Beyond the Crags - 13. Chapter 13

Adga heard muted conversations as she approached the lower bunkroom. All chatter stopped as she entered. Most of the captives looked up nervously. A few adjusted as much as the chains holding them close to those on either side allowed. Any she made eye contact with looked down or turned away from her gaze.

The Halforc was awake again. He didn’t look good. His eyes were unfocused, and he rested his head on the wall. A fresh trickle of blood dribbled from the right nostril, down around his mouth, and dripped onto his chest.

Off to the side, Tur wiped blood off his left gauntlet with a ripped piece of cloth.

Adga moved up to the Halforc. “He give you more problems Tur?”

“Yes Commander,” Tur responded. “He tried to tell the others to use what they were taught to escape. Royal Guardsman Taglon told him to hush. He refused. I ended his talking. However, I may have hit him harder than I needed. I apologize and accept any punishment you deem necessary.”

Adga waved off the comment. “You did what I asked. If a hard hit keeps his attitude in check, good. If it precludes me from getting a bounty on him, so be it. His treatment should send a message to the others.” She gazed around the room and smirked as most of the captives shook their heads with trembling lips. “However, I’ve seen thieves slip out of bonds, so double-check to make sure all are secure.”

Tur gave a hard nod. “At once Commander!”

She knelt in front of the Halforc and lifted his chin up. The large dark brown eyes shifted but didn’t focus on her. If anything, they seemed to gaze through her. At the same time, a moan escaped through badly fattened lips. “Rin, let's get this moron some more water and if there is a way to give him a little solid food, do so. I’d prefer a bounty and I’d enjoy watching him shovel sand while we are out on a patrol!”

“Bet me can get a bit a ground nut and dry fruit inta him!” Rin stated as he dug into a sack of dried rations.

Adga took a deep breath and moved up to Cuson. “You still want to go head to head with Nuk?”

“Yeah, as long as our agreement is still in play.”

“It is.”

“Great. But I need time to stretch and get ready. Being held in chains doesn’t allow for combat readiness.”

“Fine, but if you try to run…”

Cuson shook his head, “And go where? All the other passages are blocked, and the way out is an un-death sentence!”

Taglon glanced over, “Un-death sentence? Huh, Interesting term. I shall have to remember it.”

Adga snickered and nodded in agreement. “Royal Guardsman. If you wouldn’t mind. Could you unchain Cuson and watch him?”

Taglon raised an eyebrow but moved to Cuson’s side. “Per your orders.”

“Thanks.” Adga scratched at the top of her head, “OK, basic rules for both of you. No magic or weapon use. The fight stays in this chamber. Furthermore, both of you, loincloths only. I want both of you basically in one piece at the end of this. Rin already had to put a tooth back into Thul-mora. The last time Nuk showed us his deftness as a Sectwarrior.”

Vendra grinned, “I think it has way more to do with you wanting to see more of Nuk with as little on as possible!”

Adga’s eyes went wide as the greyish-brown skin on her cheeks flared red. “VEN!”

As Taglon covered his face with his hand and both Tez and Nuk bounced glances back and forth between Vendra and Adga, Thul-mora burst out laughing. “Come on, Patrol Leader, there is no hiding it! You look at Nuk-lem Vylevin every chance you get!”

“I do not!”

“Yeah, ya do!” Rin snickered. “Me note it right off! Ya all but drool when him rode up!”

Vyrax tried hard not to laugh, but even putting a hand up to his mouth was not enough. He went down to his knees and chortled.

Adga turned and stared at Vyrax, “What!?!”

“You… You…” Vyrax managed to contain his laughter to get the rest out. “You rode so he was always close to you and… and… were mad when he and I went to warn the caravan 'cause he wasn’t where you could see him!”

“I was not!”

At this, Tez grinned and even snickered. “Yeah, you were. The disappointment in me climbing the cliff with you and you wanting to know more about us… more Nuk than me also makes sense!” He stopped for a moment then grinned even wider. “I also bet you wish it had been Nuk and not me when we had to bathe in Sir Lenti’s washroom… Although I saw you look at me a few times!”

Adga put her hands behind her head and covered her face with her elbows. “You’re lucky Ven wasn’t there! She would have looked for sure!”

“Without question!” Vendra stated showing no bashfulness. “How come you didn’t tell me? I’d love to see all of Tez!”

As Tez’s dark skin took on a crimson glow, Vyrax managed to speak between more bursts of laughter. “Oh, we’ve seen you look at boys Ven! Look is not what you want to do with Tez!” He managed to make a couple of kissing gestures with his lips and added in the sounds before busting up again.

While Vendra’s cheeks took on a rosy tinge, she grinned widely, “I never said I didn’t!”

This caused Tez to turn even redder.

Thul-mora held her stomach to help control her laughter, “Why Son’tez Shunral and Nuk-lem Vylevin, I see noble scandals in the making! Son’tez with an ex-slave and Nuk-lem with a commoner, albeit, guard leader Illorc! What would your fathers say?”

Taglon took a deep breath, “Kids…” He stopped and shook his head. “Young ones, I believe you all need to focus on the situation at hand.”

Rebklos finally spoke up with merriment in his eyes. “I think they are Royal Guardsman. I saw my brother look at a girl in the patrol he went out with on his first rite. My mother noticed it right off. Even as he geared up, Mother told him to not hide it. If interested, go for it. Better to be in the open than to hide feelings, she said.

“Father agreed. He said Lunderin would be more focused on fighting alongside his patrol mate if he wasn’t so secretly interested in trying to impress the girl.”

Taglon groaned, “Why me?” He ran his hand down his face and stepped into the middle of the room. “Rebklos, your parents were… are… correct. Any attempt at showing off could get some killed. However, this is a patrol with lots of fighting in front of it… Youthful lusts need to be held in check to prevent mistakes. So a focus on fighting, not sensual yearnings for each other, needs to take precedence.”

He paused and glared at Thul-mora as the girl continued to giggle. “And, you may want to reconsider, young lady. Any scandal would be greatly mitigated by a few important facts. First, both Patrol Leader Adga and Vendra are kids as are Nuk-lem and Son’tez. Kids will be kids. This is reluctantly accepted by any who are not in pre-arranged marriage situations. Second and far more importantly, Adga is in rapid ascendance. Vendra, regardless of caste, is a trusted compatriot. In addition, both know the Crags and have fought in and around them. This places Patrol Leader Adga, the Dragonling, Mystic, and ex-slave channeler in an unheard-of situation. If they can duplicate the path they took Nuk-lem and Son’tez through, bypassing Burning Lion’s Point, the noble houses should… Strike that. They must find a way to give them recognition for such a feat!”

He then managed a smirk as he added, “However, I must say Son’tez and Vendra would certainly make a cute couple. Furthermore, I have it on good authority Sir Lenti Avery has potions to extend lifespan so you would not have to deal with massive age differences between the two of you. And, as a former noble who failed my second rite through no fault of my own, I would very much enjoy the initial shock within the noble houses were it to come to pass.”

