled two more bottles, then handed them to two guards who stood in the shadows. A cloaking spell hid the armored guards from sight. "Thank you boys, come back any time. And bring those bottles back and we'll refill them."

"Should I always thank my guards with ale?" asked the young emperor of the Xuantang Empire.

"You should always thank your guards, especially when you are outside your palace and the threat is higher," said Nick. He was a mentor for the young emperor, and it was clear that he was seen as a stepfather to the young teen.

The duke sat down with the emperor and his mother and watched the evening crowd. Dinner for the evening consisted of roast bacon sandwiches with butter or brown sauce, and mushrooms, with a side of fried potato patties. It was one of the most popular meals served by the pub managers, Luke and Darina Ivers. Luke was a local farmer and Darina was the oldest daughter of Nick's personal mentor, Trei Metsker. However, with five children, Luke and Darina could use the extra money that running the pub brings in. Darina's sister Ena often helps as does their father Trei.

Trei Metsker was tending bar that evening and "The Boys" Sieffre Merrick, Merle Rorie, and Tiernan Brighid, were at their usual spot at the end of the bar. Trei once said to Nick, "It's so kind of you to build a pub around those three."

"What choice did I have? They wouldn't move." The Boys usually spent their days at the blacksmith's shop watching Trei form tools and knives out of bits of leftover steel, now they could step in out of the cold and have a pint while Trei worked in peace.

"Mother Stein is here," said Jia when he saw the duke's carriage pull up out front. Moments later, Octavia stepped into the pub, she was holding two squirming wolf pups. She set them on the floor and the pups raced across the floor toward Nick and Jia. "POPPA!" they barked as they ran. They bounced at Nick and Jia's chairs until they were picked up and allowed to sniff and lick their poppa.

"Can you talk?" asked Jia as he looked at the happy wolf pup in his hands.

"Shì de, wǒ néng zuò dào!" (Yes, I can)

"What is going on here?" said Nick as he looked in amazement at the puppy.

"It appears that Pepin was popular with the ladies. These are his grandsons," said Octavia.

"We have a mountain full of talking wolves?"

"No, just these two... and the three in the carriage." Then Octavia mouthed the words, "We'll talk."

Nick gazed at his pup who licked his nose. "No, don't burst the balloon."

<><><><><>

The trip over Breeders Peak was louder than any other trip that Nick ever remembered. The carriage was filled with Octavia, Ning, four children and four wolf pups. The driver's bench was open, so most of the noise was in the back. Usually Marlon sat up front with Nick, but there were puppies to play with in the back, so they all stuffed in the back.

It was cold and raining all the way to Waelmore Castle. By the time Trixie and Jiffy got them to the castle, Nick was shivering with the cold. "How do professional drivers do it?" thought Nick. He was a professional freight wagon driver years ago and he never felt this cold, and he was wearing the same jacket he wore back then. Maybe that's the issue, the jacket he was wearing was ancient, and he got it second hand.

"Your grace," said the coachman as they pulled up to the Nobility Door of Waelmore Castle. He helped Octavia and Ning out with the children but when Nick tried to get out of the driver's seat, the coachman stopped him. "Just pull around to the stables and help the Hostler put the horses up."

"Aye, mate," said Nick, and soon as the last wolf cub was caught, Nick flicked the reins and pulled around to the stable. There he helped the hostler uncouple the horses and lead them into the stalls, then they pushed the carriage into a parking area next to the barn. Nick went back inside and started rubbing Trixie down with a sheet because the poor horse was shivering.

The hostler saw him and cried, "Oy now, ooo said you could decide ooo brushed which 'orse? 'at's the job of the groom it is!"

Nick patted Trixie and said, "She's my favorite horse. She can't pull like a mule but she's quite spry pulling a sleigh." He pulled a cube of sugar out of his pocket and gave it to Trixie, which made Jiffy neigh loudly. "Oh you jealous thing, here!" and he gave the younger horse a cube of sugar.

"You see wot 'e's doin'?" cried the hostler as the groom entered the stable. "The duke's own 'orses 'e is!"

"Of course he is, they're his horses," said the groom. "Let me take over for you, yer grace."

"Oh, Jerry, good to see you," said Nick as they shook hands. "Jiffy is fine but Trixie has the shivers, can you throw a blanket on her when you're done?" He handed the groom the sheet he was rubbing Trixie down with. "They've been so jealous of each other ever since we got a tianma colt and filly."

"You have a tianma colt and filly?" gasped the groom.

"Yeah, we figure they'll be flying come spring."

"Can I come see them?"

"You know you can always swing by the farm if you're in town. I have to get going, the duchess is probably wondering where I'm at."

"G'day, yer grace," called the groom as the rain started coming down harder. Nick jogged across the lawn to the castle. The tower they were in was closest to the stables, but there was no entry door, so he ducked into the kitchen.

"Here now! This ain't no highway! Use the proper entrance... oh, sorry, your grace."

"I'm sorry, Tilly, but it's raining out there and I needed to come in out of the rain."

"Oh, look at you! You're soaked to the skin. You sit by the fire and dry off before you go running around this big drafty castle!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Nick and he sat down on a stool by the fire where a great joint of beef was roasting over a cheery fire. The scent of the fat dripping off was too much to bear and Nick would occasionally pick a small bit of meat off the bone.

"And how is it?" demanded Matilda, the head cook. She never turned around so how did she know?

"It's delicious," said Nick.

"If ye stop pickin' at it I may save you some for your dinner tonight."

Nick heard a quiet yip and he looked down, and there was a wolf pup looking up at him. "Momma says the king wants to talk. Now."

Nick sighed, it was so warm by the fire, he didn't want to leave. However, the king called, and more important, Octavia called. He stood and looked down at the little wolf. "Do your job, lead me to momma, Pippin."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 16 - Freedom

Yule 4, 3437

Mouli Zamani, Sotis

"My friends, my name is Chirvai which means..."

"The Fearsome One," said Catrin, and she pulled Jutta's arms around her more tightly. Just feet below them the surface of the Kashoba Sea churned. The dragon was flying just high enough to avoid the waves when he flapped his powerful wings.

"Ah! You speak Varresh Keel--Royal Elvish. I do not live up to my name. I prefer to be thought of as the Sea Dragon."

"Is that why you are flying at wavetop level?" asked Jutta.

"We fly down by the sea for several reasons. One is if you are being pursued, it will be harder to spot a gray dragon flying over a gray sea. Another is that if a delicious fish should be near the surface, he will be mine."

"Is there another reason?"

"I am not overly fond of altitude. Where goest thou?"

Jutta tried to stifle a laugh. They were riding on a dragon that was afraid of heights. They had seen odder things though. "We are heading to Waleston in the Snowcross Mountains. We need to speak to the Duke of Wægn. He should know what happened to Catrin's family and their land."

"All the way to Uduithia?" asked Chirvai. "I can drop you at a temple where you can begin a series of Æther Portal..."

"NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK!" shrieked Catrin. The terrified witch tried to throw herself off the dragon's neck but Jutta held her back.

When Jutta calmed Catrin, she clutched the weeping little woman and said to Chirvai, "My husband and I entered the temple of Saehrimnir for our daughter's blessing and were drugged and sold into slavery. Catrin was in a temple hospital and was sold into slavery by a temple priest. We will die before going to any temple."

"Surely the gods will..."

"NO!" wailed Catrin and she struggled to get out of Jutta's arms.

"We must find our way without the gods and their minions."

"Clearly you are a magic user. The hospital priests knew that they were not allowed to sell you into slavery."

Jutta answered for a shuddering Catrin. "What do the crooked shopkeepers say in Torwin-Armistad? 'It's the buyer's fault for not checking the merchandise.' Is that not right? Catrin was unconscious when they sold her and didn't wake until she was on a slave ship far out to sea. The hospital priest is the only one who could have sold her. If someone was taken without his expressed guidance, and he suspected that person had been sold, all slave wagons in the city would be stopped and searched for the missing patient. Besides, she's much more powerful now. When we first met she could barely warm a pot of tea. Now she can melt the pot, am I right, dear?"

"We're meat," muttered Catrin, "meat to be butchered and sold." Then she began to softly sing:

"Bought, sold, raped, and beat,

anything to please my master.

Working all day,

no money for pay,

and night is a wicked old bastard."

Jutta began to sing with her.

"My body is broke,

from master's whip stroke,

now master is going to sell me.

Deep in my soul,

my spirit is whole,

no matter what master will tell me.

Oh ho, damn the fool gods,

spit in their eye and piss on their meat,

the goddesses all be cunts.

Don't dream of freedom,

It's all a damn lie,

and we'll be a'toilin' till the day that we die..."

"Is that true?" asked Chirvai. "Is that what life was like?"

"What am I going to tell my boy?" wailed Catrin. "Your mother was a whore; she couldn't take the beatings, so she fucked whoever Safar gave her to."

Jutta held a weeping Catrin and said, "Yes. That's what it was like, but Catrin got the worst of it. My husband was their lead olliphant drover, so they left me alone as a reward to him." Then Jutta began to weep. She wept for Felix, she wept for Rozy, but she wept mostly for Catrin. She felt all the guilt from the times they beat Catrin and left her alone. Catrin was often dragged to Safar al-Azad's bed where he did unspeakable things to her. He stripped her bare and made her serve drinks at his gambling parties until whoever won at Hocca was allowed to throw Catrin on the table and fuck her. All Jutta could do was bandage her wounds and hold her as she wept. "I'm sorry, honey, you took it all for me... all the pain, the beatings, the rapes. I can never repay you for what you did."

"You were there for me when I needed you. You did all my work while I healed," said Catrin between her tears.

Chirvai shook his huge gray head. Why do humans do things to each other like that? When the women appeared to be calmer, Chirvai told them where they were going. "I will set you down at the ruins of Zineb Siddique. From there you need to travel to Mouli Zamani. At Mouli Zamani, you take a river boat to the Straits of Yufitri, and from there you can board a sea-going ship to Edhellond or to Port Meabras and from there travel overland to your home."

"Home!" gasped Jutta. "Did you hear that dear? We're going home!"

"Edhellond is closest to Waleston," said Catrin in a whisper. She wanted to avoid Torwin-Armistad as much as possible.

They were quiet for a long time, then Jutta said, "We saw an apartment in a tunnel that mentioned King Elandorr Cailee. Was he actually there?"

"Yes, that was his last residence. He oversaw the construction of shelters throughout all of Elfdom and survived the first and second Starfall in that apartment. That tunnel you traveled through is called The Long Shelter."

"Oh!" gasped Catrin. Every student of elf history had heard of how King Elandorr Cailee ruled through The Long Shelter, but she was taught that the term the Long Shelter referred to the period of time that the elves were underground, hiding from the Starfall.

"It is said that when King Elandorr Cailee saw the devastation of Dassa Azizzi, where you entered The Long Shelter, and Zineb Siddique, the fallen city where I picked you up, he died of despair. Did you see his blade? It's said that the matching broadsword is still in his throne room in Artafána.""

"Catrin has the..."

"Stop!" gasped Catrin. She didn't want it advertised that she had Elandorr Cailee's short sword.

"You touched the blade? I will keep your secret, on my oath as a dragon." Chirvai gave a rumble deep in his chest, it sounded like it could be a chuckle. "Imagine that! Me! Chirvai Merest Draakon, carrying the mother of Huoteng, the Dragon of Fire."

"I thought you said she was the mother of Long Won Di."

"Same dragon. I don't understand it either, dragon lore is more poetic than it is factual. Xuantang dragons are skittish and stay hidden. There has been a famine there for over a century, they're afraid of being eaten."

Catrin could only picture her son as a little boy, trying not to cry as that bastard Ivo Stein beat her nearly to death. Then she said the horrible truth. "I don't think my son is alive. My husband was addicted to Skim. He got violent and tried to beat Nick when he cried, so I took the beatings for Nick."

"Nick? Your son's name is Nick? You never said that."

"That's because I hate it. Nick. Not Nicholas. Nick, like a razor cut. Nick Stein. I wanted to name him Folmer..." then she added in a soft voice, "after his real father."

"Folmer? That's an elf name. It means elf of the deepest forests."

"My great, great-great-great-grandfather wanted me to name him Pommeraie de la Montesquieu. Could you imagine? My grandmother Nana called him a crazy old coot."

