Following a brief farewell, where Saed and Kanick both wished each other luck, no doubt each man thinking the other needed it the most, Kanick and Bera were put ashore using one of Windwitch's rowing boats.

Much like their procession to the docks in Aaton, they had to carry what supplies they had brought with them. They waded unsteadily through the surf and onto the beach as the rowboat was pushed back out towards Windwitch, anchored in the bay.

They had put to shore at a remote beach, divided by a swift stream that gurgled out into the sea. "This is it," Kanick declared as they approached the stream at the head of the beach, his back already aching from carrying their supplies. The river cut through a lush, wild meadow and into a nearby forest "If we follow this, we'll reach Woodbend by evening."

Bera was simply happy to be off the boat. "May we eat?" He asked as his stomach erupted into a prolonged spasm of noise.

"Eat and walk," Kanick ordered, shuffling one of the saddlebags from his shoulder to give the apprentice better access to its contents. "We're still in Aatonia, and I don't want to be out on the road past nightfall," he explained thinking back to Xixi's map. She had no reports of attacks this far north, but he also kept in mind the High-Mage's warnings. A Kingdom fit to boil.

After crossing the meadow, they came upon a thin, dirt track that lead them through the forest, though Kanick always kept an eye on the stream, which expanded the further inland they journeyed. Despite the ivy and moss bearding on the trees, Kanick could see from the even spacing between the trees that it had initially been planted for timber at some point in the distant past. Now it was over-grown and new trees had taken gnarled root between the birch.

The sky was beginning to bruise as they emerged in a wide, flat plain. The distant craggy hills of the Low Ones rolled off to their left backed by the faint jagged peaks of the High Ones glowing with the yellow light of the setting sun. The river snaked through the plain of farmer's fields, small villages and neat orchards.

They followed the trail of the river, as it wriggled this way and that, until his gaze settled on a large, walled settlement built on a hill and nestled in the nook of a snaking bend in the river.

Woodbend, Kanick thought, finally. Over the top of the wall, crowning the hill, he could see a square, stone keep, and houses densely packed around it, their chimneys billowing smoke into the haze of the evening. Bridges crossed the river on three sides, while a narrow causeway was the only land route between the town and its surroundings.

About a mile or so east of the town walls, partially obscured by the settlement, Kanick saw a tower with squat buildings clustered around the base with a small stone wall ringing the campus.

"Here we are!" Kanick said with relief. He pointed across the landscape. "There's Woodbend," he said to Bera, "and that collection of buildings outside is our enclave."

They began to follow the path down, as it became a loosely cobbled road. The city had burst its walls, and as they approached Woodbend, they found themselves passing quaint farmhouses, which gave way to a small village of ramshackle wooden huts just outside the drawbridge on the western side. Kanick noticed the people staring, but their faces lacked the menace of Aaton.

The guards on duty simply nodded them through. Their garb had a uniform look not usually seen in the household garrison of a local lord. Kanick could make out mail underneath a knee-length leather tunic bearing the silhouette of a five-pointed crown. The eight or so guards all held spears but carried short swords at their hips. They were Union soldiers, Kanick realised, his mind taking a few moments to place them in an unlikely situation.

"Evening," Kanick said by way of greeting, receiving a nod in return. "If I may ask, what are Union troops doing here?" Surely the political situation couldn't have disintegrated so far in a week that the High-King could have already invaded, he thought.

"Guarding the gate," the guard said noncommittedly.

Kanick grinned. "Very good," he said. "But I mean here, in Woodbend."

The young man, and Kanick saw that he couldn't have been older than his apprentice, looked puzzled, glancing from Kanick to Bera. "Dunno where else we'd be," the guard mumbled, "Woodbend is a Union garrison, has been forever."

Kanick knew that wasn't true. In the war it had a Lord, who had raised and commanded soldiers. For Palregon. It seemed this garrison was the Union's price for that rebellion, but perhaps the young man was too young to know that.

Followed by quizzical looks and laughter from the guards, Kanick and Bera passed under the city's portcullis gate and onto the crowded streets beyond. They pushed through the road and up the hill to a plaza so Kanick could get his bearings, looking across from the keep to the tall Enclave tower. "We should look for a place to stay," Kanick said.

"The Enclave?" Asked Bera.

"I would prefer to be situated in the town, between the Enclave and the Keep,"

"Yes, master," Bera replied stiffly, clearly not understanding his master's preference.

They dodged a group of drunk young men in fine clothes, the drunkest complaining obnoxiously about being thrown out of somewhere. "Excuse me, sir," Kanick addressed the most sober of the group, a serious looking brown-haired youth. "Might I ask from where you were removed?"

"The black crown," he replied with a sigh directed at his friend. "We'll have to settle for the Jug, now."

"Is it near?" Kanick asked.

The Black Crown was just down the street. A five-storey building, with a good solid foundation of stone upon which plastered walls supported by timber beams were built. The roof was slate, though Kanick thought its black crown might have been blackened further by a coating of pitch. The building leaned out over onto the street, and its sign, underneath the name and symbol, boasted of being the town's oldest.

Inside was a jovial, but not raucous atmosphere. A string band was playing fast-paced tunes by the fire, and several patrons were happily clapping along and even Kanick found his feet almost moving to the beat. "Nice tune," he remarked to Bera.

"I prefer the sadder songs," Bera replied. "Icerose, and songs like that."

"Never knew you were such a romantic," Kanick teased and his apprentice shrugged.

The common room was clearly for the moneyed, and Kanick could see why the drunk's friend was so annoyed at having been removed. The Jug, wherever it was, was unlikely no to be near as nice, with the Crown's stylish oak-panelled walls adorned with portraits and landscapes. Even the rugs, haphazardly overlaid, were of high quality. The two mages moved through packed trestle tables towards the bar, where a middle-aged woman was cleaning tankards and watching the music.

