A column of battle priest traveled at speed down the road. They were resplendent in their plate armor painted black but with a white shoulder plate on the right. On this plate was a single red star with eight radiating points. In the center of the star was pained a gold eye. It was known in the order of Astikar as the eye that seeks, and the men who wore were called seekers. They served the order as an elite force. They were used to hunt down the truth and drag it back for questioning.

There was only one unit of seekers, and it was commanded by one man. He stood tall in his saddle his long brown hair blowing gently in the breeze. On his shoulder was the field of white with the star and the eye but his shoulder plate was trimmed in gold and across his chest ran a belt of white with three red stars in a triangle. It was one of the highest ranks in the order who served under arms. There was only one battle priest in the whole order who held a higher position than he did.

He had thirty men dedicated to the pursuit of Astikar's glory and his truth. They were carried on by powerful western horses. They were not the fastest horse in the land. But they were giant animals that could carry a man in full armor for many miles at a gallop. They could shatter a formation just by charging into it, the massive legs of the beasts trampling men like grapes.

He led his seekers on the hunt following the trail of clues. The path had led to Oakhill and then to a group of priests who were on their way to the town from the road beyond. They stopped and spoke to the three priests of Astikar. They had an interesting story to tell that only left more questions.

“How many did you say?” he asked them as he leaned in his saddle his hair framing his face and making his scowl seem all the more menacing.

“We saw two of them. One of them is a dead shot with the bow,” the priest standing before him said.

“Did you get a good look at either of them?” he asked.

“No, sir. It was dark, and they had a good lead on us,” the priest replied.

He sat back in the saddle of his horse. There was an obvious path of incidents evolving here. First three men dead on the road. Two heavy knights in full armor, and one a battle priest of his order. All killed by precise blows. Then they find a village with a bunch of wounded men and a pile of bodies, one of them an assassin. This was followed by the revelations of Oakhill. The people there say his order had raided the temple of Ulustrah and carried it's priestess away. They said two people visited the temple a few hours later and then went down the road after them. One was a man who wore all gray and a wide-brimmed hat. The other was a woman with dark reddish skin and long black hair.

He didn’t need to waste a moment of thought to know who they were. Tavis and Ayawa were here, and they attacked the three priests to free the prisoner. He wondered why? Did they know the priestess? Is that why they were in Oakhill? What does this have to do with Gersius? Does this mean Gersius is nearby? He shook his head. There were too many mysteries here, not the least of which was why these men had taken the priestess captive in the first place.

He asked them why they had taken the woman, and their reply caused him to freeze. That the Father Abbot had declared the entire faith of Ulustrah illegal had made him sick. That he had ordered the priestesses be hunted down, arrested, and killed if necessary, had nearly caused him to fall from his horse.

He turned to the thirty men behind him and scowled. How many of them felt the way he did? How many of them would gladly hunt the faithful of Ulustrah?

It was clear that he was on the right path. His prey was someplace ahead of him and hitting many of the major towns and villages on the roads in the south commanlands.

“Begging your pardon sir but did you not know the orders?” the priest on the road asked.

Jessivel looked down from the back of his black mare and frowned. These three priests of Astikar were probably good honest men just following orders. Orders he himself would have followed a few weeks ago, that was of course before he had read that letter.

“No captain, I have been out hunting other enemies of the order. I have not returned to a temple or monastery in many days. I have been somewhat cut off from the recent edicts of our Father Abbot,” he said, annoyed. He was lying, of course. Three of the damn letters had found him now. The Father Abbot was desperate to have him out hunting Gersius. He wanted the man run down and killed on sight. He sighed at the thought of it. He understood his duty and what needed to be done.

“Where are you and your men going from here?” Jessivel asked.

“Back to Oakhill. The priestess must be arrested. She will no doubt return there,” the priest said confidently.

Jesivell nodded. They would find nothing but an empty temple. The priestess was now a part of the group he hunted and would most certainly be heading farther away from Oakhill not closer to it.

“Very good captain. May Astikar bless your efforts,” he said, trying to sound like he didn't want to spit.

He parted ways with the men on the road and opted to keep going west. He would send men to all the towns big and small to ask questions. Sooner or later he would find the trail again. He was the orders best seeker after all, and he had a reputation for finding men that didn't want to be found.