"How old is this grandfather of yours?"

"Around four hundred, probably much older."

"Yilos' balls!" cried Jutta which caused another chuckle from Chirvai. "Why doesn't he die?"

"Oh, he's quite dead. It's just... he loves his job so much."

<><><><><>

"Welcome to freedom," said Chirvai as he landed on the southern shore of the Kashoba Sea. "Slavery is illegal here in the Kingdom of Sotis. This ruin is the remains of the ancient city of Zineb Siddique, an elf fishing town." Catrin and Jutta climbed off the dragon and stretched their aching backs, and looked around the destroyed elven ruin. There were large pieces of ancient crystal structures still standing, but there were trees and bushes overgrowing the remains of the city. It was a stark difference from the desert where they lived for thirty years. Leaves rustled in the breeze, birds were singing, the sea lapped at the shore. The inviting sound of a waterfall splashed behind them in the leaves.

"Thank you, friend Chirvai," said Jutta as she bowed respectfully to the dragon. "Your flight saved our lives, and your stories entertained and educated us. How can we ever repay you?"

"When you meet Long Won Di, Dragon Emperor, tell him I was proud and honored to take part in your journey."

"If we ever meet him, we will say just that," said Catrin as she bowed. "Now, I think we should wash our robes and try to find Mouli Zamani." Chirvai took off with a strong flap of his massive wings, but he didn't leave. He circled far out over the Kashoba Sea while Jutta and Catrin traced a stream back to a waterfall in the forest then washed themselves, their black robes, and their undergarments in the freshwater stream. Then, using the filtering funnel, they filled two empty wine bottles for later drinking. Returning to where Chirvai dropped them off, they found Chirvai had dropped off a huge mouthful of fish.

"What are we going to do with these fish?" groaned Jutta.

"I could eat them right now," said Catrin. "But I think we'll cook them first."

"How?" asked Jutta. Jutta was an excellent cook, but she had no imagination. Catrin had great imagination, but Jutta was best at converting Catrin's ideas to a finished plate.

"I'm going to have to teach you the ways of the mountains. I'll clean and prepare the fish; you get some wood and some of those big leaves. We'll grill some and smoke the rest." Catrin unsheathed a knife with a three-inch blade and started gutting the fish. Soon she had fish on sticks, grilling over a low fire, and Haljas appeared and began to feast on the pile of fish guts. The rest of the fish were cleaned and ready to be smoked.

They were sitting in their undergarments waiting for the moment they could eat, when an old man walked into their campsite. He had long gray hair and a long gray beard and was wearing a faded robe that reached down to his knees. Below that he only wore sandals.

"Welcome to freedom!" said the man happily. He didn't look surprised to see two half-naked women grilling fish.

"He seems nice," said Haljas, who had finished with the fish guts and sat next to the fish that Catrin was going to smoke.

"I smelled your dinner and it smells heavenly," said the old man. "For one of those fish that are over the fire, I'll guide you to Mouli Zamani."

Catrin eyed the fish. There were six of them, three for Jutta, three for her. She had cleaned them, then stuck a pointed stick in their mouths, and now the stick was holding the fish over the fire. They were good-size fish, a species the locals called shiners. "How do we know you won't kill us and take everything we own?"

"I'm a wizard sojourner, a pilgrim looking for the truth about the Starfall, and the only thing I have on me that's sharp is my wit. I can tell that one of you two is a very powerful witch, I wouldn't have a chance against you, not with a familiar like yours."

"He's right," said Haljas as he tried to drag a fish away by the tail. "I'm a fairly terrifying familiar."

"What is your name and where are you from, wizard?" demanded Jutta.

"I am Alagaell. Alagaell Wode, and I am from Sillcorn, a small farming town in Breaze."

"Breaze? We are going to Uduithia!" cried Jutta, ignoring Catrin's hand signals to shut up. "Catrin is from Uduithia and I'm from Pirangi, a farming town in Steil Thein. Are you going to go back to Breaze?"

"You couldn't pay me enough to go back there," said Alagaell. "King Alfrich married a girl from the finishing school at the Temple of Saehrimnir University." His eyes grew wide in horror as he said, "She turned out to be a wizard! A female wizard! I hear she turned her butler into a beast from hell and ordered him to kill a god!"

"There is no such thing as a female wizard," said Jutta. "But we have to stop by the university, they were the last people to see my daughter Corina."

Catrin handed Alagaell a fish on a stick and said, "I am Catrin Wolfe. My companion is Jutta Aldana. We need to go to Mouli Zamani to find a ship."

Alagaell ate his fish with relish and said, "Mouli Zamani, the capital city of Sotis, is worth the visit, but you will have no problem finding a boat. Three or four boats heading for Port Meabras sit in port at any time. They're always looking for a proper cook for the voyage to Edux."

"We need to smoke those fish before Haljas has a feast," said Catrin and she and Jutta got to work. They wove racks of sticks to hold the fish, then set them over the fire with branches, and placed the cleaned fish, heads and all, on the racks. The fire was down to glowing embers, so Catrin put wood that was soaking in the stream on the embers, then covered everything in the huge leaves. Soon smoke oozed from the leaves.

As the fish smoked, they were discussing their travel plans through the jungle when Alagaell said, "Magic! I detect a metallic taste of magic in the air. Do you have magical items? You could probably sell them for a good price in Mouli Zamani to finance your voyage."

"We have a lamp that lights itself," said Jutta and she dug the lamp out of her sack. She rubbed it with her hand and with a quiet snap, a flame appeared at the spout. "See?"

Alagaell nodded then said, "Now tell it you want to go to Mouli Zamani."

Jutta shrugged then said, "Magic lamp, we want to go to Mouli Zamani." Suddenly the small flame grew three times as tall and leaned toward Jutta's right, as if pointing in that direction. She moved the lamp around and the flame always pointed in that direction. "It's like a lodestone!" gasped Jutta.

"Yes, except you decide where it points. Now, blow the flame out. If you need an answer from the spirits, tap the lid three times and ask it a yes or no question.

Jutta tapped the lid and said, "Magic lamp, will I find my daughter?" Then, nervously, she opened the lid and looked inside. In the dark oil, the letters appeared. They were printed in Torwin, which surprised her.

All signs point to yes.

She put the lid back on and gasped, "We're going to find her!" Then she handed the lamp to Catrin. "Here, you try!"

"No, it... I don't want to know. If it says no, I will die."

"Do it, I will be right here for you."

Jutta held Catrin tightly from behind as the tiny woman tapped the lid three times and said, "Can I trust this wizard?" She slowly opened the lid and the words appeared from the darkness...

The spirits whisper yes.

"I want to believe it, but I don't... how can I trust a pot of brass filled with olive oil?"

Alagaell shrugged and said, "These lamps were used by travelers for centuries. Nobody makes them anymore. When you get home you should go into business, the enchantment isn't difficult. What else do you have?" Jutta produced two necklaces; they were gold chains with an emblem of a coat of arms, but turned around it was blank.

"Oh my, you rarely see those anymore. Those come in pairs, if you wear the necklace with the coat of arms showing, there is no noticeable difference. If you turn the medallion around to face you... people don't notice you anymore. Even if they were looking for you. You are not invisible; people don't care that you're there. It only works on people, not huge ravenous beasts. The other person wearing the matching necklace isn't affected by the medallion. You could get quite a bit of money from a thief for the two of these. Anything else?"

"We have these," said Jutta showing off two rings. They were solid gold and were too large for her fingers or for Catrin's fingers.

Alagaell studied the rings without touching them, then finally said, "This ring is often called the Witches' Ring. It's a ring of healing. There is an elven letter engraved on the inside: the letter Inya, the first letter in the royal elvish word Aristma, which means 'to heal.' If you wear it while providing aid to an injured person, the ring will accelerate healing."

He then studied the other ring and shook his head. "Very rare! This is the Ring of Truth, also called The King's Ring. See? It's engraved with the elvish letter Sher, the first letter in the royal elvish word Tõsi, which means truth. If you wear that ring and ask a question that starts with the word Tõsi, they will answer truthfully. For example: 'Tõsi, did you take that fish?' The questioned person cannot deceive the wearer of that ring. Kings, dukes, and judges wore them but they are mostly gone now." The wizard scratched Haljas behind the ears and said, "I sense elven magic. Strong elven magic."

Then Catrin brought forth the short sword of Elandorr Cailee and Alagaell recognized it at once. "How did you get that?"

"We were in Elandorr Cailee's apartment and I wanted to look at it so I took it off its hooks, then the hooks fell down... I didn't mean to steal it, but I couldn't just leave it on the floor."

"This has been protected by an intense magic ward since the death of Elandorr Cailee..." gasped Alagaell.

"I told her that," said Haljas who was munching on a piece of fish that Jutta gave him.

Alagaell held his hand over the sword and marveled at the power of the ancient spell. "The sword senses a connection between you and the one who possesses the matching broadsword. Either he has the sword or he has access to Artafána, the palace that was built for Elandorr Cailee."

Catrin turned the sword over in her hands admiring the etched blade. "This is nice, but a walking stick would be more practical for me." Suddenly she was holding a gnarled but polished wooden walking stick with a large crystal at the top. The wood was dark brown, almost ebony, and it felt alive in her hands, warm and inviting, almost like Folmer Presjeon's cock. That sudden realization almost made her shriek and throw it in the fire, but a calming voice came to her.

"Kill me if you must, but give me a name first."

Catrin shook her head in confusion. "As you will, I name you Kepp."

"High elvish for stick. It is fitting."

"Just be glad I didn't name you Kürb."

"I tried to emulate the feel of something you enjoyed. Should I stop?"

Catrin paused for a long time, then said, "No, it brings back sweet memories."

To Alagaell and Jutta, Catrin appeared to be asleep, sitting up, holding the walking stick across her lap. It was getting dark and Jutta was tired. Suddenly Catrin woke and said, "The fish are ready!" She was right, they were smoked perfectly. They wrapped the fish in broad leaves and built up the fire.

"Better rest up. We have a long trek ahead of us tomorrow," said Alagaell, and promising to wake them at dawn, he disappeared into the forest. They were quiet together, watching the fire die back down on their first night of freedom.

"What is wrong?" asked Jutta. "You seem sad."

"What is going to happen when we find our children? What if one lives in Torwin-Armistad and the other lives in Elbreshowth on the Moor? What happens to us?"

Jutta held Catrin close and said, "Us? We go on. You mean more to me than a child I only knew for a few days." There, she said it out loud and it sounded so wrong, but it felt like the truth to Jutta. In response, Catrin took the King's Ring from its place on the cloth in front of them and placed it on Jutta's ring finger.

"I feel the same... my life is with you, Jutta Aldana."

"And my life is with you, Catrin Wolfe." She placed the Witch's Ring on Catrin's finger. They kissed gently and lay back on their throw rug and slept more deeply than they had since their nightmare began.

<><><><><>

Alagaell entered the campsite and found Jutta and Catrin awake, packed, dressed, fed, and ready to go. "Let's go," said Catrin as she picked up Kepp. "We have a long hike ahead of us."

"Not exactly," said Alagaell as he led them into the jungle.

"What do you mean?" asked Catrin as Kepp became a short sword. The etching and engraving on the blade were gone and the blade was shining, smooth, polished steel, ready for a fight.

"A friend will give us a ride." He led them to a clearing, and there in the center of the clearing was an olliphant. Not a tremendous desert olliphant, but a common Mandril Olliphant. "This is Lolly..."

"She's beautiful!" gasped Jutta as she walked up to Lolly and touched the leg of the beast. Lolly was sixteen feet tall at the shoulder, which was big for a Mandril Olliphant and she had a rug and backpack on her back, ready to travel. She sniffed Jutta, and soon they were close friends. "My husband was a Desert Olliphant drover. He was head drover for the king's caravan. I used to be a mule drover and an ox drover."

"You seem to care for your animals," said Alagaell.

Jutta turned to Alagaell and said, "Tõsi, what plans do you have for this journey?"

Alagaell was compelled to tell the truth. "I intend to engage you in conversation on the trip, eat some of your fish, and then drop you off at the shipyard while I head on to the Wizards College of Mouli Zamani with my research findings."

