They hid in the grass of a nearby hill and the men on horseback. Ten men in simple mail and red livery with one man in heavy plate and a red tabard with the star of Astikar emblazoned on it.

“We should get horses of our own,” Ayawa said from the safety of their hiding spot.

“I have to agree,” Tavis replied his usually smiling face downcast and dour.

“This is the third group we have seen today that is lead by a priest of Astikar,” she added.

“And all of them are heading for Eastgate. These must be the reinforcements they sent for,” he said.

Ayawa shook her head. “This is too soon for so many men to be on the road to Eastgate. It can only mean they called for help a week ago. They must have known we were there all along.”

“It will also mean they saw us with him, and they will be looking for us too. Gersius might be safer then we are,” he added, as the horses began to head away down the dusty road.

“That fool had better not die on those mountains, or we will be risking our necks for nothing,” Ayawa said in a stern whisper.

“Gersius is too stubborn to die. Look what he has come through already,” Tavis replied.

They parted with Gersius just a day ago and headed west into the collection of kingdoms known as the common lands. It was a well-settled region of relatively flat plains with gently rolling hills. Two large rivers snaked across it in meandering paths that were often used by barges and small trading craft. Some of its northern areas were densely forested, but the heart of it was mostly clear with large areas of farm and grazing land.

The crowning feature of the Commonlands was the east road. A broad highway paved in stone that ran straight across the countryside to Eastgate where it could pass through the mountains to the kingdoms beyond.

“I question the wisdom of being on the east road,” Tavis said.

“It’s the fastest route to Brackenwall, and Gams,” Ayawa responded.

“I know, but this is a heavily patrolled road. If they are looking for us, this is where they will be looking.

Ayawa nodded and looked to the west down the long straight road. It climbed up distant hills and disappeared over the far sides. From here, the hills looked like vast waves of green water. It was faster to stay on the road, but they could never be sure what was over the next hill.

“We can travel cross country, but we will be slower and the sooner we get Gams moving, the better,” she said.

“How did Gersius ever convince Gams to abandon his post? The man loves fighting,” Tavis asked as the patrol become a distant dot on the horizon.

“Gersius has saved Gam's life twice, and the man is practically Gersius's father,” she replied.

“He will be pleased to know his adoptive son is married, and he can expect grandchildren soon,” Tavis joked.

Ayawa shot him a sidelong glance. “Why do you encourage his relationship with the dragon?”

“What’s not to encourage? She loves him, and how he cares for her is heartwarming. I have never seen him care for anything but his faith or duty before.”

“It’s an unnatural relationship. It crosses the boundaries of nature.”

“Is this because your people share such a strong connection to the natural order?” Tavis asked while smiling at her.

“The natural order exists for a reason. No effort to cross it has ever resulted in positive change.”

“The man loves her. You can see it in his face when he looks at her. I have never seen him happier than the night they danced together. He was like a man reborn.”

“It doesn't mean the natural order should be disregarded.”

“So says the southern warrior maiden who is married to a northern Cellic man, and a weaver no less.”

“That’s not the same. You are still a man no matter what part of the world you call your origin,” Ayawa said.

Tavis regarded her with a curious look. “Can you honestly tell me that the form we call Lilly isn't a woman?”

“She looks very human because she has assumed a new form, but she is still a dragon. Even if her form is human; it would still break the natural order.”

“You did relent though,” Tavis said, nudging her arm.

Ayawa sighed and thought back. “She gave him a lovers mark, and it worked. When she rescued him that night, there was no point left to argue. She does love him. I just worry about what that love will bring.”

“What could possibly go wrong with two people being in love?”

“It isn't two people. It’s one person and a dragon. She is nothing like him in spirit or nature. Not to mention, she will outlive him by hundreds if not thousands of years.”

“Gersius's years will be happy I am sure,” Tavis said as he pondered the thought.

“And what of Lilly's?” Ayawa asked. “How will watching him grow old and die affect her?”

Tavis lost a little of his smile as he thought about it.

“Let’s not ponder it,” Ayawa said. “Let’s find Gams, get him moving, and see if he can get us some horses.”

Tavis nodded, but the thought still nagged at the back of his mind. He stood up and dusted his legs off as Ayawa sprang to her feet. He smiled as the woman stalked out with careful grace. She always moved as if every step was calculated. Her eyes were searching the distant horizons for danger.

