[Patricia16]

Prologue

The journey was long and hard; hours of walking through the barreling wind, the temperatures so cold it seemed to sear their bodies down to the bone. Through the layers of clothing and protective veils, granite grey eyes stared out towards the ocean in front of them. Silver hair was caught by the wind and ruffled as the unblinking eyes continued to search the sea, its gentle lapping waves the only sound in the morning day. A small flock of birds flew above, calling out to their fellows. The granite eyes did not blink as the shrill calls continues above her head.

Her horse whinnied softly, eager to continue onwards towards the grassy hills to feed. Burdened with sacks of supplies, the horse's small stature strained at the pull of the extra weight it carried, slick sweat dripping from its small snout. The lady absent-mindedly patted the horse's slick nose, still staring fixedly at the ocean in front of her. Slowly she started towards it, her steps hesitant at first. She soon broke into a run, and she quickly found herself knee deep in murky water. The sights that transfixed her eyes filled her heart with hope, and she swam towards it, panicking as it slowly vanished into the murky depths of the ocean. It left behind a feeling of disappointment and overwhelming grief and sadness in its wake, and the lady sank to her knees on the rocky beach, wet sand beneath her feet the only perception other than grief she was aware of.

Each full moon she traveled to the beach, looking upon the village she had once called home, trying to reach it, yet failing to traverse the waters before it disappeared back into the sea. This was her punishment for the sin she had committed so long ago. She had doomed her village out of love, and for that she had been exiled, condemned to travel here to see her home, yet never be able to reach it. The high herald Tenkai had seen to that, his cruel face twisted in a horrid grin as he told her the news, greedy eyes sparkling. She remembered the reason for her sin, the way she had betrayed them and in turn been punished. She remembered it very well...

Chapter 1

"Come on, Terra, hurry!" Rin called to her as she hurried in her tight black suit to follow him into the office. He had convinced her that the council had been corrupted, its highest heralds under control of their enemy, a country they had formerly been allies to until their soldiers and families that had settled in had been killed, with their bodies sent back in woolen sacks. The council thought it best not to react immediately, but to lead the enemy into thinking that they had run away in defeat, or was simply too afraid to do anything about it. As a herald in training at the Scholarium, Rin had discussed ethics and politics with his trainers and teachers, and knew that this was a ploy that would fail. Someone within the council had found a way to manipulate the other members, moving them into preordained places until the enemy was ready to strike. Rin determined that if they could find proof of the suspected council member's treason, they could rid their country of this betrayal before any more lives were lost.

Now, after changing into dark clothes and slipping silently through the damaged hallways that had been since abandoned, they crawled through the burnt air vent until reaching the office containing the files. Terra climbed out of the air duct first, keeping her small body close to the ground, crouched on the floor as she looked for any guards or people who could be around.

"All clear, Rin. Hurry up." she whispered quickly, the urgency in her voice evident.

Rin jumped out of the vent behind her, landing with a light thump on the floor behind her. He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, then quickly made his way to the desk and began shuffling through papers and stacks of files that were laid out on the desk.

Terra looked around nervously, her nerves jumping at any slight sound; even her own breathing. After he search through several more stacks of papers, Rin found what he was looking for, a big green leatherbound file that held the suspects transfer papers and other information. Rin flipped through the pages quickly, scanning each page before moving onto the next.

"I found it! Look Terra, here...it says that Tenkai was sent here from Hercon to 'persuade' the council in whatever way necessary to stop the war and continue the trade between the two countries, and to continue to regularly report back to his commander..."

Rin's voice trailed off as he realized the implications of what he had found. The Scholarium had voluntarily let Tenkai join the council, knowing that he was a spy from their warring country, knowing that he would attempt to corrupt them in any way possible. Terra stared at the paper, her mind reeling from the words written there. Suddenly the lights to the room flared on, and Terra and Rin gasped as Tenkai himself and his guards walked into the room. Rin dropped the file from numb fingers as Tenkai stepped forward and grabbed the boy by his collar, lifting him off the ground.

"Thought you could expose me, eh boy? Well, I shall kill two birds with one stone. You girl, will have the pleasure of watching your friend die..." Before Terra could move, the man motioned to one of his guards, and the guard raised his sword and ran it through Rin, his face expressionless. Terra screamed as Tenkai let the dying boy fall to the ground, his cry of pain mixing with Terra's scream. She rushed to his side, trying to hold his wound closed futilely. Rin coughed, blood streaming from his mouth as he tried to make out words.

"Get... out of here. The council... needs you... my friend." With that, his eyes glazed, and his blood-slicked head fell from her numb hands. She crouched motionless to her friends body as the guards pulled her away, and even as they beat her senseless, all she could think was - how could I have failed him?

Chapter 2

The Dean of the Scholarium found evidence that Tenkai had been involved in the murder of Rin, and soon had him put to trial. Although he had been found guilty of treason, murder, and several other counts, the man had already banished Terra, and she had long since left the Scholarium for unknown parts. She had lived as a nomad for years, doing whatever job she could at whatever small town she might happen to come upon, barely earning enough coins to live on. As each day passed, and her need to be home grew stronger, she found her thoughts returning to the past more and more. Although Tenkai had since been hanged for his crimes, someone else within the Scholarium had known, had hired the cruel man. Even after five years, the war with their neighboring village still went on, even though few remembered the cause of the war itself.

I will find out. That is the only way I will regain my right to walk the grounds of the Scholarium once more.

Terra walked away from the soggy beach with a new hope restored in her heart, her purpose finally clear. She would discover the traitor who had corrupted the high council, and she had a feeling that she knew where to start looking....

**********

Chapter 3

After two painstaking weeks of living out of her saddle and stopping only briefly to let her horse graze, the village gates loomed ominously ahead of her, the guards just visible at their posts in the distance. They wouldn't let her in, of course. She dismounted her horse for the first time in two weeks and tied her up to a nearby oak tree, whispering assurances to her before taking the rest of the trail by foot, a dirk strapped to her side the only thing brought with her. She walked loudly, making sure to kick up dust and rocks as she approached the guards, who had their pikes at the ready.

