Branson motioned for his two henchmen to follow him away from Oren, who was still as death on the cold ground. Oren could hear the men talking but wisely kept silent. The scruffy henchman Harlan hesitated, "Shouldn't we make sure he's dead?"

Branson tightened his coat to ward off the cold. "Sure, if you want but look around you. It's a snowy, frigid, winter's night. He has no horse. No one is around for miles. Where would he go? Let him suffer. He will be dead soon enough. Mount up.

"If you say so." Harlan said. "But if he does somehow survive, don't go complaining about it to me."

"What about the stuff he has on him? I'm going to search him." The other henchmen said.

"There is no time for that less you want to die out here in the cold too. The storm is picking up. Looks to me like a blizzard is coming." Branson reigned his horse, "Check him if you feel the need, but it's a long way to the nearest outpost and I plan to make it ahead of the storm." He rode off.

The henchman took a step toward Oren, grunted, and then mounted up on his horse. "Wait for me!" He shouted after the others and then he was gone.

The cold of the ground and the bite of the wind immediately penetrated Oren's clothing letting him know he was still out in the cold, wounded and vulnerable. He realized his hand was still wrapped around the Spell Node and the magic contained within still oozed out into his palm. He stopped the flow and tried to move. Whether it was the stiffness of the cold or the grievousness of his wounds, he moved very slowly and painfully to a sitting position. His magic had done its job and kept him alive this long, but no amount of magic in Oren's hands could heal him. He might be able to heal others but healing oneself takes the very energy you need to heal therefore it cancels out. His head was swimming, and his mouth and throat were parched. He reached onto the snow and took a handful to his mouth. It melted on touch and slowly moistened his throat, although it was not very thirst quenching. He collapsed onto the ground. The magic had preserved him but for how long. Nothing could survive out in the elements for long. All things must pass. Cain said they would be right behind him, but Cain was terrible at casting the simplest tracking spell. Still, he held out hope.

"There he is!" Cain said as he and Isiah rode up. "Oh, please don't let him be dead." Cain got off his horse and trudged through the snow to his friend. He turned Oren over. Oren winced in pain. "He's still with us, Isiah!"

Isiah was there behind Cain. "Should we transport him like this?"

Oren's thoughts wandered and he began to mumble, "Loril, I failed her. Cain, what did you do with her body? How are you here so fast?"

"Oh, you didn't know. I was fooled too. I thought maybe you were just playing it up. That woman on the bed wasn't Loril."

"But I saw her dead."

"No, you didn't. It was another girl who just had the same hair color. Loril wasn't even in the room."

"Who was that then?"

Isiah coughed, "I think I can answer that. She was with me."

Oren coughed up a bit of blood, "Wait, she looked just like Loril from behind. You went for the girl who looked like your sister? Isn't that rather…"

Cain snickered, "That's what I said."

"I suppose I should come clean, "Loril isn't really my sister, and she isn't any former lover or anything such, before you both go jumping to conclusions. I'm a Bounty Hunter. Loril agreed to lure Branson so I could nab him. I have been after that son of a bitch for near two years now. When I saw Loril with you and went into the Earth Node unexpectedly, she thought it might be a good idea to say I was her brother so you would let me into the node with you. She was afraid you would send me away."

"Smart, we would have." Cain said. He watched as Oren coughed up more blood. "We have to get him somewhere I can do some healing."

"No," Oren coughed, "you will end up doing more harm than good. I have seen you try to heal."

"I don't suppose you have any healing magic?" Cain asked Isiah. The stranger shook his head.

"I am not of your kind. I do have some intuitions but nothing so fanciful."

"Well, then it's up to me. See if you can find some shelter nearby. The storm is getting worse, and I am afraid we don't have time to get far after all."

"Where's Loril? You left her alone?" Oren wheezed.

"Don't worry about her. She is just fine. Branson thinks he got her and won't be going back there anytime soon."

"He's not the only one after someone like her, Cain." He tried to move but failed.