Tavis and Ayawa were the key to his prey. They would know where he was, and they were going to tell him. He mused that if he were Gerisus, he would go to Avashire or any of the northern provinces. The priests up there were so remote they were practically another faith and responded to the commands of the regional High priest.

He pondered that thought a moment and smiled. He didn't doubt at all that was precisely where Gersius was. That or he had gone further east out into the sands and maybe to the coastal kingdoms of the Nuvarin. There were priests of Astikar there that had never even heard of Calathen.

He ordered the hunt resumed and led his host down the road. His thoughts were dark, and the path before him riddled with lies. The more he thought about it, the more the mysteries kept growing. He needed to find a temple to Astikar and get his hands on some of these official proclamations. He needed to scour the land until he found the wayward friends of Gersius the bloody-handed. Most of all, he needed to find the truth.

Ayawa looked up and down the road from the cover of the tall brush. It was another rutted dirt tract sunken from many years of wear. The land all around them was a gently undulating green carpet of weeds and the purple of the tall milk thistle. She plucked one of the prickly flowers from her hair and tossed it aside.

The road was empty as far as she could see in either direction. To her right, it began to dip down as the land made it's gradual descent to the river several miles ahead. In the distance, she could see the dark wood of the black oak trees that signified the forest known as the Mudwood.

Tavis and Gedris stood on horseback nearly a full minute behind her staying well away from the road until she signaled. When she did, they walked the horses through the brush and stood by her side.

“We will have to use the road from here. I will run on ahead and make sure our path is clear.” Ayawa said.

“Do you ever get tired?” Gedris asked noting the woman had already been running for hours.

“I get tired, but not for a while yet,” was all Ayawa was willing to tell her.

She ran off down the road, and Tavis waited until she was well ahead before he nudged his horse into a trot.

“She is strong-willed,” Gedris said with a smile as they rode down the road.

“She is disciplined, and knows what she is doing,” Tavis said.

Gedris glanced at him and looked him up and down. She noted his smile as if he was pleased about something. It was the only thing she could see of his face, and that made her curious. She decided to prod him with an observation.

“I see the light between you two, you are her lover,” she said to see how he would respond.

“We were not trying to keep that a secret. Why bring it up?” he said with no hint of emotion.

“You have made no mention of it at all. In fact, you hardly talk to me at all.”

Tavis looked over at her and wondered why she was suddenly interested in talking.

“I see no reason to tell a woman I have known less than a day about my personal life. I haven’t spoken to you because you very strongly questioned my past,” he paused a moment to adjust his hat. “There are things in my past I would like to keep there.”

“You mean my asking you if you were a fire or water weaver?”

He nodded. “And your insistence we should have killed those men.”

“I still think you should have.”

He sighed. “Gedris, Ayawa and I are scouts in the order of Astikar's Military. We know many of these men. We also know they are good men that have been lied to by a man they are supposed to be able to trust. They have been told your order stand with Gersius, and that Gersius is a dangerous criminal.”

“If the Prime of our order supports him, then I know that isn't true. Of course, I have only your word to go on about that, and you seem to have plenty of secrets to keep.”

Tavis couldn't argue the point; he did have plenty to keep. “I have many secrets to keep, but one of them isn't my friendship with Gersius. The man is the most honorable priest of Astikar you will ever meet. He is stubborn and duty bound to a fault, but he values the people, and he wants to help. You can see my aura. You know I am telling the truth when I say your prime supports him.”

“So why is the leader of his own order after his head?” Gedris said, moving the topic on quickly.

“Gersius went on a mission to end the war with the Doan. He wanted to find a dragon so he could bring about the prophecy of the dragon knight.”

Gedris looked at him again with a raised eyebrow. “He was trying to be the dragon knight?”

Tavis nodded. “He took a company of men and set out to follow an old rumor about a dragon in the ice fang peaks. What he didn't know is that the Father Abbot didn't want him to find a dragon. For reasons none of us understand he somehow arranged for Gersius's company to be ambushed and slaughtered, but Gersius survived.”

She looked at him as if not following the story.

“He pressed on alone, and against all odds, he found the dragon.”

“Dragons are real? she said with wonder in her voice. “And he went and faced one alone?”

Tavis smiled and glanced at her his usual mischievous look returning to his eyes. “He did, he convinced the dragon to help him. It agreed to go with him to Calathen and complete the prophecy. On the road there he was ambushed again. When he survived that he was given orders to turn around and go to Whiteford instead.”

