Chapter 18 - Changing Directions

Niza was awake and dressed already, and Marus said goodmorning to her and to Ullden. Ullden was getting the horses ready. It looked like Niza was wanting to help, but mostly Ullden was explaining what it was he was doing more than actually having her help. The man was a patient teacher, at least. He had seen that already.

As Ullden was adjusting a strap on something the horse emptied itself with a steamy mound.

"Oh, that's lovely," Niza remarked distastefully. It didn't sink into the ground and vanish.

"Oh, that spell or prayer, or whatever you want to call it, wore off," Ullden added.

"So I see," Marus replied. "Do you need me to do it again?"

"We might not need to," Ullden answered. "We've changed course enough that if they're just continuing in a straight line I think they'll miss us completely."

"Let me know if you change your mind," Marus replied, nodding. He turned towards Alldeh's tent in time to see Jetha, bleary-eyed, making her way out of the girls' tent with her bedroll and one of her bags. She yawned, hiding her mouth with her sleeve as she did.

"Good morning Father Marus," she said, standing up outside.

"Good morning Jetha," he told her with a smile. She headed over to drop her burdens by the wagon while he pulled the flap back and headed in to wake Alldeh.

Alldeh wasn't in the tent.

Marus' heart raced as he surveyed the tent, searching for signs the man had been taken. To his surprise, the restraints he'd placed on Alldeh the previous morning were lying atop the bedroll, still locked. Marus grabbed them up, searching for signs they'd been broken somehow, but they were intact. Panic washed over him as he shoved his way back out of the tent, the restraints still in his hands.

"Ullden!" he called sharply. "He's gone!" He found himself holding the restraints out so Ullden could see them. Ullden strode quickly over and took them, inspecting them similarly to how Marus had done. Then Ullden stooped briefly to pull back the tent flap and peer inside. Ullden swore loud enough that Marus saw Jetha blush.

"Why didn't your prayer let us know he had left?" Ullden turned and asked, almost accusingly.

"The blessing lets me know if someting enters the circle. Not if something leaves it," Marus replied, irritably. "The man was shackled for Gods' sakes!"

Ullden let out a frustrated sigh as he shoved the offending restraints back into Marus' arms.

"Break down the tents, pack up camp," Ullden ordered the group. "We'll stop to eat once we find him. I'll search for tracks. We'll catch him quicker if we are mounted." Swearing again, Ullden moved off and began circling the camp, scrutinizing the ground as he went.

"I've found his trail," Ullden announced when he came back. "He can't have gone too far, so we just need to out pace him."

They finished getting the camp packed up and Marus climbed up onto the wagon. Ullden led them off, and he took up the rear. The seat was bouncy; the wheels were creaky. He tried to encourage the horse to pull it faster. He felt like he was holding up the group.

Now Marus was glad he had not refreshed the prayer to erase their tracks. He chided himself for letting Alldeh run off. While he drove the wagon he tried to think up a way to prevent it happening again. He cringed at the thought of what Ullden was bound to say once he had the chance.

Obviously the shackles hadn't worked, and probably wouldn't work again. They did keep him from running off during rest breaks and things like that. He wondered if using them again would be a good idea or if it would just motivate Alldeh to escape again. He was still reluctant to sedate the poor man too heavily. Second thoughts and doubts were not helpful, he reminded himself a little scornfully.

From time to time they turned, following Alldeh's trail. Every now and then there was a mark clear enough for Marus to see. More often than not, however, he was unable to tell what path they were following. Admittedly, from his position up and behind a horse it was harder to see any tracks being followed.

There was no conversation as they hurried along. It took a solid couple of hours before they finally caught up enough to see Alldeh in the distance. To his credit, Ullden waited for Marus, rather than racing off on his own to apprehend Alldeh himself.

Once they were within a short distance, Marus stopped the group and made his way to Alldeh on foot. The man seemed as if he didn't notice their approach. He was talking loudly, as if having a conversation with some unseen person. Marus tried gently calling his name, but Alldeh made no indication he had heard it.

