The Second Coming
Chapter 4

It was the break of dawn and the threemen walked casually towards the small home. The man in the fine cloak, who was slightly ahead of the other two,raised his hand and stopped a short distance from the dwelling. “Remember, we need to do this quietly andconvince them to come with us. I don’twant you two to even utter a word without my saying so.”

The bearded man pulled a knife frominside his tunic. “Why don’t we justtake the one we want and kill the others?”

The older man grabbed him by the frontof his shirt. “Bloodshed will not serveus! You know that is not my way!”

The bearded man nodded quickly and theolder man released him. “Hopefully theone we want is still asleep. I amconfident if the others listen to what I have to say this will bestraightforward.” His voice was a hiss. “And keep your weapons out of sight!”

When they reached the door the older manknocked twice, stepped back and waited politely. Within moments the door opened and a womanclose to middle-age appeared. “Can Ihelp you? It is very early for passingtravellers to be knocking on doors.”

The older man smiled and nodded. “I apologise for calling so early, mistressEssmoor, but I have business to discuss with your husband. Is he by chance still here?”

The woman raised an eyebrow butnodded. “It is a little early for him toleave for the temple. Can I ask who youare?”

The man smiled again. “My name is not important. If you ask your husband to come and speak tome, all will become clear.” He sensedher hesitation and his voice became firmer. “I must speak with him.”

The woman stepped back and took a momentto compose herself. “This is mostirregular, gentlemen. Please wait here.”Without looking up she walked back into the house and shut the door.

The bearded man stepped forward and wasabout to touch the door when the older man grabbed his arm, which caused him tocry out in pain. “I told you not to getinvolved. Be patient!” The bearded manshrunk backwards and scowled. The olderman then turned to the greasy-haired man. “Keep him outside and only come in if you have no alternative.” The greasy-haired man nodded.

Moments later the door opened again anda man appeared; he was older than his wife, but not significantly.

The man in the high-quality cloakoffered his hand. “Francis Essmoor?”

Francis Essmoor took the hand and shookit briefly. “Yes. My wife said you have something you need todiscuss with me.”

*

Olbane woke, having slept poorly. Judgingby the angle of the light coming through the inn window, it was around an hourafter dawn. The young man rubbed hiseyes, stretched, and let out a yawn. The first question he asked himself was the same one he had asked allnight: why had she not come? Olbanedidn’t think he had said or done anything wrong, but he was not an expert whenit came to the minds of women. Olbane’snext thought was one of disbelief: he was still in Crossmoor, tucked up in bedat The Traveller’s Call, when heshould have been a day’s ride east. Olbane dressed hurriedly; it had been too late the previous evening toreplace out why Lia had not met him as agreed, but he had vowed to talk to her thefollowing morning.

Olbane quickly packed up the meagreamount of belongings he had with him and reached for the door handle, butstopped suddenly at the sound of voices down the hall.

“He’s in that room, the one down thecorridor.” That sounded like the innkeeper’s voice. “Please don’t make any trouble; if you needto talk to him, please do it in a civilised manner.” The voice sounded veryapprehensive; a brawl upstairs was not what any innkeeper wanted.

Olbane’s mind began to race; it appearedthey had tracked him down to TheTraveller’s Call. The young manremembered the layout of the corridor outside: his was the last room along thehall, so there would be no escape that way without being noticed. Instead, he ran to the window and looked out:the room was on the second floor, so jumping was out of the question. He was used to physical exercise, however, soclimbing down would not have caused him excessive stress. When he heard footsteps down the corridor,Olbane opened the window, moved onto the ledge and looked at the wall heintended to climb down: a drainpipe to the left of the window looked the bestway of getting down safely.

Suddenly the door burst open. Olbane glanced back and noticed two men: thetwo he fled from at the festival two nights ago.

“You! We need to talk to you!” The older and heavier man pointed in Olbane’sdirection. Olbane swung out of thewindow and grabbed the drainpipe.

For a brief moment, Olbane thought hisescape plan was foolproof, and he began climbing down effortlessly. A grunt from the window caused him to lookup, however, and he noticed a pair of hands vigorously shaking the top of thedrainpipe. A moment later, the groundstarted to accelerate towards him, and Olbane realised the drainpipe had givenway. In his teenage years, Olbane wasconsidered something of an athlete, and that ability saved him from being badlyinjured. While in mid-fall the young manmanaged to flip his legs around and land on his feet, but intense pain shotthrough his left ankle when it absorbed the majority of the impact. As he grimaced, he heard a shout from theroom he had hastily vacated: “Well, what are you waiting for? Get down there and catch him!”