"Whoa, whoa, don't try to get up, dumbass. You have more holes in you than a slice of cheese."

Oren motioned for Cain to lean down so he could whisper in his ear, "I'll live long enough to make you regret calling me a dumbass."

Cain chuckled, "That's the spirit. Here let me try a small spell on you to get you stabilized and stop that coughing up blood."

After what seemed like an hour, the storm began to blow in full force. Oren drifted in and out of reality. Finding out Loril was alive felt like a dream and he wondered if Cain and Isiah were really there or not. Maybe he was imagining the whole thing as the elements took him.

"I found a cave in the cliffs yonder." Isiah said as he dismounted his horse. "Hurry, I'll help you get Knox loaded on the horse. The snow will be too deep to do much of anything if we don't get going."

****

Oren opened his eyes slowly to hear Cain gabbing as usual. "He should have not gone after Branson by himself. He should have waited for you to come to." Cain was saying. "He had no business riding after him."

"Well, he thought his Diabolist was killed in cold blood. I thought he was a great wizard and gunfighter. How do you think he was overpowered by a simple man and a couple of henchmen?"

"It is perplexing, he is a really powerful wizard. I suspect he was preserving his magic."

"It was an artifact," Oren said. "The bastard has ancient magical artifacts he can use to keep magic at bay."

"Knox! My spells worked?" He cleared his throat, "I mean, yes, my spells worked. You're still with us."

"Branson had a talisman I have not seen in a thousand years. The ancient wizards of old used them to control those who could use magic, often as a way to enslave them. It won't be easy to stop him, especially if he sees us coming."

"Are we going after him?" Cain said. "I thought now that you knew Loril was alive you would have different priorities."

"The bastard shot me and left me for dead!"

"Good point, but wouldn't you rather go back to finding Earth Nodes now?"

"Yes, as soon as I make Branson's eyeballs pop out of his ugly skull."

Isiah took a sip of hot coffee, "Are you sure you cast the right healing spells? He seems angrier than I remember."

"Do you think I could have some of that coffee?" Oren asked.

"Sure, Isiah?"

Isiah reached into his saddlebag and produced a tin cup. He took the pot off the fire and poured some. He handed it to Cain who in turn helped Knox take a sip.

"I think I did okay, Knox. I tried not to use too much of the magic you had stored."

Oren felt for the standing bear Spell Node and found it in his pocket. He checked the magic with a short, small spell and the magic was mostly there save for the amount he used the night before to save his life.

"If you're worried about your big Spell Node, I didn't use that one. I used the rock carving."

"Oh, good choice. Rock lets magic flow better than wood. It's easier."

"How do you feel?" Cain asked as Oren took the tin cup from him.

"I'm getting there. I'm not myself yet. Everything still hurts." He sipped the coffee.

"Good enough to travel?" Isiah asked.

"I think I will be." Oren said. "Is the snow from the blizzard deep?"

Isiah smirked, "It was a few days ago but the sun has melted quite a bit of it now."

"How long have I been out? Two days?"

"Three days." Cain said. "You have been out of it for three days."

"And you didn't leave?" Oren asked Isiah.

"No, no need. We already had provisions in the saddlebags to last few days. We could afford to wait for you to heal some."

"I'm grateful to you both. I just want you two to know this won't happen again. If I have to use every bit of magic in me, I will find a way to get around those artifacts and defeat that maniac." He took a sip of coffee. "But I suppose you are right, Cain, I do feel the need to get back to Loril. Let's go back and get her. This is her fight as much as it is ours. She should be with us." He took another sip.

"I'm glad to hear that." Loril said. She came from the entrance the cave giving Oren a start. "The boys told me you usually tell them not to get attached to Diabolists."

Cain smiled, "She arrived here yesterday. Seems her tracking spell works much better than mine." He went to pour himself another cup of coffee.

Oren tried to set up straighter, "I'm glad to see you." He hesitated a moment, "And I'm not attached!"