"I won't tell you," Alldeh said. "You're always trying to get me to say it, but I won't tell you."

"Alldeh?" Marus said, stepping closer. "Alldeh, it's me, Father Marus."

"You think I don't know what you want? It's all in here," Alldeh tapped his head with his index finger. "All in here. Locked away. You can't have it. No matter what you offer me. See these shoes? They're fine shoes. You can't replace them with bread and pudding. You can't, you can't, you can't. Not ever. They're fine, sturdy shoes. I don't need your trinkets. I can keep you out."

Marus sighed as he followed closely to the man, who had continued walking while he talked. He had heard Alldeh have similar conversations before, as if he thought some unseen person was trying to convince him to divulge some secret. Marus wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Alldeh," he said, gently touching the man's arm. "Alldeh, please stop."

He nearly leapt back when Alldeh suddenly threw both arms in the air.

"Meistro! Music!" he shouted across the open countryside. In a cluster of trees nearby, birds fluttered into the air, startled by the sudden noise. Then Alldeh began dancing, his arms up as if holding a partner, while he audibly followed along with whatever music he was hearing in his mind.

Marus sighed, embarrassed but not entire sure who he was embarrassed for--himself or Alldeh. Ullden crossed his arms and sighed an entirely different sigh: one of frustration.

"Alldeh," Marus said again, moving closer. Suddenly the dancing stopped. Alldeh turned and looked right at him.

"Oh, hello," Alldeh said. "Is it time already?"

"Time?" Marus asked. "Yes, it's time. We have to get moving."

"But I'm not ready, Master. I need to dress... and my hair..."

"It's alright," Marus said softly. "We can tend to that later."

"You've always been very patient with me," Alldeh said, "thank you for that."

"You're very welcome, Alldeh. I only hope my care has made things more comfortable for you." He offered Alldeh a hand, and the man took it. Marus started guiding him towards the wagon.

"I know I haven't been an easy student."

"No, you haven't," Marus said, playing along. For a moment he had hoped Alldeh was having a moment of clarity. Now he wondered if maybe the man was reliving an old memory.

"Here, ride in the wagon. You've earned that, haven't you?"

He helped Alldeh climb back into the wagon. "Everyone thinks it's easy," Alldeh said, looking out and apparently addressing the whole group. "But it's not. And when I got here people told me I wouldn't make it this far. I didn't let them win, Master, I applied myself like you said." It was only a minute or so more before Alldeh curled up in a corner next to the covered hay bale and was asleep.

Ullden pulled hunks of bread and some apples from within the bags and passed it around to everyone. He handed two of each to Marus, gesturing at Alldeh as he did.

"You can give that to him when he wakes. Meanwhile, we'll have to eat while riding. We've wasted too much time already and, I might add, headed almost directly back into the path the Elar were headed on. I fear we may have lost some of the distance we had on them. Please ask the Gods to hide our tracks again, if you would, Father." With a frown, Ullden went back and re-tied the bags he'd gotten the food from before getting back up on his horse, biting into his apple as he did so.

Marus set the food on the wagon for a few moments and prayed aloud, calling to Ardana once again to conceal their tracks. He felt the surge of power flow through him and he willed it with his mind to give it direction, moving his hands in an arc to encompass the group. The glow spread outward from him, as it had the day before, seeming to wash away the tracks they had made getting there, as footprints lifted back up and blades of grass straightened themselves. He silently thanked Ardana for her help and took a moment to be awed by what she had allowed him to do. He never seemed to lose that feeling of humility that came when one of the Gods granted him the power to do something he could otherwise not have done. It almost frustrated him when Ullden's voice seemed to grate through his moment of reverence.

