All eyes swung toward Waithe and Ceres as they burst into the cottage. Waithe placed two books in Jenn's hands. "These will bolster your charges against Reverend Quar." He took a deep breath, trying to recover from the sprint they made to arrive here. "We were found out. It may not be long until the remaining Medice Guard comes to this door."

Jenn turned to the soldier beside her. "Captain!"

He nodded and ran to muster his men. Within a few minutes, the horses were assembled and mounted. Ceres stuffed the books she carried into the saddlebags of her packhorse. They galloped toward the front gate in the pre-dawn darkness.

Two guards lay on the ground snoring on each side of the front gate, the Spirit Lun's Magic still held. Two of Jenn's soldiers jumped from their horses and turned the winch that raised the gate, a heavy wood and iron grid portcullis that stood between massive stone gatehouses with pointed roofs. Tall stone walls with top walkways extended on either side, surrounding the compound within its protection.

Waithe turned his head back to sounds of shouts and horses in the distance. The Medice Guards would soon be in pursuit. He waved everyone else through the open gate, then leaped from his horse and sent it through riderless. He reached back and pulled his sword, holding it aloft.

A fearful look came over Ceres' face and she called out. "Waithe, No!"

Alden came up beside her. "Fear not, Ceres. I think I understand what he tries to do."

Alden jumped from his horse as he passed the gate. 

Waithe came to the gate winch and swung his sword to chop at the thick rope that held the gate up. After three swings the rope severed and the heavy gate slid down its track. But too fast it slammed down, well before Waithe could slide beneath it. A feeling of panic rose in him, he had not intended to end up on this side of the gate. But then something caught his eye: a log jammed under the gate, leaving a gap just enough for Waithe to crawl under. Once through, he and Alden together kicked the log away and allowed the gate to fully slide down. For good measure, Alden jammed a rock in the gate guide slot.

Waithe turned to Alden. "This be your doing?" Alden nodded with a grin. Waithe patted him on the back. "Well done, Alden! I believe you saved me from a rather inconvenient turn of events."

The group galloped off into the early morning twilight as three Medice Guards on horseback reached the disabled gate.

As he crested a hill on the road, Waithe turned his horse around and scanned behind them. Thus far there was no sign of pursuit, but they would come soon. He galloped up beside Jenn. "My Lady, which way would you go? They will soon come after us."

"We continue south." She pointed ahead. "Just past those hills, we turn east. I know a way through the desert that would soon take us into my land of Woest. They dare not follow us there."

At Jenn's direction, the group turned off the road on a narrow path that wound between large trees and patches of thorny briars beside a dry rocky wash. The winding path and the exhaustion of the horses slowed their progress. The Captain sent two of his soldiers ahead to scout the way.

Waithe urged his horse to the top of a flat hill that viewed the road from which they came. Alden followed him. Dust rose in the distance illuminated by the rising sun, but he could not tell what caused it.

Alden pulled out a metallic tube from his saddlebag and put it to his eye. "Medice Guard riders come at full gallop, a dozen, perhaps more."

Waithe raised an eyebrow. "How know you that?"

Alden held aloft the metal tube. "A scope which brings things far away into closer view. I made it myself."

Waithe took the scope and put it to his eye, mimicking Alden's earlier action. A grin came to his face. "Amazing, my dear Alden. You be full of pleasant surprises." He gave the scope back to Alden. "They be not far behind."

Waithe and Alden picked their way down the hill to rejoin the group. Waithe came up to Jenn. "They come, about twenty minutes behind."

She asked, "Would they ride on past the path we took?"

"Perhaps, but we should not presume that since we made no effort to hide our tracks. With horses so spent, we may need to find a place to make a defensive stand."

"Ill-advised, my dear friend. They only need contain us until the bulk of their forces arrive. Then all would be lost."

Alden joined them. "There may be another way." He motioned Ceres over. Eira sat on the horse with her. "My Lady Ceres, the briars along the path. Would your Magic be able to grow them behind us? Perhaps enough to hide us and block the path?"

A smile came to Ceres. "Aye, with the help of the Spirits." She turned to the little girl that sat on the horse with her. "Eira, would you help me call Phy?"

Eira nodded and immediately closed her eyes. Phy's green light snapped into view before her.

