What has happened before:  Several of the main characters
from the cast of Ranma have been drawn to a world
populated by magic and magical beings.  Now, Ranma (known
as Raeni) must gather his friends (and enemies) to do
battle with an unknown foe.  Transformed into toddlers,
and with their memories gone, they were raised as natives
for ten years.

The battle with the enemy leader has not proceeded too
well.  Now, Raeni is somewhere else, leaving Uerris to
fight alone against the deadly enemy.

Sword and Sorcery
Chapter 15

by D.Fire
phongb9@idt.net

	As Uerris charged the tree which hid the assassin, a
part of her mind screamed at her to stop.  Unfortunately,
the part that currently controlled her actions ignored the
first part completely.  Even though normal instinct would
have urged her to at least be wary, the anger and hate
that welled in her being demanded an immediate reaction.

	As she rounded the tree, she struck silently, her
rage quite stripping her of the ability to use her voice. 
Uerris swung her long sword at the hidden target and aimed
for where she expected the elf's neck to be.  Her blow
resulted in a solid 'Thunk!' as her sword imbedded itself
into the wood.

	'What?!'  At the very least, she expected a meaty
'Thwack!'.  But no.  The assassin had disappeared yet once
again.  She thought furiously, 'If he's not here then ...'
She looked up on a hunch in time to see a knife flashing
down at her.  Desperately, the young ranger rolled to the
side, leaving her main weapon still lodged in the tree.

	The anger drained her body as a different emotion
replaced it.  Her heart beat even faster after she
realized that she was almost defenseless if the elf
decided on hand-to-hand combat.  She spared a glance at
her sword and grimaced at the sight.  In her anger, she
had managed to hack through half of the trunk.  It would
take time to free the sword from its current prison.  Time
which she currently didn't have.

	Uerris jumped back as three more daggers hurtled at
her.  The assassin wasn't even giving her a slim chance to
get her sword.  Her bow!  'Oh no!'  She realized that the
bow still laid where she had dropped in during her charge
to the tree.  'There!'  Uerris spotted it lying ten paces
away.  Fortunately, she had dodged in the right direction
because although the assassin blocked access to the sword,
he wasn't in much of a position to prevent her from
reaching the bow.  At least she hoped not.  

	Remembering that she had run out arrows earlier, she
paused in dismay.  Reaching back she felt desperately in
hopes of even having one arrow for use.  To her surprise,
her hand found not one but nearly a quiverful of them. 
Not wanting to look at a gift horse in the mouth, the
young ranger went for her bow, vowing to clear up this
little mystery later, if there was a later.

	Taking a chance, she backflipped away from the tree
and toward the discarded weapon.  When she landed, she
immediately began a zigzag pattern in order to reach the
bow.  Behind her, a series of daggers struck the ground
over which she had passed.  Some missed by a large margin,
but there were a few here and there which came much too
close for comfort.  As she neared the fallen weapon,
Uerris dove with desperation and managed to snag it. 
Gripping it securely, she vaulted straight upwards to a
handy branch while simultaneously pulling an arrow from
her quiver and notching it.

	Just in time.  Upon landing on the branch, the girl
released the arrow, sending it to intercept a dagger
heading for her heart.  Arrow met dagger, and both
deflected sideways randomly.  Not bothering to note the
resting place of either, Uerris immediately readied and
fired three more arrows, deflecting three more daggers.

	Seeing a lull in the killer's pattern, Uerris began
her counterattack, sending a barrage of arrows back at the
position of the assassin, hoping that one would strike. 
She didn't expect such blind shooting to work, but it gave
her time to regain her focus.  She wasn't surprised when
no exclamations of pain reached her ears.  She checked her
supply of arrows and found a comforting amount still in
her quiver.  She readied an arrow in her bow just in case.

	Moments ticked by as nothing happened.  The unnatural
silence of the forest disturbed the ranger.  Even the
leaves were silent, there being no wind.  Uerris wondered
if the lack of a breeze was a side effect of Raeni's
spell.  'I'm glad at least the light spell hasn't faded
yet.'  Hope surged from the bottom of her heart.  'The
spell!  If the elf had killed Raeni, then her spell
wouldn't still be in place!'  She was undoubtedly grateful
for the light that remained.  The elf seemed dangerous
enough even in the artificial day.  She couldn't imagine
how she and mage would fare if Raeni hadn't blanketed the
forest with a spell that simulated day.