"Good. Let's get moving." Ullden started his horse at a slow trot, taking the lead. Marus found himself scrambling to grab up the food and hop into the driver's spot on the wagon again. He tucked Alldeh's food safely into a pocket in his robes and then urged the horse into motion. Ullden moved up the pace some once everyone had returned to their usual places in the procession. Marus waited until they had set a regular pace before he bit into the bread, realizing his stomach was starting to miss having not eaten anything yet. The girls had already begun eating theirs, although Niza seemed to be doing it a little nervously. He could tell she was still skitterish about riding the horse, although she wouldn't say anything about it, and trying to do something else while riding seemed to be challenging her. He said nothing, letting her work it through herself. He'd already determined that she was a bit stubborn, and didn't seem to want anyone noticing when she was having difficulties. While he wanted to help the girl, he thought it better to wait in this instance.

Alldeh slept for several hours before Marus noticed him waking up. Strangely enough, he took the food without incident and was silent while he ate it. He remained silent almost until it was time to stop for lunch, sitting in the wagon and watching the terrain as it passed by. The silence made Marus somewhat more nervous than the usual maddened babblings would have. It felt ominous to him, and every time he looked back at Alldeh, the man's eyes seemed sharp and intent, as if he was scrutinizing the landscape and not finding it to his liking somehow. Marus made up his mind to see if he couldn't talk to Alldeh when they stopped for lunch, but the man started singing and babbling again only a short while before it was time. As it was, Ullden did not allow them all to stop for very long, and they ate most of their lunch while riding again.

Once during the day they heard the angry screech of a demon far off in the distance. Father Marus knew what it was before Ullden told the group. The screech echoed across the fields and hills behind them, and it was filled with a rage no natural being could contain. Alldeh whimpered when he heard it.

Nothing swooped out of the sky at them. There were no signs of pursuit, no smoke or banners behind them. The rest of the day passed quietly. They skirted around farmhouses and villages.

"I think we might be far enough to be safe for the moment," Ullden announced. "But that could change at any time, so let's not get too comfortable."

They had a fire that evening, so Father Marus cooked a hot dinner for everyone. Alldeh ate about half of his on his own, and Marus helped him with the rest. Mostly Alldeh stared off into the distance. Now and then he would look behind them and say, "Demon. Bad."

The two girls sat together chatting while they ate. Neither of the girls looked entirely comfortable, but he couldn't hear what they were discussing. Ullden came and sat next to him.

"In a couple of days," Ullden said, "we'll be just another group of travelers passing through. We can hit a town and then not really worry about tracks. It would be good to get a feel for local news, maybe find out more lay-of-the-land information. Have you traveled any of these lands, Father? I'll feel much better when we have some idea where we're going."

"When I've travelled in the past, I've mostly kept to the main roads," Marus told him. "While I've been to many of the towns and villages within about a week's ride of the church, I've not been to all of them. We've left the roads I'm accustomed to, so I'm not altogether certain of where I am at this point, but I do have a general idea for now. If I recognize a town I've been to, I will let you know."

"It would be best if we avoided stopping at towns where they'd know you, actually, although they will certainly help us navigate. The sound of the demon behind us is a good indication that at least the Elar summoner has caught up to the scout force. As much as I hate to say this, Father, if they've been to the church and moved on, they know who they are looking for. We're going to need to paint over the insignia on that shield of yours as well, and keep it hidden in the meantime. The less noticeable we are, the longer it will take any Elar to figure out we've been somewhere, and track us."

"I see," Marus said, looking over at the shield with regret. It somehow didn't feel right to him to hide the symbols of the Gods when the quest he was on seemed so driven by them in the first place.

"We won't take time to stay at inns, but if we can time our stops to include a meal, we can likely get more news," Ullden said, as if thinking aloud. "We don't want to stop often, however. Each place we visit will potentially be put in danger from the Elar if they regain our trail."

"Do you think we've lost them then?" Marus asked, hopefully.

"I think in a couple of days we should have," Ullden answered. "We're veering enough away from them. The sound of that demon seemed to be getting more distant as the day went on, which is why I risked the fire. They are headed in a different direction. Given a couple more days of travel, we should be able to breathe a little easier."