Gedris looked lost in thought, and her eyes looked up as if thinking. “I think I heard about this. A dragon attacked Whiteford, a dragon and a traitor.”

“That's the lie the Father Abbot is spreading,” Tavis said. “The truth is the Father Abbot laid a trap. When Gersius showed up with his dragon, they were tricked into separating, and then they were both attacked. The dragon was chained and beaten, and the monsters cut its wings off.”

Gedris made a slight gasp, and her eyes widened a little as she watched him intently.

“Gersius was drugged and beaten. They tortured him for a full day beating him and healing him so they could beat him again.”

“That is horrific!” she said. “Why would they do such a thing?”

Tavis was rather enjoying the pained look on her face now. “Gersius had the dragon bound. They wanted to take her from him, but he refused to tell them her true name.”

“He bound the dragon?” she said in real shock now. “How did he manage such a thing?”

“When you meet Gersius you will understand. He is a man who can make anything happen.”

“So they tortured him for the dragons true name?” she reiterated.

“Yes, but he had sworn an oath to the dragon that he would never reveal its true name. When he refused and they finally tired of beating him they dragged him out before the city and accused him of coming there to attack it. They sentenced him to death, but they made a critical mistake.”

He paused for dramatic effect and gave her a quick glance.

“You see they crafted magical chains to hold the dragon. It was helpless and unable to move, what they didn’t know is the dragon can change shape.”

“It can?” she gasped again.

“Yes, it can assume a human form. She is a very stunning woman when she appears as a human. She was trapped because Gersius had given her a command to stay in her dragon form. When the Father Abbot got overconfident, he dragged Gersius out before the city and pronounce his sentence. He dragged the dragon out too so she could witness Gersius die. But the fool gave Gersius a chance to speak and Gersius used it to release her from the command. The dragon changed shape and was free of the chains. Then she attacked the guards and the people around Gersius. She rescued him and fled the city, but not before doing a great deal of damage.”

“I have been told many different stories. Some say she ate half the city. Others say she killed a dozen men before she was slain,” Gedris said.

“The more accurate count is she killed close to fifty men and injured another fifty. I personally saw her kill some of them.”

“Why would she carry him away to safety?” Gedris asked.

“We all wondered that too. If he had died, she would have been free of the bind. It turns out the dragon was falling in love with him.”

Gedris leaned up tall in her saddle and shook her head. “You can’t be telling me the truth. I see it in your aura, but no story of I dragon I have ever read even shows them having emotions, let alone love.”

Tavis let his smile run the width of his face. “It is no joke. We had a priestess of Ulustrah with us then too. She told us what she saw. She saw the light between them. They were both in love with each other, but it took them both a long time to admit it.”

“What a beautiful moment,” Gedris said her face looking distant.

“It was this priestess of Ulustrah who suggested we run and hide at your temple in Eastgate. That was when we met your Prime Arlin, and Gersius and the dragon had a chance to talk and get their emotions in order.”

Gedris sighed. “I wish I had been there to see it. I bet it was beautiful to behold. Tell me, who was the priestess of Ulustrah?”

“Her name is Priestess Thayle,” Tavis replied.

Gedris considered the name a moment. “I don’t know of her.”

Tavis knew that was because Thayle was hiding in a little temple no different than Gedris's temple. He and Ayawa were certain Thayle had some secrets of her own she was hoping to run from, and her temple was her place to hide from them.

“We suspect she has a high rank, but she chose to serve in a small temple like yours. She was helping a tiny village with its harvests and its relationships.”

“She sounds like a lovely person then, not driven by rank and prestige,” Gedris replied.

“She is a very kind woman. She worked tirelessly to help Gersius and the dragon come to understand their feelings, and open up to one another.”

“So she got them to admit they loved each other?” she asked.

Tavis nodded, “she worked a miracle. Gersius had released her from the bind and told her to go home. Thayle got her to agree to stay with us of her own free will. But there was a terrible secret uncovered, and the dragon was so upset she ran off. Thayle convinced her yet again to come back and somehow managed to convince her to let Gersius bind her again!” Tavis shook his head. He still had trouble believing this part himself.

Gedris looked like she might cry. Her eyes were big and bright, and her lower lip curled in a little and trembled. “She agreed to let him bind her again out of love for him?”

Tavis let the question hang a moment for suspense before answering. “She did. She wanted to be bound to him because she loved him.”

“And then what happened?” Gedris begged to know.