Ceres hugged Eira from behind. "My wonderful little girl, did you call Phy all by yourself?" Eira nodded vigorously with a big smile on her face. "Well then, let us complete our task."

Ceres closed her eyes and lifted her hands. Eira copied her. Within a moment a Magic shimmer appeared around them. The shimmer flowed outward in spiraling streams and settled on the brush. The branches began to twist and grow outward, making a rustling sound. The brush expanded and interlocked until a single massive barrier laid across the pathway, stretching between rock faces. The sharp thorns threatened all who would dare to pass.

Jenn smiled. "Well done Ceres and Eira. And Alden, my son, that was inspired. Let us be off. I feel safer now with such a fearsome rear guard."

*****

As the sun laid low on the horizon, they made camp, safely within Woest territory. A small stream trickled between small pools nearby, surrounded by a thin strip of riparian green. The water was the last gasp of a river that flowed down from the hills and mountains to the west, eventually to be swallowed up by the rocky desert. It turned out to be too much of a temptation to Eira who pulled Waithe along to splash in the shallow pools.

Nearby, Ceres and Alden sat among the rounded rocks at the stream edge. Together they read from a journal taken from the Medice archives.

Alden said, "So the Taint comes from the Darkness." He pointed at a passage in the book she held. "If what this says is true, the corrupted Shaman of the North Lands tried to bring about the End Times, but he could not call enough of the Darkness to trigger it. What Darkness he did call settled about the lands and caused the foul Taint to appear."

Ceres nodded. "Aye. And the Taint spreads as more Darkness comes forth, albeit slowly. It is as if a barrier protecting our world cracked, allowing some Darkness to leak in."

Alden frowned. "If that analogy be true, then the more Darkness that flows through the crack, the bigger the crack may become. It would be like the erosion of a dam breach."

Ceres shook her head. "Quar would have known of this, yet she allowed it to continue. She does nothing to fight the Taint. I understand not what she would have to gain with this."

"So how do we, so to say, seal the crack?"

Ceres shook her head, a bitter frown on her face. "That I have yet to discover. This speaks of a Shadow Spellbook that the Dark Shaman used. If I may find it, I may be able to discern how to reverse his spell."

"It says here that only a Tau may read from that book, and only a Tau may find it. What is a Tau?"

Ceres dipped her head. "Only in recent times did I learn of it. The mark of Tau was granted to few Shaman by the Time Spirit, Aon. The Tau's very existence protects the flow of time and resists the End Times. It is said that all those of the Tau were hunted down and killed by dark forces, one of which was Waithe's wife, Fera, many years ago."

"But if the Shadow Spellbook may only be read by a Tau, then the Dark Shaman must have been a Tau."

"Aye. That troubles me deeply."

"So if the dark Shaman failed to cause the End Times, then there may still be one Tau that still lives. One that escaped death."

Ceres held silent for a moment, then answered. "Aye. There is one."

Alden straightened up. "But who? We must find this last Tau. Great danger that person faces from the Darkness."

Ceres looked up to Alden with moist eyes. She put a hand on his arm. "My dear Alden, you do not understand, the last Tau is me."

Alden's eyes widened and he held his breath for a moment. "Ceres... Then you must flee! Go to the farthest reaches of the Realm and hide."

She shook her head slowly. "Eventually the Darkness would find me. And the Taint... it would still spread, bringing desolation with it. I must end it."

He took her hands into his own. "Then I would go with you."

"Nay, Alden. This destiny was forced on me, not you. I would not allow you to be in harm's way."

Alden clenched his jaw and drew his hands away. "And Eira? You deny me, but put her in harm's way?"

A tear traced Ceres' cheek. "Phy led me to Eira, as she did to Waithe. It is her destiny as well. Please Alden."

She stood and walked away, her hands over her face. Alden sat with his head cast down.

Waithe moved over to sit next to Alden. "She cares deeply for you, you know. That be why she wishes you to leave."

Alden extended his hands. "I finally found a noble true purpose, a meaning. I would be not be a burden."

"Alden, you have indeed proven yourself brave and resourceful. No burden would you be. You understand how critical her quest be, but do you understand it be more important than any of our lives? If you would join us, you may face her death or that of your own."

Alden took a deep breath. "Aye. I understand."

Waithe tilted his head toward Ceres, who sat bent over on a boulder. "Then go talk to her. Tell her how you feel and that you do understand."