Ayawa held the sacred weapon of her people, the prized ebon wood bow. It was carved from the wood of a ghost willow tree. A rare tree that only grew in the east of her native lands. It was a strong yet flexible material that was so strikingly white; it was prized by the wealthy.

Her people took the wood, and through a secret process of treating the wood with oils and heat made the bows. The wood always changed color during the process becoming darker and darker, hence the name ebon wood. The darker the color, the stronger the bow, and jet black bows were extremely rare. Ayawa's was as black as midnight, a prize given to her by a prince of another tribe who sought her hand. She ran off with it instead to find Tavis.

He joined her side on the road, and she glanced at him with a playful smile.

“Shall we continue?” he asked as he tipped his hat down.

“How can you see with that thing on?” she scolded.

“I can see your rear just fine,” he replied with a shrug and one of his broad smiles.

She laughed and ran ahead, knowing full well what he was looking at.

They traveled west for the rest of the day, avoiding any people on the road, and stopped only when the sun began to fall from the sky.

They camped off the road and slept under the stars. It reminded them both of their early years together on the run from her family. They didn't dare make a fire. The light would be seen for miles in the gently rolling landscape. Instead, they laid in each other's arms and watched the stars go by as the night faded away.

In the morning, Ayawa scouted the road before they set out again. They made excellent time until about noon when they crested a hill. Below them on the road was another patrol. From here, the men were hard to identify, as they walked at a brisk pace east.

“Can you make out who they are?” Tavis asked.

Ayawa shook her head. “Not at this distance. They are still ten minutes away at the pace they are walking.”

Tavis nodded and sat down on the roadside.

“I will project my sight and get a closer look,” he said.

“Be quick about it,” Ayawa barked. “I don’t want to make a mad dash for cover if we need to hide.”

Tavis smiled at the remark and took a breath. He let out a low continuous tone as his hands danced gently before him. He focused on the weave and closed his eyes. In a moment, his vision came back, but now it was slightly ahead of him floating in the air. He concentrated and gestured with his hands sending his sight ahead down the road.

Ayawa crouched beside him, not wanting her silhouette to be visible on the hill. She thought about how many times they had done this scouting for Gersius. All those days they lay hidden in some brush or tall grass using his weaves to scout out distant formations.

Tavis pressed his sight invisibly ahead, approaching the men walking down the road until he could see them clearly.

There were seven men in all. Six wore blue padded armor with simple belts and small round shields indicating they served a lesser noble. There was an emblem of an acorn in the center of two crossed arrows on their coats. They trailed behind the seventh man in two rows of three. The seventh man wore heavy plate armor with the emblem of Astikar on his breastplate. He marched in practiced step, leading his conscripts down the road.

“It's an Astikar patrol,” he said as he let his concentration go. “One priest and six men who look to be conscripted form a lesser nobles house.”

“Too many are needed on the front. They are probably pressing the local lords to lend them men for the hunt,” Ayawa said.

“Why didn't they do this to get Gersius the reinforcements he needed?” Tavis asked.

“Who knows what those fools were thinking,” Ayawa replied. “There is something more going on here. Gersius finding a dragon has thrown the Father Abbot into a panic.”

“But why?” Tavis asked as he got to his feet.

“Let’s get off the road and wait for them to pass,” Ayawa said, not answering his question.

They hid a good fifty paces in the brush and waited.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Tavis whispered.

“What doesn’t?” Ayawa asked.

“This commitment of men and resources to find Gersius,” Tavis replied. “They mocked him for asking for more men to fight a war, yet they wasted no time pressing men from the surrounding lands to hunt for him?”

Ayawa sighed as the men crested the hill. She watched them silently a moment before answering him.

“I don’t understand the reasoning either. It doesn’t make sense at all. They need Gersius, and they need that dragon. They can’t be so blind to believe they can win this war.”

“Then why are they are throwing it away,” Tavis said. “Gersius bought them two months at the most. If his orders are followed and his sub commanders harass the Doan they might have three. Then the Doan will be at the border keeps. I don't care what the leaders of Astikar believe. Those keeps won't hold the Doan back forever, and they only need to breakthrough in one place.”

“If they do the lands will burn,” Ayawa said.

“And they will lose their center of worship,” Tavis replied. “Once the Doan are past the wall, they will be in the heart of Astikar's worship. His faith with be obliterated and his grand temple in Calathen burned. They have nothing to gain from turning on Gersius, and everything to lose.”