“Gersius admitted to her that he loved her as well, and he asked her to bind him instead.”

“No!” Gedris said tears beading up in the corners of her eyes.

“He did. Then the miracle happened, the thing nobody was expecting.”

“What? What happened?” Gedris demanded to know.

“They bound each other. She bound him, and he bound her.”

The tears rolled down her cheeks, and she sniffled a little. “That is so beautiful!” Gedris cried.

Tavis enjoyed the sight of making her cry.

“They now consider themselves husband and wife. I danced at the celebration we held in their honor in your temple.”

Gedris had to wipe her eyes. “They are more than husband and wife. They are essentially one being if they are bound to each other.”

“Ayawa says the same thing. She insisted from the beginning that they would be more than married.”

“I wish I had been there to witness such a wonderful thing unfold,” Gedris said.

“If we make it to our final destination you will get to meet them,” Tavis said.

“I would very much like to do that,” she replied.

“Her name is Lilly by the way.”

“Who is?” Gedris asked. “You mean the dragon?”

“Yes, she didn't have a human name, so Gersius named her after a flower he remembered from his youth. One that reminded him of her beauty.”

“Stop!” Gedris called out, wiping her eyes again. “I can't take any more of such a powerful story of love.”

“It is for them that Ayawa and I are traveling. We are collecting strong friends of Gersius’s. Men who can help him and Lilly get to Calathen and finally fulfill the prophecy of the dragon knight.”

“That is why you were in Oakhill?” she asked him, still trying to dry her eyes.

“Yes, there was a good man there, one of the smiths at the forge. He is a strong priest of Astikar who will stand with Gersius when he challenges the Father Abbot.”

“So not all the priests of Astikar are hunting us?”

Tavis shook his head no. “Not all of them, but many of them are. They have not seen the lies for what they are yet.”

Gedris took a deep breath. “So how do we know who we can trust?”

“We trust nobody who isn't on Gersius's list of allies,” Tavis replied. “We avoid all contact with the priests of Astikar at all costs.”

“Except to rescue me?” she asked a slight smile on her lips.

“You were a special case. And you were just a quick stop on the way,” he said, giving her a mischievous look with a broad smile.

“So I was just a quick stop on your journey?” she asked him.

Tavis chuckled slightly. “We consider your order to be friends and allies. We didn't know the priests of Astikar were arresting the faithful of Ulustrah until we found your temple. We decided we needed to see if there was some way to help you.”

“I can see the truth in your aura. So this Gersius loves and is loved in return by a dragon. He intends to fulfill the prophecy of the dragon knight. Right the wrongs of his fallen order, and then win the war with the Doan?”

“That is correct,” Tavis replied with a nod.

“This Gersius must be a strong committed man. A pity he already has a wife.”

Tavis smiled wider at the remark. “My dear priestess, are you jealous?”

she frowned at him. “I am not jealous. I am just stating a fact. He sounds like a good man, both strong of body and mind. One who understands dedication and purpose. It is rare to find even one of these traits in a man, but for one man to possess them all.” She paused a moment and played with her lower lip with her hand. “I wonder if he would consider two wives?”

Tavis laughed. “I never thought Gersius would take one wife. He puts duty above all else. He has taken the one because fate pushed them together so strongly. He is also the fiercely loyal and dedicated type. One wife is all he will ever have.”

“Are you sure? Strong men often have more than one wife,” she insisted.

“I would wager my hat he would never even consider it,” Tavis said with a laugh.

“A pity, most men relish the idea of two or more wives. I see it all the time in their auras,” She frowned at him again as she looked at him. “Does your Ayawa know you want more?”

He tipped his head, and all she could see of his face was his smile.

“She does, but she has made it clear she would kill me and any potential second wife the moment she found out about them.”

“You strike me a the type who prefers to love women, not marry them,” she said looking away from him.

“Ha!” he said his smile going wide. “I have my fair share of stories, but I made the mistake of hunting a southern warrior maiden. She was a challenge, she didn’t want to be caught, and I was determined to win my hunt.”

Gedris shook her head. “Why do you men always see women as some sort of game to play? Why must you pursue us like a fleeing animal?”

Tavis pondered the comment. “In Ayawa's case, it was because she didn't run that I fell in love with her. I am very skilled at talking to women and gaining their trust, but words didn't sway Ayawa. She never told me to go away, but she would give me no affection until I had earned it. The more she refused to be swayed by my words, the more I wanted her. She drove me mad, trying to prove myself to her.”