Sniggers and outright laughter continued as Nuk, Tez, Adga, and to a much lesser extent, Vendra continued to look uncomfortable.

As a few more good-natured jibes were exchanged, the Halfelf slave looked at Adga and spoke with a trembling voice. “You… you really go into the Crags… Like not just along the outer wall… but in them?”

Adga focused on the boy, “Gefin, right?”

The Halfelf nodded.

“Every chance I get,” Adga stated firmly. Rin and I have been behind the Outer Crag Wall scores of times, maybe even a hundred. Vyrax must be well over fifty times by now. Why?”

The boy gulped “‘Cause you own me… and… You’ll take me in there!”

“Probably. But only once I am sure you can put up a decent fight.”

Gefin glanced over to Wiro. Both gulped.

Vyrax let out a snort at the looks on both boys’ faces. “Adga’s been in there so often she’ll know when you are ready to join us. Until she thinks you’re ready, we can have you work in the Healthman shop or forge in the Squatter Slums where her brother and sister are apprentices while we poke around inside the Crags. But let me tell you, after the first couple of times you’ll look forward to going back in. It is a rush like nothing else to know you are one of the few to brave the Crags!”

Rin smiled, “Ya got ta remember if’n ya go in Ad be wit ya. Some a dem Dead walker look at Ad lots… Watch her kill many a der pal. Me bet dem more ‘fraid a her den Ad is a dem!”

Vendra chuckled, “A few probably are scared of you and Vyrax too!”

“Maybe,” Vyrax stated with a smirk. “But for everyone I have taken down Rin has at least one and a half, and Ad has three to my one easy!”

Several of the captives talked in hushed tones about Adga’s group explorations of the Crags. It was clear many were awed, some were stunned, and all feared the group and Adga in particular even more.

Finally, Adga took some deep breaths and rolled her shoulders. “OK, enough of this! The Crags will still be there for us to poke around in once we help clear Scorpion Falls and get trade moving again.

“Nuk, if you need to warm up, do so. I need you to focus on Cuson…” She paused and decided she might as well admit the truth. “And, yeah, I am looking forward to seeing you in just a loincloth again, so get over it! A deal is a deal, but I like to win which means you need to beat him. The rest of us, let’s clear an area so we can all enjoy the show.”

While Nuk and Cuson went down to loincloths and ran through a series of stretches and shadow-boxing maneuvers, Adga helped push several beds and chests up against the wall to make as much room as possible. The captives were put along the wall opposite the locked door while Vendra and Vyrax stood guard at the locked door in case someone or something tried to come in.

Tez and Taglon stood in the doorway leading to the dining hall on the off chance Cuson did know a secret way out and was using the fight as a chance to bolt.

Adga pointed to Tur, “The two of us are here to pull them apart in case one of them wins and doesn’t stop or loses and gets stupid.”

Tur nodded, took a deep breath, and crossed his arms in front of himself. “Do all of us a favor and stop when the commander gives the order to do so. Also, I suspect you both know to tap out if you know you are beaten?”

Both Nuk and Cuson nodded as they continued various stretches.

“Tap out?” Rin asked.

“A signal to show they know they are beaten. Some Sectwarrior holds can be extremely painful if locked in. If left too long, serious damage can result. Sometimes the victor is too focused on winning, cannot tell, or see if the opponent has reached such a point, so a tap-out tells others of the submission and signals onlookers to break it up.”

“If you see such a signal, move in and separate them,” Adga ordered.

She turned her attention to Nuk and Cuson. “If such a tap-out happens I expect the winner to release and the loser to not get foolish. Otherwise, the offender will face Tur with no time to rest. Understood?”

As both kids nodded vigorously, Tur’s face twisted into a smirk.

Rin eyed the line of captives, “Me bet ya wanna go for Q-ling. Fine, ya cheer if ya wanna, but if ya try ta trip Nuk, me’ll exhale on ya!”

The older teen with the raspy voice shook his head, “Ain’t cheerin’ for Cuson. He is tryin’ to abandon us!”

Cuson glanced over, “Kluxen you were supposed to help the pickers get clear if there was a problem up top. But from what everyone is saying you ran, only to get cloths-lined by the human brick. He pointed to Tur. “You managed to shove one of the pickers over for easy capture and crawl back here only to get nailed again. So running is something you did. I am just attempting to get free with a couple of others, which is all they would let me barter for!”

Adga stared at the teen. Her eyes and voice were both cold and unforgiving. “So, Kluxen… You want a chance to go free? All you have to do is take on me or Tur one on one and win. Your choice. However, if you lose, you will do all the work of emptying chamber pots, cleaning after meals, along with whatever chores are needed. Additionally, I will ask Lord Saban Kandahar to add extra punishments to you once we are out of here. Yes or no?”

Beside Adga, Tur grinned widely, stood, cracked his knuckles, and rolled his shoulders showing a rippling of muscles. Kluxen shook his head, “No way am I going to take on him again, and you’re massive! I wouldn’t stand a chance!”

“Cuson is going to take on Nuk,” Tez countered. “Nuk’s got him in size, strength, and weight by a considerable amount.”

“He’s got a chance. I don’t,” Kluxen responded. “I can’t even breathe or talk right after the last time he hit me. No way.”

“Didn’t think so…” Adga smirked. “However, I offer the same challenge to any other captive in this room.”

It didn’t take long for most to shake their heads. However, the Halfdwarven female finally spoke up, “Count Kandahar is probably going to stick us in the arena for weeks or may even sell us! What more could the slave or the walking mountain possibly do? So while I doubt I can take him, I’ll give it a shot!”

Cuson eyed the girl, “Pendrama, you can’t be serious…”

“I am. I want a shot to get out of here without being handed over as a thief!”

“You are a thief.” Taglon countered.

“What I am is a prisoner thanks to some stupid cold blast! I never even got a chance to fight before the Dragonling knocked me silly with those metal gauntlets!”

Adga stepped back and held up a hand to stop other comments. “Good. Sounds like we get to see a couple of fights. Anyone else?”

A thin, younger, Elvin boy raised his hand as high as the chain attaching him to the wrist of the girl next to him allowed. “Me.”

Cuson turned, “Thiljon, are you out of your mind?!”

“Maybe,” the boy admitted. “But, I’ll use what ya taught me, bestest as me can, Cue. Gots nothin’ ta lose.”

“Your teeth…” Cuson warned.

“I’ll do my best not to hit him in the mouth, but I will hurt him,” Tur stated with no sympathy or remorse.

“And getting’ dropped in the arena ‘er brand burned inta me won’t?” Thiljon fired back. “It’s a chance and me’s takin’ it!”

“Which of us do you want to take on?” Adga asked.

Both the Elf and Halfdwarf pointed to Tur.

Adga’s tone showed her disappointment. “No one wants to challenge me?”

Adga scanned the rest of the captives. The remainder shook their heads or held up hands palms up, declining the chance to fight her or Tur. “Fine.” She sighed. “Tur you have two challengers. You’re up after Nuk and Cuson are done. If the first one wins, we’ll patch you up before you take on the second.”

