"I've heard that one already, tell me another," Bielza said, snuggled against Shay as the evening's fire dies.  The night smelled of pine and foxes could be heard playing a short distance away.  Shay pondered another tale of home before attempting to begin again.

"Yes yes yes," she cut in, "your brother and great leader, Kale, dwarfed only by you 'in height if not in width' and his many victories against roving bandits.  How he won the heart of Dela, the town beauty, and how they lived happily ever after. Your friendsDillan and the oddly named Frank causing grief to all your neighbors.  How about one of yourself, you are conspicuously absent from your childhood stories."

The newlyweds were on their way to For'Del, the lone town in the these mountains, to celebrate with his family and by the next afternoon they will be there.

"If you want to hear of aimless wanderings through the woods and over mountains I could bore you all night."  Shay scratched the back of his neck the way he always did when asked about himself.  "Or maybe an exciting tale of my nose in a book?"  Their pack llama, Gill, yawned softly from the dark and settled in for the night.  "You already know what there is to know of me."  

"I doubt that a great deal,"  and she kissed him before sliding down into the bedding, "well, if you have no new stories for me to fall asleep to I shall say good night."  Shay laid down with her but sleep would not not come immediately.

It was hard keeping the excitement and uncertainty in check.  In seven years had his brother changed as much as himself?  And all of For'Del for that matter?  Would they accept a more worldly Shay back into their lives?  He kept sending and receiving letters from his brother over the years and never once did Kale imply anything that should cause doubt, but the doubts were there all the same.  

Shay slept fitfully and they rose with the sun.  Bielza put together their last meal on the road while Shay went about loading Gill up and stuffing their packs.  He strapped his short musket on one side and his long blade on the on the other.  The musket was a small, clumsy thing, accurate enough to keep them fed for a month.

The winds shifted early in the morning and the smell smoke came down from the north, Shay hadn't thought they were close enough yet to smell Fo'Del's breakfast fires.  As they rounded the next bend the sky above was filled with dark smoke billowing away from the village.  In an instant Shay was sprinting but stopped when he realized he was dragging Bielza by the hand and poor Gill was left a short distance behind.  They dashed back and urged him into a run and they continued until they reached the main road into For'Del.  They paused only long enough to notice the dirt path trampled and dug up by many feet and hooves.

The first signs of destruction were apparent when they reached the wall with the doors blasted open.  Shay quickly loaded the musket with shot and drew his sword before dashing through the hole, vaguely noticing the lack of rubble.  

Inside the wall he was met with a sword at his throat which was quickly removed. 

"Shay?" the young man asked.

The familiar face was older but unmistakable.  "What's happened here Pwyll?" Whatever it was seemed to have already passed so he waved Bielza in.  She looked frightened and worried while clenching Gill's reigns, two feelings she doesn't express very often.  Around them were collapsed buildings, but many still stood, though with neat holes in them.  Again he noticed the lack of debris within, but smoke billowed abundantly.

"A raid two nights ago.  They attacked without warning using some silent weapon," Pwyll replied. 

Shay hadn't stopped moving forward and they rounded the corner to the town square.  Bielza let out a short cry and Shay stopped, his mouth agape.  Before them lay half the town's population, in neat rows.  On one side of the square were the wounded and on the other the dead.  

Collecting himself, Shay made his way towards an old family friend standing over the body of a woman.  Shay didn't need to ask who it was; at his feet was Gim's only child and Shay's old lover, Bashka.  Her throat was slashed cleanly and deeply, and resting on her body was her blood stained sword with her hands placed on the hilt.

Everything caught up with him at once, and Shay broke down and cried, putting his hand on Gim's shoulder.  "She died in battle. She always dreamed of dying in battle that fool of a girl...  Shay?" Gim rubbed his eyes and looked at Shay for the first time.  "Didn't think you would get here 'til the week's end."

"I'm so sorry, Gim..."  Shay and Bashka were opposites in may respects and hadn't parted well, but Gim was a mentor and they remained fiends.  Not knowing what else to say, Shay asked, "Who were they, and how'd they get through the walls?"

"Northerners, I've traded with them frequently in the past.  The blade that killed my daughter may have been of my own make." Gim lowered his head and led them toward Shay's old home, which was relatively unscathed.  At the foot of the steep road up was a cannon in shape but within was a lens of glass.