"Do you have any rooms available?" Kanick asked her.

"Aye," the woman replied, placing her cloth and tankard down. "Expensive, mind," she added, sizing them up.

"That will be no problem," Kanick replied producing a purse from within his robes.

"Ten Crowns, per night," the Innkeep demanded.

"This should cover our stay," Kanick handed over the bulging purse. "We hope to be a while in the town. Let me know if it's running low."

The barmaid pocketed the purse and bowed her head. "Of course, Sirs, please let my boy show you to your rooms." She called over the crowd and music "Lim! Lim!" A tall, rake-thin youth with the first growth of beard pushed through the crowd. "Lim, show our guests to their rooms, upper floor please."

Lim turned to them, "May I take your luggage, Master?"

Kanick shrugged his shoulders. "We've carried them here; I don't see a few flights causing trouble."

Lim lead them through the common room, past the band and padded, high-back chairs, then up the steep wooden stairs as the noise of the common room faded behind them.

The oak-panelling followed them throughout their journey to the upper floor in the loft. There were only four rooms along the corridor, but it was spacious enough.

"These two are yours," Lim informed them, gesturing to the two nearest rooms. Kanick flicked him a silver sceptre and thanked him for his help.

"You're being very liberal with your coin," Bera observed once Lim had gone back downstairs.

"Aye," Kanick replied. He didn't appreciate his apprentice's constant questioning, but then reconsidered, reminding himself that he was supposed to be teaching the boy. "We want the goodwill of this establishment if we are to base ourselves here."

"But, why master? And why not stay in the Enclave?"

Kanick sighed, his hand on the doorknob to his room. "Perhaps it's an old man's caution, but I fear this investigation." He looked Bera in the eye, wishing he could convey the uneasiness that he felt in his gut. "I think we are better served by having a base independent of any vested interests in this city. And that includes the Enclave."

The answer seemed to make Bera understand his concerns, though Kanick could tell the apprentice thought he was being overcautious. "Come," Kanick began, "let us store our things and take the lay of the land." He grinned, "I've still got some money left, and I wouldn't mind a drink."

"I still have that chapter in Manellan's Almanac," Bera replied.

Kanick remembered, vaguely, setting his apprentice that task before they had set sail. "Well, never mind that for now," he replied. "Ingratiating ourselves with the locals might be a more useful way to spend an evening."

The band had taken an interlude and were stood against the bar talking to the old innkeeper, leaving Lim to deal with the patrons. Kanick ordered two ales and then sat by the bar. "You're mages, ain't you?" Asked Lim as he handed over their drinks.

"Lim! Mind your own business!" The innkeep chided from the other end of the bar, interrupting her conversation with one of the band members.

"It's okay," Kanick said as Bera sat next to him. He turned to Lim. "That's right, but we're from Parras."

"What brings you out here?" He looked suddenly apprehensive and lowered his voice. "Is it about the mage?"

Bera looked startled, but Kanick just continued the conversation. "Which mage is that?"

"Dunno his name, Master, but he has - had – a cave in the cliffs." Lim was speaking hesitantly, weighing every word. "'Never met him meself, but some in the town would go to him for healing if they couldn't afford the doctor in the town."

"What happened to him?" Kanick asked, his heart drumming so fast it could have joined the band.

"Murdered, so they say." He whispered, and Kanick's heart sank. He had been preparing for the possibility since Areonis had sent him on this mission, but to hear it proclaimed confidently as common gossip forced him to confront it head on.

"Continue," instructed Bera, after a pause as Kanick drank a swig of ale. His throat was dry.

"Some local lad found him, cave all burned out." Lim chuckled and then swallowed, his eyes wide at Kanick's severe expression. "Begging you pardon, Masters, I didn't mean no disrespect. Poor lad had done his ankle in, was hoping to get healed, but had to limp all back to town."

"What do you think happened?" Bera asked.

"Well, dunno..." Lim trailed off.

"What do people say happened?" Kanick added his own question.

Poor Lim was glistening with sweat in the candlelight.

"Necromancy!" The innkeep interjected. "It was no murder," she declared, "Some horror he conjoured overpowered an' killed him."

Lim dissolved into the background, finding some glasses in urgent need of a wash.

Kanick furrowed his eyebrows. "Necromancy?" He wouldn't believe that.

"It's true." The voice came from one of the tables behind them. It was the merchant, the one with the family. Only he and his teenage son remained, tankards set before them. "My boy saw it," the merchant added, nodding at his son.

"What did you see?" Bera demanded, a little forcefully and the boy dropped his gaze.

"It would really help us to know what happened. We came from Parras to get to the bottom of this matter," Kanick added quickly, before the merchant could take offense at Bera's tone.

"Tell them," the Merchant instructed his son.

The boy stood up and looked from Bera, to Kanick and back to his father. "I was out in the cliffs, picking gull's eggs." His gaze moved to the mages. "Normally, I never go to the mage's cave – gulls avoid it too." He paused and then continued with his story. "I had just plucked an egg from the nest and thought I could hear barking from the cave."

"Barking?" Bera said.

"Yes, master, barking." The boy confirmed. "I went to have a look – you could see through the gaps in the door – and I saw the mage stood over a dog, the creature was snarling but frightened." His voice faltered. "He was holding a knife and brought it down on the dog's skull."

"Odd, but not necromancy." Bera commented.

"No," The innkeep agreed, nodding for the boy to continue.

"There was light from within the cave and the-the dog stood back up. It was going crazy, trying to escape, the poor thing." The boy continued. "It was dead, it's head smashed... That mage, he raised the dog from the dead."