“I have had to fight many times right after losing. It will not be a problem, Commander. But to slightly even the tables, I would like permission to take on the small Elf second. This way I may be a bit winded… Unlikely, but…”

Adga didn’t hesitate. “Agreed.”

She focused her attention on Nuk and Cuson. “Remember, no spells or weapons. Now whenever you two are ready…”

Nuk and Cuson both turned to face each other while giving a slight bow. Nuk did so while crossing his arms with his fingers curled like claws or bird talons. Cuson’s bow included a coming together of his forearms while his hands formed fists. Neither boy lowered his eyes off the other.

Nuk wasted no time. He leaped forward. His left elbow angled toward Cuson’s head, followed by a right fist aimed at the Q-ling’s stomach.

Cuson ducked to his left to avoid the elbow and blocked the gut punch with a knee. He then did a leg sweep.

This forced Nuk to jump, but he was caught by surprise when Cuson rolled toward him, grabbed his back foot as he rolled past and yanked. Nuk just barely managed to tuck his face into his arms as he went down hard. Nuk then had to roll to avoid a backspin kick.

While Cuson did a handspring to get back to his feet and darted to get out of reach, Nuk jumped up and wiped at his elbows. Both were bloody from taking the fall instead of his face. “Damn, he’s fast!”

Cuson smirked. “Us little ones have to be. But I’ll give you credit. Most I’ve done that move to don’t get back up. If they do, it’s with a broken nose, split lips, and missing teeth. Before I left the orphanage over a dozen kids had missing front teeth. A few had no front teeth left.”

Nuk took a couple of deep breaths before moving forward again. He exchanged a series of blocks before going for a roundhouse. It found nothing but air.

Adga cringed as Cuson leaned back at a crazy angle to avoid the kick then came up swiftly. His left elbow slammed into Nuk’s side. This was followed by a headbutt into Nuk’s upper back.

Nuk barely managed to spin clear of a follow-up kick. He leaned to his other side as he forced a stretch. This was accompanied by a hiss of pain. By the time he turned to face Cuson again, the smaller boy was back into a fighting crouch. His eyes narrowed as he took a couple of deep breaths and moved forward again, this time more cautiously.

The two exchanged over a dozen misses and blocks. But once again Cuson found an opening. He darted behind Nuk and drove a fist into Nuk’s lower back.

This time Nuk managed to get Cuson in the upper chest with an elbow which knocked the boy back, but the blow to his back put Nuk down to a knee.

Cuson jumped back to his feet rubbing his chest, but easily dropped back into a fighting crouch. “Not bad, but you’re hurt. Call it!”

Nuk gritted his teeth and stood. His face showed a mixture of pain and anger. “You’re good but I’m not done yet!”

“Nuk…” Tez spoke up. “Do not do anything stupid!”

Nuk made a snarling sound. He pounced. His left fist caught Cuson in the shoulder, but a knee shot up and caught him square in the stomach. As he doubled over, the smaller boy’s elbow lanced downward into the already bruised spot on Nuk’s lower back.

Nuk’s right hand moved to cover the spot as he let out a deep gasp.

Cuson rolled over Nuk’s back, gripped the right hand, and pulled upward. As Nuk fell forward, Cuson’s legs wrapped around Nuk’s neck while he pulled the hand and arm well up into Nuk’s upper back. Within moments Nuk’s face turned red from getting too little air. His left hand smacked at the ground creating an audible slapping sound.

Tur moved up, patted Cuson’s shoulder, and barked, “He tapped! Release!”

Cuson pulled his legs out from around Nuk’s neck, let go of the right hand, and rolled clear. He came up into a fighting crouch but added in a raise of both hands palms out to show he was going into a defensive mode.

Nuk, on the other hand, clenched his left fist and started to stand on wobbly legs while tears trickled down his cheeks.

Tur let out a growl and moved to stand between the two.

Tez scrambled over and grabbed Nuk. “Do not be foolish! He took you down fair! Right now a bunny could take you down and Tur is no bunny!”

As Nuk fell back into Tez, Tur spoke with a smirk. “While I am not soft, I have been told I can be cuddly when so commanded.” While several eyes went wide at the comment, Tur moved a little closer to the two young nobles. “May I assume this is now over?”

Nuk glanced up with a pain-filled gasp as he tried to replenish his air, “Yeeeeaaaah… Owww…”

Tur motioned Tez back. “With your permission, allow me to stretch you. It will hurt more at first, but your back will cramp up worse if you do not straighten and pull it so it loosens.”

Nuk made one attempt to straighten up but failed and fell forward with a yelp. Only Tur’s fast reaction prevented him from tumbling to the ground.

Tur held Nuk up, “It will be far easier if you would allow me.”

Nuk reluctantly nodded.

Tez moved up and held both of Nuk’s hands. “I know you are mad and embarrassed. Do not be. He is wicked fast.”

“Cuson is very quick and skilled,” Tur agreed. “And you performed respectably.”

“I haven’t been beaten this bad since the first few moons of trainnnnningggg…” The last word came out a pained hiss since Tur wrapped his arms around Nuk’s upper chest and pulled him straight back and off the ground. Nuk’s back made a series of popping sounds.

Tur waited until Nuk started breathing normally before he twisted so the bruised side of Nuk’s back was stretched. He held the stretch for quite a while. Without speaking he moved over to a bed with Nuk still held off the ground and put him in it. “While you are noble and I am a slave, do yourself a favor and listen to me. Stay on your stomach and do not curl up.”

Tur glanced over at Tez, “If you know any cold spells, wet a cloth, cast the cold spell on it, and put it over the small of his back. It will help… At least it does for me when my master puts a very cold cloth over fresh deep bruises.”

Adga watched as Rin moved to help tend to Nuk. She took a couple of deep breaths before focusing on Cuson. “I don’t like losing, but lose we did.”

Cuson rubbed and rolled his shoulder. “He hits hard! The last punch almost put me down… It also partially popped my shoulder out, so if I could get an ice cloth, I would thank you…” He looked up, “So I can take Torga and my half-sister when this storm is over and leave, right?”

Adga nodded, “If you chose to do so… However…”

“However?” Cuson frowned deeply, “I’m not volunteering to be a prisoner and shovel sand!”

Adga held up both hands. “No, no! Not even suggesting such a thing! Nothing even close!”

“What then?”

Nuk turned his head to look at Cuson. “You could join our patrol…” He stopped as Vyrax cast a frost Autospell on a wet shirt and dropped it on his back. “…Ohh… Ohh… cold!”

Cuson raised an eyebrow, “And how, exactly, does a robber den captive join your patrol?”

“You have a partial letter of sponsorship, you know nobles and can describe them in detail, and you said yourself, you are not a Lockmaster,” Taglon responded. “It is also the job of patrol leaders to recruit new members. This patrol is short of members. As long as Patrol Leader Adga requests your installment into her patrol and it has noble backing, which it seems Nuk is willing to give…”

“I am…” Nuk managed to gasp out as Tez cast a frost spell on another cloth and dropped it onto Nuk’s kidney area.