They didn't talk late into the evening, and everyone turned in early. He woke the next morning to the cheery chirps of morning birds. Ullden was awake but had not yet crawled out from his bedroll.

"Good morning," Marus said.

"G'Morning, Father."

He pulled his clothes on and headed outside. He stood tall and stretched, looking off toward the sunrise still low on the horizon. Something at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned to the left a little to see it. It was a figure casually walking away from them.

His stomach sank. He ran over to Alldeh's tent. It was empty again. He ran back to his own tent.

"Ullden, he's walking away again!"

He heard a curse and a groan from inside the tent and Ullden hurried out, holding the still unbuckled sword belt in his hands. Marus pointed northeast towards Alldeh.

"Let's go get him..." Ullden said with a sigh. "At least he's not far this time."

They jogged after him. They caught up with him before very long.

"Alldeh," Marus called, "where are you going?"

Alldeh stopped and turned towards them.

"Wrong way," he said simply.

"Yes, you are going the wrong way," Ullden said gently, pointing northwest, "we're going that way."

"No. Wrong way."

"Wait," Marus said. "You mean we're going the wrong way?" He turned to Ullden. "He went the same direction last time. Maybe we should go that way."

"What's that way?" Ullden asked.

"I don't know. But I think maybe he does."

"This way is directly into the same path the Elar are headed, Father," Ullden pointed out. "The idea was to stay away from the Elar, at least for now."

"I know," Marus said, guiding Alldeh back towards the camp by an elbow. Alldeh made no effort to resist. In fact, the man seemed to be looking pleased with himself. Marus thought for a moment.

"What if the Elar already know where we're supposed to go?" he asked aloud when they were nearly to the tents. "What if they are already on the path to where we're supposed to be going because they couldn't find the tracks to come after us? Perhaps their demon somehow knows where we need to get to."

"Oh that would be a nice kick in the ass, wouldn't it?" Ullden said, following up with a few choice swear words. "Our own Gods give us a madman to guide us and their demon has all the information!" He turned upward and waved his fist at the sky, yelling. "Yes! That's very fair! Thanks!" Ullden followed up by kicking at a rock in the dirt, sending it flying as he let out another stream of swear words. Marus winced reflexively and waited for him to calm down.

"I think he's right," Niza said quietly, stepping up to Ullden and looking nervous. "I think we need to go the same way the Elar are going. And we need to get there before they do."

The two men looked at the girl, Ullden frowning. Marus noticed she looked tired and a bit pale.

"Niza? Are you alright?" he asked, letting go of Alldeh for a moment to go to her. She put up a hand and nodded at him.

"I was talking with Jetha last night, about premonition spells and magic and all that. I think that..." she paused a moment, as if looking for the words. "I think the scepter knows where we're supposed to go too. I've been having these dreams. I think the scepter is on the Elar's side though, and what I'm seeing is what Jetha called a 'possible future' if we don't get there before they do. The dreams started the night after we left the church and keep getting stronger. I thought that maybe, if we're heading the wrong direction, that future is more likely. I'm not sure. Maybe I'm wrong, too, but we could try going the way Alldeh says and see. If my dreams lessen, then maybe that will tell us something."

By this point, Jetha had also come out of her tent and it seemed that everyone in the group but Alldeh was looking at Niza in stunned silence. Alldeh danced mindlessly around the fire, humming to himself. A part of Marus' mind caught that the tune was a traveling song that armies used to occupy themselves while marching great distances.

"So you decided to tell them?" Jetha asked.

"Well, Alldeh wants to go that way," Niza said, "which is where the Elar seem to be going."

Marus thought for a moment, wondering what might lie in that direction. "I think there are a couple of possibilities. Why might they be going that direction out of any?" he asked rhetorically. "There might be something that way they need. Thwarting that is probably in our own best interests. Or, perhaps, they do know what we need better than we do, and are trying to get there first to thwart us. I think that either way our path has been laid for us."

"Wonderful," Ullden said. "I just love being led around by the nose."