Olbane hobbled as fast as he couldtowards the centre of Crossmoor, and hoped the head-start he had was enoughuntil he found a suitable place to hide. Because it was relatively early in the morning, however, there were fewcrowds of people in the streets, and Olbane began to panic: his ankle wasextremely painful and he was replaceing it very difficult to put any weight onit. Olbane was almost resigned to beingcaught when he saw a merchant’s signboard above a nearby building. There was activity in there, and Olbane saida brief prayer to Revan asking that the people inside would take pity and offerhim shelter.

Olbane hobbled across the street andburst through the door, which surprised the grey-haired man inside, who wasreading a journal. “Oh my goodness! What in Revan’s name is going on here?”

Olbane did his best to calm down. “Sir, I beg you, please help me. Two men are pursuing me and I have injured myankle; I fear for my safety if they catch me.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “And what isit they want with you, young man?”

Olbane understood why the question was put to him, but he wished it could havebeen asked when he was out of sight. Hewasn’t feeling strong enough to concoct a good lie, so he blurted out thetruth. “I am carrying something theiremployer wants, something that will incriminate him if given to theauthorities.”

The older man thought about that for amoment. “This sounds a sticky businessto me, young man, and one I am not sure I want to be involved in.” He turnedhis head in the direction of an open door behind him. “Michael? Please come out here!”

Olbane was wondering who Michael waswhen a man in his early twenties walked through the door. “Who is this? Is he causing you trouble?” Michael was more strongly built than he, and with his injury Olbanedidn’t relish the thought of defending himself.

“He says he is fleeing from some men,and is carrying some documents that incriminate their employer.”

Michael scowled. “I am not in the mood for this, father. Is this another of your poor jokes?”

Suddenly, all three men turned to listento a commotion across the street. Olbane risked a look behind him: it was Black’s men, and they were in ashouting match with an elderly woman who was waving a stick at them. “And next time watch where you are going, youyoung ruffians!” The two men laugheddismissively and turned in the direction of the merchant’s premises. No more than a few moments before they walkedthrough the open door, Olbane panicked and dived behind some sacks ofgrain.

The merchant greeted the men in afriendly manner. “Good morning,gentlemen. What can I do for you thisfine day?”

The well-built man snorted. “We are looking for a young man with sandyhair and a leg injury. He has stolensomething of ours. Did he come in here?”

The merchant kept his business-faceon. “Where I come from, young man, it iscustomary to be civil in conversation.”

The well-built man stepped forward in athreatening manner. “Look, old man. We haven’t got time for this; have you seenhim?”

The young man named Michael movedbetween his father and the thug, and was holding a sword at least four feetlong. The thug was a large man, butMichael was taller, broader and his eyes were hard and dangerous. “I’d appreciate it if you showed more respectfor my father, friend.”

The thug paused for a moment as if toweigh up the surroundings; significant weapons were not often carried inCrossmoor, and the two men only carried daggers. He spat on the floor and then glared atMichael. “If I have cause to see youagain, boy, you will regretthis.” Michael held the gaze and saidnothing. The older thug backed away fromhim, grabbed his companion by the arm and pulled him from the building.

It was more than a few minutes beforeOlbane felt confident enough to emerge from his hiding place. He rose gingerly and smiled briefly. “It appears Revan has looked favourably on methis morning. I have encountered a rarething in today’s society: people willing to help another for no personalgain. You have my deepest gratitude.”

Michael grunted, but the merchant smiledin a more genuine manner, then chuckled to himself. “Well my boy, I’m not sure I want to knowwhat you have taken, but I suspect those men will be back looking for you. I am Thomas Eustace, and as you have probablyguessed, this is my son, Michael. Fromyour accent, I would judge you are from north of here. Am I correct?”

Olbane moved forward, winced, andoffered his hand. “Olbane Jonson, from Susanon; it is more than a pleasure tomeet you.” He looked around the shop andtook in the surroundings. “You have afine business here, sir; my father is also in the merchant profession, and Irecognise all the signs of success.”