"I am here to see the elder, Huann. I have important news to discuss with him of about the High Council of the Scholarium. I must speak with him immediately,"
She announced in a loud voice. The guards spoke together briefly, their voices soft enough to carry, then turned their attention back to her.

"Do you have a passage card and appointment documentation?" The guard asked, his fellow's pike pointedly ready to proffer her from entering the village. Terra stiffened, realizing that security must have been raised greatly in this town because of its proximity to the Scholarium. She straightened up as best she could and took a deep breath before answering.

"I see no reason why I should need papers or documentation to speak with my own father." The guard's eyes widened at that, but quickly returned to a suspicious look.

"Do you have proof of that, Milady?" The guard spoke. Terra noticed his use of the word used to address nobility, "Milady", and smiled inwardly. Her bluff would work well after all. She took out her forged documentation and papers (thanks to a blind peddler and three copper coins) and passed them to the guard. He studied them briefly, then motioned for his partner to open the gates.

"I'm sorry for our interrogation, Milady. It was necessary for the safety of the town, you understand. The war between the Scholarium and the barbarians continue just to the North, and we wish no part in it."

The guard looked decidedly worried, and Terra took that opportunity for herself in stride. She bristled forward, hiking up her "borrowed" satin skirts.

"Then as an apology to me, you will take my weapon to the forge and have it sharpened and restored. This weapon was a gift to me from my father, mind you."

She handed over her weapon and the guard took it, bowing greatly. He appeared just as relieved as his companion, who mimicked the motion.

"Yes, of course, right away Milady." The guard's voice held high respect, as only women of high nobility and honor owned weapons, and a woman owning a dirk was almost unheard of. She nodded to the guards, and strode through the gates into the village. To her disbelief, the village had not changed much, other than a few towers and battlements added for protection, which was to be expected. The townsfolk who milled around her nodded in respect.

Satin skirts will get you every time, she thought to herself, smiling prettily at those who passed.

The elder should know about the situation between the Scholarium and the Barbarian country... perhaps he will give me enough information to learn where to search next.

Finally she reached the elder's tent, and carefully lifted the tent, hoping her 'noble' bluff would continue to work and the elder would not recognize her. From his oak-entwined chair, the elder looked up at her from his scroll and his eyes widened. He motioned for her to sit down, and offered her a glass of cold water.

"I'm sorry, Milady. I wasn't aware of any appointments today," the elder spoke quickly, with enough remorse and apology in his voice to fool any noble person. His power rested in the hands of several landlords and noble fellows of the court of whom he had recently gotten on the good side of with a new contract for trading, and he would do anything to keep the little power he had.

"I did not have the time to send a messenger to make an appointment, elder. I have just recently discovered some very disturbing news about the Scholarium... it seems that someone within the council wants to dissolve the trade route between this village and the Scholarium. The information I received indicates that they wish to develop trade with the barbarians..."

She let her voice trail off dramatically as she watched the information sink in. The elder's face went straight from bewilderment to determination and anger.

"How dare they! Stop our trade?!? Then this war has been a cover up, the whole time! I am going to go straight to the Scholarium, right now, and..."

Terra interrupted the infuriated elder before he could take action. If he finds out that I've been bluffing all this time... well, I'd rather not think about that.

"If I may say, wise elder, approaching the Scholarium directly might have serious repercussions. As I said, the information my spies retrieved was not enough to point out who in the council wants this trade with the barbarians... approaching them now might simply drive that person into hiding so that we may never find out who he is and stop him..."

She paused again for dramatics, setting her facial expression as if she was thinking… she had planned this well in advance and knew how to deal with the man at every corner so that he would do what she wanted. Seeing that he was not inclined to speak, she decided flattery was the best course, and inched forward in her seat as if a bright idea had just occurred.

"Elder, perhaps with your all-encompassing organization, you could provide spies to infiltrate the Scholarium as Council members or perhaps attendants to get more information on this man who tries to steal your great glory..."

Her flattery obviously won the case, because the elder's wizened and filthy face brightened at her words, and he stood up from his chair in a great rush.

"Exactly what I was thinking! I shall send in spies and stop their greedy plan… they will regret they ever tried to steal my glory... Milady, thank you for your help. I gather you will be staying in the village...?"

Terra smiled as he finished his sentence. Her ploy had worked, and now she had earned a spot in the man's meager respect, for whatever small worth it was. She nodded, and left him to his plans. She heard him eagerly talking to his employees as she left the tent. Well, at least he's sending in his spies. She continued walking down the dirt trail until she ran into a bored looking off-duty guard, and walked up to him daintily, a "noble ladies" smile plastered on her face.

"Excuse me, sir, could you guide me to open housing in this village? Elder Huann has granted me stay until further notice and has allowed me choice of housing."

She noticed the guard's surprised face as she mentioned her free choice of housing… obviously the elder was extremely greedy when it came to land. She waited, shifting her skirts. Finally the guard recovered himself, realizing that a "noble" woman had asked something of him, and he straightened up immediately.

"My apologies, Lady. Do you have any preferences?" Terra thought of the dirt-filthy elder and his scrabbling servants, how they mostly inhabited the northern most part of the village, and decided quickly on choosing a house on the south side.

"No preferences really, just some housing on the south side of the village." The guard nodded quickly and started down the southern trail, motioning for her to follow.

Chapter 4


Terra had been very pleased to find that the housing on the south side of the village were not made of the normal mud and straw mix that seemed to be so popular, but was actually made of some mixture of ground gravel and natural stone. The structure was amazingly spacious, and even held a round smooth stone bathing tub. Several small pipes ran from the tub to the water well so all she had to do would be to turn the nozzle and wait for the water to pump from the well.

How convenient. No more baths in a dirty stream with adolescent boys watching me from the bushes, giggling the whole time as if I had the parts of a bear instead of a woman.

She had used the bath several times since she came here, and on more than one occasion had let a guard use it in exchange for information on the state of the Scholarium and any other tidbit of inside information she could find. Terra threw herself onto her matted bed of cloth and feathers and closed her eyes.

This is so boring. No action, no killing. I haven't even been in the saddle for a week. A week!