"Have you ever paused to wonder how your horse feels about it?" Marus asked with a teasing smile. "The Gods work in strange ways. If they lit up the sky with a massive flaming arrow and a sign reading, 'go this way,' we would just be their servants doing their will. Rather, they give us clues to find for ourselves, so that we can fulfill their wishes rather than their will."

"Setting treats out for a dog is still just another way to teach the dog to do tricks," Ullden countered. "But I see your point. Free will and all that, right."

After that Ullden got everyone going on chores. There was breakfast and breaking camp and reloading all the gear. Heavy gray clouds were approaching from the west.

"Everyone to be prepared to get wet today," Ullden warned.

"Everyone except Alldeh here," Niza said with a chuckle, "he'll be dry in the wagon."

Marus pulled out his hooded cloak and secured it around his shoulders, noting that it, too, bore the insignia of the church in large embroidered symbols, and would be something he wouldn't want to be wearing if they went into a town. He left the hood down for the moment, not needing it. He also noticed that Niza didn't seem to have a cloak of any sort, and decided he'd need to remedy that situation as well when they had a chance. He still had no way of knowing how long they would be traveling, and the tunic and pants she wore would not keep her warm if the snows began.

He and Ullden agreed that they should cover their tracks again if they were heading directly back into the path of the Elar, so once again he prayed for Ardana's blessings. The tracks melted away and he hurried to his spot driving the wagon, not wanting to further Ullden's misgivings with any delay.

As they traveled that day, he tried to get Ullden to talk about his past journeys, hoping the man would reveal some reason for his cynicism, especially regarding the Gods. Unfortunately, the warrior's answers seemed somewhat short and to the point, instead of the long-winded tales that Marus had come to expect from most mercenaries. He doubted that the little information he gleaned from the man was in any way embellished. Instead, the man generally seemed to downplay his own role in any quest or endeavor he'd been involved in. Nonetheless, both Niza and Jetha had moved up to hear what accounting Ullden did do, fascinated by the stories anyway.

Ullden had fought against two demons prior to joining this quest, although he was quick to point out that he mostly distracted them while someone else did the actual killing. He'd been part of a group that had taken the eggs from a dragon's nest, having to fight off and kill one of the recently hatched baby dragons in the process. He'd also been present when the nearby wizard's guild had used the eggs as part of their spell to slay the mated pair of dragons themselves. He'd been in countless battles for lords, usually over land borders, and frequently hired himself out to deal with brigands and other menaces that plagued the lands. He'd fought many different types of creatures, from wolves to gargoyles, getting paid bounty for each pelt or head he brought back to that lord as proof. He'd traveled far and wide and spent time both alone and in groups. The man had a wide range of expertise when it came to travel and fighting. Sword was not the only weapon he could weild, although he seemed to prefer it and stated that it was the one he was best and most comfortable with. Even with the understated telling of his journeys, Marus had to admit that he was as impressed as the girls looked to be with his long resume of adventures.

He admitted to the group that he really had no stories to tell. He told them a little about his childhood before the church, about the little farming hamlet of Wynelle, and about dreaming of Ardana telling him that his destiny did not lie with tilling fields.

"I could probably tell some stories," Jetha added in turn, "but you'd probably find them all boring, and they're not about me anyway."

"Well, there has to be something," Niza insisted. "How did you get started learning magic?"

"My teacher saw the potential in me and offered his services as a teacher, free of charge. Mother tried to prevent it, but Father wouldn't pass up free education."

When attention turned to Niza, she shyly claimed not to have many stories either. She mentioned living poor, and that there was nothing glamorous about her to share. She added that nothing exciting had really happened to her until the Elar, and she retold the story of her friend's betrayal and her subsequent flight from the city.

Marus noticed that she glossed over just how she acquired the scepter. She explained that she ended up grabbing it on her way through. Ullden looked a little skeptical at that point, but said nothing.

"Well, you'll all have stories after this, I think," Ullden commented.

"I bet Alldeh has the most stories," Jetha suggested. "Too bad we'll probably never know."