Olbane knew immediately that he had saidthe right thing, as even Michael’s expression softened. Eustace took the hand and smiled. “We do our best, as I’m sure you and your fatherdo.” The old man looked down at Olbane’sankle. “You need to get that looked at,Master Jonson. I am no physician, butyou will not be going anywhere if you don’t.”

Olbane nodded gravely and thought abouthis options. He didn’t have enough coinon him for a physician, so was forced to think creatively. “I must leave Crossmoor, but you are correct,sir: I cannot leave in this condition. How far is the temple of Revan from here?”

Michael answered. “I would guess about thirty minutes walk, butin your condition I would say at least an hour.” The other young man’s brow furrowed. “What makes you think the temple will helpyou? They don’t normally take in peopleoff the street.”

“I am hoping that if I reveal where I amgoing and why, they will to assist me.”

Eustace nodded his agreement, and pattedhis son on the arm. “Michael, I wouldappreciate it if you can help Olbane here get to the temple as quickly and asinconspicuously as possible.” Michael opened his mouth to protest but hisfather smiled. “You can use the cart;you will be back here in no time.”

In a resigned manner, Michael nodded andlooked towards Olbane. “Follow me; wehave a cart out the back that you can sit on, and we can cover you with atarpaulin just in case anyone else is looking for you.”

Olbane was nearly speechless. “What a wonderful town Crossmoor is to beblessed with such charitable and honourable citizens. I will not forget this.”

Olbane was led out the back of theEustace’s premises to a covered yard where the majority the merchant’s goodswere stored, ready to be shipped. Alsoin the yard were two medium-sized horses, tethered next to a cart. Michael untied one of the horses and strokedit gently on the nose, then placed a harness over its body and attached it tothe cart. “Sit in the cart, and keepunder the canvas.”

Olbane nodded and got under thetarpaulin, where he lay as flat as he could. A few moments later, the cart lurched and they moved off. It was dark under the canvas, with a slightsmell of grain; it was the usual time of year when grain was sold, although hisown father didn’t usually trade in perishables. Olbane thought about his next move; if the temple helped him, he wouldgo to Lia’s home and speak to her, then head east, most likely on foot, andhope to encounter someone he could convince to give him transport. He would rather have gone back to the tradingroad in Crossmoor to look for assistance, but feared that Black’s men wouldreplace him again, which he could not risk. Because he had no idea what he would do if the Priestesses at the templewould not help him, he did his best to push that possibility to the back of hismind.

It was a short time later when the cartcame to a stop. The top of the canvasmoved slightly, and Olbane had to shield his eyes from the sunlight. Michael’s voice came from above him. “We are here. The temple is just ahead of us.”

Olbane pulled himself up and did hisbest to climb out of the cart. He lookedahead of them and saw the temple, a large structure with a pointed steeple, theclosest thing to home the Priestesses and acolytes had. Olbane offered his hand once more to Michael,who took it. “I owe you my life,Michael. I do not take debts of thisnature lightly and I promise I will repay you.”

Michael’s expression softened considerably.“You are an honourable man, Olbane Jonson.”He paused. “A friend of mine is anacolyte in the temple; her name is Carly Waterford. If you mention her name, it might help you.”

Olbane remembered the diminutive younglady in white who was with Lia the night he literally ran into her. “Carly? I have a feeling I have already met her. I clumsily caused an accident with one of her friends two nights ago andshe helped me take Lia home to rest.”

“Lia?” Michael’s expression grewdark. “You injured Lia?”

Olbane lowered his eyes. “I am afraid so. I was running from the men you and yourfather saved me from and wasn’t looking where I was going.” Olbane resumedeye-contact. “She is fine, however. I saw her yesterday and she was in goodspirits.” He neglected to mention she had not met him the previous evening.

Michael’s expression did notchange. “Well, you do get around, don’tyou!” His tone was sarcastic to say the least. “Well, I’ll go and check on her myself later on, just to be sure.”

Olbane’s own expression grewserious. “No-one regrets what happenedmore than I, Michael.” He looked towardsthe temple and back again at the other man. “Once again, I give you my word I will repay your kindness.”

Despite his obvious irritation Michaeloffered his hand, which the other man took. “Good luck, Olbane; I hope whatever you have gets to where you want itto. There are too many bad people outthere.”

Olbane nodded. “And to you; may your business continue toprosper.”