Jutta smiled, the ring silently assured her that what Alagaell said was the truth. "Catrin dear, let's go home."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 17 - Decisions

Nexusflare 13, 3438

Waelmore Castle, Uduithia

Pippin was a very young puppy. He didn't understand those long, slow, mile-eating strides that wolves were famous for. He would zip down a hallway, then zip back to make sure Nick was still following, then zip ahead to orient himself. He'd roar up a spiral staircase, barking all the way, then roar back down to find Nick. By the time Nick reached the king's office, Pippin had covered twenty times the distance that Nick had walked. The wolf pup was exhausted but happy that he accomplished his mission, and he sat by the door to the king's office, panting. The office was at the very end of a long, dead-end hallway.

Two guards stood outside the king's office door. The junior of the two was stunned to see a wet, filthy farmer holding a gnarled stick and expecting entrance to see the king. What was this sod farmer thinking? "Leave or I'll run you through," growled the junior guard.

Suddenly the farmer's walking stick became a broadsword and the farmer snapped en garde. "Save your mother the pain of a funeral," said the farmer who was poised to kill. "Just announce the Duke of Wægn wishes entry."

The junior guard looked at his sergeant who signaled with a tired nod of his head, and the young guard turned about and opened the king's door. "Your majesty, the Duke of Wægn." He said "Duke of Wægn" like he was going to vomit.

"Please, usher him in!" The king rose and said, "Your Grace, I see you met Private McKenzie, an up-and-coming young guard. Private McKenzie, this is Sir Nicholas Stein, Duke of Wægn, former captain of the royal guard in Breaze, and the only human to ever kill a god." Then the king appraised Nick's attire with a long-suffering sigh. "We do dress for dinner here, Sir Nicholas."

"Yes, your majesty. I was caught in a sudden downpour and was drying off when your message reached me." He looked down at Pippin who was scratching his ear.

"Sit by the stove, lad, and warm up. And thank you, Private McKenzie. We will need to be uninterrupted for the foreseeable future. Guard this door from the other end of the hall." When the guard had left and Nick had settled by the fire, Sir Frasier Baltimore, Duke of Pellingham entered the room from the queen's office.

"Nicholas, lad, 'tis good to see you."

"Frazier," said Nick, rising to shake hands with the head of Royal Intelligence, then the three men sat down and Pippin leapt up on Nick's lap.

"We are, without a doubt, the ruling power of Uduithia," said King Uric. "Between you two men, you control fifty three percent of the country. Sir Frazier, I would like to see your heir attending court meetings."

"Yes, your majesty. He's coming along quite well at intelligence gathering." Duke Baltimore's oldest son, Donald, was older than Nick, and Frazier's grandchildren were in their late teens.

"And your sons?"

Nick shook his head. Did the king really expect a report on his sons? "Marlon is planning to manage our entire Woodpile Wednesday charity operation, and Llywellyn can hold his milk bottle without help."

To Nick's surprise, the king chuckled merrily. "That's what I wanted to hear. Healthy boys for a healthy dukedom's future. So young Marlon is running the Woodpile Wednesday operation by himself? He'll be assisting the mayor of Elm Springs in the annual Spring Feed before you know it." The Spring Feed was something Nick put together to help anyone who didn't put up enough food for a long, hard winter. With new families moving in right now, as the weather closes in, next year's Spring Feed is going to be more important than ever.

"Frazier, how is Margaretta?"

"Fine, your majesty. She's planning to travel to Vespil come the spring thaw with our Jenny."

"And Tatiana?"

The old duke nodded. "She is incredible!" He turned to Nick and said, "Take my advice, marry an accountant. Your tax day woes will disappear." Then Duke Baltimore rose and checked the door to ensure the guards were at the other end of the hallway. He closed the door and threw the bolt.

Meanwhile Nick's head was spinning. Frazier had just listed all three of his wives, Margaretta, Jennifer, and Tatiana. How does he do it? Three wives, four sons, six daughters, and eight wizards scouring the world for news. Was that what this meeting was about? But royal adrogation has nothing to do with three wives. It's not illegal in most kingdoms to have multiple wives, and in some, it's required for the ruling class. Nick and King Uric were the only married men on the royal council who only had one wife.

The human species' population growth had stalled a century ago. The constant warfare, feuds, and murder ensured the females of all humanoid species outnumbered the males. And nature has a hand in it also; most families had more daughters than sons. Nick was an oddity, having two sons and two daughters.

It was illegal to take another wife without the consent of the first wife. Octavia was raised to be a second wife; she was lucky to be selected by a widowed king. As for a third wife, or more, the consent of the second wife is not required, only the first wife. She is the head of the household; she knows if another woman can be afforded. To take a second wife and not be able to provide for your family is a serious crime throughout the continent of Edux. "Is that what this was about? Sylvie Wouters?" Sylvie was a waitress at the One-Eyed Duke; she'd taken a shine to Nick and it was the talk of the county. Nick, on the other hand, rarely noticed her.

Both the king and Duke Baltimore shook their heads. The king said softly, "When you're at this stage of the game, when you consider a second wife, there are political issues to consider. Alliances by marriage are always a strong bond between countries. Frazier's wife Jenny was from the ruling family of Vespil; his third wife was the daughter of Traenian royalty."

"Your first wife should always be for love, which you did quite admirably," chuckled Frazier. "Imagine, a first wife trained to be a second wife sitting beside you on the royal court! Truly astounding."

"A second wife should always have political alignment, like Xuantang," said the king. "The affection that Ning holds for you and Octavia would be a solid base for marriage if cultivated properly. And the affection the emperor has for you is mind-boggling. You should have presented him with the talking wolf pup instead of giving such a splendid gift to a tired old relic like me." Uric's pup, Pommy, was in his apartment playing with Nicky, the pup Ning and Octavia presented to Sophia.

"I did give him one; he named it Magic Dog, which to a speaker of Xuantang sounds cute. He declared Magic Dog's birthday a national holiday. That is what he called Peppin and they would play together until they both dropped from exhaustion."

Uric nodded, remembering Emperor Jia's affection for Peppin.

Then the realization dropped on Nick like a wet sack of grain. "Are you saying you want me to marry Ning? Is that why we are here?"

"Nicholas, I wish I could order you to marry Ning Hau Chung, but that is a decision left up to Lady Octavia. I'm saying that it would be a good idea... especially..." This was the part that Nick was terrified to hear. He stroked Pippin's fur, terrified of what the king would say next. "Sir Nicholas, you have been with us for over half a decade. You came to us as a child and your family has deep roots in this kingdom. Your dedication to the people in Hay-on-Wægn county is beyond praiseworthy. Your dedication to the throne and the people of the kingdom of Uduithia is unsurpassed, even by me..."

Nick shuddered. He knew what was coming and he didn't want to hear it. He continued to stroke Pippin as the king spoke on...

"Queen Elinor and I have failed to produce an heir, and the crown princess, sadly, is neither a fit leader nor a fit wife, so the crown will not pass through her. We intend to spend our lives making her happy, but the fact remains, I need an heir."

Nick continued to stroke Pippin's fur, hoping that this would all go away, that the king would leave the room and the words he was about to say would continue to remain unsaid.

Frazier put his hand on Nick's shoulder and said softly in his deep, father-like voice, "Your Grace, your king needs you..."

Nick looked the king in the eye and said, "My lord, you know how I feel about your plan. If you ask nicely, I will turn you down politely. If you give it to me in the form of an order, I will accept your orders like the soldier I am, and perform the task as successfully as possible with every fiber of my being. I just ask that you hold off announcing anything until after Yuletide."

"Then it is so ordered."

"Aye sir," said Nick sadly. Without conscious thought on Nick's part, his mouth said, "I accept your orders, and as promised I will fulfill them to the best of my ability until my dying day."

King Uric felt a lightness in his soul that he hadn't felt since his son, Prince Exavier, was born. He signed the royal document, then turned it for Nick to sign. Nick took the quill from a Black Eagle, the royal bird of Uduithia, and signed his name, and with the stroke of a pen, Nick suddenly had a father.

As Nick finished signing, the king said, "Nick, from this day forward you will be my adopted son, heir to my throne, and all my lands. We will announce this to the people of Uduithia and with a semaphore tower, we will announce it to Kodu."

Nick was torn, he felt a great weight lift off his shoulders, yet at the same time, he felt a rock in his stomach. Prince Nicholas? Prince Nick? It couldn't be! His mind was screaming "NO!" but for the first time since they met, King Uric called him Nick! The king had been calling him Nicholas since their first meeting.

Nick looked at Lord Baltimore who was beaming with pride. He looked puffed up, ready to burst. Nick had a sick feeling that he was going to shout, "Long Live King Nicholas!" but he couldn't take that. "Don't say it!" said Nick. "Else I'll sic my wolf on you," and he lifted up the sleeping pup. Then a sudden thought hit Nick. "I'll be a witch-king. All the fairy tales and elf tales and even the dwarf tales warn against evil witch-kings."

"Then don't be evil," said Frazier. "There, problem solved."

Nick groaned, and the king said, "You have work to do. You'll have to prove those ancient fables wrong." Then the king softened and joined Nick and Frazier by the fire in the small iron-and-brass stove. "I'm going to give you something that I wish I had years ago. I'm going to give you time to ready yourself. We start the day after New Year's. You will spend a minimum of two days a week here in the castle learning everything you can. Your family will join you so they get used to the castle..."

"I don't want to move my family here to the big old stone mausoleum," said Nick.

"I don't expect you to, but you may want to move a favored horse here because we do enjoy a ride in the mountains on occasion."

"My favorite horse is an old mule I bought from Sieffre Merrick seven years ago." Nick wondered if the King would allow him to cut some lumber from the king's forest and haul it down. Most of the stoves and fireplaces Nick has seen burn coal. Probably the most efficient heat source per ounce that you could heat the castle with was coal, but it's not as entertaining nor as romantic as a wood fire. Especially a wood fire burning wood you harvested, bucked, split, and aged yourself.

The king continued to talk, but the words kept bouncing off of Nick's head. Over and over he dealt with the swarm of thoughts, "I'm going to be the crown prince... No, I AM the crown prince. I'm going to be the king. How many people live in Uduithia? How many witches are there? How many people work in the castle? Do we need more? Less?" Over and over until his head began to pound. Finally the king said something that made sense. "Prince Nicholas, retire to your apartment and dress for dinner; we'll dine in my private dining room."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh, and the eyepatch... we're not pirates here. No more." And he held his hand out like a parent demanding a stolen toy from a recalcitrant child.

" Yes, Your Majesty." He removed the eyepatch and gave it to the king who put it in a pocket.

"And we shave in this family. Every day."

"Yes, your majesty," said Nick softly. He loved his beard, he loved the look it gave him, but this was not a battle he needed to fight.

"Right then. Is there anything else? Let us convene in my dining room in one hour."

<><><><><>

Nick entered his apartments and saw that Octavia and Ning were waiting for him. He walked into the bedroom and began to take his uniform out of the closet. "Your grace, we have a bath drawn for you," said Ning in her soft little voice.

"That would be nice," said Nick and he followed her into a different room where a large tub was filled with steaming hot water. He was used to their standard farm baths, standing in a tub and rinsing off with a pitcher of warm water. This was more like a hot spring. He undressed and eased into the tub while Hollie and Marlon watched from the doorway.

Once Nick was settled into the tub, Ning took a cake of soap and a washcloth and began to scrub Nick down. Marlon and Hollie dashed to Octavia brimming with the news, "Auntie Ning is giving daddy a bath!"

"I know. She gave you both baths also. Why don't you take Pippin and Pumpkin to the play yard before your dinner gets here."

"We're having dinner here?"

"Yes, Magdalena will be here with your dinner in a few minutes."

"Truly? Yay! Come along, Pippin! Come with us, Punkin'!" and the children zipped out of the apartment into the main body of the castle with the wolf pups following. Right next to where the Northeast tower attaches to the main body of the castle was a large chapel filled with light from stained glass windows. It was once used to gather in prayer, worshiping the god Zeddicus, but that fell out of fashion centuries before Nick killed him. The chapel was left empty for generations until Octavia found it, and she created an indoor garden full of plants, flowers, fairies, and butterflies. It was all for Princess Sophia, and it had a play yard for her wolf pup Nicky. With every visit to the castle, Octavia adds a little more to Sophia's garden. There's now a little stream that follows the walking path and empties into a pond filled with brightly colored fish that nibble at the princess's toes when she dangles her feet in the pond.