	Assuming that the elf wasn't lying, he would still
have to pay for her  father's death.  But only AFTER
Uerris had rescued Raeni.  The mage had to be alive,
because a spell would normally fade after its caster's
death.  Uerris recalled her Old Miri explaining the
intimate connection that existed between a spell cast and
the spell-caster.  Reigning in the more drastic thoughts
of what she would do to him, the girl focused on the
immediate task at hand, that of defeating the trained
killer.

	***

	Raeni didn't know what to expect, and Aarun didn't
seem to want to tell her who his mysterious 'friends'
were.  The pair walked down a long tunnel that bent
slightly to the left, the only sounds being their
footsteps, if the slight tread of their feet could be
described as footsteps.  Raeni was completely silent, a
bad habit that had spooked Azure more than once over the
years, while the older man accompanying her made almost as
little noise.  'I can see where Uerris and Errin got their
training,' noted Raeni as she listened for any sounds
coming from ahead.  She didn't like to be surprised if she
could avoid it.

	After the two walked for a short distance, Aarun
veered off and moved to the wall of the tunnel, his
actions indicating that he searched for something.  A
moment later, he exclaimed, "Found it!"  Bringing his
prize back over to Raeni, he held it out to her.  It was a
torch.  The ranger asked her, "Can you light it?  I don't
have many flints left so can you light with ..."  He
wiggled his fingers in a gesture very similar to what
Errin had done mere hours before.  He added, "If you can,
of course.  Don't worry about the creatures.  They don't
come down into this tunnel."

	Raeni looked slightly offended as she huffed, "Of
course I can!  Men!"  'What the hell am I saying?  Didn't
I just insult myself?' she wondered.  Focusing her
energies, she said in a very loud voice, "Oru."  A giant
flame sprang to life on the head of the torch.  In her
irritation, she had accidentally added a little too much
oomph to the spell.  Waving her hand slightly over the
flame, she whispered to it and it shrank to a reasonable
size.  "Heh, heh.  I guess I overdid it a little," she
said with a nervous laugh.

	Aarun just gave her a stare which bespoke volumes,
but he didn't comment.  The father of two turned back
towards the closed end of the tunnel and bowed lightly,
wariness and respect in his eyes.

	After five minutes of dull trudging, Raeni allowed
her attention to shift away from Aarun and the direction
they were going.  Her actions on autopilot, she let her
attention wander to the construction of the cave.  The
walls looked like they were made of some grayish stone and
had no blemishes to speak of.  "Interesting," Raeni
commented to Aarun.  "The walls seem very smooth for a
cave."

	Aarun nodded in return.  "I thought so, too, when I
first regained my senses."

	"'Regained your senses'?" asked Raeni.  "What you
mean by that?"

	"Well, let's just say I wasn't very coherent after
the assassin --"

	"Daved," interrupted Raeni.

	"What?  Daved's his name?" questioned Aarun.  "He
never told me his name.  But anyway, after he finished
'questioning' me, I wasn't in very good shape.  I had
blacked out.  My first memory of this place came only when
I had somewhat recovered from my wounds.  They tell me
that three or four days had passed while I was fevered. 
In that time, they watched me and helped as best as they
could.  I can't really remember much during that time, but
if they weren't here I don't think I would've survived. 
Certainly, this 'Daved' didn't seem to care."

	"This 'they' again.  Why don't you tell me who 'they'
are?" asked Raeni.  "Since you're taking me to them
anyway, just tell me!"

	The old ranger sighed, and then he replied
hesitantly, "I ... guess I might as well tell you. 
They're orcs."

	"What?!  Orcs!"  Raeni jumped away from the man and
once more had her sword pointed at him.  Slowly, she
scanned all around her, listening for any signs of
attacks.  She knew orcs could be very sneaky at times. 
They weren't the most intelligent of creatures but with
surprise, almost anything could be dangerous.

	Aarun stopped and threw his hands up in a warding
gesture.  "I knew you'd react this way if I told you!"

	"I don't believe that these orcs of yours helped
you!" Raeni spoke in a deadly voice.  "The ones that
attacked me earlier seemed to want my death enough."  The
last was spoken in a bored tone.

	The ranger sighed again.  "I was afraid of that.  So
you've already encountered the rest of the tribe."  He
paused as he formulated his next words.  "The orcs you
fought were all male orcs, right?" Aarun asked.