Olbane hobbled towards the temple andlooked up at the large and imposing structure. He wondered how on Eureza he was going to convince the Priestesses tohelp him. The young acolyte Carly didn’tseem too angry with him two evenings ago, so Olbane considered it a possibilitythat she might replace someone to heal his ankle, or even do it herself. As he walked through the large doors, thegrandeur of the main temple foyer washed over him. It was impressive, to put it mildly: thefoyer was at least twenty horses long, and probably fifteen wide, with ornatedrapes and tapestries adorning each wall. In the centre, however, was the crowning glory, a large gold statue ofRevan Himself. Olbane limped towardsthe end of the long room, where he saw a large desk with two women in white satbehind it.

The lady on the right nodded her head ashe approached. “Good morning, youngman. How may the church of Revanserve you this day?”

Olbane did his best to smile. “I am in need of Revan’s healing touch, mylady. My name is Olbane Jonson.”

The woman smiled back. “Master Jonson, is it your leg that requireshealing, or something else? Please beaware it is not usual practice for Revan to grant His power for something thatwill heal naturally, over time.”

Olbane had expected that would be herresponse. “It is indeed my ankle, mylady. I would respectfully ask that mycase be heard, as I fear my life is in danger if my ankle is not healed today.”

She rose from her seat. “Please, come with me. We can discuss your situation in private.”

Olbane nodded and followed the womanthrough a door, which led to a small room. Inside there was a desk with a chair behind it, and two other chairsfacing it. The lady in white sat behindthe desk and Olbane gingerly sat on one of the other chairs.

“Please do not be offended if I ask somedirect questions; I need to be sure your situation is as it appears.” She didnot elaborate, but Olbane understood her caution: they must have had similarrequests, not all genuine, and a Priestesses’ time was precious. “Now, why is it you believe your life is indanger?”

Olbane cleared his throat. “I am carrying documents that willincriminate a merchant who is based in Susanon. There are two men following me, and I injured my ankle this morningescaping from them. I fear that if theyreplace me they will take the documents, as well as my life.”

The woman nodded. “May I see these documents?”

Olbane wasn’t sure he wanted to sharethem, but he had no choice. He reachedinside his tunic and pulled out a number of documents, which were crudely boundby a piece of string. “These prove thatTerence Black and his associates are involved in the slave trade. They are not records, but there iscorrespondence between him and traders in Areza that mentions humangoods.” Olbane placed the papers on thetable.

The lady in white took a few moments toinspect the papers, then handed them back to Olbane. “My eye is untrained in matters of commerce,young man, but the slave trade goes against everything that Revan is.” She rosefrom her seat. “If you follow me, I willtake you to the duty Priestess.”

Olbane was led deeper into the temple,past the main chapel where daily services were held and down a short narrowcorridor, which opened into a larger room with a number of chairs around theoutside. At the far end of the room wasa single door, which was closed. Theroom was quite busy: there were four others sat on the chairs, all with variousailments and injuries; Olbane surmised it was some kind of surgery, whereRevan’s healing power was administered.

The woman gestured for Olbane to take aseat. “Please, sit down and thePriestess will be with you as quickly as she can. She will not ask any further questions ofyou.”

Olbane thanked the woman, took a seatand wondered how he had managed to get so far so easily: Revan wasn’t calledthe God of Pity for nothing, he surmised. The young man sat back in the chair and waited; there were four othersin front of him, so he decided he might as well make himself comfortable.

*

As she often did after waking from adeep sleep, Lia dozed on and off, but she was woken occasionally by the soundof voices.

“… she is really important to my cause,and I need you to understand that.”

“Nothing about your cause makes sense!”

The last voice sounded like her father’s,but because the door to her bedroom was closed, Lia wasn’t sure. Moments later the voices quietened, and Liadozed off again.

“…I think it is time you left, andplease take your friends with you.”

“I am sorry you feel this way. May I talk to her myself? She is old enough now to make her owndecisions.”

The familiar voice grew louder: it wasdefinitely her father’s. “No, you maynot! Now, leave!”

“I must say I am extremelydisappointed. I had great hope thatsomeone from a lineage such as yours would have greater wisdom.”

There was a pause, before Lia heard hermother scream. “No! Leave us alone!”

