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  Casting his mind to what they needed to do, Wollfen couldn’t help but reflect on how they had gotten into this situation. Too much lovemaking and not enough focus. Strange how it worked he thought. Being a loner was a double-edged sword. He had been able to detach himself from most people so that when the time came he would act with little hesitation. People would die and people would get hurt; he couldn’t spend his time developing strong emotional bonds. Time would tell if his path was the right one. As long as they held together for awhile, until things were far enough along and they had gained a momentum of their own and as long as Dark stayed by his side. She was the one thing he wanted to keep out of all this, if they managed to stay alive.

  'NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!' The cry cut through his mind like a knife! 'What is it?' he cried back, sending the thought back via mind touch. It was Keera, she had called out telepathically and it had struck him. Something had gone wrong, badly wrong. He looked out towards the town they were meant to be riding towards, could he see a smudge of smoke? 'They are dead, they are all dead, dead, burned, all dead.' He could hear her moan in his mind, feeling her pain. It was coming in waves as she lost control, lost focus, what was happening? Then again he felt it, that presence, the other. Something different to good and bad, but now it was stronger, a cloak of black moving, incomprehensible and it filled his heart with dread.

  “No.”

  “What is it my love?” Dark responded.

  “Shields up.”

  Dark grabbed the shield by her leg.

  “No, your mind!” he snapped.

  Already he was straining, fighting. Something was trying to enter. Shields up, waterfall, revolving orb of white light, silver lining, all of it, strengthening it all and then the feeling of that presence subsiding. It pulled back but was still there, he would need to keep his mental shields up from now on.

  He called out with his mind to Solynne, 'Danger! Be on guard!' he felt her acknowledge, they were aware.

  Further on Kane looked about, something was wrong. There was smoke in the distance and then Solynne had cried out, what had happened?

  “It's Keera, the town they were to go to, it has been razed.”

  Kane immediately spurred his horse off the road and through the trees. Solynne followed knowing exactly why. The smoke ahead spoke of the same thing. If there were hostile forces that destroyed the other town here too, they could be riding straight into them.

  Up the rise they went side by side and as they approached the peak, the two of them slowed and dismounted. Kane clasped the handle of his sword as he strode forward slowly and quietly. Solynne had her crossbow out and drawn. Carefully they approached their vantage point and what they saw before them made them gasp. Not only was the town below burning and empty, but in the distance they could see many fires, too many.

  Wollfen heard via mind touch from Solynne what the two of them were seeing, many fires burning into the distance, it spoke of the whole region in flames. Oh how could I be so blind? The big change coming and I had thought it all had to do with me and my plans. How arrogant of me. How could I not see this possibility, that it may have been something other than just what I had decided it should be? Wollfen berated himself. It wasn’t about me, I’m not the one, it’s all been for nothing. My self-important preparations, all of it, he felt himself slipping and the presence pushed again. Wollfen pushed back, pushed hard with anger and it retreated far.

  He looked around and saw Dark fretting, watching him. There wasn’t much she could do in this situation and she was feeling helpless. His head was in a spin. He was mentally and physically tired already. The power needed not only to communicate with the others but also the incursion by that unknown force had taxed him. He needed rest but not yet, they needed to regroup and they would be waiting for word from him.

  Wollfen focused on a single thought clear and powerful, then sent it out, 'Regroup to me.' The others with mind touch skills would be able to focus on his beacon, it was like a mental light in their minds and they would be able to track to him. It would take time for them to find their way back to where he was though, time for him to rest and contemplate these new circumstances.

  Wollfen looked around for a place to stop. There really wasn’t much around. There was that bridge he could spy a little further on.

  “We will pull up at the bridge and wait for the others there.”

  Dark nodded and they moved off again, this time watching the road ahead for signs of movement, well alert for anything traveling along that road. As they neared, they could see it had seen a lot of traffic very recently, the fresh horse droppings paid testament to that. Curious, they hadn’t seen anything at all the day before, who had destroyed those towns? And where were they now? How large was their force? Wollfen was quickly realizing that he really had nothing to go on at all. But he knew one thing, whoever they were, they were deadly.

  As he and Dark dismounted, Wollfen thought he saw movement further ahead on the road. Squeezing her arm, he motioned her to follow. Walking along the soft ground of the embankment next to the bridge, they stole along quickly and ducked into the trees a little further on. The rise just beyond stopped them from going too far though, too late to realize they had no escape route this way. Holding the bridles of their horses, they watched and waited. It didn’t take long before the movement grew into a dust plume. It was a large contingent of men on horseback and yes, they were riding this way. As they approached the bridge, the two riders on point began to pull up. He had hoped they would continue on. Worse luck, the two of them crossed the bridge and looked about then moved back to the other side of the bridge to the gathering troops.