With the children gone, Octavia entered the bathing room and helped Ning wash Nick. "How did your talk with the king go?"

"I asked him not to ask me to be his prince. However, if he ordered me to do so, then I would fulfill the role to the best of my ability."

"And?"

"And he ordered me to be his prince."

"Not that. Wasn't there something else?" Octavia had that playful look in her eyes and Nick knew exactly what she was asking about.

"He suggested that I marry Ning."

"And?" Octavia was trained to be a second wife. Being the sole object of Nick's attention was not what she was brought up to expect, and sometimes it was overwhelming. Ning rocked back on her knees, terrified of what Nick was going to say.

"The king said that the decision was all yours."

Octavia leaned across the tub and kissed Nick, then said with a wicked grin, "You know what I'm going to say, don't you?"

"Of course."

"It would be a politically wise decision. We are rich in the resources that Xuantang needs; Xuantang can pay our prices. It would also be a wise domestic decision. We have four children; I need help. Even with magic, I can't keep up with them. Ning said she would be happy to help. Also, she would help when taxes are due. She's good at accounting and used to double-check the palace accountant."

"Did either of you mention that to Frazier Baltimore?"

"No, of course not... but we did talk to his wife Jennifer."

"Of course you did," groaned Nick. This had to be Saatus, goddess of fate, getting back at him for some perceived slight.

Behind him, Octavia helped Ning off with her robe and now the tiny Xuantang woman was naked. "You two need to talk," said Octavia, and Ning stepped into the tub with Nick. "I will give you some privacy." Octavia left the room, mindless of Nick's protests. When all his begging and caterwauling failed to get Octavia to return, Nick finally faced Ning.

Compared to Octavia, she was tiny. Octavia was nearly as tall as Nick with a lush, well-defined figure. Physically, Ning was the opposite of Octavia, with a slight, slim body crowned with small, firm breasts. Sadly, she was covered with the scars from her previous abuse at the hands of the previous emperor of Xuantang, Jia's father. Nick considered that alone to be grounds for entry into the Stein marriage. He and Octavia both bore scars of their battles over the years, and those scars became marks of proof of their love for each other. Nick cleared his throat and finally said, "So... uh... a political marriage."

"If you wish, master."

"Stop. None of that master stuff."

"Mistress Octavia says it makes you hard when..."

"That's a game that Octavia and I play sometimes."

"I would like to play."

Nick softened and pulled Ning into his arms. They lay together in the hot water. "Maybe we will play someday, but not today. If you call me anything, call me Nick, or Your Grace, which will become your title also after we marry."

"Is that a marriage proposal?" demanded Ning, her voice scolding like when Jia was young.

"No, I want you to know that I do care for you quite a bit, but Octavia will always be my first love. She will remain first in my heart. You are in my heart also; we've been through too much together for you not to be someone dear to me."

Ning nodded in agreement. "You were very good at killing men who hurt me."

"Uh... yes... but uh..." He cleared his throat and continued, "Our cottage is tiny and crowded and will remain my home until I'm called to this big, cold, stone mausoleum. I will come in from the field exhausted, stinking of sweat and animal shit, only to wash and run off to hold court or teach classes in the village. When done, I generally fall asleep in a rocking chair because I'm too tired to climb the stairs to bed. At sunrise, I'm up and it starts all over again. Our house is full of children, ghosts, fairies, and wolves, and we even have a bird that will swear if you startle it. Is that something you want to become part of?"

"Of course."

"Then Octavia and I will propose to you tonight at dinner."

<><><><><>

It was late. The snow was falling heavily on Elm Springs, and the only light that could be seen was from the police barracks and from the One-Eyed Duke. "So then what happened?" asked Trei. It was late and he wanted to close up the One-Eyed Duke, but there was a paying customer and Nick once said, "If there's a paying customer, sell them ale until their stories are done."

"So I made Octavia stand next to me while I got down on one knee and asked, 'Would you marry us?'"

"So, what did she say?"

"I'll never forget it, she looked at me, then at Octavia then back at me and said, 'Wǒ hěn xiǎng hé nǐ jiéhūn.' So sweet, don't you think?"

Trei chuckled, not understanding a word of what Nick said, but he knew that Nick wasn't going to translate. He sometimes forgets that almost everyone in the mountains only spoke Torwin, and most spoke it badly. "I'm assuming that was yes?"

"Yep," said Nick, and he was silent. He stared at his ale. He had a dart in his hands that he was casually turning over and over as he thought. He had something on his mind but Trei wasn't going to ask, not until Nick gave a clue that he wanted to be asked. Finally Nick said, "Double twenty." He then tossed the dart to the dartboard on his right without looking. It missed the double twenty, hitting outside of the ring between the 2 and the 0.

That was an easy toss for Nick, who could beat anyone at 501; but Trei looked at the dartboard in shock. "Not even close, yer grace. What is it that has you so low this evening?"

"Oh, just a whole lot of politics. I miss the days I could wake up and my only problem was a fox in the hen house, or a cow with lump jaw." He shook his head and sighed. "What are you and Erin doing for New Year's?"

"Probably watching the grandchildren."

Nick nodded sadly, and Trei thought he was going to cry. Then Nick finished his ale and said, "Nope, tell Darina, Ena, and Wayne to watch their own kids. I need you and Erin at my table at the palace."

"Your grace! I can't..."

Nick got up and walked unsteadily to the door. "It's an order from your boss and your duke. I'll send a sleigh to pick you up at sunset." Nick stepped outside and looked up at the flakes swirling down from the sky. "Dress nice!"

"Your grace! You're in no condition to..." but it was too late, and the huge snow owl took off into the night.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 18 - Homeward Bound

Ætherflame 16, 3438

Mouli Zamani, Sotis

Lolly was a sweet olliphant; her six legs moved in an even rhythm that gave a smoother, gentler ride than any horse that Jutta had ever rode. Alagaell sat right behind Lolly's huge head, directing the olliphant with nudges of his toes to either of the great beast's huge ears. Behind him Jutta and Catrin sat sideways, each facing a different direction. Each wore only her normal undergarments, a slip-skirt, and a chamois. The jungle heat was stifling and the humidity was murderous. Their two wine bottles filled with filtered stream water had to be refilled three or four times a day. Three adults could drain them in minutes. Alagaell had a way to refill them without stopping, and Catrin was getting better at catching raindrops in the filter funnel.

The ten miles to Mouli Zamani, from where the dragon Chirvai dropped them off, was measured in "dragon miles" or "crow's miles." As in "as the crow flies" miles. Crows can fly over steep ravines, acres of swamp, and turbulent rivers; Lolly had memorized a path around those obstacles. Her path to travel ten miles in a straight line took four days to complete. The first river they had to cross was so deep that Lolly was swimming while Jutta and Catrin floated alongside of her and held on to the saddle blanket. There were no schools of man-eating fish to fear, but there were crocklegators that looked big and fierce. The crocklegators seemed to want to avoid getting thrashed by a fifteen-ton olliphant.

It rained often every day, usually in the late afternoon, there was a sudden downpour. The atmosphere was so humid and wet that Jutta and Catrin gave up on remaining dry. They could watch storms grow as they rumbled along on Lolly's back, all the while Alagaell told his stories.

"How did I meet Dolly, you ask?"

"I didn't ask," said Jutta.

"Nor I," added Catrin.

"If you insist. I was down in Bovuka at the University of Cloacina speaking at the Thaumistic Sustainability seminar they have every year. The Thaumistic Sustainability Society is one of those crazy groups that thinks that there is going to be a global shortage of Allokos and Thaumos particles, but they're crazy. They believe there's a global mana shortage!" Alagaell scoffed at the stupidity of some people.

"I heard that," said Jutta. "They were talking about magic coming to an end because of the mana shortage."

"There's no such thing as mana," said Alagaell and Catrin simultaneously.

"Don't you have to accumulate something like mana to make magic work?"

"You accumulate skill and knowledge," said Catrin as she put the filter funnel in an empty wine bottle. "Alagaell? If you please?"

"Of course," said the wizard, and with a theatrical wave of his hand, a slim stream of water came up from the river they were fording and flowed into the filter funnel. "Does that look like a shortage?"

No matter how many times she saw it, the water flowing up over fifteen feet in a stream then arcing into the funnel always fascinated Jutta. "Can you do that, Catrin?"

"I'm learning and I'm getting better. I had read many manuscripts in King Hamz's library. I'm slowly learning to combine allokos and thaumos. Once I get the tarachi started, then I have no problem," said Catrin.

"Tarachi? What's that?"

"It's this..." She looked at the wine bottle filled with warm river water, then handed it to Jutta.

"It's freezing! How did you do that?" gasped Jutta, and she took a long refreshing drink of the first cold water she tasted in thirty years.

"Water is perfect for someone who is learning magos, wizard's magic," said Alagaell. "Dear Catrin is an amazing adept at magevo, witches' magic. She's now gone the extra step to understanding how it works which leads to magos."

"What's the difference?"

"Magevo, witch's magic, also called kitchen magic, is natural magic, used for healing, brewing, dyeing. An adept is changing the natural order of organic substances, mostly urging on a natural process like healing. Of course there is so much more to being a witch, gods bless them all. Magos, wizard's magic, goes beyond that. It is defined as "the advanced manipulation of reality by modifying quantum entanglements." It often takes decades to learn and can be unforgiving if learned improperly. Catrin is coming along nicely, and with luck she'll find a tutor when you get to where you are headed."

"So how does it work? I was always told that a mage accumulates mana and that mana gives him power to do something."

Alagaell nodded and said, "Yes, that's how it works in the majority of fiction and theater. Fortunately there's no such thing as mana, and mages are students who are trying out new spells. To be a witch or wizard, the trainee must have romi, which is the strength to do what it takes to make magic happen. Catrin is strong in the romi department, as most witches are."

"So that's it? You just need romi to make magic?"

"In a manner of speaking. All around us, everywhere, there are tiny particles, so small you can't see them, so infinitely small they can pass through anything. Think of them as tiny, tiny lodestones. You know how lodestones repel each other, right?"

"Yes, until you line them up correctly, then they attract each other."

Alagaell smiled, Jutta was getting it. "These two particles are the same way, they repel each other. One is allokos, the particle of order, and the other is thaumos, the particle of possibility. Someone with romi can manipulate them to interact with each other and when that happens, an event that magical scientists call a tarachi happens. A tarachi is a disturbance in the fabric of reality, allowing the wizard to manipulate an object into doing something it normally wouldn't do, like rise fifteen feet out of the river and flow into a bottle."

"So... these two bits squeezed together make magic?"

"Close. These two bits squeezed together create the opportunity to make a change to something; that change is magic. Like your tepid river water becoming cold water. There is always enough allokos and thaumos to make magic, because once the magic happens, the particles separate and go about their business. The amount of allokos and thaumos never changes."

"It's so confusing," said Jutta, holding her temples. "So what is a spell? I thought they were magic words that caused mana to do something."

Alagaell looked at Catrin. "Do you understand that part?"

"Umm... a spell is like a recipe; it reminds a wizard of the combinations of allokos and thaumos needed to make the correct tarachi, and then what to do once the tarachi is created."

"Exactly! Your future tutor is going to be so proud of you! Exactly right."

"So if I put a spell on something, what does that mean?" asked a very confused Jutta.

"That is conditional magic," said Catrin. "You can create a tarachi that would enchant a door knocker. If someone lived in a huge building with many rooms, you could design a tarachi that would play the sound of the door knocker in whatever room you were in and nowhere else. That way you know someone is at the door but no one else in the building is disturbed."

"Perfect example," said Alagaell.

"What about changing into another animal? What if I wanted to be a horse to carry you home? What if you wanted to change me into a horse? Can a witch really turn someone into a frog?"

Alagaell knew what a witch would say to that question; he wanted to hear Catrin's answer. She gave a very good answer. "No, a witch cannot turn someone into a frog. She can make someone think they are a frog, and they'll go sit in a pond. Changing a person's perception about themselves is a bit advanced, but only the most powerful can actually change themselves into something else. That's very ancient elf magic."