“I will as well,” Tez stated.

Thul-mora spoke up. “Me as well. He clearly knows my sister and it sounds like she started his training. This also means she may not be dead! We could have Earl Burl’knot do a Mindmaster reading to verify if there are questions, but I do not think there will be. Patrol Leader Adga, especially with our support, will probably not be questioned about who she wants to recruit.”

Rebklos spoke up as well, “Besides, from what I was told, everyone shovels, everyone. Being in the patrol is a way out of doing so.”

Cuson took an icy cloth from Adga and dropped it on his shoulder with a wince. “What about my half-sister and Torga?”

“You agree to join, I will allow them to do so as well. If there’s problems or questions I will even agree to pay your first few wage cycles.” She pulled out a few gold coins. “As long as I can find a way to exchange a couple of these…”

“I am certain we can get you into the central keep for you to speak with the coin purser,” Taglon stated. “However, I am confident the Combined Realms will agree to pick up their pay from the start.”

Cuson took a couple of deep breaths and looked over to the Dwarf, “Only if Torga agrees. I am certain my half-sister will even if she escapes capture… As long as she lives through the storm and we can find her.”

While Torga didn’t move, she spoke for the first time since being taken down, “I’m in Cue… But… it’ll be a while… not one part a me don’t hurt somethin’ awful!”

“Traitors!” Kluxan barked out.

Adga spun and glared at the kid. “Royal Guardsman, release him. He just offered to fight me.”

Kluxen turned pale, “No… No, I didn’t!”

“You called my potential patrol members traitors. Such an accusation needs to be defended!”

Taglon pulled the chains off the boy and tossed him down in the center of the room, even as Kluxen shook his head. “No… I take it back! I take it back!”

“Not accepted,” Adga growled. She pulled off her gauntlets, handed them to Vendra, and then shucked her weapon belt, boots, and armor. As she interlocked her fingers and cracked her knuckles, clearly defined muscles could be seen under her shirt. Her legs were even more defined.

“By the gods!” Cuson gasped out. “She is as strong as she is big!”

Rin snorted as other captives gasped. “Her ain’t flexin’ none. Yer only lookin’ at what be on top, not what be under!”

Adga glared at Kluxen, “You can stay down on your knees and plead and get pummeled or take your best shot. You don’t get to insult guards or potential guards of the Combined Desert Realm!”

Kluxen jumped up and bolted toward the doorway.

Tur grabbed him by the back of the collar and tossed him back into the middle of the room. As the teen slammed into the ground a few meters away, skinning both knees and an elbow Tur shook his head. “Kid, the last thing you want is to fight both of us. Don’t make me do that again! The next time I will not be as nice.”

Kluxen looked around wildly. Suddenly he jumped up, grabbed a dagger off Nuk’s gear, and stabbed at Adga.

Adga turned to the side, but still took a light slice across her right side. However, her left hand crossed over grabbed Kluxen’s wrist, and spun with him tightly locked in her grasp. By the time she completed a full spin, Kluxen was off the ground by over a meter. She did another full spin to gain even more momentum then let go. The teen flew over five meters before he impacted the upper corner of the chamber above where some of the beds had been pushed up against the wall to make room for the fight. He slammed down on one of them, bounced off, and landed in a heap on the floor.

Adga moved over, secured the dagger he had dropped, and stared down at the crumpled form. She poked at him with her foot. The action got a moan. “Rin, fix him. I’m not done yet.”

Rin moved up and slapped a dressing over the lightly bleeding line on Adga’s side then secured it with a bandage all the way around her waist. “Gonna be lot a work. Me hear bone break when him hit wall, Ad!”

“Pretty sure his lower arm is broke as well. I felt something snap just before I let go. He’ll need it to shovel.” She dropped the Dagger of Light over on Nuk’s gear and glanced around. “Anyone else want to face me with Nuk’s blade? I’ll give you the chance right now!”

Every captive shook their heads furiously. Adga let out a sigh. “He’s lucky I didn’t put magic into my strength.”

Rin looked up from the kid, “Ya come closssse ta killin’ him without Ad. Ya woulda gunch him if ya had!”

Adga shrugged, “Remember Rin, he needs to be able to shovel to be worth anything.” She turned and pointed to the Halfdwarf, “Royal guardsman, free her. Let’s give her a shot against Tur.” Adga glared as the girl shook her head, “Your challenge was accepted. There is no backing out!”

Adga moved to grab a waterskin. As she did so, she edged close to Tur and whispered, “Don’t be too quick or nice about it. As in the Gobling I saw you take down in the pit. But like the other kid, she needs to be able to shovel in a few days.”

Tur responded softly with no emotion. “Understood Commander.”

Pendrama swallowed hard as she stepped into the center of the room. She glanced at Nuk’s dagger.

“I will let you grab the blade,” Tur stated. “While I will not stop you from doing so, what happens after will no longer be non-lethal combat.”

Pendrama took a few deep breaths before stepping away from the blade. She eyed Tur as she circled.

Tur didn’t even bother to turn. Instead, he closed his eyes and slowly moved his arms out away from his chest with his hands held straight out and back again. His breathing was timed to the movements.

After a couple of rotations around Tur, Pendrama charged when she got behind him. Just as her fist launched out, Tur juked to the side so the fist went wide. He grabbed the extended arm, took a step toward the girl, and thrust out his hip. The moment the girl made contact, he pulled her forward and flipped her. She hit the ground hard.

Tur let go, slammed his fist into the girl’s right thigh, and backed off. “Clumsy and careless. You are wasting my time. Do better or I will ask the commander to make you hand wash out the chamber pots.”

Pendrama managed to stand. Tears poured down her cheeks as she limped and rubbed at her upper leg. She came at him a second time. The result was the same, only this time she went down face first while Tur’s fist crashed into the back calf of the left leg.

Tur grabbed the left arm, twisted it, and forced her back to her feet before backing off.

Tur struck the second she started to move toward him. A kick doubled her over. This was followed by a flurry of blows to the arms and both shoulders. The moment she crumbled to the ground with anguished cries he punched the uninjured thigh and took a trio of steps back. “You have not even hit me yet. You talked a good game, but have to show us anything. I guess I should ask for you to fully cloth wash all those we injured too badly to do it themselves in addition to hand cleaning chamber pots.”

Cuson took a step forward only to be blocked by an outstretched arm by Adga. “This is a lesson to not only her but everyone else.”

“But…”

“Cuson, I will make sure he goes easier on the young Elf. And don’t worry too much. He is under instructions not to kill or permanently injure her.”

Even as Adga talked to Cuson, Pendrama toppled again as Tur rolled into her, grabbed her right leg, and punched her calf a trio of times.

She managed to get back up after another round of taunts and threats of horrible duties. However, it was obvious the blows to her limbs left them weak and unable to move properly. Her face became a mask of pain as she tried to throw a wild punch.

Tur sidestepped the attempted haymaker, grabbed the arm, yanked it down, and drove his other fist into her right hip. She howled as she went down to a knee.