  They were unmistakably battle ready. Wollfen could see a discussion going on with who was obviously their leader, a man dressed in full battle armor, it was a curious blend of red and black. The soldiers all wore similar garb but many were more simply dressed in hard leather. He hadn’t seen this type of soldier before, they were something new. The two riders moved ahead again, this time they stopped on this side of the bridge and dismounted as the rest of the troop rode over. One of the two was looking at the ground, he was heading this way a little. Wollfen hoped they didn’t look too far. He gripped the hilt of his sword in preparation of a confrontation. Dark was between the horses unhooking her crossbow. It was a handy weapon. A bolt from that thing wasn’t very accurate but was good at close range and would pass through the two scouts with ease. One of them was studying the ground, a tracker obviously and just as obviously he would see the footprints there too, nothing for it but to wait and see what transpired.

  The tracker knelt down, looking at both sets of tracks, two pair of footprints and horse tracks too. He contemplated them a moment and then stood back up. As he did the Captain drew level with him.

  “Well? Anything to report?”

  “Two persons, both barefoot and with horses trod here recently, by the size and depth of one of the sets I would say that one is female sir.”

  Hmm, the Captain considered the information, definitely not soldiers. Probably a farmer and his wife scared off by their approach, not worth bothering with really. He was getting hungry and they had a totally successful day already.

  “No we won’t bother tracking them, they are most likely halfway to the hills by now, we shall continue on.”

  The two riders mounted and fell into line, the troop moving off again.

  Wollfen let out his breath. They were moving on. Dark lowered her crossbow, no action today.

  “Guess I don’t get myself a kill today huh?”

  He looked at her and quipped,

  “You know for such a soft seductress, you sure do have a mean streak baby.” He winked as he spoke.

  Dark grunted dismissively. Wollfen had counted as the soldiers had crossed the bridge, a full 150 men fully armed with a variety of weapons, quite a formidable force. The two of them waited in the trees for a full ten minutes before coming out. They both walked slowly back to the road watching, smelling, liste
ning to the underbrush, no signs of any lingering soldiers.

  He looked up the road. The dust plume was long gone, he didn’t think they would see them again but it was wise to keep watch nevertheless. Nothing to do but wait now, it would probably be a few hours before the others showed up and then it would be dusk.

  At a town further way Nightwing had entered the outskirts on foot, she had left her horse in the care of Loranda. She needed to see if she could find any information they could use. Things had gone belly up with their own plans but that didn’t mean they shouldn’t learn all they could in preparation for what to do next.

  As she entered the town, the acrid smoke of the smoldering fires stung her nostrils. There wasn’t a single building left standing, it had taken some force to be able to raze such a large township. There had been something like 1500 people living here and now, none could be seen. Who would do such a thing? Looking about she could find nothing but burnt buildings and broken wares, the roads were littered with discarded belongings and loot. Then it struck her, no bodies. She looked further into town, still nothing. Then she noticed the splashes of blood, a lost sword, the occasional arrow embedded in a door or window frame, even some shields lying about of the local constabulary. This was getting curious. Where were the people or even bodies?

  Nightwing turned a corner and Loranda came riding up, horse in tow.

  “We have seen some more soldiers, we must move.”

  Nightwing swung up into her saddle and geed the horse on in one swift movement. She sheathed her two short swords in their scabbards on her back as they moved off.

  At the rendezvous point Wollfen sat back against a tree deep in thought. The horsemen, the burnings, that presence he sensed and had fought back. It all pointed to something new. They certainly weren’t Kingdom soldiers and they weren’t of any nationality he could think of. He had only come from the city two weeks ago and there had been no gathering of troops or new colors. It occurred to him he hadn’t seen a battle standard carried by that group, so were they mercenaries? No, they were too uniform and too well-drilled in establishment ways. Wollfen had watched and learned what he could while he saw them. Maybe a distant Baron had trained up a new army? But then why attack here? We were in the outlands, these people here could be bought more easily than slaughtered and to what benefit? These lands of the south held no great prize? So many questions and so few answers. He was supposed to have his finger on the pulse.

  Wollfen felt very ignorant all of a sudden.

  “Dark?” She looked up from cleaning her boots. “Have you seen that manner of garb?” Dark frowned a little in thought,

  “No, I have been thinking about it and it is like nothing I have ever seen before.”

  “Hmm, we are going to have to find out fast, find out who the new power is and what their plans are.”

  It also occurred to him that the idealistic aims they were about to set in motion would have to be set aside, there were more urgent issues at hand.

  Kane and Solynne arrived soon after, a buck slung across the back of his horse,

  “We bring tidings this fair evening.” Wollfen nodded and realized he was famished, he hadn’t eaten all day.

  “Once the others arrive we shall move off to a more secluded area and deal with that carcass you have there.”

  It wasn’t long before the others arrived at a canter, Nightwing sprung from her horse to the ground in one swift movement, almost elf-like, she liked putting on a show. Wollfen sometimes wondered if she did in fact have elven blood in her. The others slowly got off their horses, it had been a long day of riding for them and they were all feeling the strain.

  “Now that you are all here, I can tell you we have got much to do and accomplish over the next couple of days. We shall find a secluded area and cook this deer and then we can discuss what we know and work out what to do next.” Justin piped up,

  “Shouldn’t we warn what villagers we can?”