She sighed heavily, wishing for all the world that she was back in the Scholarium. She missed the weapons classes she used to take with old Aldrick, the Vandermann who had taught her all she knew despite his blindness, and whose kindness in the body of man three times the thickness of a tree was well known. She missed passing notes during classes, snickering at the little jokes Rin always managed to come up with to make her laugh.

Rin... why did they do this to us? Why did you have to die? I'm all alone now...

Tears welled in her eyes as she felt the dreadful loneliness she had held so close to her heart overcome her again. Although the need to return to the island so close to the Scholarium had long since vanished, her sadness and grief for her lost friend hadn't.

And that is why I am here. I must find out who the traitor within the council is before he destroys us.

A knock on her door wrought out her grief, and she climbed up off the bed, straightening her clothes before opening the door. The elder himself stood at the door, several scrolls held under one smelly armpit, and an ink pen held in the other. He pushed himself into her house before explaining himself and sat down in her plush leather seat. Terra stared out the open door a moment, wondering why the filthy man had come to her himself in the midst of their security crisis, then carefully shut the door and sat down across from him as he rolled out the scrolls on the table.

"May I help you, Elder Huann?" Terra asked, trying to force concern into her voice. The Elder looked up a moment before continuing to unroll his scrolls. He took out a small bottle of ink and dipped in his pen, then wrote something on a scroll that she couldn't make out.

"Here. Look at this," he said, pushing the scroll over to her. On it were a map of the Scholarium and a miniturized sketch of a man she was unfamiliar with, along with some writing in one corner. She studied the map, noting the different hallways that she had never seen before, and noticed that some of them had circles on around them. In the corner someone had written a few words:

"He walks down this hallway." It pointed to one circled hallway that led from the council room to the main Meeting room. "Then switches course down this hallway." Another smaller walkway is circled in the black ink pen. "A secret passageway that leads from the main meeting room to the queens chamber room. There, he stays and looks into the chamber for about an hour albeit the fact that the queen is not there, then heads down a further passage to the healers
room. There, he picks up a bottle of some sort of medicine and heads back to the council room in time for the next meeting."

Terra frowned at this. Who would want to spy on the queen? The queen herself did stay at the Scholarium many times, but her chamber room and personal bedrooms were hardly ever occupied, as she spent most of her waking and non-waking hours in meeting with the council. If this man were allied with the enemy, wouldn't he try to take the queen in her bedchamber? Or during the time between her meetings with the council when she would most likely be the least guarded? Her thoughts wandered back to the day that Rin had died...

**********

Chapter 5


"Hey Rin, how come you're acting so weird today? You look like you're... I don't know, nervous, like someone's out to get you." Terra frowned at him in concern as she watched him eat his usual meal of spiced meat, rice, and his usual dessert of shortcake. He stopped eating and looked up at her, his face still holding the nervous quell she'd seen all day. She had beaten him twice during dirk practice today, and as they walked from class to class together, he insisted on using
different walkways and hallways. He claimed that he wanted to see which way to his classes took the shortest time, but every little noise and voice seemed to set him on edge.

"Nothing's wrong. Just got the jitters, I guess. Looks like Nevo's been putting too much sugar in the shortcakes again." He tried to give her a teasing smile, but failed miserably. He hunched down again and resumed eating, his face growing even more taut with nervousness.

"Come on, Rin, I know you... something's wrong and you're going to tell me what it is right now." Terra stared at him, her grey eyes penetrated his even as he continued to eat. After a few minutes, his stiffened shoulders finally sagged and he lifted his head from his food.

"Someone's been following me, Terra." He looked around nervously as he said this, his eyes practically bugging out from his sockets as he looked for some armed assassin to jump out from under the table. Terra stiffened visibly, the concern on her face growing more vivid.

"What do you mean, following you? A teacher's been following you?" Rin sat quietly, and began eating again, dutifully stuffing another spoonful of rice into his mouth. He ignored her penetrating stare, and finally she grew sick of the silence.

"Rin, tell me! Who is it? Do you know why they're following you?"

Finally he looked up again from his food.

"Tenkai. He's been following me ever since I found out-" Rin stopped as he spotted Tenkai himself entering the dining hall, and he quickly stood up from the table and dropped off his plate in the kitchen, leaving before she could say another word.

That had been only a few hours before she and Rin had infiltrated the storage office, the night of Rin's death. Finally Terra noticed that the elder was staring at her suspiciously, and she shook herself out of her reverie.

"Elder, who is this person who is sneaking to the Queens Chamber rooms? Is he in the council?" The elder shuffled through his scrolls for a moment, and after reading one scroll, answered.

"No. It seems that he is one of the council member's chief advisors... Council member Rionin O'Malin, it seems. He is the Elder of the village Hefton, located right here. He pointed to a village just near the border to the barbarian country.

"He owns some of the barbarian land that was occupied by our own citizens, and has some power over influence in the council because of his village's peace with the barbarians thus far."

"It seems we may have found our traitor..." Terra said quietly, but the elder interrupted her thoughts and mood with another ruffling of papers.

"My spy also found out that he is the most trusted member on the council, and is widely known. Although his advisor cannot be dismissed outright, I do not believe that he is involved. Our problem is..." He paused for a moment, apparently collecting his thoughts. Terra took her cue and continued for him.

"We must figure out what his purpose and goal is. We know that Rionin's advisor is sneaking into the Queen's Chamber room; we know that Rionin has held peace with the barbarians... we know that someone within the council is a traitor who works for the barbarians... but how do these connect? We have a suspect with no motive whose actions, although suspicious, do no apparent harm and has no goal."

She sat silently for a moment, thinking on the information she had just gathered. She had only the outline of the puzzle, and already she felt as if she was missing something. How were all these events connected? Tenkai had been a traitor; but he was dead, and the files containing his information had long been burned to ashes. The advisor to a council member whose village held peace with the barbarians had been spotted sneaking into the Queen's chamber room with no apparent purpose...

I've got a 700 piece puzzle with 3 pieces to start out with...

"I thank you for your information elder, but I fear I must think on it before taking action or coming to any conclusions. Would you leave these with me? Perhaps with a bit more studying I can begin to fit the pieces of this puzzle together..." Terra trailed off and yawned loudly, her eyes already droppy with sleep. The elder took his cue and stood up, boring slightly.