Gedris laughed and made Tavis look over at her.

“You find it funny?” he asked.

“She beat you at your own game,” she said. “You wanted her to run so you could play the game of hearts, and chase her. But she refused to run and made you play her game instead. She made you dance for her pleasure, and then claimed you only when you danced well enough.”

Tavis’s mouth fell open as he considered it.

“She led you into a snare and then took you as a prize. She is a very clever woman,” Gedris said with a pleased glance at him.

His smile returned, and he nodded his head. “I suppose she is.”

They entered the tree line as they talked. The forest was a dense wall of overgrown briers and weeds. The trees were short, and the branches hung down, making impassible barriers. All around them they could see the tangle of branches above mixing with the thorns and bushes below.

“This place needs to be tamed,” Gedris said. “This is what happens when a land is allowed to grow wild.”

The air smelled moist and earthy, and it blew on a warm breeze that rustled to leaves around them. The sunlight began to break up in the canopy above, and many places of the road were awash in dancing rays of light that appeared and disappeared as the wind stirred the branches. Ahead of them well in the distance, they could see Ayawa running, always keeping just close enough so they could make her out.

“She certainly knows how to run when she wants too,” Gedris said.

“Yes, she runs, but only on her terms,” Tavis replied, thinking of their previous conversation.

They wound their way through the trees and eventually began to see small stone houses scattered along the road's edge. Out in the distance was a break in the trees beyond which could be seen the mirror-like surface of the river.

Ayawa stood in the road as they casually rode up to her.

“There is no point in running ahead here. We will enter together and see if we can find Marcus,” she said.

“This is a friend of Gersius?” Gedris asked.

“He is an old battle priest. He never rose very high in the ranks, but he is a good and proper follower of Astikar,” Tavis said.

“So how will you find him?” she asked.

“If I know Marcus, he will be in the Inn. He loves a good drink,” Ayawa said, smiling at Tavis then turning to lead them into town.

“What was that look about?” Gedris whispered to Tavis.

Tavis knew what was coming and glanced up at the woman beside him. “Ayawa has a cast iron stomach and a hollow leg. Her drinking battles with Marcus are legendary.”

“And I thought she was so proper and refined,” Gedris said watching the woman walk ahead with a graceful sway to her hips.

Tavis let out a laugh as they entered the town. “You are in for a rude awakening.”

The town consisted of a dozen buildings of stone and wood planks. Many of the buildings here had wood shingle roofs with a few thatched ones scattered about. Most of them were simple large single rooms, but a few had a seconds story, and the Inn had three. But the Mudskipper, as the Inn was known, was a special place.

From the street, it had just two stories, but it was built on the slope of the hill that went to the river, and the basement came out the back of the hill creating a third level. The entire backside was ringed with wood plank decks. There was a large outside area to sit and enjoy a drink. They had been this way once a long time ago, and he remembered how pleasant the deck had been until the mosquitoes attacked.

“He will be in here,” Ayawa said as they arrived out front. “Tie the horses off and let’s go inside.”

The two did as they were told and entered the building. The ground floor was a boisterous common room with a dozen small round tables and three much larger ones in the corners. The entire place was decorated with fishing nets, ropes, and the little colored flags the people to identify the boats on the river.

There were at least twenty people in the room sitting at tables or along a wall. The air was thick with the smell of sweat, ale, and cooked fish. Along the back wall of the room right in the middle was a wide-open doorway that allowed you to walk right out onto the deck where there were at least a dozen more small tables. To the left of this doorway was a long smooth bar made of polished oak. The barkeep, a giant of a man with a bald head and a shaven face, stood behind it wiping a glass in his apron. Beside him, two women filled steins and mugs with ale from the barrels along the wall.

Seated at the bar was a big man, not like the bartender, more robust and filled out. He had messy brown hair and wore a simple tan shirt over black pants. He was laughing as he told the man next to him a story.

Ayawa walked up the bar beside him and thumped down a coin asking for an ale.

“I hope your not too many drinks in Marcus, I would hate to embarrass you in front of your friends,” she said before swiping the mug up to take a drink.

The man looked around at her with a jovial face and smiled. “Suren, you're a sight for sore eyes and a sore head latter. Where have you and that puddle jumper been hiding at?”