Lia jumped out of bed and headed towardsthe door of her room, but stopped herself before she opened it. If whoever was out there was hostile, shewasn’t in a position to do anything about it. Quickly she looked towards her small bedroom window, which was ajar; sheused to climb out of it as a child, and she had no choice but to attempt to doso again. If she could get out, shecould run for help. Suddenly the handleof the door turned, and a middle-aged man wearing a high quality cloak walkedinto the room. Lia looked desperatelyfor something to defend herself with.

“Now my dear, there is no need to bedifficult about this.” The voice was almost soothing, and despite the situationLia found herself listening intently. “We can help each other, you and I.”

Lia came to her senses. “Get away from me!”

The man took a step towards her. “All I want to do is talk to you. I did not come here to harm you or yourfamily.”

Lia moved her head so she could seethrough the door behind him, but she couldn’t see her mother or father. “Where are my parents? Have you hurt them?”

He shook his head. “No. All I want to do is talk to you.”

Suddenly there was a grunt of pain fromthe kitchen and something smashed onto the floor. Natalya’s voice was shrill. “Lia! Run, get help!” Lia’s eyesglanced towards the window.

“I suppose we’ll have to do this thehard way.” The man’s voice sounded almost disappointed. He turned his head towards the kitchen. “You two clumsy oafs! Get in here!”

While his head was turned, Lia made adesperate lunge for the window and she managed to grab hold of the sill. Within moments, however, a pair of hands hadgrasped each of her ankles and she was hauled down towards the bedroomfloor. Before her head hit the floor,Lia was able to scream one word: “Father!”

*

Carly sat at herdesk and was almost resigned to despair. She had spent most of the day trying to connect with Revan, withno success. Carly had even tried helpingat the surgery and spending time with the Priestesses, but she felt nothing atall. How on Eureza was she going to passthe Test? Whatever they threw ather, she was not going to be able to react as the Priestesses desired, anddepending on what they decided to throw at her, she might have foundherself in mortal peril. Tears offrustration and disappointment welled up in Carly’s eyes, and she forcedherself to calm. The Priestesses ofRevan used a meditation-style technique for calming, called Revan’s Peace. ThePeace was actually a breathing and relaxation technique, so didn’trequire a connection, which was fortunate for Carly. She breathed deeply, forced the negativethoughts from her mind and focused on Revan. After a few moments, Carly experienced the light-headedness that usuallyaccompanied The Peace, and felt at one with herself.

“Father!”

Carly’s eyessnapped open, and she gasped. She movedto the window to see if anyone outside had cried out, then ran to the corridoroutside of her room, where she almost collided with a fellow acolyte. “Acolyte Sophia, did you hear that?”

The other youngwoman frowned. “Heard what, acolyteCarly? This corridor is as silent as itusually is.”

Carly shook herhead. “Forgive me, I must have beenmistaken.” Carly ignored the raisedeyebrow of the other woman and stepped back through her door. She had known immediately whose the voicewas, but did not want to believe it. Priestesses had been known to receive messages or visions when at Revan’sPeace, but it was very unusual, particularly as there was no connectionto the God of Pity involved. Carlyconsidered her options: with her Test so close, she shouldn’t have left the temple, but Carly decidedshe couldn’t stand by and do nothing. She would normally have gone and talked to Priestess Thereza, but hermentor had been sent to Susanon the evening before. Carly had no choice: she put on her whitecloak, left her room and walked briskly through the temple. A short while later she was in Crossmoor,and on her way to the house Lia’s parent’s owned.

Carly arrived atLia’s home and was slightly out of breath from the very brisk walk. There was no sign of anyone on the landoutside, which wasn’t unexpected as the Essmoors’ had few neighbours. The door at the front of the house was open,which was not particularly unusual, but Carly ignored the usual etiquette ofknocking and walked straight in. “Lia! Are you here?” Carly’s shout was greeted by silence. She ran through the house to Lia’s bedroombut her friend was not there. Lia’s bedwas not made, but once more, Carly didn’t think that was unusual: her friendhad never been the tidiest of people. Carly was beginning to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her andshe considered the possibility she had been mistaken in the temple. When she recalled the terror in Lia’s voice,however, she forced herself to check the whole dwelling.

She found themlying on the floor in their bedroom, and their pale faces were contorted inpain. Both Francis and Natalya’s handswere reaching up to their necks as if to try and remove something, and theyboth had red marks around their throats. When she realised they were dead, Carly cried out in anguish, sank to herknees and sobbed uncontrollably.