"Of course milady. I will meet you tomorrow to see if you have had any revelations..." She smiled as she caught what he muttered under his breath as he left.

"This barbarian traitor will have no part in my money..."

Chapter 6

"Terra, Tenkai's been up to something lately... Something dirty.." Rin's face twisted into a look of contempt. Ever since the day that Rin had made up a petition to have Tenkai demoted to a lower seat in the council, the man had almost literally been at the boy's throat. Tenkai had been using his power in the council to gain more power for himself, and seeing that, Rin decided to take action. Tenkai had been demoted and lost a thousand acres of his land. Terra looked at Rin in
concern, hoping he wasn't trying to get them into more trouble.

"Look, Rin, I know Tenkai has been mad at you ever since you got him demoted, but-" Terra was cut off as Rin turned to her, furious. He slammed his arm into his oil lamp, sending it crashing to the floor, where the glass broke into pieces.

"Don't you get it?! He's using the council to gain more power, just as he has all along.. but now he's endangering everyone in the process! He's been feeding the barbarian horde information about our country's military forces and cities for months! I'm not lying about this, Terra! We have to expose him before he brings down the whole horde on us!" Rin stopped talking, catching his breath, and finally he calmed down, and slumped into his chair. Terra stared at him, speechless. It was the first time she had ever seen Rin mad, much less have him yell at her.

"Look, I'm sorry Terra, but it's the truth. I was going to see Tenkai to apologize to him for having him demoted just like you asked me to when I saw him giving a message to a page to give to the barbarian leader. I've been spying on him ever since. I need you help, Terra. What do you say? Will you do it?" Rin stared at her, his blue eyes begging her to say yes, the need and anxious look in his face finally replacing his anger and nervousness. Terra sat quietly, thinking upon what she would do. Finally, she nodded. Against her own better judgement, she would help him. She couldn't let a friend down.

"I'll help you, Rin. Just tell me what to do, and I'll follow."

Chapter 7

Terra woke up the next morning in a sweat, and realized that she had all three covers pulled tightly over herself, with the windows closed, the heat from the spring weather almost smothering her in its humidity. She stood up and stretched, yawning, and felt the familiar touch of a headache approaching. She had a lot of thinking to do, and had hardly had the time to do it all last night.

Sneaking in the Queen's Chamber room... what could he want in there? And what is that medicine that he picks up everyday? How is it connected?

She pushed the aching thoughts out of her mind and sat down at the hard wooden table where her breakfast had already been laid out upon. Another bright spot to living in this village. Food was brought to everyone in the morning and evening by servants and handmaidens. Half way through her porridge and oatmeal, a knock sounded on her door. The shuffling of papers and muffled curse seeped through the doorway, and Terra sighed at the thought of another hour with the greedy elder.

Oh, great... Huan again. Maybe he'll go away if I pretend to be asleep. The pounding at the door increased in quantity and noise, and she sighed as she got up from the table, pushing away her now cold meal.

"Milady, I have more information from my spies! We have found out exactly what the medicine is that the advisor picks up everyday.. and I also took the liberty of gathering more information on the other council members as well!"

Does he have to scream? Oh yes. The door is closed. Terra trudged to the door and opened it, wincing as the elder's foul odor drifted to her nose.

"Thank you elder Huann. Would you please come in?" Terra smiled politely and moved away so the elder could come in. He smiled back and walked in, shuffling the scrolls in his grimy paws the whole way.

Would you please leave? Terra smiled at her own unspoken thought as she sat down across from the elder, and pushed the scrolls from the other night's meeting away to make space for the new ones. He unrolled his scrolls once more and laid them out on the table, taking out his rudimentary ink pen
and vile.

"It seems that the medicine the advisor receives each day is called Lacritine." The elder continued shuffling through his scrolls as he spoke, marking some pages with his pen. Terra looked at him for a moment, confused. Lacritine? She had never heard of it.

"What's Lacritine? What is it used for?" Terra asked, confused. What could the man be using it for? Was it related to his master's traitorous deeds?

"It is a kind of poison, I'm afraid. A slow working elemental chemical. A few drops in a drink every day for a week, and the person will be doomed to death within a month. It causes no side effects.. the person passes away peacefully so the real purpose for their death cannot be found out."

Terra stared at the table for a moment, thinking of the poison, and the fact that the advisor had been sneaking into the queen's room for the past week... Her eyes bugged out as her brain made the connection, and she stood up quickly from her seat, startling the elder half to death in the process.

"He's poisoning the queen! The last thing he'd need to do before consolidating his power and his pact with the barbarians... is to kill the queen, the only source of monarch power. Without her reigning, the council would have complete control, and he could make his last move towards over taking it. Elder, you have to get me to the Scholarium at once!"

Terra didn't wait for an answer before she started packing her things. She gathered them all into her little brown backpack as the startled elder still sat at the table. Finally he gathered his wits and stood, crossing the room to her.

"Well, I am pretty sure I can do that... but it will have to wait for tomorrow. I'll come tomorrow morning with a disguise and passage papers. Until then, Milady." The elder bowed and gathered his scrolls, then smiled and left quickly, already barking orders to his guards outside.

Rin, I will not fail you... your death will yet be avenged...

Chapter 8

Morning came quicker than Terra had expected, and she soon found herself trudging sleepily to the oaken table where her breakfast had already been laid out. Her usual meal of porridge and oatmeal still steamed, the inviting odors drifting towards her senses. She ate quickly, and had time to prepare herself before the elder arrived. She slipped on her riding tunic and began brushing her hair just as the elder began knocking on the door, accompanied by the usual amount of shuffling noises and muffled curses.

"Come in, Elder Huann."

She smiled politely as the elder walked in, almost tripping over the unusually long hem of his riding robe and emitting another string of muffled curses. She covered her mouth before she could laugh, and pretended to cough.

Huann finally collected himself and sat down at her table in his usual spot, spreading out his scrolls on the table.

"I have arranged for a carriage with the fastest stallions to be found to take you to the Scholarium within the hour. You will have ten armed escorts to support you and they will follow your every command." The elder smiled, obviously pleased with himself.