"So someone can't change me into a real newt?"

Catrin looked confused and shrugged, so Alagaell said, "Theoretically it's possible, but theoretically you wouldn't survive the change. She's right, that's some extremely ancient elf magic. All of that is stored in ancient underground libraries. They say that they're in the Snowcross Mountains."

As Lolly trundled through the jungle, they watched the ruins of huge monuments peer through the trees at them, towering ziggurats topped with statues of ancient serpent demons were seen. The vines and branches of a billion tropical plants covered them, but their angry faces stared from their leafy prisons. "This is the land that Zeddicus ruled until the other gods chained him to a mountain for a thousand years," said Alagaell. "You can see his face everywhere."

"So, how did you and Lolly become acquainted?" asked Jutta. She was watching Catrin who had taken some palm fronds off a cabbage palm and was weaving them into a basket.

"Oh, yes. I was in Bovuka at the University of Cloacina speaking at the Thaumistic Sustainability seminar they have every year and I heard there was a circus in town over in Glenmaide, so I went to see it, and there was poor Lolly, just a lonely calf. She was captured and put on display. I knew I had to set her free. The next stop for the circus was New Entwistle, right on the seacoast. I told Lolly, "Don't you worry none, girl, I'm going to meet up with you at the next stop and I'm going to take you home." I went back to the university and Æther hopped to Xuantang. I changed out five dozen copper coins for five dozen gold coins, and came back in time to see them packing up at New Entwistle ready to move on to Samamalo. I told Lolly's owner that I was buying Lolly, gave him half a dozen gold coins, and I took Lolly with me when I left."

"He just let you take her?"

"Well, he argued at first but he didn't say nothing when we left. Newts don't argue, they just watch."

"You turned him into a newt?"

"No, of course not, I don't have the skill for that... but he didn't know that. He thought I turned him into a newt, and he watched as Lolly and I climbed aboard a ship bound for Mouli Zamani, her hometown. We've been together ever since."

"So where do you live?"

"Right there where Chirvai dropped you off, in the remains of the ancient elf city of Zineb Siddique. There's actually quite a bit there to see under the jungle growth. Lolly eats the vines and plays in what I think was a lake in the center of the city. I am mapping the city, and I hope a contingent of elf historians will come and look at what I've uncovered. I've found some fascinating artifacts. You must see them before you leave."

<><><><><>

They arrived at the Mbango River station west of the city of Mouli Zamani. The Mbango River was too shallow in many parts for the ocean-going freighters to make it to the docks at the city, so small cargo boats worked up and down the river carrying cargo out to the contracted ship, and from the ship to the city.

The harbor was crowded with dozens of single-masted boats called dhows. Cargo was being unloaded from the boats onto small wagons that were pulled by donkeys, or the favorite, gulla-gulla birds. The gulla-gulla birds were huge long-neck birds with a beak like a parrot. The birds were naturally sand-colored, which made them hard to find when they ran off and settled down in the sand, so many gulla-gulla birds were painted bright colors to make them easy to spot. Cargo wagons moved in all directions and Lolly added to the congestion, but nobody was going to argue with a 15 ton olliphant.

Lolly lowered Jutta and Catrin to the ground with her powerful trunk and they walked up to the harbor master's office wearing their white chamois and slip skirts against the blazing sun. "Can I help ya?"

"We're looking for work on a ship bound for Edux," said Jutta. "We are experienced cooks, recently in the employ of King Amaan el-Mousa III."

"Can you cook more than sand and camel shit? That's all they eat over there."

"We are skilled in meals originating in Torwin-Armistad, Xuantang, Bovuka, Elbreshowth..."

"You sound skilled, why do you want to sign on to a ship?"

"We want to go home. We ran into some bad luck and found ourselves stranded in Qudura. We need to get back home."

"What else can you do?"

"I'm an experienced drover, so if there's cattle or horses on board, I can help care for them, and Catrin is an experienced witch and can heal any injury or sickness."

"The first one out is the Gadwell, slip twelve. Captain of the Gadwell is on the dhow with the last of the cargo, getting ready to board his main ship."

Jutta and Catrin walked to the slip and there, on the pot-bellied boat, three men were tying down and inventorying the last of the cargo. "We're looking for the captain of the Gadwell."

"That be me. What do ye want, ladies?"

"We understand you're looking for a skilled cook. Catrin and I are experienced cooks, having worked in the royal kitchens of the king's palace since thirty-four-oh-eight. I'm also an experienced mule and ox drover and Catrin is an experienced witch."

"Other than cooking, can ye keep th' boys entertained?"

Jutta felt Catrin tighten up next to her, and Jutta grabbed her wrist. "I can play the zither, and Catrin can sing. I hope that's what you're looking for."

"We was hopin' for some dancin' to keep the boys entertained. Ya know, the horizontal two-step."

"Let's go," said Catrin, as the captain began to bray like a jackass.

"Did you convince him that he's a donkey?" demanded Jutta.

"No, of course not," lied Catrin. "That's just how he laughs."

They next tried the captain of the Zaabbak. He looked at them and ate a bowl of some kind of stew as Jutta gave her pitch. When she was done, he just growled at them, "No women on my ship." Then he threw his stew on their white clothing.

"Let's go," said Catrin, as the captain began to oink like a pig.

"Did you convince him that he's a sow?" demanded Jutta.

"No, of course not," lied Catrin. "He's coughing."

They changed into their black robes and tried one more, the Duchess of Edhellond. "This has to be the one!" whispered Catrin as she adjusted her wide-brimmed black hat. "Edhellond is just a week's ride from Uduithia."

"Aye, lassie, but this journey takes us tae Port Meabras, then we shift the cargo tae barges an' head up the river tae Torwin-Armistad," said the captain.

As Jutta told the captain about their skills as cooks and entertainers, Catrin was watching four men and a rickety-looking wooden crane lift crates onto the dhow that Captain Chauncy MacLean was standing on. As the crane hoisted a crate off the stack to be loaded, there was a sickening crack of wood and the crane broke. The crane and crate both plunged and hit the pier with a wooden bang. A scream filled the air as a young lad, just barely in his teens, lay on the pier, his leg trapped under the crate.

"Jamie!" cried Captain MacLean. "That's ma laddie!"

Catrin took charge and sized up the situation, immediately giving orders. Her black robes and her pointed hat let them know that a witch was taking charge and nobody second-guessed the tiny witch. "You two lift that crate up, when they lift the crate, you pull the boy free, got it? Now lift!" The moment the boy was free, Catrin dropped to her knees and began touching his leg gently, trying to determine what was broken and what was out of place. "We've got some bleeding. Someone, rip me some bandages I can use on this child!"

A deckhand ripped a cloth rag into bandages while Catrin put her fingertips on the boy's temples. "Jamie, is that your name? Jamie?" He nodded in terror and pain. "You need to go to sleep for a little bit, you won't feel the pain and when you wake up you'll be bandaged up. You'll feel some pain, but you will be healing. Are you ready?" He nodded nervously, and Catrin began to sing. She sang a lullaby of grass-covered fields and wildflowers, of ponds glistening in the sunshine, and ducks swimming around the edge of the pond. The ducks swam and played and would go tail up as they dug underwater for bugs to eat. When she was done with the little children's song, he was fast asleep.

Catrin went back to work, ordering the dock workers to help. "Oi, you. I need you to wrap the bandage around his ankle and foot while I get the bones back in alignment. You over there, come hold his leg up so we can work. You rip up some more bandages and you go find a cane for the boy."

"Is there onythin' I can dae fer ye, miss?" asked Captain MacLean.

"Wine, we're going to need some wine. About six or seven ounces, and not the cheap stuff."

"Aye, missus," said Captain MacLean and he hopped down onto the dhow and began searching his baggage.

Catrin was all business, giving orders and calming the fellows that were helping her. "Wind that bandage tightly but not too tight. We don't want his toes to turn blue and fall off." She held the foot and ankle in position for the bones to heal as the deckhand wrapped the joint with the strips of cloth. All the while he wrapped, Catrin pushed the bones back into position. Her ring, the ring of health, glowed softly as she worked. When the ring of health stopped glowing, it was done.

"Tie off that bandage and put him in the boat to rest."

"Did ye still need this, aye?" asked Captain MacLean and he offered Catrin a cup of wine.

"Oh yes, this is the important part, thank you." And she took the wine and slowly drank every drop.

As Catrin drank, Captain MacLean asked Jutta, "Dae the wine help her restore her mana, noo?"

"In a manner of speaking," Jutta said, nodding. It was a "white lie." Catrin just liked wine.

"Ahm gaun tae stock up mair wine as we load up." He handed Jutta a twenty-dollar silver coin. "Here, you two, get somethin' else tae wear on deck, no' them heavy robes. It'll be roastin' hot fer most o' the voyage. An' grab yerselves aprons fer the cookin'. Be quick aboot it--we're off in three hours."

<><><><><>

After a thank you to Alagaell and a sweet goodbye to Lolly, they were on their way. "If you see an old classmate of mine, Izhar, give him my greetings. He mentioned he was from the Snowcross Mountains."

"We will give him your best," said Jutta as they headed back to the dhow that was waiting for them.

The trip down the Mbango River was peaceful and the girls relaxed as they drifted downstream. The big sail was filled with a gentle breeze and they were making good time. Catrin and Jutta dressed like everyone else in Mouli Zamani, in a short white linen skirt and their breasts bound gently by a strip of white silk. They felt like they had gone native in such provocative clothing, but having seen young women walking around wearing only a skirt for weeks, the crew barely noticed Jutta and Catrin.

As they drifted toward the ocean, the countryside changed on the right side of the boat, the land became desert. Pale tan sand was blown into dunes, and ancient stone temples and ziggurats rose in the distance. On the left side of the boat, the country remained jungle. Occasionally a broken statue of Zeddicus could be seen rearing above the green leaves, but all statues showed the wear of time.

On the right side they passed two small cities, both were made from single-story mud-brick buildings and each had a fleet of fishing boats. The people in the two cities looked happy, but they passed in the heat of the day when everyone was relaxing in the shade.

As they floated down the river, Jutta told Captain MacLean about their capture and 30 years of slavery. "Catrin could have told the king at any time, 'I'm a witch, you have to let me go,' but she didn't, she waited for the moment we could escape together. I just wish my Felix was there for that moment." She held Catrin's hand and said, "Captain, promise me your men will leave her alone, if they can't hold themselves back, take me. We just want to go home."

"Ma men'll leave the two o' ye be. We sail under the banner o' the Dominus o' Torwin-Armistad, an' Dominus Laurita'll no' stand fer such foolishness."

"Thank you. In return we will provide you with the best meals we can make, and I'm sure Catrin will provide the best health care she can."

Eventually the river grew wide and shallow; the dhow traversed the shallows easily enough but the big sea-going ships in the distance would never make the trip upstream. The dhow eased up to a huge three masted cargo ship and immediately they began to offload the dhow. "How are you feeling, honey?" Catrin asked Jamie as the young man awoke.

"I hurt, but not like it hurt at first."

"Your bones are still knitting. You'll feel better in a couple more days," she said as she touched his bandages. Her ring of healing glowed slightly as it urged the healing process on.

After climbing a rope ladder, Captain MacLean called out, "Welcome aboard the braw ship Duchess o' Edhellond, the finest vessel in the Torwin-Armistad merchant fleet. Come wi' me an' I'll show ye yer cabin an' yer wee kitchen."

The kitchen was tiny, but the larder was well stocked, and the example recipes gave them an idea of how large each meal would be. After feeding the palace staff for thirty years, this would be a breeze. Their cabin was tiny, a closet just off the captain's cabin. It was big enough for two bunks and a cabinet to lock up their goods.

After a little exploring, they joined the crew on deck, and to their surprise, they were accepted kindly. Word of what Catrin did for the captain's son Jamie spread through the men and soon the two women were considered the ship's good-luck charm.

"Oor navigator puts us in home port by Hogmanay, but I'd like tae be there by Yuletide. Whit d'ye say, lads?"

"YAR!"

Then the captain shouted the words that Catrin had been waiting three decades to hear. "Hoist the anchor! Set every sail aflutter--we're bound fer home, lads!