*

As Olbane ran hecouldn’t think of a reason why Lia didn’t meet him the night before; hebelieved they had a connection on a personal level, and when she had said shewould go to The Traveller’s Call, hefelt she genuinely wanted to spend more time with him. Olbane arrived at Lia’s home and stopped ashe reached the door, which was open; inside he heard one unmistakable sound: awoman crying.

“Lia? Is that you?” Olbane didn’t wait for an answer and followed the sounds through to amedium-sized room with two beds in. Despite the sobbing, Olbane’s attention was distracted by the sight ofLia’s parents, who were clearly dead. After what seemed like minutes, he looked at the source of the sorrowand realised it was not who he expected to see. “Carly? Where is Lia?”

The young womanraised her head; she had tears running down her face. “I do not know. I fear that whoever did this has done thesame to her.”

Olbane boltedand frantically went from room to room in the small home, where he looked forany sign of Lia. After a short butfruitless search, he returned to where Lia’s parents were; Carly had composedherself and was saying a prayer of penitence over Francis’s still form. Olbane knelt, bowed his head and silentlyprayed to Revan until Carly had also prayed for Natalya.

Finally, Carlypulled a blanket from each bed and placed one over each of Lia’s parents’faces. “I must return to the temple, toreport this and arrange for a proper remembrance service.” Her jaw gritted with anger; Olbane noted thatPriestesses of Revan were not supposed to show such emotion, but let itpass. “Then I must replace out whathappened to Lia.”

Olbaneconsidered what might have happened and his heart began to pound withanxiety. Lia was not yet twenty, and ifalive, she must have been terrified. Why would anyone want to kill Lia’s family? Olbane could think of no plausible reason,but then families often had dark secrets, as his own experience hadhighlighted. The thought of his ownfamily’s concerns brought an unwelcome notion into Olbane’s mind: were Black’smen responsible? Olbane suddenly feltphysically sick; were Lia and her parents victims of his own moral crusadeagainst slavery?

Carly’s voiceinterrupted his thoughts. “You are theman who knocked Lia over two evenings ago, are you not?”

Olbanenodded. “Olbane Jonson. I ended up accepting the Essmoors’hospitality that night and I spent some time with Lia yesterday.” He shook hishead sadly. “She agreed to meet me at TheTraveller’s Call last evening, but did not arrive. I suspect we now know the reason why.”

Carly nodded andwas apparently convinced the explanation was genuine. “I would appreciate it if you can remain hereuntil I have reached the temple and brought back some assistance.” She soundedlike a Priestess, in Olbane’s opinion, even if she was not.

Olbane inclinedhis head. “Of course; it is the least Ican do.”

Carly left witha minimum of fuss, and Olbane was impressed at how quickly she had composed herself. From what he understood, Carly was an oldfriend of Lia’s, so most likely knew her parents well. It also occurred to Olbane that the young manMichael might also wish to know what had happened. All in good time; Olbane had an opportunityto investigate Francis and Natalya’s home himself, and he hoped he would replacesomething that would give him an indication of where Lia was.

After sayinganother prayer to Revan, mostly asking for His protection for both Lia and herparents’ souls, Olbane went to Lia’s bedroom, where he hoped to replace somethingthat would tell him who had been there, and what they had done with Lia. Lia’s personal room was a mess, with clothesdraped over furniture and trinkets and personal effects randomly scatteredalong the top of a dressing table. Olbane surmised that Lia was probably not the tidiest of people, so thatwas most likely her doing. There wasnothing of particular value anywhere, but Lia’s father was a scribe, not awealthy merchant, so unless he was involved in questionable dealings Lia wouldnot have owned many items of value. Olbane searched the rest of the home as best he could and tookparticular care in Francis and Natalya’s room, but did not replace anything ofnote. Olbane shook his head sadly,wandered outside of the home and sat on the earth outside, where he waited forCarly to return with assistance.

It was a shortwhile later that Francisca smiled on him and Olbane noticed a scrap ofparchment on the ground a few yards away. After bending over to pick it up, Olbane examined what was part of amap. The fragment showed the easternpart of Suria, and someone had neatly drawn a line bisecting the Great Forestand Lake Moor, the two famous landmarks thatseparated the northern part of Suria and the lands of Areza. The young man scratched his chin; was the maprelated to whoever had killed Lia’s parents? It was not conclusive evidence and although he felt guilty, Olbane hopedthe murderers had dropped it; he couldn’t think of a reason why someoneassociated with Black would carry such a map. He jumped to his feet and wondered if someone on the east side of townhad seen something; if he was to catch up with them, he would have tohurry. Olbane left Francis and Natalyato rest in peace and ran as fast as he could back to the centre of Crossmoor;it was more important to replace Lia than to wait for Carly.