  “And whose village should we go to first? Which villages are burnt and which not? How far have the attacking forces roamed? And how many are there? Too many questions Justin, we need to regroup before deciding what to do. I understand your need for action, but a little prudence and focus on the best course of action will achieve much more.”

  Wollfen was patient with him. He was young and inexperienced, the rest were all hardened campaigners former mercenaries, guards or adventurers. He didn’t need to say a lot of things in their presence for them to know what to do. They were good together and they would make good leaders too. That had been the original plan, for them to network as a team of leaders with their own groups working toward their common goal, but that was to be no more for now.

  “Well it's just frustrating is all.” quipped the young man. It was perfectly understandable, they were all feeling it.

  Wollfen motioned them to move and they all mounted moving off further into the woods. They rode for a full hour before finding a nice little valley, no signs of habitation at all and it was surrounded by hills. What wasn’t was heavily wooded. They dug a hole deep to put the fire in. This would minimize any possibility of it being seen from a distance. Kane and company got busy with the deer, dissecting what was wanted from the carcass a little way off. The two girls, Nightwing and Loranda moved out to stand watch. Not much was spoken, not for now. They all saw what needed to be done and simply did it.

  It was strange, Wollfen wondered if the gods really were watching over them. Was this a test? Or was it the first act of the major change in what he thought he was instrumental in instigating? It didn’t really matter, something was set in motion and they would have to work out quickly what to do and the best way to manage it all. It wasn’t arrogance that made him think that way, it was acceptance.

  He believed in the afterlife without question and believed that those things that were set before you in life were for you to accept and do. Learn from the good and the bad too. He had fought it so long, but now that he had accepted it for the most part, he had felt calmer and more content than at any other stage of his life, if that wasn’t a sign then nothing was.

  There were chunks of venison hanging over the fire now and the aroma was mouth watering,

  “Dark, I need you to replace Nightwing on watch, I will inform you of what we have discussed when you return. Nightwing will do the same for Loranda.” Dark nodded,

  “Yes my love, I’ll just grab a bit of meat.”

  Smiling she unsheathed her dagger and sliced a piece off and walked away chewing. Wollfen looked around. They had gathered now, all sitting about the campfire, the firelight flickering on their faces. All of them looked grim.

  Nightwing approached and kicked her boots off sitting down cross-legged.

  “All is quiet Night?”

  “Yes we are safe and we should not be disturbed.”

  “Then down to business. First up I’ll describe what I saw out on the road today. Approximately 150 soldiers well armed and well supplied, they had three wagons in tow, none of what they wore was familiar. In fact, I am sure that these men were foreigners from over the seas. They are not like any that live in these lands. I also noticed they had a woman amongst them, not armored but cloaked heavily. It is my opinion this woman would be either an adviser or a spell caster. I’m leaning towards the latter as I did sense a feeling when they rode by.”

  Nightwing spoke up,

  “Maybe you could show me?”

  Wollfen nodded and moved over to her. Kneeling before her he tilted his head, then he focused on what he had seen and Nightwing’s fingers laced around his head. Wollfen thought back and played through what he saw. When done, Nightwing looked up. She would also be able to feel what he felt, she was more adept at reading energies.

  “She is surely a sorceress just as you surmised and also I think I have seen that armor before, but as you said it is not of this land, but from across the sea. It comes from a land found at the far corner of the world a full six months sail.”

  “So fa
r? Thank you for that, and what else? Kane?”

  “We were able to find a high point above the village and saw it was burning, but we didn’t enter. There were not enough escape points if the attacking forces were still there. But I can say, we saw quite a few fires burning off in the distance too.”

  Wollfen considered Kane's words. It was all very worrying, He had been giving it a lot of thought, that many fires meant there were a lot more than 150 men out there. It spoke of a full invasion force in the outlands, but where? There had been so few signs seen and there would have to be at least a thousand of them out there from what little he could deduce. A thousand men are hard to hide. This was no raid and pillage exercise either if they had come on such a long voyage. No it was adding up very quickly to be something much larger than he had been thinking.

  “It occurs to me that all of this adds up to something very big. The Kingdom’s forces at any one time amount to about 20 000 men in peacetime and no other country or land that I know of can match that and for what appears to be an expeditionary force I feel we are on the edge of a full scale invasion.”

  Wollfen looked about, he could see from their faces, they were all in agreement, except for Justin, he simply looked confused.

  “Justin?”

  “Sorry I’m sure what you are saying is true, but why kill all those people, lay waste to so many villages? Clear them out?” Yes it was a good question.

  Nightwing spoke up once again,

  “I entered our town, there were signs of fighting and blood too but no bodies.”

  How could that be? They hadn’t seen any captives and the three wagons Wollfen had seen wouldn’t hold 20 people let alone a township, where were they? That was a disturbing bit of information, it also meant the forces were larger than he had first anticipated, but the same question kept coming back, not only where were the people or even their bodies, but where were the troops holding up?

  “Ahem.”

  “Yes Keera?”

  “Did anyone also notice that apart from the burning towns that the crops were stripped too? I didn’t see any fowl or animals either.”