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 19 - Winter Begins

Cosong 25, 3438

Elm Springs, Uduithia

The first snows of winter had settled in and the mountain communities were prepared to accept the worst. Snowfalls of up to six feet were not uncommon, and the people of Uduithia were prepared for them. The semi-month of Yule, one last fling before the worst of winter set in, was eagerly anticipated. Households and businesses throughout the mountain kingdom were dressed for Yule. Shops and homes were decorated, holiday carols were played and sung, and preparations for the big festival in Waleston were underway.

Duke Nicholas remained busy teaching or conducting county business at the One-Eyed Duke. One particular morning he was teaching reading as the snow swirled outside. The students had groaned that he would be teaching through the semi-month of Yule, but they all showed up. As Nick taught using an ancient Yuletide fable of The Woodcutter and the Fairy Queen, he glanced out the side window of the pub, and saw a sleigh pull up to the Hay-on-Wægn office of the Uduithian Gendarme. That wasn't unusual, but what was unusual was that Claus Hillingham, the commander of the Uduithia Gendarme, was driving the sleigh, and Preston Prescott and his wife Annabelle got into the sleigh, and the sleigh then swung onto Breeders Peak Road and headed up the hill.

There was only one place they could be going, and that was Waelmore Castle. Preston hadn't been there in years, not since Neth Skelm sent him to Põrgu Saar, the Burning Lands, far up north where winter never touches. Preston fought valiantly against creatures they never thought existed outside of fable and legend. They were set upon by basilisks, cockatrices, serpents and chimeras of all forms. The young princes had been immediately ripped limb from limb, then they turned on Marlon, only a few months old. Octavia was able to maintain a protective ward around her son, but not around herself, and the beasts attacked her as others attacked the ward around Marlon. Preston hacked and slaughtered trying to protect his friend's wife, but he too was under attack. A basilisk leapt at him and Preston jammed his arm down the beast's throat as he chopped at it with his sword in his other hand. As the beast gnawed through his arm, he was suddenly back in the king's court.

He was so ashamed; he couldn't save Prince Exavier, nor Prince Abraam, Princess Sophie was in such a mental state that she was no longer fit to wear the crown, and Duchess Octavia was nearly dead. Slashed, scarred, bleeding from a dozen vicious bites, a leg had to be amputated and one of her beautiful violet eyes was gone. Preston could barely live with the guilt. He was a cop, a soldier, a man the people turned to when they needed protection, and he failed. He couldn't live with the shame. When Claus Hillingham, his commander, ordered him to the castle, Preston was sure he could convince the king to execute him for cowardice and failure.

They entered through the nobles' entrance and Claus led Preston and Annabelle to the chapel. Once the chapel was a dim, gloomy place, built to worship a god of hate and envy. But Preston found it was full of light and birdsong. A third of the chapel was a tropical forest, and a lawn spread across another third, and there two wolf pups played while Princess Sophia laughed at their antics. Were the pups talking to each other as they raced around?

"Follow me," said Claus, and he led them down a gravel path through a garden of beautiful lush plants and brightly colored flowers. Fairies fluttered among the plants and one or two of them called out to Preston. There, by a small fountain, they found King Uric and Queen Elenor along with Claus's wife Sara. "Ah, Preston, come sit by me." Elenor and Sara rose and led Annabelle away leaving Preston alone with the king while Claus stood within earshot in case he was needed. "Would there be anything you desire, Captain?"

"Your Majesty, I only ask one thing, to be released from this nightmare of guilt. I failed you and my friends, and I cannot live with the failure I have become. I even failed at dying for my king..."

King Uric looked at Preston and finally said, "No. You have triumphed in every endeavor required of you. You held the line, my good fellow, until your duke--and your lady wife, yes, your very own lady wife--brought down Neth Skelm and his reign of dread. That was all we required, and you executed it with exquisite brilliance."

"But your sons! I should have..."

"For that, one would have had to venture back through the annals of time itself. By all reports from the survivors you safeguarded, my boys had perished ere your arrival. I never held you at fault; Her Majesty never did, nor did Nicholas or Octavia. 'Twas only you who laid the blame upon your own shoulders. Nicholas and Octavia comprehend your need for solitude and have afforded you such, but I am not so privileged. There is a task I require of you, and I demand its flawless execution. Her Royal Highness, the future queen, requires that you reclaim your self-respect, so that you may prove yourself worthy of her pride in you as her father."

"Future queen?" Preston was shocked at the king's words.

"I am well aware that your daughter has but six summers to her name, yet each day she draws ever nearer to Marlon. Ere you perceive it, you shall find yourself conducting her down the aisle to a gentleman with whom she hath been smitten since the very hour of her birth."

"Marlon... he..."

King Uric held up a hand which stopped Preston's confused sputtering. "In due course, Marlon shall ascend to the station of Crown Prince. Do you comprehend?" Preston nodded slowly. That could only mean one thing. The king continued, "I have chosen an heir, and I pledged to grant him two decades to prepare for the throne. I require you to ensure his survival when that moment arrives. Thy kingdom and thy daughter place their trust in thee."

"Yes sire."

The king glared in Preston's eyes and said, "This is a royal decree. Proceed forthwith to safeguard your erstwhile commander. Kindly remind him that I found the first use of his warrant a wise choice."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You shall not breathe a syllable of this discourse to naught but your duke until I have made my proclamation upon the night of Hogmanay. That goes for you as well, Commander Hillingham."

"Aye, Your Majesty."

"Off you go, then. I daresay you and Sir Nicholas have a great deal to discuss."

<><><><><>

When Claus, Sara, Preston, and Annabelle returned to Elm Springs, the sun was setting and the village was in the dark shadows of the mountains. Nick, Octavia, and Ning were helping Trei and Ena Metsker get the pub ready for the evening meal visitors, and a few customers were already there. The evening meal was Black Mountain Grill: smoked elk sandwiches with a sweet elf-recipe sauce and sliced fried potatoes on the side. One of the simplest meals to make but one of the most profitable.

As the cleanup continued, the children--Marlon, Hollie, and Annette--were helping while they would rather be playing with the wolf pups, Pippin and Punkin. The babies were asleep in Octavia and Ning's arms as they cleaned.

Preston was shaking nervously as he approached Nick. They were close friends; they fought side by side at the battle of Tähelepanek Point where Nick slayed the demon god Zeddicus. However, little by little, he drew away from Nick. He thought it was an unrepairable fissure in their relationship, but the king ordered the fissure to be resolved. Then, to Preston's surprise, Nick broke into a joyful grin. The beard was neatly shaven and his eyepatch gone, letting his golden eye glitter in the candlelight, but it was the same grin he saw when they were reunited in Teurnia and then again in Elm Springs.

"Preston, old friend. You look troubled. Can I help in some way?"

"We need to speak alone," said Claus softly. "The King revealed some news to us that we must discuss."

Octavia made the Sign of Siegle, a mystic gesture that most people wouldn't notice happening. When she did that, they were alone. They were in the same place but at the same time they were ignored by everyone around them. "It is safe to talk. There is no one seeing through this spell," said Octavia.

Nick leaned on his walking stick and said, "What troubles you, old friend?"

"Me, I trouble me. You are my dearest friend but when we are near, I am reminded of my failure at Põrgu Saar, the Burning Lands..."

"Preston, stop," said Nick with a slight scolding in his voice. "What have I always insisted was the soldier's number one duty?"

"To come back alive to your kith and kin," recited Claus and Preston.

"And for that rule, you succeeded brilliantly. Not only that, but you also brought my wife and son back with you alive. I could not ask for more."

"But my ladies' injuries!" said Preston, his voice shuddering in self-loathing.

"My friend, it was a battle, a meat grinder, and you protected her and Marlon so well, and you slaughtered six basilisks..."

"Seven," corrected Octavia.

"My friend, I couldn't be prouder of you and your accomplishments, and it's my fault for not saying that immediately."

"Maybe you did, and I failed to listen to you."

"Enough! Let us relinquish the past to late-night musings over ale and spirits. I'm just happy to have my friend with me. Now, tell me, what did the king say?"

"He said..." Preston looked from face to face, still not believing he heard the king say those exact words. "He said that Annette will become the Queen of Uduithia."

Nick's facial expression didn't change. He softly said, "Yes... and?" as if there was more. How could there be more?

"So it is true?"

"Well, the young heart is fickle; her eye may wander to someone taller or more handsome, she does have her mother's beauty, so she would be a fine catch..."

"Queen?" shrieked Annabelle. She couldn't believe what she just heard. Her only child was going to be royalty?

"He selected you to be his heir?" gasped Preston.

"I am not allowed to say yes, understand?" asked Nick. "Did the king have any more news for you?"

"He said I am in charge of the royal guard for his heir."

Nick nodded. Of course he would. The king hated having Nick living out on a farm where anyone could attack. "Until that time when the king officially announces his heir, why don't you practice on me and my family? Protect us like you would protect some high-born prince who was slumming on someone's farm." Suddenly Nick was businesslike, as this was a county finance meeting. "Preston, this will be on the down-low, you will use people that already act as my security and ensure that they are trained, armed, and paid. Add Annette to your targeted clients for extra protection. Claus, let's put this in the training portion of the budget. I'll wrangle a few more pounds of copper to send to Jia for the gold it will take."

"That will be no problem, Your Grace," said Ning who was hiding her excitement quite well.

"There, with that solved..."

"There are two more things, Your Grace," said Claus.

"Oh? What may that be?"

"His majesty said you needed to use your warrant."

"Oh, that thing," said Nick. He had seen it happen a number of times, but he wasn't sure if there was anything else needed. "I suppose if there's paperwork, we will handle that later. Claus, Sara, please kneel." He nodded to Octavia who dropped the ward, and the crowd in the One-Eyed Duke noticed the group in the middle of the room. His walking stick became a broadsword etched with mysterious symbols and words from Kodu's long-forgotten past.

"Claus, Sara, for your unending loyalty shown to King Alfrich of Breaze, King Lars of Teurnia, and King Urich III of Uduithia, this should be enough. However you, Claus, and Sara, continued to serve the people of Uduithia with your unending dedication to peace and law enforcement, I knight thee, Sir Claus Hillingham and Dame Sara Hillingham. Advance, knights, in the name of Uduithia and King Uric the Third!"

The two new knights rose and the bartender Trei Metsker called out, "Free meat and ale for our new nobility!" and a cheer went up among the patrons of the One-Eyed Duke. As they sat and ate, everyone who entered for their evening pint was told of the Duke's largesse for knighting the top cops in Uduithia. "Four people you knighted so far," said Trei as he handed Nick a pint of ale. "Preston, Annabelle, Claus, and Sara... all of whom have worked for you in the past. Is that what knighthood takes? Being your subordinate."

"That and helping me brew the finest ale in the Snowcross Mountains," said Nick as he clanked his tankard against Trei's.

<><><><><>

The semi-month of Yule was like a frozen reward for surviving through from the last Yule. The semi-month was sixteen days long and on the calendars it was divided into two weeks of eight days. However, since the word week means seven of anything, in Yule, the elves who created this modern calendar listed seven days, Sunday through Saturday. The week leads up to Yuletide which sits outside of the calendar week and is simply called a holiday. The same thing happens on the next seven days. Yule Ninth through the Fifteenth lead up to New Year's Day, which, like Yuletide, sits outside of the calendar week, just to make the word week work. This is considered Elven brilliance.

That's not to say that there are just two holidays in Yule. Far from it. There are more celebration days than there are days of rest. Of the sixteen days of Yule, there are ten recognized days of celebrations. The first week of Yule was dedicated to family and friends. It was a peaceful time that promoted togetherness and charity. Yule First is Remembrance Day when the memory of all who were lost in the Starfall and the battles that followed is recalled. Trips to cemeteries to honor the fallen and remembrance services at local temples are held.

Yule fourth is called Woodpile Wednesday. It may have other names in other locations, but in the mountains this is an act of charity like no other. This is the day that cut and seasoned firewood is shared with those too old or infirm to gather their own. The next day, Yule fifth, is called Canners' Dance. This is the same as Woodpile Wednesday, but this time canned goods are shared with those who need it. It is considered impolite to turn down wood or canned goods, if you don't need them you leave them at the temple for those that do. Yule seventh is the Lighting of the Log. Close friends gather for dinner and after dinner the yule log is lit. It is said that the burning log will attract Saint Heldus, the patron saint of children. St. Heldus leaves toys, clothing, and a brightly colored pair of stockings for each child. Each child's first pair of stockings are held as a keepsake by the parents. The next day is Yuletide, a day of family togetherness.