Carly and whatlooked like a small army of people from the temple were halfway to theirdestination when they met Olbane. Carlywas walking at the rear of the group, but rushed to the front when she sawhim. “What are you doing here? You are supposed to be at Lia’s house!” Hervoice was tinged with anger.

Olbane shook hishead and held up the parchment. “I thinkthe people responsible left this behind!” He paused to take a breath. “I think they are heading east!”

The Priestessleading the procession moved alongside Carly. “Young man, if you have information relating to this terrible crime,then please give it to me. I will ensureit is dealt with.”

Olbane held backthe parchment. “I would rather take itto the watch myself, Priestess. I fearif we do not act now the murderers will be out of reach.”

The Priestessshook her head. “I must see to the soulsof those who have departed first.” She paused and then smiled sadly, as ifacknowledging the young man’s sense of urgency, then touched Carly on theshoulder. “Acolyte Carly, you willescort this young man and his replaceings to the temple, where Priestess Elizawill deal with him. Please ask the deskto summon the watch.”

Carlynodded. “As you wish, Priestess.”

*

A short whilelater, Olbane handed over the parchment to Priestess Eliza, who was sat next tothe Captain of the Watch, a middle-aged man with greying hair and matchingmoustache. The mature but regal-lookingPriestess frowned and handed the parchment to the captain, who examined it andplaced it on the table in front of him. “Well young man, it is not much information for me to work with, but Iagree it is worth taking further.”

Olbane shiftedin his seat. “So you’ll have your menhead out of Crossmoor and track them down?”

“We will do ourbest, but you must understand my chief responsibility is to guardCrossmoor. Excuse me for a moment.” Theolder man moved to the door of the small room and spoke briefly to a member ofthe watch who was standing outside; moments later he returned. “We will put out a description of your friendand patrol as much of the outskirts of town as we can, focusing on the easternside.”

Olbane stood up.“But they could have already left Crossmoor! For all we know they are well along the trading road by now!”

The captainspoke in a level voice. “I understandyour anxiety, Master Jonson, but Ithink this is the best course of action.”

After he leftthe room, Olbane went to the foyer of the temple to join Carly. “They will not post the watch further thanthe outskirts of town, Carly. I fearthat Lia’s abductors have already left Crossmoor, and the watch will not replacethem.” He looked to the ceiling of thetemple, almost as if seeking divine guidance. “And we don’t even know for definite they have travelled east.”

Carly moved toput a hand on Olbane’s shoulder but stopped herself; a Priestess didn’t need totouch someone to reassure them. “We mustput our faith in Revan, Olbane. We musttrust that He will either bring Lia home to us or give someone the courage andwisdom to replace her.”

Olbane was notconvinced, but did not contradict the acolyte. He nodded his head and prayed she was right.

*

The bearded man laboured as they reached the outskirts of the town,while up ahead of him his companions discussed their next course ofaction. The greasy-haired man lookedtowards the man in the fine quality cloak. “It is a long road to ourdestination. Do we travel on the tradingroad, or a little rougher?”

“Even if the watch are aware, they will not follow for long. I suspect that once we are a reasonabledistance away from the town we can use the trading road.” The older man glanced over at a group oftrees. “Good. They are still there.” The two men walkedtowards three horses that were tethered under the trees and began to preparethem for the road ahead. They turnedaround to check on the bearded man’s progress and eventually he joinedthem. He then roughly dropped the stillfigure he was carrying to the ground, which caused her to moan slightly.

The older man looked in the girl’s direction. “She will be waking soon. We must make her secure.”

The bearded man swung up onto his mount and the greasy-haired man passedthe girl up to him. While the beardedman tied the girl to the reins, the other two mounted and the three drove theirhorses on.

The older man in the cloak broke the silence. “We will ride hard andonly stop when we have to. Let us keepto less travelled routes until we know she won’t do anything reckless.”

Shortly after the three horses rode off, a small boy jumped down fromone of the trees. Moments later heturned in the direction of the town, and ran as fast as his legs would carryhim.