Before anyone could so much as blink, Tur raised the still-held arm and delivered an elbow into her armpit.

Pendrama let out a gasp and her eyes went wide. It was clear she was totally defenseless.

Adga started to call for Tur to stop, but it came too late.

Tur used the held arm to flip Pendrama onto her stomach. He pulled the arm up high into the center of her back. At the same time, a knee went into her other shoulder while his free hand crashed into her side and lower back a trio of times.

He released the arm and stood. “Slap the ground three times to show submission or I continue!”

Pendrama’s arm had a hard time moving, but she managed to slap the ground. She didn’t stop until Adga pointed to Vyrax. “Get her to a bed. Rin, when you're done with the moron who tried to stab me, do what you can for her.”

“I only targeted muscle. If anything needs tending, it would be the elbows because I made sure her head never hit the floor but had to twist her arms harder to prevent it. She will hurt for a while, but I do not believe there is any major damage. Cold rags will help.” He smirked as he added, “However, shoveling will not be terribly easy for the next week or so unless she gets a magical healing.”

Tur turned to the young Elf who stared at Pendrama with wide eyes. “You are next. Come at me as soon as you are ready.”

Torga forced herself to sit up. “NO! You cannot do this. Come beat on me if you must, but leave Thiljon alone!”

Adga moved over to the bed, “Lay back down.”

“No! Challenge or not, you cannot do this to him! He’s just a little kid!”

Tur turned away from Thiljon and started to speak only to have the small Elf jump on his back, grab his hair, and smack him in the nose.

Tur grabbed the boy’s left leg and pulled him off his back only to find the kid had his hand wrapped into his hair. As he tossed the boy onto a nearby bed, a hunk of hair pulled loose.

Tur wiped at the small bald spot and came back with a hand red with blood. He blinked in surprise as he used a shoulder to press up against his nose. It also came back with a little blood on it. Even as he looked back at the bed he tossed the boy on, he found the small kid charging him. Caught off guard, Tur wasn’t able to spin fully out of the way. A small hand caught him in the mouth while the boy’s head slammed into his chest hard enough to force him to expel some air.

Tur grunted even as he delivered a tremendously hard slap to the center of the younger boy’s back, then shoved him back with enough force to put him back on the bed.

Thiljon howled in pain as his back arched from the blow, but he hopped off the bed a second time and came right at Tur again. This time Tur was ready and yanked the boy’s arm up into the small of his back as the tyke got close, but still took a fist to his jaw. However, it was clear the jaw did more damage to the fist than the fist did to the jaw.

Thiljon shook his hand wildly as he struggled to get loose from the arm lock.

Tur grabbed the other arm and yanked it back. He then used one hand to grab both thin wrists and yanked upward until the small Elf was up on his tiptoes.

Still, the little guy wasn’t done. Even though it added a great deal of extra pain, the Elf stood on the toes of one foot and drove his heel back into Tur’s shin.

Tur frowned and shoved the kid face-first into the bed. He slapped the back of both thighs hard. “Stop before I yank your loincloth down and beat the crap out of you!”

Thiljon kicked and thrashed with everything he could muster even as he cried.

Tur looked back to Adga.

Adga shrugged. “You warned him… and he did bloody your nose, head, and both upper and lower lips.”

Tur used his free hand to expose the boy’s butt. His hand audibly came down over a dozen times before the small Elf begged him to stop.

“Stay there or we do this all over again,” Tur warned. “Now tell me you're done!”

It took five more blows before Thiljon finally screeched out between sobs, “OK! OK! You win!”

Tur let go and took several steps back. His eyes never left the kid. As soon as he saw Thiljon curl into a ball and sob, he let out a deep breath, “Wow. He has a great deal of potential, Commander!”

“Indeed he does!” Taglon agreed with a smirk. “He could make a good standard bearer for you, Patrol Leader. Probably will have to shovel for a few weeks, but I would bet, with a little prompting, once the main streets are clear, Lord Sabon Kandahar would be willing to grant an exception to further punishment in exchange for his signing on as a standard bearer with junior apprenticeship status.”

Adga nodded her head in bemusement as she looked over at Tur. “You’re bleeding from more spots right now than I saw during both arena battles I saw you in combined. And Royal Guard Taglon is correct. If I am really going to get my own patrol, or possibly command, I will need a standard bearer. I’ll ask if he is interested as soon as he stops crying.”

She glanced over to Vendra, “See if Zeris will send you a healing spirit for his bruises or he may not be able to sit properly for days!”

Vendra snickered, “If not longer. He’s got more heart than some of our squatter Slum buddies we’ve taken to the Outer Crag Wall!” She moved up and knelt next to the sobbing boy. She spoke as she stroked his hair. “Zeris, I call on your healing spirits to help this spirited tyke.”

Her pendant glowed, shimmered and a bright very warm golden ray blasted out of the center stone. As it splashed across Thiljon, red marks and even a few old scratches fully faded. At the same time, the chamber warmed considerably.

Vendra leaned forward and put both hands on the bed… “Oh, great lady of light, thank you for your confidence in me…” She let out several deep breaths. “I… was just granted access to more powerful spirits! I… I think I have just progressed to Secondary Echelon!”

As most in the room stared at her, and Thiljon stopped crying and fell into a deep slumber, Vyrax, Rin, and Adga moved up and gave her a hug. Vyrax spoke, “We knew you had to be getting close. Now we can all test up and wear silver guild pins!”

There were gasps around the room. This was followed by several seconds of speechlessness from the four young nobles. Finally, Tez managed to find his tongue. “You… all of you… you are really Secondary Echelon?”

Taglon let out a long whistle, “As astonishing as it is to hear this, it only further elevates the mystique of Patrol Leader Adga and her colleagues. However, if we had been paying closer attention, we would have already known this. Our patrol leader is proficient with both basic and learned Autospells and has fundamental mastery of both bastard sword and gauntlets. She is not far away with a mace, so she is well up into secondary. The Dragonling has more than shown he has full mastery of gauntleted fists and axehammer. And the young Mystic not only brews at least one specialty potion but he also has a fully attuned Mage book.”

“But…” Nuk forced himself up to his elbows and looked over at Vyrax, “You talked about specializing as a Shaman… If you already specialized as a Mage magic Mystic, why the deception?”

“Because I am not specialized. I am a universal magic Mystic. However, to utilize Shaman magic, since I am a universalist, spirits will not grant me easy access to their home realms. I need to fully learn to read Shaman and find a way to make a Shaman spellbook so I can build a Shaman hut to gain access to the Spirit Realms where Shamen pull their magic from.”

“Wow,” Tez uttered. “Which means you need someone like Sir Lenti to teach you Shaman.”

“Exactly. Once I learn enough, I can try to gain access to the power of the Spirit Realms and complete mastery of a universalist Mystic.