Ayawa glanced over at him as they watched the men walking away down the road.

“I don’t know what those fools are planning,” she said. “But there is a plan. They tried to stop Gersius from reaching his dragon. They tried to kill her to prevent him from claiming her. Then they tried to kill them both on the road out.”

“And when that failed they sent him into a well-prepared trap in Whiteford,” Tavis added.

Ayawa nodded as she slowly got up. The patrol was cresting a distant hill and nearly out of sight.

“They were desperate to keep him from finding a dragon,” Ayawa said. “That can only mean they are planning something that Gersius was in danger of upsetting.”

“But what about the other mysteries?” Tavis asked. “Like how two of the attacks were bandersooks.”

Ayawa shook her head. “I have no idea. Something much greater is going on.”

“How did bandersooks even get this far east?” Tavis said. “They traveled twice the distance Gersius did in half the time.”

“I don’t know,” Ayawa said. “Trying to understand it only makes the danger feel more oppressive. How do the Doan even manage to control them?”

They both went silent as the questions hung in the air. There was no way to answer them, and the threat of the unknown made them both uneasy.

They watched the far hill where the men had gone. Satisfied it was safe they crept back on to the road and continued west.

An hours walk later, and they arrived at a stone bridge spanning a shallow stream. A scan of the road showed nothing but grass waving in the breeze.

“Let's get over the bridge quickly,” Ayawa said.

They broke into a run and made for the bridge. It was wide enough for a wagon or carriage to cross and arched just slightly over the stream. They quickly dashed over the rise and came to a stuttering halt.

Hidden behind the bridge itself were three men watering their horses on the slope of the bank. They wore heavy armor, and one of them had a red star on his breastplate.

“That’s them!” the man with the star yelled as he pointed at them.

“By the earth mother!” Ayawa groaned and darted over the bridge with Tavis in tow.

“After them!” they heard the man yell from behind.

Ayawa and Tavis dashed down the road as fast as they could run. Behind them, they heard the sound of men shouting and climbing into saddles.

“We will never outrun men on horses,” Tavis yelled as they raced down the road.

“I know that!” Ayawa barked. “We need distance. We can’t take three armored knights in direct combat!”

Tavis nodded his head understanding what she meant. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see what was happening.

The men were struggling to get back into the saddle and turn the horses to pursue them. The slope back of the bank was steep, and the men were struggling to get the horses up. It would buy them some precious time to put some ground between them. They ran on a few more moments and then made their stand.

Ayawa stopped and swung around, leveling her bow. She quickly pulled an arrow from the case at her hip and readied it, her fingers gently tested the string as she aimed. When the first horse came up the slope, she pulled back. Ayawa held it only a second before the familiar ‘thwip’ sound was heard.

An arrow raced out and caught the horse in the front haunch causing it to bellow and rear up toppling its rider. The second horse came out from behind it and darted on to the road. The man in the saddle was holding a sword out as he charged at full gallop.

Tavis was already making a weaving pattern before the man reached the road. Now he twirled his hands about as red light gathered around his fingertips. He made a series of deep chanting tones, and his dancing hands came closer and closer together in a spiraling pattern. When his wrists met the red light raced out following the path of his fingertips. It flowed in two long trailing lines that twisted around one another. Among weavers, it was called a bolt of Daghost, to the common man it was a blood spear.

Whatever the name the bolt tore through the neck of the charging horse and into the breastplate of the man riding it. He pitched backward, but to his credit kept his place in the saddle. That was until his horse toppled from the injury and dumped him in the road. As he tumbled the last horse leaped over him and the priest of Astikar charged.

“Thwip!” went Ayawa's bot, but the priest of Astikar leaned over and bent his arm in front of his horse. An orange light flared to life over his arm, and her arrow bounced off of it.

“This ones skilled,” Tavis said.

“Spread out, make him pick a target!” Ayawa yelled as they both ran to opposite sides of the road.

The priest focused on Ayawa and pulled his arm back. He chanted a quick deep song, and an orange hammer flared to life in his hand. Ayawa went to dive out of the way, but the priest suddenly hurled the hammer at Tavis. Tavis spun as the hammer raced at him. He lurched back as the weapon caught him in his backpack, and the momentum jerked him around and threw him spiraling to the ground.

The priest then tried to trample Ayawa with his horse, and she darted to into the grass.

“Your mine wench!” the cried as she ran at full speed away from him.

