Aldren stared grimly into his tankard. The usually pleasant and smooth mead got stuck in his throat when he attempted to drink from it and so he settled for staring into its depths, begging it to bestow upon him it's gifts.

Jin was in much the same way, they sat in silence broken only by the bustle of the tavern around them.

Jena or kena or whatever her name was bustled past carrying drinks without so much as a glance in their direction, possibly she had found some other fool to occupy her time, Aldren found it hard to care.

Sebastian occupied his thoughts, as he knew he did Jin's.

They had not seen him for many days now, not a word reached them of his whereabouts. They had asked polite questions, not wishing to stir up the villagers by informing them of a missing outsider in their midst's in case they sensed something fishy.

He wished he could take his mind off it but the mead was not working and Marcie was no where to be found either; although this was less worrisome as she was known to be erratic in her partaking of their company. Most likely she was hunting in the forest as spring was properly on its way. Her father sat slumped in the darkest corner of the tavern and he always made sure to make himself scarse when she was near, so Alden surmised she was far away.

The Barman sidled over to their table,

"I get you lads anything?" He asked, eyeing their almost full tankards.

"Not at the moment good sire" Jin replied sullenly.

The Barman eyed him, surprised,

"Thought you boys would be celebrating. What with the traders soon upon us for the spring market" he said.

Aldren grunted in acquiescence.

The Barman lingered as if to say something else but then shuffled off to tend the bar.

Jin sighed, propping his chin on his hand and stared over the run of his tankard at Aldren,

"Traders soon be here" he said, without enthusiasm.

Aldren grunted.

"We should probably start combing the village for Sebastian"

Aldren grunted again.

"Ya know, wouldn't want to leave without him or nothing"

Another grunt.

Jin lowered his voice, "Gotta leave an announce our failure to find the fabled tree of healing"

At this Aldren sighed and pushed his mead away,

"I am not in any rush to face my father Jin" he said.

"Who would be? Ain't your fault, was a mighty long shot as it was" he lowered his voice further then said, "You knew he never expected you to succeed" not unkindly.

"I am aware of that" he snapped back. Jin put his hands up in mock surrender and they fell back into tense silence.

When he thought he could stand it no longer the tavern door opens and Marcie strode in, purpose written on her face.

She was dressed in trousers, boots and a shirt she had twisted into a knot at one side as it was far too large. She looked perfect, her hair pulled back in a loose braid she pulled every eye in the room.

Kena, who had been in the process of charming an old farmer at a table near the door, cringed away from her imposing figure; she scuttled quickly behind the bar and almost hid behind her father, much to his confusion.

Marcie scanned the room, her eyes settled on her father and then carried on until she met his eyes, her face grim.

Any joy he felt at her arrival quickly faded as it was apparent she came with something else in mind than escaping back to her bed for a quick tumble. Jin turned to see where his focus lay and waved her over, appearing pleased, but he too saw her face and asked,

"What is it?"

Marcie looked at both of them for a long time then said "You need to follow me" and marched back outside, expecting them to follow her.

Marcie heard two sets of boots scramble to keep up with her as she walked quickly back towards Dafne's.

Jin jogged to her side,

"What's going on?" He asked,

Marcie did not know how to start so all she said was "You shall see"

"See what?"

She ignored him and carried on walking, he growled in frustration and fell back to converse with Aldren.

When Dafne's home came into view she panicked thinking the Daygon's horses would be grazing in front of it and their involvement - as she and Dafne had agreed to try and keep it a secret for fear of reprisal-would be discovered. However the two distinctively Daygon mares were nowhere to be seen. Dara sent her an image of the two horses a little way into the forest from his perch in a tree near their grazing patch. Dafne must have moved them, she released her breath in relief and led the two confused men to the door, opening it she led the two into the treatment room.

She heard both exclaim in surprise at the spotless white stone work and pointed to the curtains that shielded Sebastian from view.

Both turned curious gazes upon her but stepped cautiously across the room. Jin pulled the screen aside and stood completely still, the he moved aside to allow Aldren to see. Aldren also froze, then he stepped forward and uttered a chocked sound, halfway between disbelief and shock.

"Sebastian" he said in a small voice.

He reached forward, as it to touch his loyal servant, but then just held his hand out as if afraid to disturb any of the healing wounds upon him that he could see.

Many terribly quiet moment passed before Jin turned to Marcie, his expression unfathomable,

"What happened here" he demanded in a quiet voice.

"He was attacked by wolves" Marcie said equally as quietly after a moment where her mouth went dry and her heart hurt with empathy at their obvious pain.

Jin turned back to his friend "Wolves" he whispered.

Aldren lowered himself into a stool at Sebastian's side, never taking his eyes off the gently rising of hid chest that proved he still lived.

"How?" He asked, in that same small voice.

Taking a breath Marcie started her tale, "He followed the Daygon into the forest, after the winter wolves often become bolder and seek food closer to the village edge. He must have stumbled across them. I only found him after I heard howls and went to check they did not get to close to the borders and warn the villagers if necessary when I found him like this." It was not quite a lie. Quite.

Silence filled the treatment room.

"What is his condition?" Jin asked after a while.