“My father is a universalist, but has never gained access to the Spirit Realms, so he pretends to be a Mage attuned Mystic most of the time. He has told me over and over it was a mistake not to specialize. Because of this, he fully expected me to specialize as a Mage because the art of reading and casting Shaman spells from a book has all but been lost. Without those two things, a universalist cannot gain access to Shaman powers. At least I have never heard of any other way…”

Vyrax sighed. “Dad bought me my book, paid to get it attuned to me, and gave me my first four spells the day I graduated into Primary Echelon. However, I didn’t focus my magic into the book until I gained enough magic to move into Secondary Echelon, which was only a few moons ago. I held back because I wanted to bridge all the magics into potion-making. No matter the price, if I can get Sir Lenti Avery to teach me Shamanistic, it would be worth it.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” Nuk stated as he lowered himself back onto the bed with a hiss of pain. “Trust Tez and me. Find someone else to teach you. His price will be way too high.” He let out a deep breath, “So does this mean you have a Druid book and know more than the basics of sorcery too?”

“Yes to both, although Druidic casting is still very much a work in progress. You really don’t want me to try to read and cast Druidic spells anywhere close to you. I have had some serious flubs…”

Adga burst into laughter, “Like the time he cast a spell to hide his scent…”

Rin’s snout crinkled up, “It hid him odor… But him sssstink bad fer long time!”

Vendra grinned, “The smell was enough to chase off an entire pack of Scaled Hogs we were trying to hunt!”

“Along with the rest of us,” Adga snickered. “It had to be close to six sandglass turns before we let him get within a score of skimmer lengths of us!”

“It smelled worse than a live scaled hog?” Thul-mora gasp.

Adga nodded. “Way worse.”

Taglon noticeably shuddered. “While the meat is fantastic, the odor of them before you remove the scales and scrape the outer layer of the hide is by far the most wretched thing I have ever smelled!”

Vyrax cringed. “Oh, I topped it. I puked and dry-heaved a dozen times or more. There was nothing I could do. I think I even tasted it… It was disgusting! Have been trying to figure out what I did wrong for a couple of moons… If I could somehow bottle the smell…” his lips twisted up into a malicious grin. “Yeah… Bet I could take out a den of thieves with one vial.”

Vendra shook her head, “Nope, they’d all get away, 'cause no way would anyone be willing to go get ‘em!”

Vyrax shrugged, “And there’s a problem I’d have to figure out. Once I have the potion formula so I can duplicate it, I can try to make something to make the smell go away. It’ll probably take me years, but the fun is in the challenge!”

Rin’s snout scrunched up, “Me love ya like be a brud’er, and we do lot a fun, but dat no be fun at all ta me!”

Vyrax’s eyes gleamed, “But Rin, just think of the number of times I get to stink some place up while I work on a counter to it!”

Adga shuddered “Just make sure when you work on making the stench potion and the way to get rid of it, none of us are close!”

“Don’t need to worry about me being close to anyone. I go out to the cave you and Rin first took me to. I have a little brewing area set up in the building with the locked door in the upper chamber where we found the Elvin Steel chest.”

Adga cringed, “Going out there alone is not a good idea, Vyrax!”

“I don’t. Kestarell and Ye’hirt go out there with me along with Rin. They’ll never go out with you, Rin, and me into the Crags again, but are more than happy to poke around the Outer Crag Wall with Rin and me. We set up the chest building as a decent fort, replaced the doors, and Ye’hirt pieced together a small forge with what we found in the other cave buildings to the south. With our help, Ye’hirt made a metal grate to make sure the through-and-through cave into the Crags is totally blocked. We sometimes spend the night out there when you go out on extended patrols.

“We fix couple udder buildin’ in cave wit da metal box, too,” Rin added. “Bet we can get Querbex and Covora ta come out again if’n we prove we got rely’bul nap, heal, and eat place out der! Know ya no like ‘em, but dem do OK on Outer Crag Wall.”

“Quer and Vora are OK.” Adga grumbled. “I just felt like I was babysitting them the whole time we were out there… If you can get them to be less skittish, I’d go explore the Outer Crag Wall with them again…” She took a deep breath. Kest and Hirt were way better, but both of them about lost it when we came across the six Rot Walker Goblins.”

Adga smirked, “Pretty sure their britches ended up smelling worse than the damned rot walkers did… So did you find any more chests or goodies in the buildings?”

Vyrax shrugged. “Nothing great. The one with the small tower had four well-armed small human-sized bone walkers in a cellar. All had Blue Steel axes, Gnome steel shields, Elvin Steel chain shirts, and Silver Steel daggers. We took the pouches and gave the weapons and armor to Quer, Vora, Kest, and Hirt so they are all way better equipped than when you took them out. But Rin’s right. None of them want anything to do with going into the Crags again.”

Vyrax paused as he noticed everyone looking at them. “Problem?”

Thul’mora swallowed hard, “You all sound like being in and around the Crags is no big deal!”

“Not at beginin’!” Rin stated firmly, “But it grow on ya. Da loot be too good not ta!”

At this Rebklos spoke up, “You really found an Elvin Steel chest in caves with buildings built in them?”

“Yeah,” Adga nodded. “We think there is another set of caves with buildings on the back side of Burning Lion’s Point, inside the Crags, but we’ve seen a big thing up there with greyish spiked armor. Kind of looks like a scaled hog only way bigger and with wings. But it is forged armor, not scales. Besides, we think it’s a hide walker, which means it not only is armored but has the hard dry hide for protection. We’re not ready to try to take it on. However, there are building-like stones around the mouth of one of the caves by where it hangs out.”

“Glad you didn’t point THAT out to us,” Nuk stated with a shiver. “Seeing all the Dead Walkers was bad enough!”

“Agreed!” Tez nodded wildly. “So, um, what was in the chest?”

“There are really caves with buildings built inside?” Thul-mora chimed in before anyone could answer Tez.

“Yeah, the biggest cave has several buildings built into the walls of it… Two of the others have a few smaller ones. Like Vyrax noted, one has a tower and looks like a small fort. As for what’s in the chest… No idea,” Adga grumbled.

“Nothing we have tried will let us in. Any attempt to pick the lock, beat on it, or even cast at it causes it to blast out a wave of icy white light to whoever does it. It also makes everyone hit with the icy wave dizzy and shaky. The last attempt to bust it open, I hit it with a combat maul I borrowed from the armory. I barely made it back in time for my next shift ten sandglass turns after I hit the damned thing! But we know it’s not empty. Something moves back and forth inside.”

Rin smirked showing most of the teeth on the right side of his mouth and none on the left. “Ad be only one able ta lift it. Bet it be eighty ta ninety kilo!”

“More,” Adga stated with certainty. “I can deadlift a hundred and thirty kilos ten times and I had a hard time lifting it up on the skimmer until I magically boosted my strength. We couldn’t figure out how to tie it in place, so we finally built a tow-behind skid. As it was, the skimmer I borrowed from the barracks couldn’t take my weight and pull the chest, so I had to lead it back on foot.”

“The skid sunk into the sand several times. The poor skimmer barely got to the Squatter Slums,” Vyrax added. “But as thick as the chest seems to be, at least half the weight has to be the chest itself.”