	"Male?  What does that have to do with anything?" 
Raeni thought back and replied, "They were just orcs." 
She shrugged.  "I don't know what sex they were!  Besides,
how can you tell?"

	Aarun smirked and continued, "Oh, you can tell, all
right.  The ones at the end of this tunnel are all female
or are children."

	Aarun's statement stunned the young mage.  The
concept of female orcs or little orcish children didn't
quite fit into her world view.  Orcs were always just ...
orcs.  It made sense after some consideration, since orcs
had to come from somewhere, but the whole idea seemed a
little ... bizarre.  Raeni slowly lowered her sword and
asked, "Then the ones that attacked me were ...?"

	Aarun nodded his head.  "Yes.  They're the mates of
the ones at the end of this tunnel."  He slowly turned
back toward the direction they were initially following
and started walking again.  After a moment's indecision,
Raeni followed him.

	As they walked, Aarun explained, "After I recovered
from my fever, the orcwen told me what happened to them. 
It turns out that they are hostages."

	"Hostages, huh?  Yeah, like I really believe that!"
snorted Raeni.  Although her words spoke otherwise, she
really did believe it.  IF there were women orcs at the
end of the tunnel, then there could be only a few reasons
that explained it, and being 'hostage' topped the list.

	The ranger continued, "The whole tribe isn't very
big.  Maybe a total of 25 individuals or so.  Eight males,
and seven females, with the rest being children.  That
surprised me.  Most tribes number in the thousands."

	Absentmindedly, Raeni corrected him, "Six males."

	Worriedly, Aarun asked, "Ah.  Um.  You didn't kill
some did you?"

	Taken aback by his concern, Raeni considered her next
words while furrowing her eyebrows in thought.  "Eto. 
Only six attacked me."  She had to think hard to remember
what had happened in the few seconds that she had fought
them.  "I don't think I killed any of them.  Let's see." 
She ticked off on her fingers and recounted the battle. 
"I knocked the first one out.  Block, block, dodge, dodge,
jump.  Parry, slash, parry, parry, punch, punch, punch. 
Three more out knocked out.  Ducked one swing, blocked two
more.  One orc KO'd, and the last ran away.  Nope, that's
six all right, and as far as I know all six are still
breathin'."

	Aarun looked relieved, but saddened at the same time.
It didn't make sense to Raeni that a human would show
grief for the loss of two mere orcs.  She wasn't even sure
if orcs would be saddened by the loss of two orcs.

	The old ranger noticed her puzzled expression and
asked, "You're wondering why I care about these orcs,
aren't you?"

	Embarrassed that her thoughts were so easily read,
Raeni blushed and stammered out, "Y-y-yeah.  I mean,
they're just ORCS.  Besides, they were raiding your town,
weren't they?"

	"Well, sort of," answered Aarun.  "I don't think they
came to this area willingly in the first place.  They've
been captives of the assa ... Daved for about six months
now --"

	Raeni interrupted with a question.  "Is that six
months outside time or six months in here?"  After a
moment's consideration she asked, "How do you tell time in
here anyways?"

	The ranger opened his mouth to speak, but then closed
it again.  Again, he tried giving the answer, but
indecision showed on his face as he once again changed his
mind.  Finally, he replied, "I ... don't know.  Some the
descriptions the orcwen gave me weren't too clear.  It
could have been in here or out there."  He shrugged as he
continued, "But the only way to judge time in here is by
sleeping cycles and when you get hungry.  By that
imperfect method, I and they have determined that I've
been in here about a week."

	"What was I saying?  Oh, yes.  Daved captured this
bunch around six months ago.  At that time, the elf had
hired three mercenaries to assist him.  From the
description of them, they sounded like real trouble.  An
-- "

	"An ettin, a minotaur, and an illusionist," Raeni
finished for him.

	"I guess you know of them.  Did they jump you too?"

	Raeni chuckled, "No way!  They went the same way as
the orcs."  She buffed her fingernails on her shirt,
pridefully boasting, "I'm that good!"

	"Well, if you and your friends beat them --"

	"Bzzzt.  Wrong answer!  Just me," Raeni corrected
him.

	"-- then why did you wind up here?" finished Aarun.

	At this, Raeni colored.  "Eheheh.  That was just a
small ... mistake."

	"Was the elf the one that beat you then?"  The ranger
looked skeptical that the pretty red-head that stood in
front of him could eliminate the three dangerous
mercenaries by herself.  Six orcs just skirted the edge of
believability so he could hardly give credence to her
statement.  Because he didn't want to upset her further,
Aarun didn't voice his thoughts.