She heard the sound of a sword being drawn and quickly turned around. She saw the blade racing at her face and rolled forward diving under it. She felt a sudden tug at the back of her head as her braid swung up and he cut the red bow from the end.

She rapidly regained her feet and aimed as he wheeled his horse around. She loosed another arrow, but he leaned forward again and shielded his horse. With no other choice, she turned to meet him as he smiled and kicked the animal into another charge.

Tavis groaned as he tried to regain his senses. The hammer hadn't hit him directly, but the impact had twisted him around so severely he felt a pain in his neck. He was sure he had spun at least three times before the ground stopped his momentum. Now he struggled to his hands and knees as the world around him still seemed to be turning.

He tried to look up but his neck protested and the ground seemed to be heaving like the deck of a ship. Even in his confused state, he could see the danger. The man he struck with his weave was still moving. He had lost his helm and his sword in the fall, but he was not down. He saw the man get on his feet and recover his sword before stalking toward him. He struggled to right himself to a stand as the man closed to within ten paces.

“By the authority of Elison king of Rondivor I command you to surrender,” the man said.

Tavis’s vision began to clear as he threw open his cloak and revealed the two short swords at his waist. He crossed his arms and drew the blades slowly as the man before him frowned.

“Have it your way,” the man said and ran in sword raised.

Tavis blocked with an upraised blade and tried to turn it so he could punch the man. He knew the heavy armor would make quick cuts useless. He needed to stagger the knight so he could make a precise killing blow. The knight didn't cooperate and stepped back as his blade was pushed higher, carrying himself out of Tavis's reach. They danced together with Tavis, trying to maintain the offense and force the man to keep moving. He hoped the knight would tire from having to dash about in heavy armor and that would tip the edge into Tavis's hands.

He caught a glance over his shoulder to see Ayawa shoot at the man on the horse as he charged past her. She rolled out of the way again and came up with her bow leveled. She loosed it, but the arrow bounced harmlessly off the man's shoulder. She was aiming for the exposed head, but it was a hard target.

Tavis focused on the battle before him. He was no stranger to the dance of blades, but his foe wasn't either. The swords met time and time again with each cut or thrust parried or dodged. The knight tried to turn the tables a few times but found the dual blades challenging to counter.

The knight had the advantage of reach and armor, but Tavis had the speed of movement and attack. Several times Tavis managed to land a kick or a blow, but the man's armor absorbed it all.

“You have no hope of defeating me!” the man roared as he pressed Tavis back with a mighty swing.

“I wish I didn’t have to,” Tavis replied. “Your fighting for the wrong side.”

“I fight for my lord, and he honors the God Astikar!” the man cried back.

Tavis circled him, forcing him to turn as Tavis attacked. He smiled as it started to have the effect he wanted. The knight was beginning to breathe heavily, and his steps were slowing.

Ayawa saw Tavis exchanging blows with one of the other men and made a quick search for the third rider. The man had fallen down the hill of the stream bed and as yet not resurfaced. His horse was limping away down the road her arrow still in its flank.

The priest of Astikar raced back in urging his horse into a gallop. She realized the priest was too well trained, and her bow was going to be useless, but it might make an excellent distraction.

“You can't tumble away forever, wench,” the man cried.

Ayawa took her stance; her bow leveled at him.

He leaned over and put his arm out and began to chant, raising his magic shield to deflect the arrow.

She drew the string back slightly as he closed, holding her position and forcing him to hold his. As he charged the last few paces still leaning well over, she tossed her bow aside and drew the two curved handled blades at her waist. She dashed at him meeting his charge. He was too overextended to strike at her as she passed by him. She quickly buried one of her blades in the horse's shoulder and used it as an anchor. The momentum of the horse swung her up. She crashed into the back of the startled priest as the second blade came to his throat.

He gurgled desperately trying to heal the wound but couldn't make the intonations necessary.

“Let’s see you heal that,” Ayawa said as she jumped off the stumbling horse.

She turned to see Tavis still exchanging blows with the priest. He was holding his own, but the third rider was on his feet. She saw the man crossing the road with a sword in hand heading for his comrade. She raced for her bow and snatched it up as the man raised his weapon and went to charge in.

Ayawa aimed for the weak spot that was now revealed. From the side, the upraised arm of the knight exposed his armpit. She led him as he ran in and fired.

The man let out a cry, and his arm fell limp as his sword clattered to the ground. He groped at the arrow lodged under his armor as Ayawa raced at him.