Ten armed men to follow me command? Perhaps this will work after... They will be my protection in case the traitor retaliates when I finally expose him. Of course, I still have some work to do on that matter...

"Elder, have you any new information I should know on the other council members? Are we absolutely sure that he is the only one plotting with the barbarians to take power over the council?" The elder immediately began shuffling through his scrolls, so Terra sat back and drifted into deep thoughts about the matter at hand.

And was he the one who hired Tenkai to do all his dirty work? Or are there more mercenaries that he has hired of which we have not discovered...?

"There is no doubt about it. We have found that he had been hiring mercenaries and assassins for years now to do his jobs… killings, theft of documents, spying on the queen, and several men are posted in towns to scare the villagers into believing in his power and that the Scholarium is too weak to protect them against the barbarians. Now please, Milady. The carriage is here. Soon we will stop all this atrocity."

Terra picked up her small backpack and headed for the door, almost bursting into laughter as she heard the elder muttering under his breath once again.

"Soon I'll get all my money back..."

The elder stared at her as if she was mad as she burst out into peals of laughter, clutching her stomach as she boarded the carriage.

Chapter 9


During the bumpy ride to the Scholarium, Terra studied the scrolls that the elder had supplied her with. They held the names and information about each of the separate councilors, and one held all the information the elder's spies had learned about Rionin O'Malan's operation. At her suggestion, the elder had instructed his spies to learn all they could about the other council members. If it turned out that more than one councilor was a traitor and she didn't find that person, she would end up either killed or in some prison cell, and her land would fall to the barbarians. She studied the one about the councilors first:

Sharin O'Ghalis
Age: 36
Sex: Female


Elder of the village Karmenea; because of the village's small size and its location on the southwestern border, she holds very little power. She was brought up as a farmer with little education and voted to power as an elder because of her participation in the war of the droughts. There is no suspicion of her being in league with Rionin... there is no possibility she could be a traitor to the Queen.

Marcus O'Beron
Age: 42
Sex: Male

Elder of the port city Jenkon; has much power because of trade, and influence over the council from his background inheritance. He is the heir to 500 acres of land in the western Wearon River region, and was brought up in a rich manor. He is not suspected, but is to look out for because of his pompous mouth and greedy manner.

Orian O'Lochlenn

Elder of the village Yaraies, which houses the healer's school of Mrack. He keeps mostly to himself and does not try to use his power to influence the council. He is not suspected as being in league with Rionin O'Malan, and could be trusted if advice was needed.

Kera O'Nirse

Elder of the village Saleia. Has much influence over the council, but is an ally to Elder Huann and has been informed of the traitor within the council. She has already taken subtle steps in dampening Rionin O'Malan's power within the council. Seek her out if you need further information.

Finally, a good guy. Girl, I mean. Hmm... that Marcus guy, I'll have to look out for him. Anyone who comes from a farmer or poor background knows that the rich never have enough. I'm sure he is...

Her thought was interrupted as the carriage suddenly jerked to a stop, and rocked from one side to the other. Terra held onto the wall for dear life until the rocking stopped, then tentatively stood up from her seat, forgetting all about the scrolls now scattered about the floor of the carriage.

"Driver?" she asked, her heart beating loudly in the silence. She heard the scrape of shoe against rock, then watched in terror as someone began to try and pry open the door to where she sat. She scrambled against the other door out of the carriage, fumbling with her hands to try and open the door. Suddenly, light filled her vision as the stranger opened the door at last. What she saw left her mouth wide open and gaping.

Chapter 10


Terra stared at Rin with wide eyes, his face mirroring her own gaping expression. Finally the moment of surprise and confusion ended, and Rin climbed over the seat towards her, a wide grin forming on his face. She hugged him automatically, not even questioning the fact that Rin had supposedly died years ago. They held each other tight; neither wanted to let go in fear that the other would disappear, until Terra finally pulled away, careful to keep a hold of the hem of his simple tunic.

"Rin? H-how? Y-your alive?" Terra managed to stutter out in her confusion. She studied him carefully as he sorted out his answer, observing his leather tunic and brown breeches, his clean cut hair and shaven face.

"Terra, gods Terra! I've been searching for you for so long... after I broke out of the dungeon... Tenkai had me thrown in the dungeon, that's where I woke up after he stabbed me; I heard that you had been banished, so I went after you. But I kept getting to the villages right after you'd left to go observe the Scholarium. I heard that a young lady was investigating a traitor within the Scholarium at the last village from the elder Huann and hoped it would be you, so I followed you."

Rin stopped speaking for a moment, realizing that Terra was probably utterly confused and didn't know whether to believe him or think she was going insane.

"Terra, I'm not dead. I... I should be, but I woke up in a cell in the dungeon, safe and sound. I broke out during the trial when all of the guards were on duty for your trial. Gods, Terra, I'm so sorry... I should have planned it more carefully, waited until I had more information about Tenkai and his employer..."

Terra stopped him then, grabbing his arm and shaking her head. She spoke softly, from her heart then for the first time in a long while.

"Its ok, Rin. I dont need explanations. You're alive and well, that's all that matters. And we're together again, friends forever, right?"

She stuck out her hand in their ritual friendship pact, and he accepted it gratefully, squeezing it gently.

"Friends forever." He smiled as they hugged again, not even realizing that the drivers of the carriage had finally removed themselves from the wreckage of the front drivers seat and were now staring at them dumbfoundedly.

Finally, Terra broke the trance, looking into Rin's eyes thoughtfully. Finally, she asked him a question that had bugging her for a while now.

"Tell me Rin, after talking with the elder, how in the worlds did you get rid of his stench?" Her face was serious, but her sparkling eyes told her humor, and they both burst out into laughter, tears streaming down their faces from a mixture of humor and happiness.

Chapter 11


"...so he took me in and helped me earn enough money to keep searching for you. Now I send whatever extra money I can get back to him as a payment towards the debt I owe him. After this is all over... well, we'll talk about that later."

Rin sat comfortably now in an oversized seat inside the cafe, drinking the house specialty of goats' milk and vanilla. Terra sipped her cold water with glee, enjoying the fact that Rin's face contorted in pain after every sip he took from the rank drink. She'd bet that he wouldn't drink it, and as usual, he'd taken the bet for fear of being called a chicken.