	Raeni only flushed a deeper red and muttered,
"HegtmewhnIjmpkckdhm."

	Aarun sighed as he said, "Please say that again.  You
weren't very clear."  He prepared for the yell he expected
was forthcoming.  Nonetheless, he cringed when it came.

	"HE GOT ME WHEN I JUMPKICKED HIM!"

	After the ringing left his ears, the ranger stood
stunned as the import of her words sunk in.  He began
twitching slightly.

	Raeni showed immediate concern as her guide looked
like he was going into some kind of seizure.  But she
jumped back as a hearty laugh burst forth from his mouth.

	"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  Aarun laughed long and hard,
his sides heaving in mirth as his body shook from his
guffaws.  "You.  You.  You JUMPED into here?"  Again, he
broke down in laughter.

	Raeni stood there, her arms crossed and her foot
slowly tapping.  She repeated to herself as she looked
upwards, "I will not hit him.  He's been hurt enough. 
He's Uerris' father.  He's DEFINITELY Errin's father.  I
will not hit him ..."  The litany went on and on, each
repetition irritating her more and more.  Eventually, her
temper snapped because the old ranger seemed unable to
stop his laughter.  "ALL RIGHT!  It's not that funny!"

	Finally, Aarun brought his humor back under control. 
"I'm ... I'm ... sorry.  I haven't been able to have a
good laugh in the past week.  That ... That just struck me
as too funny."

	Still quite peeved, the sorceress replied, "Yeah,
yeah.  Ha, ha.  How was I supposed to know that his cloak
absorbed people?  It just looked like black cloth to me!"

	His expression sobered.  "I know.  I wasn't even
awake when he stuck me in here," he consoled her.  "I only
know because the others told me.  Apparently, the assassin
can put people in here and retrieve them at will, since
the males have been pulled out of here as needed."

	Raeni still looked miffed despite the slight apology.
She turned away, and after taking a half-minute to calm
down, she faced Aarun.  "Okay, let's just go on!" she
still snapped.  Not waiting for her guide, she stomped off
down the tunnel, not noticing as the tunnel shook slightly
behind her.

	Aarun certainly noticed it as a large drop of sweat
found its way down the back of his head.

	***

	Uerris was worried, with reason.  A full minute had
passed with no sign of movement from the assassin.  There
was something she was missing.  Half of her attention was
focused on the tree twenty paces away, while the other
half frantically tried to recall what she had forgotten.

	'Oh no!' she realized.  'This guy doesn't need to be
in sight for him to reach me!'  The ranger whirled around
and brought her bow to bear on the floating shadow that
had only a split-second ago been behind her.  Not even
really aiming, she released an arrow at the voluminous
form and quickly jumped away.

	Only after she had placed a secure distance between
her and the killer did she turn her attention back to him.
The arrow she had fired had lodged in his chest, where a
normal human's heart would be.  Uerris congratulated
herself on her perfectly place shot, but her jubilant
internal voice stopped as she noticed something.  The
arrow was slowly being pushed out of its location, but by
what she couldn't determine.

	The assassin had undoubtedly seen better days.  He
hung limp in midair with his cloak flapping in an
undetectable wind.  She could see the wounds that Raeni
had inflicted earlier on his body, but to Uerris' horror,
they slowly knitted together even as she watched.  The
same was true for the arrow wound in his chest.  What
disturbed her most was the fiery blood dripping from the
unclosed wounds.  The elf's blood was normal as it left
his body but as it fell to the ground, each drop flared
into a crimson flame, eventually consuming its entire
volume.

	Daved's voice boomed out from all around the
horrified girl. "You will do nothing but die!"

	Uerris quickly looked all around her, but she
couldn't localize the voice at all.  It seemed to come
from everywhere.  Fearful that the apparition before her
was a mere illusion, she frantically looked all around for
an unexpected attack.  She turned back to the floating elf
in time to see him slowly lift his head.  Two blood-red
eyes shone from beneath the darkness of the hood, and
their gaze pinned her to her position.

	"I have centuries of experience to guide me!  Did you
think that two mere babes could ever hope to defeat me?!"
the voice continued.  "Even had I only the experience of
this single mortal shell ..."  One arm flopped vaguely,
like that of a poorly manipulated puppet.  "Then I would
have no trouble dealing with the likes of such as you!"

