Brian Rathbone - The Dawning of Power

"They fled the Gholgi, who we now know were large, reptilian creatures that somehow betrayed the first men. The picture is still very cloudy, as I have only tapped the smallest part of the knowledge that was hidden. If only we had more time," he said with a sigh. "I found no maps to indicate where the Firstland is, but I did find something rather intriguing: a reference to a powerful staff known as the Staff of Life, and your staff matches the description, except yours has no stones in the eyes of the serpent, if I recall correctly."

"Your memory is correct," Catrin said. "But Benjin had the noonstones mounted in the eyes. The serpent, I believe, is a dragon. If I draw heavily on the staff, the eyes shine and the wings become visible." After retrieving the staff from her room, Catrin showed him.

"Amazing. The wings were not described, but perhaps they were unknown at the time. Otherwise, thanks to Benjin's uncanny intuition, the staff looks exactly as it was described." He drew a sharp intake of breath when he saw the handprints embedded in the staff's flesh. "By the gods! How did that happen?"

Catrin told the tale, and those who hadn't heard it stood in shock. Samda seemed confused. "Those are not noonstones," he said, pointing to the eyes of the serpent.

"What?" Catrin asked.

"I've seen noonstone; it's as black as night. Those, I believe, are something even more rare-dragon ore. I thought you knew."

"Where did you see this black stone?" Brother Vaughn asked.

"It was one of Belegra's treasures. He showed it to me once as a way to convince me he was right, to show he had the favor of the gods," Samda replied, looking haunted. "He said that once he uncovered its secrets, he would be able to save the world. I believed him then."

No one spoke for a moment, and even Brother Vaughn seemed to recognize Samda's pain. An idea began to form in Catrin's mind, but she kept it to herself. For the moment, it really didn't matter; she understood how to use the stones she had, whatever they were called.

Samda suddenly cocked his head to one side, "Do you hear that?"

Chase hurried to the window and pulled the shutter slowly open. "We've got to go. Now! Zjhon riders, coming fast."

A moment later Orman charged through the door, his face bright red. "Get your things and get upstairs."

Beyond the civilized lands exist wild places, inhabited by creatures both curious and deadly. -Rianna Goresh, trapper

It didn't take long for the group to gather their belongings since none of them had allowed themselves to get comfortable. At the end of the upstairs hall, Orman waited. He took them through a door that led to another stairwell. "Watch your heads," he said as he climbed.

The roof sloped down on both sides, and the attic ceiling was not high enough for even Catrin to stand straight. Orman opened a massive wooden chest that sat in a corner and took out the old blankets that filled it. After fighting with it for a tense moment, he removed the bottom of the chest, revealing a hidden shaft with a ladder descending in to the darkness.

"Down ya go," he said.

Strom went down first since he knew the way, and he lit a torch that waited below.

"I need you to send a message," Brother Vaughn said to Orman before he left. "I need a ship where foxes roost. You know who to contact."

Orman nodded.

Catrin waited until only she, Benjin, and Orman remained in the attic. "Thank you for all you've done. Good-bye, Orman," she said as Benjin urged her into the shaft.

The tunnel below was dark and cold and smelled like nothing else. Walls of rough stone and dirt cut a meandering course, but the tunnel was relatively short. At the end, another ladder led to a hatch that was already open. Looking down were the faces of the two stable boys, and their visible anxiety demanded haste.

"Thanks, Wilmer, Jidan; you've done well," Brother Vaughn said as he climbed from the tunnel.

Catrin followed and emerged in the feed room behind the stables. In the pasturelands beyond, their horses waited, saddled and loaded.

"By the gods, are those pyre-orchids?" Brother Vaughn asked.

"Yes," Catrin said. "We found them on our way, and Benjin insisted we harvest them."

"Bless him, but we won't have the time to dry them properly. They'll surely mold, and I cannot let such a treasure go to waste. Is Mirta still the healer in these parts?" he asked Wilmer, who nodded, mute. "Take these to her. It's very important. She'll know what to do. Understand?"

The boys nodded and quickly unloaded the pyre-orchids. Brother Vaughn went to one of the bundles and removed a single orchid. After marveling at its beauty for a brief moment, he carefully tore the delicate petals off, one by one, and pressed them into a book he retrieved from his pack.

After reaching into her purse, Catrin tossed each boy a gold coin then waved good-bye. The boys talked excitedly about how they would spend their new fortune.

Whether by design or luck, the evergreen trees lining the pasture gave them perfect cover during their escape; Catrin suspected it was by design. Riding double, they had to move more slowly, but they still managed to cover a lot of ground before nightfall. No pursuers revealed themselves, but that didn't mean they weren't there, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Constantly alert, Catrin scanned the trees around her as they moved through lightly forested foothills.

"We'll be heading north and west through the forest for most of the way," Brother Vaughn said.

"Where are we going?" Chase asked.

"To my ancestral home. It was abandoned generations ago, but I know the way."

The northern forests were untouched by fire, and Catrin reveled in the glory of the undisturbed land. Concentrating as hard as she could, she tried to hear the dryads. The song she heard was so soft, she wondered if she were imagining it, but its incredible beauty and complexity argued otherwise.

When they camped for the night, she went to her bedroll early and spent hours listening to the song of nature. The next day brought warm, gentle breezes that stirred the turning leaves. Many succumbed to the call of the wind and drifted to the forest floor below, and the group rode through a rain of color.

With all the movement, it was difficult to remain watchful, but Catrin spotted a dark shape moving through the trees ahead, and she held up her fist to call a halt. In a moment, she knew it was already too late for stealth. The dark shape stopped, and a low whistle split the air.

"They've seen us," Benjin said, and the pounding of hooves gave additional proof. "There's no time to run. Arm yourselves."

Catrin pulled her staff from the stirrup. Mounted men, in gear similar to that of the elite troops they had encountered in the past, charged through the trees. Benjin and the others formed a protective ring around Catrin. Chase, Strom, and Osbourne dismounted, so passengers would not hinder those who rode.

Chase made first contact with the enemy when he stepped from behind a tree and used a fallen branch to unhorse one of the Zjhon. Torn from the sight by a rider bearing down on those who surrounded her, Catrin wished she had a bow. Instead, she drew her belt knife and threw. It struck the soldier's helmet but did little besides distract him. The distraction was enough for Benjin, though, and he landed a killing strike.

More riders circled and scored hits of their own. Samda was pulled from his horse, and only Osbourne's intervention kept him from being killed. In saving Samda, though, Osbourne turned his back on another rider. Samda's shout warned him, and he ducked just in time, getting only a slice across his face.

Samda grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it into the eyes of the rider's mount as he charged past. Blinded, the horse fought his rider, and they went down when the horse tripped on a rotting stump. Chase appeared a moment later on a Zjhon horse, which matched strides with the horse beside him. Shouting a battle cry, he leaped from the saddle and grappled with the other man, pulling him to the ground, but the soldier's boot caught in the stirrup, and his mount dragged him. Chase held on for a moment but then let the panicking horse finish off the soldier.