Tavis chuckled at the nickname he had from Marcus. He earned it when he tried to compete with them both in a drinking contest and passed out well before they did. Marcus has made fun of him ever since.

“We took to hiding same as you when Gersius didn't send an update,” she replied after she put her empty mug down and nodded for another.

Marcus smiled in appreciation. He always admired Ayawa's ability to drink. He even proposed to her once when she beat him a contest. “Yes, nasty business going on with Gersius. What I hear is he's dead someplace south of Whiteford.”

Ayawa eyed him cautiously and then glanced over his shoulder at the thin, gaunt man beside him.

He understood the gesture immediately and turned to the man. “Do me a favor Jeremy and tell misses Kilvens I won't be around for dinner tonight.”

The man got up and bid him farewell before walking off.

“So, you have heard about Gersius?” Ayawa asked.

“I heard he got himself in a whole lot of trouble. Turned against the order, attacked a city and was driven off by the Father Abbot himself.” He took his drink and downed the last of the ale and set it down. “Word is Dellain ran him down in the woods outside the city. People say it was a titanic fight, but Dellain killed him,” He sighed and looked at the empty mug before him. “Best I stop now. Won't do no good to honor his memory by being drunk.”

Ayawa looked at Tavis standing behind them and smiled then took another good mouthful.

“Why don’t you tell him, Tavis,” she said with a smile.

Marcus looked over his shoulder at Tavis and then back to Ayawa. “Tell me what?”

Tavis stepped up and leaned onto the bar to the other side of him.

“Gersius is alive and well. He has found a dragon, and it now travels with him. He is going to Calathen with it to become the dragon knight.”

Marcus looked at Tavis with glazed eyes and rubbed the stubble of his face.

“Let me get this straight. That crazy story about him searching for a dragon is true?”

“It is very true, it is the whole reason he left,” Tavis said.

“And he actually found one? He managed to subdue it, and he's dragging it back to Calathen?”

Tavis smiled and looked past Marcus to Ayawa, who shook her head and emptied her drink.

“The dragon is a she, and Gersius didn’t subdue her.”

“That depends on your definition of subdue,” Ayawa said.

Tavis laughed and continued. “He married her, she is going to Calathen as his wife.”

Marcus screwed up his face and looked back over at Ayawa who only shrugged and picked up her third drink.

“The dragon is his wife?” Marcus asked with one eye open.

Ayawa nodded. “She is deeply in love with him.”

Marcus stewed on the thought for a moment and glanced down at the empty mug.

“For the love of all that is holy. Give me another!” Marcus yelled to one of the barmaids. “Only a fool would listen to this prattle sober.”

Tavis filled the man in on the details and the story of how Gersius and Lilly had come together. The man fervently tried to drown the nonsense away as Tavis explained it, but Ayawa kept supporting him on every crazy detail.

“So he is building an army to challenge that old bastard finally,” Marcus asked.

“He intends to replace him with Lengwin,” Ayawa added.

“Lengwin? That bookworm?” Marcus exclaimed. “Suren he couldn’t have picked a man more opposite the Father Abbot.”

“Gersius is convinced Lengwin is the one to head the order because he is a peaceful man. He feels the order focuses too much on conflict and not enough of mercy.”

Marcus took a long swig and put his mug back down. “And this girl, this dragon, he took her as a wife?”

“She practically begged him to,” Ayawa replied.

Marcus ran a hand through his sweaty hair and shook his head, mumbling to himself. “Gersius, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” He looked up and glanced over to Tavis. “He should have followed my lead, stayed a bachelor. Theirs nothing but trouble in women once you've given em a piece of your heart.”

“That’s usually because you men have so little heart to give that even a tiny piece cuts off the flow of blood to your brains,” came Gedris’s scolding voice. It was only now that Marcus turned around enough to see the priestess of Ulustrah in full armor glaring down at him.

“Here now, who is this?” Marcus said, looking her up and down.

Tavis smiled and stood up to stand beside the priestess who even now had both hands tucked into her hips and a scowl on her face.

“This is the priestess Gedris, she is coming with us to help,” Tavis said.

“You two like to invite danger into your lives,” Marcus said then glared at Ayawa. “Do you know what they are doing to the priestesses of Ulustrah?”

“We found out when we stopped at her temple in Oakhill. We rescued her from the priests of Astikar that came there to arrest her,” Ayawa replied.