The entire second week of Yule was dedicated to community frivolity and winter sports. The ninth is King Elandorr Day, a day celebrated with relatives and friends. Yule twelfth is not a holiday, but in Waleston, it's the day that the city-wide festival begins. The entire city of Waleston becomes a huge festival with music and dancing in the streets, food and drink, and on the Cowle River that flows through the city, ice skating races, hockey games, and skating exhibitions were held. In winter it was not unusual to see city dwellers ice skate through town to make their way to market and back home. The thirteenth is the day of the Uduithian Hockey Tournament where novice teams from the different villages compete. Yule fifteenth is the celebration of Hogmanay, a celebration brought to the southlands by the humans. In cities that don't celebrate Hogmanay, they will celebrate New Year's Eve. And on Yule sixteenth is New Year's Day. The king has a huge feast, and the last official night of the city-wide festival ends up with fireworks and the annual snowball fight.

Ning and Nick crunched their way down to the pub. Nick was pulling Marlon on a sled. It was math day, and Nick was still teaching, but today Ning was going to take over class so Nick could take care of some business. They walked in silence for a while, then Ning said, "Do you not like me anymore?"

"Of course I do, why do you ask?"

"We are engaged, but you haven't touched me."

Nick tried to suppress a chuckle. He was expecting that, and she was right; he hasn't touched her. He had never touched her except to heal her wounds. "We're not married yet."

"I'm sure you had many women before you married Dame Octavia."

"Nope, sorry to disappoint you, but Octavia is still my one and only."

"And me? You will not touch me, even when we are married?"

"That is something that we need to talk about when young ears are not around."

Marlon covered his ears with his rabbit-fur-lined mittens and said, "I can't hear you!"

"He can hear us."

"Of that I am certain," Ning agreed. She was silent for a while then asked, "There was never another woman in your life?"

"There were two. One was Silver MacClenny. I loved her madly, but Wayne Metsker loved her too."

"What did you do?"

Nick chuckled. "I did what any other ten-year-old boy would do. I threw mud at her. We were just kids, and when I turned twelve I decided I was going to be a witch. I studied anything I could, and if my Aunt Agness wasn't going to teach me, I would learn human witchcraft at a school. When I was old enough I said goodbye to Silver and went to medical school in Enkmaar, the capital city of Breaze."

"Who was the other woman?"

"Ziska. We were soldiers together, and we fell in love. She was tall and athletic, round breasts, narrow waist, round hips, and long blond hair."

"Was she a good lover?"

"She was killed on our wedding day; she died in her lover's arms."

"Her lover?"

"Octavia's new husband, King Alfrich."

"Oh no..." groaned Ning. She had heard of King Alfrich dying in the arms of his lover, she didn't realize that it was Nick's wife. "Did you know?"

"No, I was told later, and Octavia confirmed it. Octavia and I both became virgin widows on our wedding night."

Ning was shocked, virgin widows... there was some prophecy about that. She remembered reading about virgin widows; there was a flame involved in the prophesy... She needed to talk to someone about the prophecy. Maybe Octavia's friend Izhar. He seemed to like prophecies.

Soon enough they were in Elm Springs and setting up in the pub for class. It was almost Yule and they expected the class turnout to be light, but Nick kept the pub warm for class, which attracted prospective students. As they set up, Nick left and walked over to the Gendarme station, cursing Annabelle for choosing such a goofy name. Already the cops were being called John Darms.

He walked in the front door and stepped up to the desk sergeant. Sergeant Miller was turning over to the day desk sergeant, Dave Harris. They both snapped to attention, and with practiced ease Nick said, "As you were. Sergeant Harris, I would like to address the men first off, before Captain Prescott or Captain Hillingham speak."

"Yes, Your Grace." When the clock chimed in time with the bell over at the temple, Sergeant Harris boomed, "Day shift! Night shift! FALL IN!"

The old farmhouse was filled with the rumble of boots and the slide of chairs as the two shifts gathered. Most were stunned to see the Duke of Wægn standing at the head of the room. Even Leighton Doyle was there, standing in the back of the formation. The unsuccessful highwayman continued to ensure he had a warm cell to sleep in, but Nick heard he was making an outstanding groom for the police horses. When all were assembled, Nick called, "At ease! Take your seats."

Claus and Preston lined up with Nick as the duke began to brief the troops. "I think you all know Captain Hillingham--he's been with me since our days in Breaze, in fact, he chased me all the way into Termagant's Bane in Teurnia. He's the fellow who got us those semaphore towers and the two-flag system so we can continue our beat without having to check in to the patrol house constantly. Now, to let you know, Captain Hillingham has been asked to move over the hill to the land of milk and honey. He's been asked to join the King's Privy Council... hell neither Octavia nor I are on the Privy Council.

Captain Preston has been with me from the beginning, he knows more about policing on foot than anyone I know, with the exception of Duke Ned Darby. What he and Annabelle did during the Neth Skelm incident was beyond belief. For that and many, many other things, from this day forward, Sir Preston will be raised from Captain of the Elm Springs Station to Commander of the Highway Guard and Sir Claus will be Commander of State Security and King's security advisor."

The men and women of the Elm Springs Gendarme station stood and applauded their officers who both basked in the applause and cursed the duke for bringing it up. Then, as the applause died down, Nick put a hand on each man's shoulder and said, "Oh, yes, Commander Prescott will have special training assignments for select personnel in the near future. They may sound like bad assignments, maybe even punishment, but these assignments come all the way down from King Uric III and your viability for promotion will depend on these assignments."

"Thank you, your grace," sighed Preston. "I had no idea how to word that."

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Chapter 20 - Remembrance Day

Yule 1, 3438

Port Meabras, Eudux

"LAND HO!" came the call from the crow's nest.

"What say ye?" shouted Captain Chauncy MacLean, captain of the Duchess of Edhellond, as he looked up at the main mast in the pre-dawn gloom.

"It be the Port Meabras light. sir!" came from above.

"Aye, we done it, lads! Sotis tae Edux in only seven an' a half months!" Captain MacLean and his helmsman and son Jamie danced a jig with joy. As soon as they got to port and signed in, their logs would show the fastest trans-oceanic tea-run completed by any sailing ship on all of Kodu. As the sun rose, the excited crew turned out on deck to watch the land draw closer.

"Pilot's boat off the port bow, sir!" called the crow's nest.

"Drop the ladder, laddies, this mon's oor ticket hame."

"Aye, aye, sir!" A rope ladder was dropped for the pilot who soon clambered aboard.

"Pilot Sawel Harris reports, Captain," said the gnarled old man as he climbed over the gunwale. It was obvious that Pilot Harris had crossed more than his share of oceans. "May I see your books, captain?"

"Aye!" He led the pilot below to his cabin and there he opened his logbooks to the pilot.

"Sotis to Edux in two hundred fifteen days?" gasped the pilot.

"Aye, that we did. Ah've got the finest ship wi' the best crew."

"I can't wait to get you and your books to the harbor master's office!" gushed Sawel. "I have you docking upstream at berth seven."

"Aye, that's guid news! The crew'll be right chuffed tae hear it." Then came a tap at the door of his cabin. "Missus Aldana? Can I be helpin' ye wi' somethin'?"

"Breakfast, captain," said Jutta as she brought in a tray. "Sandwiches and coffee." She was followed by Catrin who was carrying a silver coffee pot and two silver cups on a tray with sugar and cream.

"Thank ye, Missus Aldana, Missus Wolfe, an' thank ye fer aw ye've done. Ye helped mak this crossin' the best in the fleet's history."

"We just cook, captain. Your crew was wonderful; it was like having forty-five brothers."

"Thanks again, an' Ah'll mak sure ye're first aff the boat so ye can find yer families."

"Yes, captain, thank you." And they left the trays and headed back to the kitchen to clean it up for the next transit.

"Witches? You set out with witches?"

"They were pure brilliant, cookin' an' nursin' -- it wis everythin' the crew needed."

They ate their breakfast sandwiches and the pilot was stunned that Catrin and Jutta could come up with something so flavorful after over two hundred days at sea. They took their sandwiches up to the helm and word got out about the record-setting pace the Duchess of Edhellond set as she traversed the oceans.

The pilot watched the river ahead. "We'll carry the topsails to the freight berths."

"Aye," said the first mate. Then he called out, "Take in the courses! Furl the topgallants!" Men scrambled up the ropes and out on the yardarms as they set the sails for slow running upriver. As they passed through the harbor and headed up the Eldrin River to their berth under topsails only, cheers rang out from the crews of other ships. They were saluted with cheers, bells, and horns.

"Word got out, you made the crossing in two hundred fifteen days," said the pilot as he guided the Duchess of Edhellond upriver. Soon the river would become shallow and rocky and the cargo would have to be cross loaded to river barges. "You made a record that will stand for years."

"The high-and-mighty o' the upper class maun hae their tea," said Captain MacLean. The Duchess of Edhellond was now the fastest tea clipper on Kodu, and surpassed her builders' expectations on this run. Then he looked down to the main deck where the witches were saying their goodbyes to the crew. "I personally reckon havin' a proper cook an' medical attention on board made all the difference. Ah'm wonderin' if there's eneuch witches tae go roond."

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Yule 1, 3438

Elm Springs, Uduithia

Octavia woke up in bed with Ning. Normally she'd wake up with Ning and Nick, but he apparently slipped out. This whole second wife idea was starting to get to him. Octavia knew he cared for Ning, but he didn't understand. The emperor of Xuantang, Ning's son, had three wives, and he's only fourteen years old. That's got to be what was bothering him. She closed her eyes and moaned, just a few minutes more sleep, that's all she wanted. She felt someone climb into bed, so she rolled toward the side and opened her eyes expecting to see Nick... but it was their son, Marlon. His nose was an inch from hers when he said, "It's Yule, can we put the tree up now?"

With a huff, Octavia sat up and straightened her hair with her fingers. "Where's your father?"

"He left. He took a bottle and went outside."

"Is Missus Metsker here yet?"

"Yessum."

"Then scat. Hand me my leg and a sock, then go help Missus Metsker in the kitchen."

"Do I have to?"

"If you want breakfast, yes. I think Ning and I need to go see what your father is doing." As Octavia pulled a sock on the stump of her missing leg, Ning woke up and sat up with a frown.

"He hates me."

"He does not hate you. He grew up thinking that multiple wives were for rich men, for warrior heroes, and for royalty."

"He is all of those," groaned Ning as she slipped on a blouse and heavy skirt. Normally she would wear silk, but she was learning farm life and was dressing like Octavia, just several sizes smaller.

"He doesn't realize he is all of those. He considers himself a man who is doing what needs to be done, and all extra money is being squirreled away for a future need."

"He doesn't touch me," said Ning as she helped Octavia put on her leg.

"He didn't touch me until we were married." Octavia pulled a dress over her head then stood up and straightened it out while Ning helped support her. "It was the most frustrating time of my life! By the time we were married, I was ready to claw a hole in the wall."

The women got up, went into the nursery, and changed and dressed the twins, then headed downstairs. The steep stairs were difficult for Octavia to negotiate without a child in her arms. A fussy baby made the climb dangerous. When Ning reached the bottom of the stairs, Loo-loo came floating down, levitated by Octavia, then, when Ning had the babies safely in her arms, Octavia carefully made her way down the stairs.

"Good morning, Missus Metsker," said Ning as Silver took a baby from her and put it in the highchair.

"Good morning," said Silver cheerfully. "Do you know where the duke has gone? We need to talk to him."

"Is it about the blacksmith shop?" asked Octavia as she kissed her babies one by one.

"Yes, but how did you know? Did Trei tell you?"

"No, Trei never said a word," said Octavia. "We could tell something was on his mind. Don't you worry about the farm or the shop. All will work out. You'll see." Their farm manager, Wayne Metsker was asked by his father to take over the family blacksmith shop. She and Ning began to pull on heavy winter coats and she called out, "Marlon! Hollie! You help Missus Metsker with the babies, and eat your breakfast when your chores are done."