"That was very kind of him... I'll have to thank him personally some day.. Well, back to business. I've been working for some time with the Elder Huann and his... associates, and I've found some very interesting things."

She took the bag of scrolls from the floor and scooted it across the table, and Rin began to shuffle through it, much like the way the elder would oh-so-disgustingly do. Terra lowered her voice before continuing, looking around the room at the few other customers suspiciously.

"Have you ever heard of Rionin O'Malan? He is the elder of a very powerful village on the border of the barbarian country. His village has had a treaty with the barbarians for some time, and he has begun to work in league with the leader of the barbarians. He has been trading with them and raising his own personal army for some time. He is trying to take over our land, Rin. Herald by Herald, council member by council member. He weakens the Queen's resolve by murdering heralds and maintains his charade with the council while slowly taking them over. And his chief advisor has been poisoning the queen, slowly but surely. We must do something, Rin! I will not let those barbarian beasts take over this country. We are the only ones that can help now.. that's why I was headed towards the Scholarium."

Rin slowly put down his now empty cup, and nodded solemnly. He sat for a moment, both hands around his clay mug, nodding thoughtfully.

"Tenkai... he was hired by O'Malan, right? Who else does he have working for him? How many people will we have to track down?"

"Yes... we already have some clues and insight on that, and there is a council member at the Scholarium ready to help us in any way she can.."

That caught Rin's attention, and his hands jerked away from the mug, his face registering his surprise.

"Are you sure you can trust her?" Terra smiled. Always like Rin to be so cautious and cool about everyone. She nodded, and laughed.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be able to trust my own mother?"

Chapter 12

"So... how come I never knew that your mother is a member of the council? Did this happen recently, or..." Rin trailed off and his face registered a look of vague annoyance and amusement. Rin had always had a habit of having the most impossible expressions on his face at the weirdest times. Terra smiled sheepishly.

"... Or did I just never tell you out of embarrassment or the need of secrecy? No. She was just elected to the council about a year ago. She'd been working her way up in politics for a while before I... left. She's always been very disappointed with our foreign ambassadors and distribution of wealth."

Terra smiled and put her arm around Rin, pulling him towards her in an awkward hug. His expression of careful calmness and calculation finally broke into her usual free-spirited grin, and he hugged back.

"Well, at least we know someone on the council that won't be quick to put a knife to our throat."

His tone had been half of amusement and half-truth, and they both laughed uneasily. The "joke" had let them release some of their tension, but the fact that unnerved both of them was that it was probably and at least half true. Even the council members that were not likely to be on O'Malan's side were almost as likely to kidnap and auction them off for money if they felt like it. Terra finally spoke up to break the unusual silence, issuing a nervous cough to catch his attention.

"So...the guards that Elder Huann sent with me are to impersonate as security guards at the Scholarium in case we get ourselves in 'trouble' while trying to determine O'Malan's followers. I'll be heading in as a chambermaid so that I may visit each council members' chamber, and you'll be quartered with the stable hands. No one will be paying any particular attention to you because of your 'status', so you'll be able to slip in and out of places very easily, if you get my drift."

Rin grinned at this, knowing full well what she meant. He would have access to every hall of the Scholarium, each of which he already knew like the back of his hand, and would of course look for any and all information he could find. Then Rin's thoughts slipped back to the more dangerous aspects of the mission they were about to embark on.

"Do you have proper disguises? We can't just walk in wearing our clothes and claim to be servants there, you know." Terra's face took on an expression of an innocent person accused of a crime.

"Well, of course. Elder Huann is prepared for anything. Despite his stench in greed, the man does seem to have some intelligence, at least. He has several back-up plans for us in case we fail, so don't worry about it. What can possibly go wrong?"

Rin groaned at her last question, and a thousand answers popped into his head all at once. Terra had probably already thought of them, but a lecture seemed to be proper right about now...

"Well, we could be found out while working as servants and killed, we could get killed trying to get in, they could find the guards with us and trap us in there, they could discover us and torture us, they could-" Rin stopped as he noticed Terra's flat disapproving stare. He shrank back from her, not believing that her normal "happy-go-lucky" attitude had suddenly disappeared.

"What?" Rin asked innocently. Terra's only response was to get up and leave the room, only calling something out over her shoulder in an unemotional voice.

"Get ready. We leave at dawn."

Chapter 13

After six long hours in the saddle of his dirty and smelly beast, Spiriger, Rin finally worked up the courage to catch up to Terra, who had been leading the group despite the head-guardsmen's protests. She had led them at a furiously fast pace that had taken them within scant few miles of the Scholarium, and now several small battlements could be seen at a distance. Finally Rin caught up and was galloping beside Terra's horse, who looked as equally exhausted as Rin felt.

"Terra, don't you think we should stop? The Scholarium never had battlements when we went here... they might be O'Malan's forces! Let's take the eastern trail so they won't see us!"

Terra kept up her mad pace, but nodded, confirming that she had heard Rin's screams over the sound of the wind rushing past their faces. She pointed towards the first battlement, placed just behind a ridge so that a casual traveler wouldn't realize it was there until they were already within archer range. Several of the more experienced guards had seen it a while back and warned her about it.

"We're going to ride out another mile and stop, then make camp. The guardsmen will stay at the camp, but we will not. We're going to sneak into the outpost at night when the guards will most likely be most occupied watching our guards and see if we can dig up anything useful on O'Malan."

Terra said it calmly and slowly, implying that she had thought much over the matter and that her mind wouldn't be changed on it. Rin grinned at her, thinking of the pleasures of sneaking around an enemy base. Just like back in my old thieving days. But...

"Won't they be suspicoius? If they see us with the guards now and realize we're not with them at camp, they'll come searching for us."

Terra grinned back at him, no signs of uncertainty on her face. She pointed towards a man in the back of the lines, whose horse carried two rather human shaped sacks of hay.

"That's what those are for. They'll put up a main tent, with a small fire grove inside. These dummies will be put inside, sitting in chairs, with two guards outside and flanking it. They'll think that they are guarding us inside the main tent. That's our cue to leave. Now give the signal to slow down. We don't have much more time before we make camp."