Alldeh grinned at them from his spot inside the wagon. Marus suspected he'd been listening to the stories, as the man had remained surpisingly quiet throughout. He wasn't at all surprised when Alldeh didn't suddenly start telling a story of his own. Instead, he rolled into a ball and fell asleep amongst the bags and hay in the wagon.

Conversation dwindled for a while, each member of the group seeming to be lost in their own thoughts. Marus certainly was. He found himself thinking about his childhood more, and his time as a student at the church. He'd always lived in these lands. He'd never really honestly thought he'd go further than the distances he'd already covered on church business in the past. Unlike Ullden, who'd been to some pretty far reaches of the continent from the sound of it, Marus had never felt a need to go further out unless it was required by the church. He supposed he found it fitting that it was the Gods sending him on this task as well.

His thoughts were interrupted by another screech from the demon they had been hearing the day before. Ullden looked up sharply, his face wrought with concern.

"It's getting closer," he said. "We're losing some of the lead we had on them. I suggest we push further tonight before stopping. And there will be no fire tonight again." He pushed the pace of the horses a little faster, and the horse pulling the wagon strained at the effort. Marus waited to say something about wearing the horse down, but Ullden periodically slowed them again, giving the horses a chance to cool down before another spurt of effort was required. The horse seemed to manage well enough, and Marus began to realize that Ullden probably had a better idea of how much the horses could handle before it would become too much. Instead, as the day drew late, he commented to Ullden that the horse seemed to be holding up well.

"I'm going to switch that one and the one Niza is riding each day," Ullden told him. "My own horse is trained differently and wouldn't stand for being hitched to a wagon, and the one Jetha rides is really more of a lady's riding horse and couldn't handle the weight. Niza's horse has been used for it before, from the looks of her, and it will give this one a break every other day. If we lose the horses, we lose our lead. I fear, however, that it may only be a matter of time before we have to fight that Elar scouting party. I'm just trying to work out the best terrain and strategy for such a fight before we have to do it. And the more time we can buy, the more chance you have of defending yourself with that sword or finding something in that book of yours that could prepare us better for the battle. I'll certainly want that armor-strengthening you mentioned before when it comes time. If we can choose when and where we fight them, we can make preparations. If we can ambush them somehow, then they won't have that advantage on us."

Ullden sighed heavily, obviously concerned. "The demon concerns me most. My sword should be able to harm it, as a priest once imbued it with a permanent prayer of magic to give it that ability. However, being able to harm it and actually killing it are two different things. While I'll likely be preoccupied with that task, there's still the remaining Elar to be concerned with as well. If they coordinate their attack at all, instead of sending the demon forwards first, we may well lose everything."

"I can tell you that there is a prayer to ward off arrows," Marus said. "So if they have bows we can negate their range advantage."

"That would be good," Ullden replied. "That was one of my concerns as well. Knowing that gives us some tactical flexibility."

Marus added that he would talk with Niza about ways to help keep Alldeh calm, so that when a battle happened she could watch over him and keep him out of harm's way. He worried more about Jetha, and how the young lady would hold herself in such a situation. He did not share his concerns out loud, however.

They rode on, and when he had the chance he gestured for Niza to come over.

"Ullden and I have been talking. It looks more and more likely that we will have to fight the Elar scouting party. When that time comes, I wanted to ask you to help with something."

"Anything," she said, "what do you need?"

He explained to her that, with a battle going on, Alldeh was going to need supervision and some protection. He asked if she would help keep him orderly, and she said she would try. They spent the rest of the traveling day talking about ways to soothe him and steer his actions to keep him put.

When they eventually stopped it was discussed as a group that Niza would be in charge of that when the time came. Ullden complained about not even knowing how many Elar they would be facing.

"Actually," Jetha said, "I think I can help with that."

"How do you mean?" Ullden asked.