	The form advanced on Uerris' position.  The elf
slowly floated toward her perch.  Although her legs didn't
want to obey her command to leap away, at least she could
still fire her bow.  Hoping to overwhelm his apparent
regenerative ability, she fired arrow after arrow into his
body.  Some hit, but the majority passed through him as he
seemed to phase slightly out of sync with the world,
blurring to her eyes while he did so.  The few that had
landed followed the pattern of her first, dropping to the
ground after being slowly pushed from his body.

	As the elf approached, the ranger felt fear building
in her gut.  Her barrage didn't seem to slow let alone
stop his inexorable advance.  She continued futilely to
fire her weapon, but she despaired of doing any
significant damage.  Her once abundant supply of arrows
once again dwindled to a but a handful and then to none. 
And her body still betrayed her.

	Still though, she was not entirely weaponless. 
Pulling out her last set of throwing daggers, she
desperately threw with all her might... only to watch as
they passed harmlessly through the shadow's insubstantial
form.  No choice left, Uerris grabbed her bow, intending
to use it as a makeshift club.  It was a poor use for such
a fine weapon, but the ranger had run out of options.

	A laugh sounded around Uerris as the creature that
called himself Daved realized that his prey was almost
helpless.  The elf halted a few paces out of range, and
just floated there, any emotion that might have been on
his face still well hidden by the cowl.

	Uerris wanted the elf to float into range, but he
stayed maddeningly out of reach.  If nothing else, she
intended to stop that irritating, villainous laugh.  She
prepared for his eventual assault, and she was not
disappointed.

	Without a single warning, a thread of black whipped
out from the elf's cloak, aimed at Uerris.  Involuntarily,
she flinched reflexively, holding the bow in front of her
for defense.  The thread fell short of the girl, but
managed to reach her weapon.  She could not tell whether
the bow had been the elf's target all along, but the
result was the same.

	The deadly string sliced through the handle of the
bow held in Uerris' hands.  The wood, already under
pressure from the bow's stringing, snapped before the
thread even finished its path.  The unexpected recoil
knocked the ranger off her perch to the ground below.

	Uerris twisted her body in midair trying to position
herself to land without injury.  In doing so, she
discovered a most important fact.  Her legs were firmly
back under her control!  As soon as her feet touched the
ground, she took off running.  Any direction would do, so
long as it was away from that ... monster!

	***

	It seemed to Uerris that she had been fleeing the
assassin forever, although in reality only a short period
of time had passed.  In her haste to flee the spot at
which the elf had managed to paralyze her, she had
completely lost her bearings.  Quite simply, she had taken
too many hasty turns to know which way to go next. 
Morosely she thought, 'It's not like I have somewhere to
go.'  She didn't want to lead him back to town.  Too many
unsuspecting, prospective victims for the killer there. 
She thought of heading back to Witch's Doom.  Azure was
still there and could quite possibly help.  But which way?

	The ranger was not breathing hard ... yet.  She
couldn't sustain her current pace for much longer though. 
In running, she had the advantage because she had not
reached the edge of Raeni's spell yet.  The woods remained
lighted, giving her sure footing when she bounded to the
next tree, and by all rights, if she ran in one direction
at her top speed, then the assassin should have no chance
of catching up.

	But infuriatingly, this was not so.

	The ranger had no idea how the killer tracked her,
but inexorably, he always found her.  No matter how many
twists she added to her flight, no matter how many
woodland tricks she tried, the elf would still find her. 
Already, she had to escape from his tightening grasp three
times.

	Twice, she had only paused to catch her breath and to
regain her bearings only to be disturbed by a low
chuckling that bubbled out nowhere.  His laughing, which
had seemed normal to her ears before, now grated on her
nerves terribly.  Each time, she had bolted off in a
random direction, disorientating her senses even more.  

	At times, she despaired of getting out of this alive.
Her enemy had taken her best hits and had shrugged them
off as nothing.  And she had no magic like Raeni.  For the
first time in her life, she regretted not having continued
in her training.

	After the... incident, she had placed magic as far
from her thoughts as possible.  She had nearly begged her
father to take her on as an apprentice ranger, desperate
to find another focus for her life.  Her father.  Thoughts
of that strong man lying dead and broken somewhere unknown
threatened to break down what little calm she retained. 
'Father!  Is this how it ends?' she sobbed silently.  An
ignoble death at the hands of an unworthy foe.