Rin smiled at Terra's ingenuity. She had changed much since the last time he had seen her, but the changes were well brought about, and made her much more of a woman then he could ever possibly know. Her plan was well thought out, and the information they might be able to gather could prove to be just enough evidence to prove O'Malan's treason without ever having to enter the Scholarium. He signaled to the men, and they slowed down to a trot, while the guard in the back covered the hay bags with a potato sack. They were a half-day's ride from the outpost, and could be clearly seen from there. They traveled to a distance where the amount of guards could just be seen when Terra motioned for them to stop.

"We'll make camp here. I want you guards to set up camp while Rin and I stake out the wood areas so we'll be ready for tonight. Since someone is sure to be sent to spy on us, talk loudly about how we have 'gone to get firewood', and that a few men have come down with hay fever. We want them to think we are regular travelers bringing ill guards for healing to the Healer's House of Toraia. Understood?"

All the guards muttered their approval, then set off into the hasty motions of unloading pack-horses and setting up camp. Terra caught Rin by the arm in the midst of his grin, and started off towards the woods, picking up various bits of wood and sticks to keep up the charade as she went along. She still had him by the arm and Rin didn't realize where she was leading him until they were already near the stream, under the oak tree in a secluded area.

"Well, now that we're finally alone.." Rin grinned, then was caught up in their first kiss in a long time, and wished that it would never end.

Chapter 14


Rin and Terra, clad in black suits similar to the ones they had used so long ago in the Scholarium, sneaked out to the edge of their own camp, careful not to wake up any of their men and spoil the illusion. Terra looked back at Rin, who smiled and put a finger to his mouth, meaning to quiet her before she burst out laughing at the sight of the 'drunken' men lying piled almost on top of each other. Rin led the way, taking the path they had discovered earlier that led through dense trees and underbrush just around the clearing of the camp, and through a small valley that would take them just to the edge of the first battlement outpost.

Do you think they'll go for the trick?" Terra whispered, looking around suspiciously at the plant growths around them. Rin laughed quietly, looking through the trees in the direction of their camp. Faintly, he could see the small fires the men had left burning, and in the distance, several torches heading up the main hill towards the camp.

"They are... they're headed for the camp now." Without explaining further, Rin grabbed her hand and lead her down a small cliff into the valley. Small boulders and shrubs crowded the small ravine, with bits and pieces of tattered grass growing in patches strewn over the ground in various places. Rin scanned the top of the cliff nervously as they walked quickly through, anxious to get back under cover and not be such an easy moving target. Soon the battlement came into view, a small steel-enforced shack up on enforced columns, each with wholes for archers on each side, lined with tipped metal spikes. The only small opening to the shack obviously was usually guarded by two entrance guards, judging by the mugs of ale left behind. The whole of the battlement was deserted, so Rin and Terra carefully crept forward.

"Kind of paranoid, don't you think? All the spikes and stuff. Not much of a battlement anyhow." Terra whispered, still searching the perimeter around the battlement for hidden guards or dugouts. Rin looked at her for a moment, then turned back to study the battlement.

"Not in size at least. But steel enforced... that cost 'em alot of money. Like their guarding against little monsters instead of men..."

Rin trailed off suddenly, staring at the sight ahead of him. He grabbed Terra's arm and pulled her back to him, and gulped loudly.

"What, Rin? What do you mean..." Terra followed Rin's lead and gulped in fear as she stared bug-eyed at the creature watching them coldly from just a few feet away.
It was a green scaly reptile, just four feet in length, two feet in width, with red glowing eyes and a mouth full of sharp little teeth staring at them.

"Um... lizards aren't supposed to be that big, right Terra?" Rin's voice quivered in fear, and Terra pulled away from Rin's grasp slowly. She looked nervously at the creature, but spoke steadily.

"On the count of three... you're going to run into the battlement, and I'm going to throw that ale in its face and run in and shut the door and hope it doesn't have claws, ok?"

She tried to look confident, but failed completely, grabbing hold of his hand and squeezing it quickly. Rin nodded, afraid that the thing would jump if he made another sound. As it was, the monster was sniffing the air suspiciously, inching it's way towards them and showing another full set of teeth behind the first as it moved. Terra and Rin backed away slowly, centimeter by centimeter until they were only a couple of feet in front of the entrance.

"Three!" Terra shouted, and Rin darted to the door, Terra following just behind. The monster leaped towards them, opening its mouth even further, showing another set of sharper teeth and a long pink tongue right behind it, lashing out to try and grab Terra. She grabbed the mug and threw it at him, then ran in and slammed the door behind her just in time to hear the monster screech in agony and thump into the door. She latched and stood still, listening for sounds, staring at Rin, eyes wide. After a painstaking five minutes, they heard the injured beast stagger off into the woods, and they both relaxed, falling into each other's arms.

"I don't ever want to do that again." Terra said, breathing heavily. Rin stared at her for a moment, halfway between laughing and crying.

"Me neither." They both stared at each other in silence for a moment, then burst out into laughter.

"Come on, let's find out what's in here. We better not have come up here for nothing." Terra said, spying a low wooden table in the far corner of the room. She headed over to it, shuffling through the papers strewn on the floor.

Just as she passed him the scroll, she felt pain briefly, then the world went black.

Chapter 15

As Rin slowly regained awareness, the first thing he felt was his aching neck, strained against the chains holding him to the wall and bruised and bloodied from whatever brute had smashed him. He groaned as his eyes finally cleared, showing him his drab prison cell surroundings. A rat skittered by him, sniffing his foot briefly before dismissing him for better smelling food and rushing under the bars to safety.

Terra... where's Terra? They must have got her too… she couldn't have gotten away with that wolf thing running around. Where is she???

Rin was just about to begin shouting when the rusted sound of a lock turning came and the door swung open heavily, letting a man dressed in royal robes slip through, two bulging bodygaurds right behind him. The man kneeled down in front of Rin and smiled, showing a set of perfectly white teeth, many with golden caps. The man slapped his face, and spit on him, laughing heartily to himself.

"Wretched scum... street trash, not even worthy of this cell... or my time. So this is one of the ones who were conspiring against me? How pitiful."