"Well," she replied, looking a little hesitant. "There's a spell I've found in the book Nordithet gave me that allows me to sort of... leave my body and move through the air instead. I'd be able to move much faster than I can in physical form, from the sound of it I can move as fast as I will my mind to move. And while I can't hear anything, I can see things while I'm like that. If it works, I could go see exactly how many the Elar have."

"That sounds dangerous," Marus said, unhappily. "There has to be another way."

"The only other spell I have that would help would be to see through the eyes of an animal. But that requires that I have fur or feather of the animal as a component to create the spell, and I have no control over where the animal goes so I couldn't guarantee that they'd go anywhere near the Elar," she said. "I've done that one before, a couple of times. With that one, I see and hear what the animal sees and hears, like a vision. Druid magic allows more control, since they have an affinity with nature and animals to begin with, but wizards are just along for the ride. I could try a premonition spell again, although that only gives us possible futures. I can't be sure that something wouldn't change between now and whatever I happened to see. There's also no guarantee that I'd even see the Elar scout party or the fight." She sighed. "This spell is called Mind Walking, and it seems to have a duration, so I'd only be out of my body for a short period of time before I am called back to it. If anything were to happen to my body while I was gone, then I'd be stuck there is all. But you guys would watch over me, so it would be fine. The only other danger would be if another wizard was mind walking too and wanted to hurt me. The Elar aren't wizards, and even that wizard back in Argenstern didn't want to hurt me, just take me back with him. So I think any risk is pretty minimal."

"You've been thinking about this for a while," Ullden commented.

"I don't want to just be along for the ride," she replied, nodding. "I want to help too. Father Marus has prayers that are helping us. As long as I have time to mix the different components and perform the ritual, I've got spells that might help us too. I'm just still trying to figure out what they all are."

"Do it," Ullden nodded. "If you can find out exactly how many men the Elar have, along with how many horses, it would help us greatly. If you can tell how many are armed with what, and get some idea of how well armored they appear compared to myself and Father Marus, for example, that would help even more. The more information we have about the Elar, the better we can plan our strategy when we must face them."

"Ullden..." Marus found himself protesting. "I don't like this idea. It feels dangerous to me." Marus couldn't help but feel the unease growing in his stomach at the idea of Jetha leaving her body. It wasn't as if he was getting any messages from the Gods, but his own instincts were screaming warnings at him.

"I realize you're not accustomed to being around wizards," Ullden said, "with the church's stance on magic being what it is, that's understandable. But from what I understand there is technically a risk with any spell they perform. If Jetha has weighed the risks and is prepared to try, I see no reason not to let her work her magic. That is what she's with us to do, is it not?"

"I've never done it before," she said, "so I'll need some time to prepare it."

"How long?" Ullden asked. She answered that it would be at least an hour.

"Very well. Go ahead and get started. Marus and I can do more sword work while we're waiting. Let us know when you're ready."

She nodded and went off to gather what she would need. Ullden pulled out his sword, Marus drew his somewhat absently.

"Distracted, Father?" Ullden asked.

"A little. Concerned, perhaps," Marus admitted.

"Sword work time isn't the time to be distracted, Father. Focus or you'll get hurt. Often enough in battle, distraction is death. You'll also need to be able to recognize when your opponent is distracted, and use that moment without hesitation."

Ullden had him grab up the still unpainted shield. For a grueling hour Ullden pushed him, teaching him to block with the shield and counterstrike with the sword. Ullden explained that if he could knock an enemy's sword just enough after a blocked strike that his enemy would have a hard time getting his sword back in time to stop an immediate attack.

Then Jetha announced that she was ready, and everyone stopped to sit and observe. She slowly and precisely poured a circle of water around her, warning them not to cross the circle. She then poured the rest of the water into a bowl of some kind of powder. He guessed it was a mixture of herbs and some other ground up items. He didn't want to speculate too closely on just what was in the mix.

She chanted something unintelligible as she stirred the wet mixture with a stick until it looked like a reddish mud. She used the stick to draw a symbol on her forehead. It was one of the few symbols he recognized--the element of air. She closed her eyes and laid down, still chanting.