"They had no muskets, only this.  We countered their assault yesternight and made sure to take this first.  Without it they quickly retreated.  From it issues a brilliant light that cut through and evaporated the stone, but we do not know how to work it."  Shay had begun a close examination of the device, and Gim, vacant-eyed, made to leave.

So lost in thought was Shay that he had almost forgot to ask,  "Where is my brother?"

Gim shook his head. "Their chieftain took Dela as a prize.  Kale chased after them with a couple fools bent on revenge."

"Where?"

"The invaders retreated northwards up the Merchants Road, Kale followed at sunrise."  With that Gim went back to where his daughter lay.

Bielza had been so silent that when she put her hand on Shay's arm he jumped.  "We should help the wounded until he gets back," she said.  

Shay shook his head.  Shay knew Kale would die to get Dela back.  "I have to go after him."

"They have at least five hours on you, Shay.  The raiders have more. You'll never catch them."  

"I know these lands better than anyone.  Against so many Kale won't risk a fight in broad daylight and I'll have caught up by nightfall."

She shook her head, let out an exasperated sigh, "and what exactly is a scholar going to do to help?"

"Look back at the dead, Biel. Who among them is without a blade?"  There were none.  Man and woman, from the youngest child to oldest of the old, all had a weapon in hand when they died.  "This is my home, and this," tapping the hilt of his sword, "is no nobleman's decoration."  He looked her in the eyes before he kissed her, and dashed after his brother before she got another word of protest in.

Leaving Bielza behind was harder than Shay could let himself admit, and he pushed the sorrow, down and let it fuel his anger to push him forward.  

An army of any size would be restricted to the wide Merchants' Road.  For a lone traveler there were quicker, if not easier, ways and Shay remembered those paths easily.  

He ran along deer trails through the woods of evergreens and bounded over bare goats paths up the flanks of mountains and came to the foot trodden road.  With the way the road winds around the next mountain, Kale would have gone over it to cut the distance to his quarry.

 He quickly found his brother's trail and Shay followed without a problem.  With barely an hour until sunset, he found them camped out and watching north. He was able to walk up to them unnoticed.  After all, what reason would they have for watching their backs? They were the hunters.  Despite the circumstances, Shay found himself smiling when he saw that Dillan and Frank were the fool's that followed Kale.  

Shay plopped down next to Frank whose face lit with shock and fright that turned quickly into recognition and relief, followed closely by bewilderment.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Frank said  

"You're early," Kale said with a hint of a smile.  

"So I've been told. We got ourselves a swift llama."  Shay hadn't noticed how sickly his brother looked from afar, and had only now realized his sword arm was in a sling.  "You chased after a troop of barbarians in a state like this?"

Kale almost looked offended, "I'd crawl..."

"Yeah, through hell, I know, I was there for the wedding vows."  Kale did promise anything lightly and Shay couldn't help admiring his brother more than ever.  

 "Their pig of a chief took her as a prize," Kale snarled and looked away.

Shay tore his eyes from his brother and looked at his childhood best friends, "And what are your excuses?"  They both grew grim and Frank scratched his neck nervously.

"I'm here to avenge my child, who took an arrow to the heart. And Frank lost his wife," said Dillan, whose face appeared recently relieved of an eye.

"Bashka," Frank said before Shay could ask who.

Shay raised his eyebrows at this.  At least she had found herself a good man and they embraced a moment in shared grief.

After the awkward pause that followed, Shay turned back to Kale. "So, what's the plan, chief?"

"I honestly didn't think we'd catch up this quick. The bastards are taking care for their wounded."  

The bastards were camped not so off and their fires could be seen through the trees.  

"Those are the cliffs we used to climbed to jump into the lake," Dillan said.  The climb was always just for fun, it was much easier to just walk up the side path.

"A good place to defend against many, and a good place for a few to sneak into," Frank pointed out.

Kale asked, "And how exactly would the four of us get up there?"

"Only one would need to.  The chieftain will choose the highest point for himself," Shay said, understanding what Frank was suggesting.

"And, in the pitch of night, how would one get up there?" Kale's arm hung limp in the sling, he wasn't fit for a climb let alone combat.