He turned to his men, who joined in on his laughter. He got to his feet and wiped the miniscule dust off of his robe with disdain and turned to leave, but stopped just before he was out of Rin's cell.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't die yet. I want you to see your friend tortured first......"

His laughter was drowned in Rin's protests and screams as the door clanged shut behind him.

Chapter 16


A bucket of cold water was thrown in his face, jerking him from sleep with a shock. An old withered guard stood there, his scarred face horrific-looking as he grinned down at Rin maliciously. He pointed to the water still glistening on the ground, and growled in a loud voice, "There's your water for the day, piglet." He laughed deeply before tossing the steel bucket on the ground outside the cell and slamming the door shut behind him.

Terra, where ever you are, I hope they're treating you better than their treating me... but don't worry... I'll find you. Even if it kills me...

Suddenly the door flew open again, the grinding sound jerking Rin out of his thoughts. O'Malan strode in, flanked by his two bodyguards, dressed again in a new set of royal robes. He looked down on Rin disdainfully and motioned to the guards standing just outside the cell. They came in and lifted Rin to his feet painfully before he could protest and started dragging him down a corridor, O'Malan pompously walking behind them.

Where are they taking me... to see Terra...? Perhaps we will find a chance to escape... I hope...

Rin stared helplessly at the endless rows of cells and the dirty people held within them. Most were elder men and less than beautiful young women, all huddled together on the bits and pieces of strewn hay. The absence of food tray or water in each cell sent cold shudders down Rin's spine as he realized what kind of a monster O'Malan really was.

So the beast finally shows its true face... how could he do this to innocent people? Old men and young women, most only just above fourteen... I'm sure their only 'crime' was living, or perhaps stepping on a guard's shoe.

As they neared the door at the furthest end of the hallway, Rin's thoughts turned back to Terra. She'd better be all right... I'm sure she's fine... besides, I'm always here to save her. Of course, I have to save myself first. Bright Gods, how could O'Malan have all of this in the Scholarium without anyone knowing about it? He has prisoners! And a torture chamber, unfortunately for me, I'm sure.
The familiar heavy black iron door swung open with protest, revealing ghastly displays of several torture devices and mechanisms, many of them already occupied with still bleeding prisoners, their screams and cries unheeded. Rin almost gagged as his brain automatically supplied him with the identification of the various bits and pieces of body parts and blood strewn on the ground. They led him towards the furthest wall, strapping him against a wooden slab and cuffing and chaining him into place. They cranked it into a vertical standing position, leaving Rin's toes several inches above the ground. O'Malan stepped forward, motioning his guards to stay back and cuffed him hard on the face. Rin's mind reeled at the force of the impact, and he could imagine stars traveling in circles above his head for a moment before his vision cleared. O'Malan stood in front of him, grinning in his usual cockiness that Rin had already grown accustomed to.

"You like that eh, piglet? Well, you shall see more of it soon enough. Bring in the other prisoner." O'Malan said, commanding it to the guards that still stood in the room. Another smaller door opened on the opposite side of the room, and two guards, female, Rin noticed with surprise, led a drowsy Terra into the room, her light body sagging with each step. Rin's brain wanted him to cry out to her, to ask her if she was alright, but screaming at her while strapped to a torture table wasn't going to help them. As the female guards hauled her to her feet, Rin noticed the surprise in her eyes as she finally focused on him. He saw the same look that must have passed his face pass hers as she too decided not to scream. O'Malan motioned the female guards to bring her over, than looked expectantly between Terra and Rin.

"What, you're not going to talk to each other? Aw, too bad... well, actually... I couldn't care less." He laughed heartily, and the guards took their cue and joined in.

"Oh well... I'm afraid its time for you scums to die... so tell me, which do you prefer, the rack or hot oil? Or perhaps a burning rod through the stomach will do..."

Rin didn't answer, only stared hard back at O'Malans vicious face. He's not going to get away with this... I swear on whatever honor I might have left...

"Its too bad O'Malan... no matter what you do to us, you'll never win… you treachery will be found and you'll be hanged for your crimes..." Terra said, her voice wavering from exhaustion, yet bold and challenging. O'Malan looked at her sharply, then grinned faintly. He walked over to her and cupped his hand under her chin.

"And why do you say that, my dear?" he asked, his voice for once, gentle. She grinned weakly, and gestured towards the door.

"Because those guards that brought me in have been planning to assassinate you for months." Terra said, and kneed him in the groin as he turned to look at his would-be assassins. The female guards grabbed his arms and pinned him against a wall, knotting a piece of cloth around his face before he could yell for help. Terra slipped out of her unlocked chains and ran to Rin, pulling a silver key from her pocket.

"Terra, you... they... how'd you do that?" Rin sputtered out in his astonishment.
Terra unlocked his chains and pulled him forward off the table. She grinned at Rin's dumbfounded face. She motioned to the female guards who were in the process of cuffing O'Malan's hands and feet together.

"Well, it seems that they work for my mother... she's found evidence of a peace treaty between O'Malan and the barbarian nation a few weeks back, so she decided to send in some spies of her own. Her two trusted bodyguards whom I've already met were sent in as guards to find out just how large his operation is. I guess he lost his touch... after we were out of the picture, he didn't even bother to expand his industry. Just wallowed in his stolen riches. It should be easy to form a better council now and finally rid ourselves of his kind of... scum."

Terra smiled at her last words as O'Malan thrashed angrily in his chains, screaming madly through his gag.

Epilogue

Terra and Rin stood at the gates of the Scholarium, Rin's bags already loaded into the waiting carriage. Terra's mother stood at the door to the Scholarium, not wanting to invade their privacy.

"So... where are you going to go?" Terra asked timidly, anxiety and sadness leaking through her voice.

"Well... there's someone I need to be with right now… other than you." Rin said and smiled, tweaking Terra's nose playfully. Terra laughed and tickled him on his stomach for a moment before quieting.

"The villager who took you in...? Well, I'm afraid it isn't going to be that easy to get rid of me, sir." Her tone was mocking as she spoke, a grin spreading on her face.

He looked down at her and smiled, drawing her in for a kiss.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

The End