The sudden cry made the man Tavis was fighting look to his right, and Tavis didn't waste the careless opportunity. He swept the man's blade up as he rushed in and slammed the cross guard of his sword into the man's face. As the man stumbled back trying to cover his bleeding face with his free hand, Tavis lunged down with his other blade. He passed inside the collar around the man's neck and stabbed into the chest below.

The man's eyes pressed closed, and he made a mouth clenching groan before falling to his knees.

Tavis turned to see Ayawa close on the last man who tried feebly to fend her off with his sword in his other hand. She cut him down in seconds and glared over to Tavis.

“How did we not see these men?” she yelled.

“They were hidden behind the wall of the bridge,” Tavis said as the knight fell dead at his feet.

“It was a foolish mistake!” she countered. “And look what it's led to!”

“It was just a mistake,” Tavis said. “We took care of it.”

“This will enrage them!” she growled. “When they find these men, the whole of the Commonlands will be out hunting!”

“Then let's get as far from this as we can!” he shouted back as he put a hand to his head to steady himself.

“Are you alright?” she said as she rushed to him.

“That hammer jerked me around so violently my neck snapped. I still feel dizzy.”

“Hold still,” she said as her hands came around his neck.

He sighed as her thumbs began to press into the muscles around his neck, firmly testing them until she found one that made him cry out.

“This is going to hurt,” she said. “But it will fade quickly.”

He tensed as her hands gripped him firmly, and she pressed down and twisted his neck just slightly.

He felt a searing pain race up his neck into the left side of his face, and then it faded in moments.

“You're going to be sore for days,” she said. “I wish we had a healer.”

“I will be fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Let’s get running before a patrol catches us standing in the bodies of their comrades.”

“One moment, I have to see what I can do for the horses,” she replied.

“We don’t have time to take care of horses,” Tavis groaned as he tested his neck.

“The earth mother made them. They don't deserve to suffer for men's foolishness,” she replied. “I wish they weren't wounded so we could ride them.”

One by one, she looked over the animals. For the one she stabbed she applied a balm from her bag made of honey and herbs to help speed the wound along. She wished she had some of the stronger healing salves of her people, but made do with what she had. There was nothing she could do for the horse hit by the bolt of Daghost. She ended its pain and sent it back to the earth mother. The horse with the arrow stuck in its flank rand from her, and she was forced to give up.

Tavis took this time to pick through the pockets of the men they had slain. Aside from pocketing their gold, he found a satchel of letters on the priest of Astikar.

One of the letters was instructions to patrol the road to Eastgate looking specifically for Gersius and his dragon. Another was a list of missing allies of Gersius who had vanished after Gersius had left for his mission. Tavis smiled at the impressive list as he dug some more. Several of the letters were just correspondences, but one of them was of interest. It was a letter to be delivered to Seeker Jessivel. It was instructions to find and kill Gersius. He was being ordered to take his hunters and scour the lands north of the east road along the mountains. It contained a detailed description of how Gersius attacked Whiterun despite being ordered to go directly to Calathen.

Tavis pocketed all the documents as Ayawa ran back to him.

“Poor animal is too frightened to let me near it. I hate to leave it injured, but we can't linger here any longer. Did you find anything?”

“A list of Gersius’s friends the order of Astikar wants arrested, and a letter to Jessivel,” Tavis said.

“Jessivel?” Ayawa said with reservation.

Tavis understood the concern. While Gersius was almost certainly the most famous priest of Astikar, Jessivel was a close second. He was famed for his ability to hunt down any man and drag them back. He had tracked criminals into the northern wilds and fought his way through bandit strongholds to collect a bounty. He was known as being both resourceful and ruthless. He was also rumored to have never failed in a mission.

“If Jessivel is involved in this then Gersius is in greater danger than he knows,” Ayawa said.

“I wish we could warn him,” Tavis said.

“All we can do is get Gams and the rest to the meeting point as quickly as we can,” she said. “Gersius will have to take care of himself.”

“The letter orders Jessivel to take his hunt with him. Gersius will be facing thirty heavy cavalry,” Tavis pointed out.

“Then let’s hope his dragon is as ferocious a fighter as he is,” Ayawa said as she nodded to the road.

They ran off at a brisk pace burdened by the worries that Jessivels involvement brought. How was Gersius going to elude the greatest seeker in the history of the order?