Thul-mora cocked her head to the side, “You took it to the nasty slums outside the walls to the northern side of Twin Spires?”

“Yeah,” Adga shot the younger girl a sneer. “We have a couple of safe places to store stuff we find when we explore.

“But you didn’t pay any tax…”

“Came out of a cave in the outer Crag Wall,” Vyrax countered. Since there was a small through-and-through cave in one area before we blocked off the Crags side, it should be considered part of the loot we pulled out of the Crags!”

“Without question,” Taglon stated. “A simple Mindmaster scan would kill any dispute, but since you have already proven you traverse the Crags, there is likely to be no one willing to challenge your claim of where it came from, since there is the possibility the challenger would then have to accompany you out to the location. Even if it was only a cave in the Outer Crag Wall, few would want to risk being forced to go there. If it was a through and through, then no sane challengers would come forward… Not that I am implying any of you are less than sane…”

“Yeah, ya do!” Rin snickered. “It be OK! Dey don’t know what dem forgo! We kill lot a dead walkin’ in da cave wit da buildin’,” Rin’s posture showed his excitement at talking about finding the chest. “We climb up a narrow ledge. It go to six cave. All have dead walker. We fight until dark fer two day and come back day three. It when we find da cave with all da buildin’ inside. Four mean armor and armed dead walker guard da path up ta da buildin’ wit da box. We all get hurt, but got good coin from der pouch. Gold, gem and sssssilver. Da coin no look like dem other. Got weird wing lion bird on front, big fort on back. Da lock box be inside room wit lock door. One a da dead walker had door key. Waitin’ fer coin from armor, blade, hammer...”

“Burntmetal promised he would get us a reward, but it would take time for him to repair since it was not cared for and he said it was extremely difficult metal to work. He didn’t know it’s exact worth, but said we’d be getting something decent for it.” Adga stated as she pulled her magical blade. “But it was all some kind of dark metal.”

Even as the magical lights seemed to dim with the drawing of the blade, and many jaws fell open as everyone gazed at the blade, Adga continued to talk. “Looked a whole lot like whatever this metal is, but was duller, not polished like this. “Burntmetal bought it all from me under a consignment contract since he didn’t know how much it would take to repair and rework it. Nor what he could get for it once he did. I know he fixed up some of it though, cause my patrol leader was given one of the combat pick hammers for his role in defending the squatters around the noble trash pit. I know, cause it still had the crest the same as on the breast of the armor and on Nuk and Tez’s weapons and the chair and in the dining hall.” She pointed back up the passage.

Vyrax snapped his finger, “Yeah! That’s where I saw the crest before! All four of them yellow flame-eyed dead walkers had the same crest on a plated chest portion of the armor. I’d never seen chain armor with an upper breastplate built into it before.”

“Der weapon and arm’r all had da mark on ‘em…” Rin informed the others while turning to Adga. “But if him fix, ya get coin fer war pick?”

“No, but he did tell me about a moon ago, he was finishing up on the repairs on about half of what I brought him and there were several potential buyers. He promised he would get me our split before Huntsman's moon... About two and a half moon’s from now. But Vyrax is right about the armor. “I’d never seen anything like it... it was almost a combination of plate and chain. The thighs, shins, and upper chest were solid metal, the rest was all chain. The crest was in the center of the chest.”

Tez looked over sharply, “Did the solid metal wrap around the shoulders and form a metal collar to protect the back and side of the neck… um… and like the chain comes off the front center banded plates that covers the breastbone and upper ribs?”

Adga blinked in surprise. “Exactly what it was.”

“Ya know ‘bout it?” Rin all but demanded to know.

“Yeah…” Tez took a deep breath, “But there is no way an Alphar would have worn it! You sure the armor had the Crest of Alphar House Wellaras on the front?”

“Not da color yer weapon got,” Rin nodded, “but it be ident’cal.”

Tez frowned deeply, “It is combat reinforced banded armor. It was tailored specifically for those wearing it… Made of Drow Metal… in Under River. No way would Alphar wear items forged by the Drow, let alone something from Under River!”

“Under River!?” Vyrax shouted while Adga, Rin, and Vendra gasped. All around the room, captives audibly gulped.

Taglon held up his hand to calm things down, “Relax kids, it's not like we are talking about Under River suddenly reopening!”

“But how…” Cuson stared at Tez. “How would you know where it came from?”

Taglon spoke up, “Because all five of the major houses of the Combined Desert Realm, and I am certain most of the minor houses, have stashes of Drow Metal and Drow Dark Metal weapons and armor. More are found often. The Drow and Alphar helped fight and drive the Mythlings out of this area thousands of years ago. Back then Under River was the only thing stopping the Mythlings from taking over.”

“NO!” Torga barked out, then gritted her teeth in pain. She took a few deep breaths. “Everyone know Under River be the home a the most nasty race ever…”

As Tez’s eyes narrowed, Nuk put his bandaged elbows under him so he could raise up some. “Tez, history is not well taught to the commoners….” He shifted with a cringe and focused on the injured Dwarven girl. “Torga, well before the Drow supposedly slaughtered all within a huge fortress of Garm, including refugees, leading to the Drow Wars and the locking up of the underground Drow, Under River prevented those who became the demon lords from ruling everyone. And Tez, remember our teachings. The Drow and Alphar fought side by side in both the Mythling and Dragon Wars according to not only our history instructors but also ancient house texts in both our houses…”

Rebklos quickly nodded, “I have had similar lessons, and house Kandahar has comparable writings, many penned in ancient Dwarven. Some are said to be Garm, the vanished race of high Dwarves. We have to use spells to read some of them. But I do not understand. What does the Drow and Alphar have to do with the weird armor you are talking about?”

Nuk took a deep breath and muttered a few curses as he rolled around to sit up with his feet hanging off the side of the bed. “I can’t believe I got creamed by a kid who is about half my weight and two-thirds my size…” He leaned back and took a deep breath. “Drow combat reinforced banded armor, which is what they are describing, was… is the pinnacle of desert combat armor. The large areas of the chain allow airflow while the solid banded plates protect vital and most common targeted places on the body while allowing for good movement. In addition, Drow Metal provides some extra magical resistance, and Drow Dark Metal hurts the baddest of the dead walkers, much like Silver Steel weapons do… Both aspects would have been very helpful against the Mythlings and the dead walkers they are reported to have created.”

Nuk took a deep breath and winced as he shifted, but quickly continued. “The Alphar, the highest race of Elves before they vanished about the same time as the Garm, had little to no desert fighting experience, and therefore their armor was not well suited for fighting in this area. Neither did the Garm. The manuscripts we have in our house, and confirmed by texts and scrolls I’ve seen in Tez’s home, say entire formations of Alphar and Garm traveled down into Under River where they were equipped to fight in deserts including here.”