	To be chased after.  To be toyed with.  That's how
Uerris currently felt.  If she only had a weapon.  Her
skill in weaponless combat had proven to be dreadfully
deficient during the one time she had tried facing the
shadowed assassin.  The elf had laughed at her pitiful
attempts at punches and throws.  He had shown beyond a
doubt that he was the better when he slipped between one
punch and the next.  Seeming to have all the time in the
world, the elf had breached her defensive net and
casually, oh so casually, had whispered into her ear.  "My
sweet.  The harder you fight, the sweeter you'll taste,"
he had said.  After that, she hadn't tried to fight him
again.

	She knew even she couldn't run forever.  Sooner or
later, she would run into the edge of light spell. 
Whether or not she had the nerve to encroach that
boundary, she didn't know.  If the elf caught her in
darkness...  Uerris shivered at the thought.

	If only she had a weapon!  That thought dominated her
thinking.  With even a dagger, she knew she would at least
have a chance.  Despairing a little, she noticed that her
muscles were starting to tire.  Her breathing slowly
slipped over the edge into slightly belabored breathing. 
Very soon now, she would have to face her pursuer.  Very
soon, she'd be facing her death.

	***

	Keili sat before the large kitchen table.  Not
moving.  Not thinking.  She sat their numbed to the world.
Outside in the living room, her son, Errin, lay sleeping
quietly.  His gentle snores did little to reassure her. 
She knew that out there, somewhere, her daughter and the
young sorceress whom chaos seemed to follow were probably
fighting for their lives.

	The mother had done her part.  After the two had
left, she had gone all around to the prominent leaders of
the town and had organized a rescue party.  Sadly, she had
not been allowed to actually lead the rescue attempt. 
This had not been because of her gender.  Both husband and
wife were respected equally in their role as guardians. 
The others had persuaded Keili to remain behind to tend to
the town and to her son.  As the last available member of
the Lord Protectorship of Gasenheart, she had the duty to
safeguard the men and women that had remained behind in
case the assassin had more than a simple band of orcs and
this whole fiasco was just a planned diversion for
attacking the town.

	Before the matronly figure, a pair of unusual items
laid.  One was a bandolier of what looked to be kitchen
utensils.  Five spatulas fit snugly in their sheathes, and
Keili withdrew one.  It seemed normal enough, if made with
some substance she had never before seen.  The head of the
spatula was quite pliable and smooth.

	The other item resembled what she held in her hand,
if magnified a thousand-fold.  Measuring almost five feet
long and over a foot and half across the head, a giant
spatula occupied most of the length of the table before
her.  Who would use such a thing, the mother had no idea. 
She puzzled over them now as she had in the past, when she
had received them from the priest of Gaved.

	Keili remembered that day quite clearly.  Snow had
fallen the night before, so a thin layer of white had
blanketed the ground outside.  It had started off as a day
like other days.  Nothing urgent had happened that day and
it had passed normally-- that is, until Father Jeriis had
come knocking on her door, ten years past.

	***

	*Knock, knock*.  A younger Keili is in the kitchen
preparing the supper meal when the knock at the front door
reaches her ears.  Putting down the kitchen knife she is
using, she wipes her hand on the apron tied to her waist.

	'I wonder who that is?'  No one should be knocking on
her door this late in the day.  Her husband, Aarun is
currently upstairs taking a short nap before dinner, so
she leaves the kitchen and answers the front door.  'I
certainly hope nothing bad has happened.'  Her thoughts
are tinged with worry.

	To her surprise, Father Jeriis stands at her front
door, looking pale and sweaty.  He is a heavyset man who
has enjoyed all too well the joys of food.  He sports a
thick, full beard.  An unusual detail is that the beard is
fully white, despite the fact that the rest of his hair is
solid black.  He is still quite young, as priests go, only
having celebrated his 34th birthday just a month ago.  He
wears a simple, grey priest's smock, suitable for daily
use and work.

	"Father Jeriis!" Keili exclaims.  "What's wrong?  You
look like you've seen a spectre!"

	The priest is quite nervous as he bows slightly. 
"Mistress Keili.  May I please come in and speak of a most
important matter with you and your husband?  It is most
urgent."

	"Of course, Father."  She ushers him into the living
room, closing the door behind him.  "My husband is
currently upstairs.  I'll go get him."  After seating the
man, Keili rushes upstairs and thumps sound from upstairs.