"I've climbed it so many times I could do it blindfolded" Shay hesitated, not quite realizing what he was volunteering for.  Kale wouldn't command him to go up on his own the way he might anyone else. He had learned early on that no good came from applying any force to Shay, doing so would only anger him and send him on one of his retreats into the wilds.  Fortunately, no command was needed to get Dela back.  "I could go up as the moon rises while you distract the bulk of the troop by the path."

"I'm not sending my brother to his death."

"No, you're not.  I will be up and back down with Dela before anyone even notices she's gone." Shay hoped he sounded more confident than he was, "provided the three of you distract them well."

At that there wasn't much left to discuss.  Shay would fire off his rifle when he and Dela were safe and they would retreat back to Fordel in two groups, hoping to meet on the merchants path but otherwise not stopping.  

They rested until twilight and went separately in silence. If all went well the distraction would begin when Shay reached the base of the cliff.  

Shay looked up when he got to the cliff and suddenly had great doubts about what he was about to do. In the starlight, no handholds were visible.  Relying solely on a seven year old, day-lit memory, he began his ascent.

At the top he was able to see the fireglow of a poorly erected tent among the trees that he hoped was the chieftain's. He tied his rope around a tree for lowering Dela and left the coil to approach the tent.  He listened for a while, and when he was certain of himself, Shay sliced a small peephole in the canvas wall. 

He fought the urge to look down at the ruckus his brother and friends were causing. The tent was empty, save for a huddled mass almost directly below his hole. He recognized Dela's face after a moment. What barbarian could have been that pretty?  In a quick motion he finished the slice into human size, entered and gathered her up.

Woken by the sudden motion she let out no yell but whispered, "Who..?"  The dim light of the now-risen moon revealed bruises around her eyes, and she stared in half recognition at her rescuer.

"I suppose between the dark and the years..." but he had not needed to say more as she clutched him tighter before he set her down by the cliff's edge.

"Shay...?  How?"  

"Impeccable timing, apparently.  Are you strong enough to grasp the rope or shall I tie it about your waist?"

"I can barely stand," she answered and Shay quickly tied the rope around her.  "Where are we?"

"Near our old jumping spot at the lake.  We'll be making a straight go of it back to Fordel after we're down, you ready?"

"Have I any choice?"

They embraced again before he slowly lowered her down.  At half-way or so a glint appeared in the corner of Shay's vision.  Shouting, "You're going fast!" he lowered her the rest of the way quicker as the rope sliding fast along his burning and peeling flesh but not letting go until she was .  

Shay jumped back as the assailant's blade dropped and severed the rope.  

"Go, Dela, I'll catch up!" Shay shouted as he drew his rifle and sword in quick succession, he took aim and shot at the shine of armor and missed.  Reacting to another glint, Shay parried with the barrel and swung his sword, but the man easily defended with a mail clad arm. 

The duel was a brutal one and Shay felt the bloodlust rise.  This man invaded his home, murdered his friends and family.  Bashka's beautiful, violated body flashed in his mind and he returned the attack with all his strength.  The clashing of the blades vibrated through his whole body and nearly sent his swprd flying from his hands.  

Once when their blades clashed the brute punched with a gauntleted fist, loosening a few of Shay's teeth.  The gun dropped from his hands and he clasped his sword with both hands.  He struck as well with elbow and fist but only hurt himself on the barbarian's helmet.  Every stab and slash that made it through the enemy's defense glanced off the mail encasing his body.  

In frustration at Shay's defense the chieftain had raised his massive sword over his own head and brought it down on Shay's comparatively thin blade.  Shay was unable to stop the blow completely as it cut into his shoulder, nearly severing the thick leather strap of his pack, and dug into his flesh.  

Shay howled in pain, rolled and came up in a desperate lunge. His blade passed between the helmet and chest plating, and pierced the soft flesh of his neck.  The Chieftain fell to his knees and slid off the blade showering Shay with arterial blood.  When Shay didn't think the man had any more blood left in his veins, he let a guttural groan and the light faded from his eyes.  Shay stared a moment as the life swept away and the shell settled into the pool of blood.  

Shay heard the men of the troop returning, he quickly placed the warriors blade in the funeral position on the fallen's chest before he ran towards the lake.  The way was dimly lit by the moon and he again trusted his memory as and propelled himself off when he reached the edge.