Vendra nodded. “The shrine of Zeris in the Squatter Slums has scrolls with similar stories. From historical writings, the Mythlings, they are the ones who became the Demon Lords we now fear and detest… Um, the Mythlings drove Odin, the first Highman king, out of this land and took it for themselves. At some point, the Sand Dragons and Brown Dragons were pitted against each other by the Mythlings so they could gain even more land. The war spread. It became known as the Mythling Wars. This was closely followed by the Dragon Wars.

“In many places, the Mythlings were driven out. But down here they held strong. It took massive armed and armored forces led by a number of Mythlets, the race of the gods and their direct underlings we now worship, to push out and destroy the Mythlings. The Mythlets combined with huge forces of Sand Dragons, Garm, Alphar, Drow, Falconlings, and Tigerlings along with even larger numbers of what the scrolls call lower races to wipe out the last of the Mythlings and their supporters who couldn’t flee to the Mythling capital. It led to Tigerlings being all but wiped out and eliminated Falconlings and their more numerous Hawklings from the Combined Desert Realms. The Falconlings were then further decimated when they helped eliminate the high Orcs, called Orakin somewhere way up above a place called the Silver Spine Mountains. While there’s still a city somewhere up there called Falconloft, from what I have been told it is controlled by Hawklings now…”

Adga snickered as several of those listening to Vendra got confused looks. “Ven, you went off on a tangent again.”

Vendra blinked and gazed around the chamber. “Oh, sorry… Um… where did I lose everyone?”

Wiro, the red-headed boy spoke up. “I get lost when me hear people go down ta Under River on purpose! Ma use ta tell me it be home a monster and kid eaters! Say, go there if me be bad!”

As Tur and several captives nodded, Adga shook her head. “What the Drow did at the Garm fortress led to the Drow War and lots of crazy stories of horrible things done by the Drow, especially the underground Drow of Under River. But other than what seems to be lots of true accounts of dreadful things down at the Garm fort, there is little evidence of the Drow being as terrible as tales make them out to be. Bad things happens in all wars, and normally the winner writes the history. Because of this, the winners tend to make themselves look as good as possible and those they defeat as bad as possible. They do this so history sees the victors the way they want to be seen. You have to really look to find the truth on many historical wars.”

Vendra spoke up. “I have seen tomes with accounts of horrible things done to the Drow as hatred of them went crazy. There are even records saying before the Garm and Alphar disappeared, they stepped in to stop entire Drow settlements, and even those with some Drow blood or appearance from being purged. The Garm and Alphar finally succeeded in locking up Under River and said the remaining Drow were not part of the horrors of the Garm fortress or the following decades of the Drow Wars. But from what I have been told, in most places those who have any appearance similar to Drow, meaning pointed ears, white hair, and dark skin are still treated very badly.”

Adga let out a sigh. “I’ve been told it’s not nearly as bad here, probably because of House Shunral. But even here Drow are viewed different. I’ve heard a few people whisper about me being sponsored by Dark-Elf descendants when they see my pin…” She shot Tez a smirk. “To me, it makes no difference if you have Drow blood or not. I owe House Shunral my life and I serve it always. Therefore, those who I hear say such things tend to have a hard time getting back up when I hear them.”

Tez gave a forced hint of a grin but remained silent. However, he purposefully brushed back his hair showing he had non-pointed ears.

At the same time, Nuk spoke up. “Falconloft does exist. We’ve been there a couple of times.” Nuk pointed to Tez for emphasis. “And yeah, it is ruled by a Hawkling council.”

After a few seconds of silence, with several of those in the chamber looking at him, Tez glanced over at Nuk. “You up for getting this over?” He pointed to the passage leading to the dining hall.

Nuk took a deep breath and winced. “May as well… I am full force. If it makes me sick and knocks me out again, at least I get to sleep off some of this pain!”

Cuson’s lips twisted upwards, “Then we could do round two!”

Nuk turned pale before he realized the Qling was grinning. “Um… No! At least not full on! Spar, yes. Learn from you, certainly. Take you head on with winner taking any kind of wager, nope. I’d prefer two more times on the chair over what you just did to me!”

“You may get your wish,” Tez reminded Nuk.

“Don’t remind me…” Nuk stated as he gritted his teeth and stood. “Getting more blisters is not something I am looking forward to, but if we get a map and the hole the packs came out of to open again, then it’ll be worth it. We need ink, parchment, and quill in the hands of someone who can really draw and do so quickly. I DO NOT want to go for a round three on the same chair!”

Taglon let out a long breath, “Patrol leader, I must once again strongly recommend against this…”

“Sorry royal guardsman,” Adga shook her head. “I want to see the table again. Ven, Vyrax you are both decent artists. Grab the parchment ink and quills out of your gear. Is there anyone here who can draw well?”

The redheaded boy let out a long sigh. “Rygo draws real good.” He gestured to his brother.

A couple of the others nodded.

Adga moved over to the bed the kid was on. He was awake but still pale. She glanced over to the other two who had been poisoned. Even though they had also been given the anti-toxin potions several sandglass turns prior, they didn’t look any better. She bet they wouldn’t have lasted through the storm had they not been handed over.

The kid looked up from the bed with a combination of fear and dejection in his eyes.

“I’m guessing by the look in your eyes, someone’s talked to you?”

The boy nodded and gulped at the same time.

Adga exhaled hard. “I can’t say I know what you’re thinking. All I can say is I will treat you, your brother, and Gefin as good as I can as long as you…” She paused and wiped at a couple of tears. “I’ll do my best to treat you good and leave it there…” Adga took a couple of deep breaths. “But right now I need you. Your brother says you can draw and a few others seem to agree. I know you still don’t feel good and I’m sure your real mad and scared, but can you try to draw something for me?”

The boy looked up with trembling lips, “Uh huh… I… what am I supposed to call you?”

“Ummm…” Adga glanced over her shoulder to look at Tur and Vendra. “I have no idea…”

Tur shrugged, “He belongs to you, so how they address you is totally up to you. Most slaves, including me, say master, sir, or ma’am. A few owners require a more lofty title like lord, lady, mistress, or proprietor. A few I’ve seen aren’t allowed to say anything to their owner, Commander.”

Vendra nodded in full agreement. “You own them. They call you what you want them to. Master or ma’am is probably the best and easiest for them, Adga.”

“I don’t like any of them… It makes it sound like… I am like a deity or something.”

“Ad,” Vendra stated softly, “You control everything about them, even their lives. To them, you are akin to their goddess. If you demand they worship you, they must do so.”

Adga shook her head fiercely, “No. I will not be seen by them or anyone else like that!” She focused on Tur, “You started calling me commander. Why and what about having them do the same?”

“My owner told me you are in command of me until I am handed back to him. Therefore, the title commander seemed like the proper one. As far as having them call you commander, it is not something I have seen or heard from other slave owners before, however, if such is your desire, then to them it is your decree and one they must follow. Should you follow through with the suggestion of turning them into owned combatants with them tied to being part of your patrol, then the title of commander would make a great deal more sense to others who hear them call you such.”

Adga gently caressed the boy’s hair and reluctantly nodded. “Call me Commander for now. At the moment we need to find you something to draw on and with so you can help get us a decent map.”