	A minute later, Keili and Aarun come downstairs. 
Aarun is disheveled.  His beard sticks out in places and
his hair looks well slept on.  Although he wears green
pants, he doesn't have on a shirt, and if one takes a
close look, one can see the seams of the pants showing. 
"Father Jeriis!" his voice booms, irritation slipping
involuntarily into his words.  "What brings you here at
this hour?  It is a little late in the day for town
business, isn't it?" he asks.

	"I'm so sorry, Lord Aarun.  A most urgent matter has
dropped unexpectedly into my lap."  The priest seems very
apologetic for his intrusion and is still very nervous. 
"I need your advice and help.  And it isn't town business,
exactly."

	Father Jeriis' words surprise Aarun, and curiosity
shows on his face.  Normally, it is he who consults the
priest, not the other way around.  The burly man wonders
what kind of odd business would reverse their roles.  "Of
course, Father.  I would be glad to listen and help, if I
can."  He moves to take a seat across from the priest, but
the priest stops him.

	"Please.  I don't think I can explain it.  Can you
come over to the church?  It's better if I show you." 
Involuntarily, the priest clutches roughly at Aarun's arm.

	Aarun speaks softly to the disturbed man.  "It's all
right, Father.  I'll come with you."  If anything, he is
even more curious as to what could have happened.  Father
Jeriis has never acted in this way over their lifetime of
association.  "Let me dress."  He smoothly disengages from
the man and goes upstairs.

	During the entire exchange, Keili has kept a neutral
expression on her face.  But now, worry shows clearly
enough.  She reasons, 'This isn't normal town business at
all.'  Aloud, she asks the priest, "Do you think Miri
needs to know about this?"  The town's resident mage is
another well-respected individual and people consult her
on all mystic matters, aside from those matters dealing
directly with the theological sphere, which get referred
to Father Jeriis.

	The question startles the priest and he pauses before
he answers.  "Y-yes, I think so," he nervously replies. 
"I'll go get her," the rotund priest volunteers.  

	Before he can leave the house, Keili takes a hold of
his arm, reigning him in.  "That's quite all right,
Father.  I can summon her from here.  You needn't trouble
yourself."  After making sure the priest isn't going
anywhere.  Keili steps outside and walks across the
courtyard and out the gate.  Turning to the right side of
the fence wall, she comes upon a small building.  It has
many small holes all over the sides, each a perfect circle
about three inches across.

	Taking a quill handily placed to one side of the tiny
abode, she writes down a message on a piece of parchment. 
Picking a hole from a specific section of the tiny house,
she sticks her hand into it, pulling out a small, white
bird.  After rolling up the note, she attaches it to the
bird's leg.  She turns around and cups the bird gently in
her hands.  She tells it, "Ave Miri."  Surprisingly
enough, the bird nods once and flies from her hand,
winging gently to the southern side of town.  Satisfied,
Keili reenters her house.

	Father Jeriis still sits on the couch in the living
room.  If anything, he looks more pale than ever.  Aarun
has dressed and has groomed himself slightly and sits
across from the priest.  As his wife enters, he slowly
rises and helps the priest to his feet as well, since the
man seemed ready to faint at a moment's notice.

	Keili tells both of them, "Miri will meet us at the
church.  I sent her a note."

	Nodding in acknowledgment, Aarun gently guides the
distracted priest out the door and to the church next
door.  Keili trails him, silently matching him step for
step.

	When the trio finally enter the priest's sanctum, a
marked change comes over the man.  In here, Father Jeriis
regains a semblance of normalcy.  It is as if, being once
more on secure territory, he can be sure of the ground he
stands on.  His pace quickens and he scurries ahead of the
husband and wife.  "This way!  This way!"  He leads them
to his living quarters in the back of the church.

	Reaching a giant door, he  pushes and opens it. 
"There is someone here that needs to meet you," he tells
the pair behind him.  Walking to a closed door in the
back, he pulls a key from around his neck and unlocks it. 
With another push, the door swings open revealing... no
one.

	"What?!"  Father Jeriis panics and runs into the
room.  Aarun and Keili follow him in.  All three look
around searching every normal square foot of the place. 
"But when I left her, she was still asleep!"

	At this, Aarun asks sharply, "Her?  There isn't
anyone here, Father."

	Keili silences both with a commanding shush.  Placing
one finger on her lips she indicates that she wants
absolute quiet.  Perplexed, both men comply.