“They are visiting every town and tiny village. I hear they are even looking for the retired ones now. The ones who stopped because they got married and started having children.” Marcus said and emptied his mug again.

“This is why Gersius has to stop them,” Ayawa stated. “This madness must be put to an end.”

Marcus nodded as he picked up another mug. “Well if he needs the help, I will raise my sword with him and his new wife. A toast to the old fool, hunted by his brothers and married to a dragon. He is doubly cursed.”

“I think the story of their love is beautiful,” Gedris said in a sour tone.

“Suren it is beautiful, fit for one of those fancy books of stories. But Gersius is a man made of stone and on that stone is carved duty and purpose. The man never so much as spoke about women. Should have known it would take a dragon to catch his eye.”

“When you see her you will understand,” Ayawa said. “She is no ordinary woman. She is exotic, innocent, and very deadly. She catches the eyes of men where ever she goes.”

“Well, when do we leave then?” he asked them as he put down his fifth empty mug.

“I’m afraid Tavis and I have more people to find. You need to get to the old fort north of Windcrest.”

“Why all the way up there?”

“Gersius arranged that as a meeting place for all the others. He wants us to find the rest of the people and send them there.” Ayawa said.

“Well if that's where the fool wants to meet so be it,” Marcus said, shaking his head. “I will gather my armor and start the journey, eh as soon as my head clears.”

Ayawa smiled at the admission of his state. “Take the priestess with you, get her to Gersius.”

Gedris stepped back at the suggestion. “I am not going anywhere with this man!” she stated with a gesture of the hand.

“Priestess we have to travel fast, and he is right, traveling with you draws attention to us,” Tavis said.

She shifted her scold to him and frowned. “You want me to travel alone with a drunkard priest of Astikar to a remote location in the wilderness? Especially one who hasn’t had a kind word to say about women all night?”

Tavis saw the logic and tried to hide his smile.

“How do you put up with this man?” she said to Ayawa.

Marcus laughed at the comment and leaned over to look Gedris in the eyes. “Ayawa isn’t a woman,” he said in a low methodical tone almost a whisper. “She is a demon who can drink a barrel of ale and then run all night!”

Gedris looked at Ayawa and shook her head. “I will go my own way then. I will not travel with this, man!” she had trouble calling him a man.

“Priestess the roads are crawling with patrols of Astikar and bounty hunters. You will be picked up in days,” Tavis tried to reason with her.

“How is traveling with a priest of Astikar going to make that any easier?” she argued back.

Marcus rolled in his chair as an idea came to his mind. “We can just tie your hands, and I will lead you with a rope and tell them I caught you and I am taking you in.”

Ayawa laughed and had to put her drink down as Gedris’s face went red.

“So you want me to travel with a drunkard who only sees women as useful for pleasure into the wilds with my hands bound?” she shook as she spoke every word.

Marcus roared at the open display of rage and slapped his hand on the bar. “She’s got some fire in her, she does.”

“No!” She spat, glaring at them all. “I would rather be captured by the other priests. At least they had the decency to treat me like an equal. They called me priestess and spoke politely even as they were arresting me.”

Tavis tried to calm her by putting a hand on her shoulder, but she batted it away. “I am going with you, or I am leaving right now! You won't have to worry about being seen with me,” she said to him.

Tavis looked to Ayawa who rolled her eyes and put her mug down. “Girl you don't have a horse. You can't keep using mine. I would like to ride once in a while.”

“Then I will walk there myself!” Gedris said, turning to leave.

Marcus struggled to stop laughing and waved a hand to stop her. “Wait, priestess. I mean you no harm, please.” He took a moment to compose himself and turned to Ayawa. “I can give her a horse so she can stay with you.”

Gedris looked at Ayawa, waiting for her response.

“Fine!” she said, putting her mug down and pushing it away to indicate she was done. “Let's not linger here long then. Show us this horse so we can be on our way.”

Marcus led them off to the small farm on the edge of town with a barn that leaned to one side. Inside were three horses and Gedris immediately gravitated to a mare with dirty white fur and two bands of brown one around the base of its neck the other around its rump.

Marcus insisted she take it as he dug out a saddle and tack for her and prepped the horse for travel. With a hearty wave and a promise to be on the road soon, they parted ways all three riding into the cool night air.

The sun was gone, and the forest was a maze of trunks that faded into inky blackness. Glaring eyes, hidden away in the darkness beyond the trunks, followed them.