"Yes, mother," said the children as they pulled on their coats and boots. There was something magical about chores with a fresh layer of snow on the ground. Soon Ning and Octavia headed out and followed Nick's footprints in the snow heading up the mountain. The snow was falling gently and his footprints were filling in, but Octavia was sure that there were only two places he would be going, and she would know which one soon enough.

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"Are you sure you want to do this, Missus Aldana? Mules towing a barge are quite different from mules pulling a wagon."

"Mules are mules," said Jutta as she petted the nose of a smart, experienced mule named Jim. "How much cargo is in that barge?"

"Instead of a quarter ton of cargo that you haul in a wagon, there's about thirty tons of cargo in that barge. My long-nose friends Jim and Clara will pull that all day long. We work our mules in shifts, six hours on, six hours off, same as the drovers. Also, on a wagon, the drover is in charge. Here, you just keep the mules pulling. The captain is in charge here, what he wants, he gets. Later tonight, you'll be carrying a lantern."

"Why will I carry a lantern? We will have two full moons tonight; I can read comfortably in that light."

"That's to let any downstream traffic on the tow path know you're here. They won't be looking for a sea-cook dressed like a witch; they'll be watching for that lantern. Downstream traffic will yield to you because they have a current helping their mules. They'll pass on the outside; you move the mules as close to shore as possible and pass on the inside and help lift their tow rope over your mules." He showed her how to use the hook when that occurred. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked back at the barge; it appeared to be too big for two mules to pull. It was long, and squat with several cabins, a kitchen, and a crew of six. Two other mules stood at the bow thoughtfully munching hay as they waited their turn. Catrin sat on the roof of the cabins with her legs dangling over the forward edge. Behind her stood the captain. "Whenever you're ready, Missus Aldana," said the captain.

"Take in the ramp!" called Jutta, and the wooden ramp the mules used to step on and off the barge was pulled up. Then, with a sharp whistle to her team, she called, "Jim, Clara, come up!" She used that command out of habit. Barge mules used a different command to pull, the barge drover would usually shout "Hike!" but Jim and Clara heard the whistle, and the tone of her voice, and began to pull.

As the mules dug in and the heavy barge started moving, the captain smiled. "Take her north, Missus Aldana."

"Aye, captain!" called Jutta happily, and she walked with her mules like she did as a girl thirty years ago.

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Nick was kneeling in the snow facing a gravestone. He opened the bottle of fine whiskey and poured some over the stone. "Good morning, great-grandpa. Just letting you know, since the last time we talked you now have four fine great-great-grandchildren. Right after I found you, we had twins, can you believe it? Your great-granddaughter-in-law Octavia is a fine mother, strong and beautiful, and she believes I should take a second wife. Great-grandma Nana did a fine job raising me, you should be proud of her, and now she's helping with the babies. She's so sweet with your great-great-grandchildren. She tells them stories and knits them mittens and stockings, but she won't tell me anything about you or her kids other than Agness. Could you tell me something about Nicholas... was I named for him? Or Martyn, is he still alive?"

He paused and took a sip of the whisky and said, "Agness told me about my Grandma Gertrude and Grandpa Peddyr... how they were stabbed and killed while looking for me and Mom in the slums of Torwin-Armistad... I don't know what I am... I'm so confused..."

Then came a man's voice, like a whisper on the wind. "Relax. Trust yourself."

Nick looked from stone to stone, was that Great-grandfather Norman? Great-uncle Nicholas? Grandfather Peddyr? No, the voice seemed to be coming from the side. He looked over at the forest where he entered the family gravesite, and there he was, an elf. A tall mountain elf. He was old, even old for an elf. His hair was graying and his eyes looked glazed over. The interesting thing about him was that he was dressed in the shining silver robes of an elf cleric in the church of Aevor; he was a holy elf. Along with his silver robes, the cleric wore a heavy mithril chain around his neck with the ikon of a bishop. "Your excellency," said Nick softly.

"Your grace... or is it your majesty? I do get so confused with time swirling around like it does for me."

"It's just Nick, if you don't mind. Nick Stein."

"Then please address me as Aymer Presjeon." The elf looked at Nick, expecting a reaction, but getting none, he said, "How are your wives doing?"

"I only have one wife, but so many people are telling me to take a second."

Aymer smiled and nodded. "Ah, that's when I am. I take it that today is Yule first, Remembrance Day?"

"Yes, I came up to talk with my ancestors."

Aymer's smile went sad. "Do not expect them to converse with you. The stones are here to remind us of them. Their sprits live on inside of us, not in the cold stone."

"My great-grandmother Nana Peacock speaks with me, she raised me, and she's probably telling my children a story right now, she just won't talk about her family."

"As you know, a witch's spirit is completely different from everyone else. Her spirit lives near something important to her, I suspect you live in her cottage, no?" When Nick nodded yes, Aymer said, "Tell me about your father."

"My father? He is the man that taught me to hate. My only memories of my mother were of her shuddering in terror, protecting me from his anger, until he beat her to death and tossed me on a garbage heap to die."

"No elf would do that," said the bishop sadly.

"I wish my father was an elf, I'd have someone to turn to when I have these questions."

Now Aymer looked surprised. Didn't Nick know? "What was your father's name?"

"Ivo Stein. Pity him if he ever shows his face in my court. I will send him to Copper Mountain for some training until he's so desiccated in the salt mines, that he could be used as kindling wood."

"There is where your lesson begins, my child. I don't think your mother would like to hear you talk this way..."

"My mother is dead because of him!"

"Hold thy tongue," said Aymer, holding up an admonishing finger. "You will become a king before you know the time has come, and you will be a great king. Your reign will be used to teach future monarchs how to rule, but that will never happen until you learn to forgive those who need it the most and deserve it least."

Nick patted Peddyr Wolfe's gravestone. "This is my grandpa. When I needed wisdom the most, he was here, he and grandma died looking for me." Nick felt the tears welling up and he fought to gain control. "If I had a real father, Peddyr would be here with me right now dammit!"

"When you needed wisdom, Trei Metsker was there until he relinquished his position to your duchess, so wisdom was not withheld, and certainly neither was love." The bishop looked from stone to stone, then saw something and said, "Oh! There is the concern."

"What is the matter?"

"I believe the last stone; the largest stone marks the one whom your heart longs for the most."

Nick didn't have to look; the stone only had five letters on it: "PEPIN." The bishop was right. How did he know? He and Pepin could talk all day long about anything, and when that didn't cheer Nick up, they would go for a run. A nice long run always worked. That was when Octavia and Ning stepped from the tree line and came forward. They kneeled with Nick and wrapped him in their warmth.

"My friend, I know partings are painful, and I've had too many to count, but family can help ease the pain. Enjoy the holiday season with them. Tell your children the old tales, The Little Yuletide Fairy, The Fox Who Wanted to Pull Saint Heldus's Sleigh, The Bear Cub Who Tried to Stay Awake. They'll listen every time you read them. It's when they read them to their own children, that the real happiness settles in. And I have a feeling that this will be a spectacularly happy holiday for you all."

"Thank you, your excellency. Sometimes a kind word from a stranger helps so much." Nick turned his head to the right and kissed Octavia, then turned his head to the left and Ning was ready. The moment their lips met, her tiny tongue slipped into his mouth, letting him know that he wasn't going to get away with a quick little peck on the lips. Her tiny hand curled around his neck holding him close, as they kissed long and sweetly.

"I think she's ready to ride the dragon," whispered Octavia.

"I've never done that with someone I'm not married to," replied Nick.

Aymer laughed and said, "I believe all is well here. Educate your bride on what you know about her future family and remember that she has much to learn." He turned to leave and said, "I think I will make my residence in the little village you made for us elves. I will visit after Yuletide when some quiet returns to your life."

"When you get to Irla Stein Anore, say hello to Vesstan Aedi and Seldanna of the Rofir. Tell them you met us," said Octavia suddenly.

"I will do that," said the bishop with a wave of his hand.

After Aymer left, Nick pointed out the gravestones and spoke of what little he knew about his relatives. "Who was that fellow?" asked Octavia as they headed back out to the main road.

Nick shrugged and said, "A bishop in the elven church of Aevor. He said his name was Aymer Presjeon. I was talking to Grandpa Peacock and feeling sad because I know so little about him and then Aymer stepped into the clearing."

"Interesting. I hope we see him again."

They stepped out onto the open road. It was all downhill from there, mostly a gentle slope except for a steeper part ahead of them. Nick turned to Ning and gave her a gentle smile. "Are you ready to ride the dragon?"

"Yes!" said Ning. She was nervous and very excited... then the thought struck and she panicked. "Here?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's... it's cold!"

"I know, I'll go slow and easy."

The tiny Xuantang woman turned to Octavia in shock, but Octavia smiled. "Relax, I'll be right behind you."

"I..." She turned back to Nick, but he was gone. In his place was a huge golden dragon. Even though it was cloudy and snowing gently, the dragon shimmered in the grayish light. She spun back to Octavia in shock. "Is this what he means?"

"Yes, what did you think riding the dragon meant?"

"His dick!" cried Ning, then realizing what she said, Ning blushed and slapped her hands over her mouth while Octavia laughed. Ning took "Riding the dragon" as a euphemism for sex.

The dragon leaned his head to the sky and spat out a quick fountain of flame, and Octavia said, "He thinks that's funny too. Come on, hop up." The dragon held a forepaw for Ning to step up on before climbing up on his back at the base of his long, serpentine neck. Octavia climbed on right behind her and showed her how to hold on to the boney spikes protruding from his vertebrae. Once the two were settled, the dragon began to walk down the mountain, following the road.

"This isn't bad, I thought he would be flying," said Ning.

"He can't take off here; the trees are too close to the road," said Octavia. "Not enough room to spread his wings. Wait until we get to that clearing ahead."

When she said that, the dragon began to trot, then to gallop, and as soon as they got into the clearing his huge wings unfurled and with a mighty flap, they were airborne. Ning watched in amazement as the world fell away and the dragon rose in the air with only a few flaps of those huge wings. Soon they were circling over the farm. The wind blew in her hair and face, chilling her to the bone, but Ning was thrilled to be flying. They continued south and were soon over Elm Springs, and she could see the tiny mountain village come to life as folks greeted each other as they walked about the tiny village. Many appeared to be headed to the One-Eyed Duke for a simple but filling breakfast. A bowl of steaming hot oatmeal with maple syrup cost ten pence, eleven pence if you added a cup of coffee.

They circled lower until the people below were recognizable. Then they turned back and headed back to the farm. The dragon stayed at the altitude he set over the village, and flew north, letting the farm rise up to meet them. "We can't land coming in from the north; it scares the animals," said Octavia over the rushing wind. "If we come in low and slow from the south they don't care."

Soon they were standing in front of the fireplace, warming up from their morning flight. "Where's the bottle?" asked Marlon.

"I left it for Pepin," said Nick. "He would have wanted it that way."

"If your Uncle Martyn ever joins them, he would appreciate a bottle left in his honor," said Nana from her rocking chair. The ghost was knitting and rocking and probably reciting stories to the little ones.

"Where is Martyn?"

"Oh... he has a job that keeps him busy and hiding behind a cloak. I never understood wizards."

"I have two living relatives? I mean, not counting Agness's tribe." Nick's Great-aunt Agness had three daughters, each of whom had at least four children. Agness had twelve grandchildren and twenty-four great-grandchildren. Only Bella, her husband Roddy, and their twin girls talk to Nick, the rest ignore him.

"You have other relatives," said the ghost.

Nick tried one more time. There was another ghost in his family, his great-grandfather seventeen times removed, Grigeor de la Montesquieu, but his wandering speech would lead Nick all over and eventually claim that everyone in Uduithia was a relative of some kind... which may be true. "Please, grandmother, tell me some of my family. Just the happy bits, if need be. I want something to remember for next year's Remembrance Day."

"Fine," said Nana. "But we'll do it in the proper order, the way all families in these mountains should do it. You and your boys go find us the perfect tree and bring that home where your girls can decorate it. Then, while you play the season's music and the women of the house make us eggnog, we'll remember."

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