	In the resulting stillness, all three hear a sound. 
It is... sniffling?  Tracing the noise to its source,
Keili walks slowly to the normal sized bed against the
back right corner of the room.  The heavy bed has been
moved slightly, and someone crouches in the newly made
space.  Keili can tell of the recent shift by the clear
outline in the dust left by the bed's previous position.

	"Come out, deerling," Keili coos to the figure hidden
in shadow.  "We won't hurt you.  Please come out."

	The sniffles slowly stop as the little girl peeks out
from behind her arms.

	As Keili finally discerns the girl's features, she
lets out a small gasp, startling the poor girl into hiding
once again behind her arms.

	At his wife's gasp, Aarun rushes over to her side,
but is warned back.  "No, it's all right, Aarun.  There's
nothing wrong.  She just startled me, that's all."  Keili
resumes her effort to win the waif's trust.  "You should
stay back.  You might frighten her," Aarun is told.

	Keili tentatively puts out a hand to the little girl,
and seeing no negative reaction slowly moves the hand
forward.  The girl first flinches as the older woman
touches her, but doesn't try to get away.  Drawing the
girl into her arms, Keili hugs and pets the girl's hair,
cooing in a soft voice, "It's all right, deerling.  I
won't hurt you.  No one will hurt you."  With the child
firmly in her arms, Keili turns around to face the men.

	The reaction of her husband is quite amusing, and a
smile touches the corner of her lips.  Wryly, she says,
"That's what I thought, too."  Her clearly flummoxed
husband can only move his jaws in an effort to reply, but
no sounds come from his mouth.  The image the pair makes
is striking.  Their close proximity shouts their almost
perfect resemblence, and aside from the eyes and the
apparent age difference, the two could have been twins.

	There in her arms, a frightened six-year-old Ukyou
sits, unsure of who these big people are.

	***

	Keili still sat in her kitchen.  Ten years ago, after
she had coaxed the child into leaving the room, the four
of them had come upon the altar.  There arranged before
them were the two disturbing items just as they were
arranged in front of her now.

	Back then, the little spatulas had held an edge, one
nearly cutting her as she had picked it up.  Clearly, both
items were weapons, but it just seemed so odd.  Who in
their right mind would fight with oversized and undersized
kitchen accessories?  Eventually, the sharp edges all
dulled and became the material she now observed before
her.

	Uerris, as she had named the girl, never took an
interest in the weapons even when they had been properly
presented to her two years ago.  And the tools languished
in a special storage location ever since.  Miri once told
Keili that the weapons contained some indeterminate magic,
but the items had never reacted in any way while she had
handled them over the years.

	Keili had spent many hours just like she was now,
puzzling over the treasures of ten years past.

	So here she sat, listening to the rhythmic breathing
of her son, waiting for any word of her husband or her
daughter.  And wondering.

	In her left hand she held the head of a mini-spatula,
slowly running her finger over the blunt edge.  With her
right, she firmly gripped the handle of the utensil.  Her
thoughts were in the past when suddenly, pain surged from
her hand.  Keili looked down in surprise and saw blood.

	Her hand bled.  Bright red dripped from her left hand
and the spatula dropped to ground as her hand spasmed in
response.  Cradling her wounded hand to her chest, Keili
slowly bent down and, using the other hand, retrieved the
spatula by its handle, delicately bringing it up to
eye-level.  It looked normal enough, but when she lightly
tapped the edge against the wooden table, she almost
dropped the weapon in surprise.

	For the kitchen utensil had once more become a
weapon.  She stared at the deep cleft left by her light
tap.  Keili carefully placed the blade back in its sheathe
on the bandolier.  Absentmindedly, she tore a strip of the
sleeve of her dress and bandaged up her injured hand. 
Even before she finished, the weapons in front of her
began glowing a soft green light.

	At first, the healer thought that the glow was from
her imagination, but no.  The glow intensified until the
bandolier and giant spatula were nothing but solid green
light.  Shielding her eyes slightly, she watched as the
glow faded away... along with both items.  She stared
shocked as the table lay bare before her.

	Something had changed.  Keili felt it in her heart. 
Regardless of what happened from here on out, Uerris would
be leaving.  Although her mind had realized this fact
earlier, only now had her heart begun to ache.  A tear
slipped beyond her control.  Then another and another. 
Soon, two streams of them flowed down her face steadily,
meeting at her chin and dripping to mix with the dark-red
blood on the floor.