"Favourable, I got him back as quickly as I could and Dafne is a good healer"

"Good? Good! Ah no I did na hear ya say I was just good Marcie No Ones Bride" Dafne said Scathingly striding into the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

"Yer friends only alive cuz I'm the greatest damn healer in the whole o this green earth I is. Move over" she nudged Jin out of the way and pulled an instrument out of her pocket, plugged it in her ears and placed the end of the tube on Sebastian's chest, listened for a moment then grunted in satisfaction.

"He's makin a good recovery, wont be runnin no races but he be better in time fer yer ta leave when the traders get ere"

Neither Aldren or Jin said anything so Dafne shrugged and wandered off, catching Marcie's eye and nodding in their direction, wordlessly telling her to stay and keep an eye on them. She nodded and Dafne retreated into the back rooms to see to their other guests.

Marcie found her own seat shuffled until she felt comfortable then tried to relax into it as she watched Jin and Aldren star at their friend.

After a long while, Jin straightened from being hunched over on his stool and stretched. He squeezed Aldren's shoulder and walked away from him. Nearing where Marcie sat he beckoned with a nod of his head to the front door and walked out, holding it open until she followed him silently out.

Closing the door behind her she stood with her arms crossed her eyes hard,"What is it?" She said, allowing a little suspicion to creep into her voice.

He looked at her then set about pacing in a small circle to gather his thoughts.

Something did not make sense to him, he ordered them in his mind then nodding to himself stopped pacing and faced Marcie head on,

"You say Sebastian was attacked by wolves?" He said, watching for her reaction closely.

She relaxed slightly, "Yes, you can clearly see that he was, as I said, sometimes the wolves get too close to the-"

"And you found him?" He interrupted,

She blinked, collected her thoughts, "Yes, I heard the howls and followed them to him"

"Hmm" he said,

She shifted uncomfortably, her stance still defensive.

"What I wish to know..." He said, pausing, "Is how you got him back in time to save him"

Marcie stared at him, "Do you doubt my story?" She asked, tilting her head to one side in a predatory fashion.

"I just wish to know the details" he said with a placating gesture.

Marcie tapped her foot on the ground, then stopped the movement and said, "The wolves got one of the Daygon, I grabbed his horse, he wouldn't be needing it any more"

She held eye contact the whole time and made none of the nervous movements that people made when they were lying. So he pushed a little more,

"How did you get him up on the horse?"

"I'm strong, you saw how I lifted the deer onto Chirion when we first met? That's how I did it"

Again she appeared to be telling the truth.

"A Daygon died?" He asked, he couldn't help the small smile that gathered on his face at the thought that there was one less Daygon on the world.

"Yeah, ripped apart by wolves just like Sebastian" Marcie said pointedly.

He brushed the comment off and asked, "How did you avoid the wolves? If they were hungry they would not have allowed you to steal their meal" pain flashed through him as he was reminded of the mass of bloody bandages that covered Basti's body.

She shrugged, "Rest of the Daygon must have scared em off" she said, then she blinked and looked away from him.

She was lying.

But why? She had not lied about the wolves or the dead Daygon or the horse, so why lie about this? He stored this information for later then pressed on,

"How did the horses pass through the forest? I myself have seen how difficult it is for them to move between the trees"

Her posture became defensive again,

"Daygon horses apparently do not suffer from the same limitations as yours do" she said stoutly.

He acquiesced, holding his hands up,

"And this allowed you to move quickly and without avoid obstruction?"

She nodded.

Then he asked, "May I see the horse?" watching for her reaction closely,

She hesitated and he tensed, ready for her to make an excuse or refuse. She looked over his shoulder into the trees and her face went slack, her eyes vacant for a moment, as if distracted by something. He looked over his shoulder but could see nothing in the trees to capture her attention do. Then she seemed to snap back to the present, she nodded and walked past him into the forest that hugged the edge of the the old woman's mole hill home, she walked a little way into the forest when he heard the snort and scuff and the Daygon horse appeared, tethered loosely to a sapling, it munched on a small pile of damp hay placed by the tree roots.

Whatever his feelings towards the Daygon, they breed the greatest horses in the land. This one was no exception, pure white, with not a speck or flaw marring its soft coat or the downy hair of its mane and tail. Perfectly proportioned with strong legs and neck. As he approached it turned dark intelligent eyes to meet his. He stopped, not wishing to go nearer if it proved to be as fierce as its masters. After a while it turned away, releasing him from its gaze and returned to the hay at its feet.

"Beautiful" he whispered,

Marcie made a sound of agreement, she looked around the small clearing carefully then turned to him,

"Are you satisfied?" She asked impatiently, and after a moment he nodded.

Bowing, he said, "Sorry if I offended you with my questioning nature my lady. I wished only to have all the facts" of which some you have withheld he thought.

Marcie snorted, seeming to accept his apology. She moved over to the horse and gently stroked its nose, which it allowed.

He left her there and returned to his friends bedside.

Marcie watched Jin leave and breathed a sigh if relief.

He was relentless, prodding and picking holes. She had used a version of the truth when she could but did not know if her untruths went undetected, unfamiliar with lying as she was.

She petted the Daygon horse until she was sure Jin was well away then called Dara back from where he hid with the other Daygon horse.

He led the horse, holding the much larger creatures tether in his mouth and pulling gently while the horse followed obediently. She was surprised the horses were not more upset by Dara but they both appeared calm and unconcerned, another Daygon trick or magic maybe?

Dara trotted up to her and deposited the tether in her hand triumphantly, then sat back on his haunches proudly, she smiled and patted his snout in gratitude which he accepted happily.