With Serena at his side, Dustin proceeded to round up the members of his trusted inner circle. He fetched Jude from a visit at his mother's house on the south side of the capital, and then they headed back to the palace where they readily found Kyle at one of his favorite spots just outside the city.

On a simple but sturdy bridge spanning over a lapping stream, Kyle and Cassie sat with their legs dangling over the water before displaying matching looks of mild irritation at being interrupted. Nonetheless, Dustin filled them in on the happenings out west and what he intended to do about it.

"I won't compel either of you to accompany me." Dustin said to Jude and Kyle, rounding off his little speech, "You deserve to rest for as long as you need, after all. But neither will I refuse your companionship if you wish to offer it. The choice is yours."

Barely a second of silence prevailed before Jude stepped forward to firmly grasp Dustin's shoulder. "I've spent too many years at your side to leave you now. Count me in."

Dustin grinned. "The steadfastness of a Holt will never fail. I appreciate your faithfulness."

Kyle pushed himself to his feet with a grunt. "I won't let you down either. Us Korynns aren't so fickle ourselves."

"Not in the slightest. Thank you for sticking by my side."

"If he's going," Cassie spoke up, "then so am I. You would be foolhardy to set out without healers, after all."

Dustin crossed his arms. "You know I can't allow that. Father said—"

"Don't even pretend you hold Father's word in such high regard. You yourself had such a mighty struggle to make him see you as the man you wanted to be. I'm in the same place now."

"His wrath would be great if he found out I allowed your disobedience. Besides, if any harm befell you out there...I would never forgive myself."

Kyle spoke next before Cassie could formulate a reply. "Do you trust me, Dustin?"

"With my life. Why?"

"Then trust me with hers. I'll make sure nothing happens to Cassie. Just let her come with us."

Dustin's eyes darted momentarily to Serena and Jude, who appeared skeptical but remained silent. "I have my reservations," he said, "but I'll allow it. We must win though."

"Of course. But why do you say that?"

"If we come back with news of victory, my father will have more celebration in his heart than reprimand."

Kyle chuckled at his comment, as did the others. For a little while, the five simply stood and enjoyed the fresh air without words, but then Dustin remembered the matter of Lord Tanuk and the artifact he'd taken. Surely the others deserved to know.

"I must also inform you all of the doings of the sorcerer Tanuk as of late." he said, "By all appearances, he has only gone from strength to strength."

"What has he done?" Serena asked.

"Well, Bella Holt was recently engaged in battle against him, and he prevailed. From her, he stole one of the relics of the old Alcontean gods—the Trump of Ibis."

Jude had been smoothing out his beard as he listened, but his motion accelerated upon hearing that news. "We should find that incredibly concerning."

"Why is that?"

"You know how we've been noticing the morale dropping dangerously low among the Innutukian troops over the last few months? A lot more retreats than ever, even some surrenders here and there. Innutuk used to be a lot more prideful."

"Quite true."

"Well, Ibis is the Alcontean god of communication, and according to legend, his horn compels even the most reluctant to follow the will of he who blows it. A quote I remember my mother reciting from Ibis's scriptures is 'When the Trump of Ibis soundeth from the lips of his servant, shall not even the dead rise to heed his words'?"

Kyle snorted. "That's why we should be concerned? Pagan legends don't have much to do with the reality we live in."

"We have seen the power of Alconte's old gods at work with our own eyes. It isn't all fiction."

"Still, even highly motivated men are still men. Nothing I'm too worried about."

Dustin let a deep breath leak out his nose. "Whether the legends hold merit or not, we've seen for ourselves that they hold some truth, and we also know Tanuk is a powerful sorcerer who only grows in skill as time goes on. Furthermore, Bella had reason to believe he was heading for the capital after he defeated her and her men. With our siege effort already faltering, we can only imagine how much devastation he could hurl upon our forces before reinforcements arrive."

"Our fight won't be an easy one." Jude said.

"And then there's the matter of Paulo Feliz. He follows him wherever he goes, and we're sure to face him if if we come upon Tanuk."

"There's no debate in my mind, really. I'll pierce him with arrows until he goes down, and that'll be the end of it."

Dustin glanced at Jude abruptly, shocked by his harsh words. "If possible, my father wishes him redeemed."

"That was years ago, Dustin. He would have killed you if Bella hadn't stopped him. He threw away any innocence he could have had, and I'm sure if I asked your father this instant, he would agree with me. When Paulo laid hands on you to kill you, he forfeited any right to the mercy your father was willing to offer him."

"Your point is taken, but I still have a sense he was acting more on instinct than thought. He's been trained to hate the Ricklands...to hate Monterayne. If I can only reason with him, I believe he may be redeemed."

"Difficult as it is to see past the memory of the man pinning Dustin down and raining blows on his face, I agree." Serena chimed in, "He seems to have been fed lies all his life in order for the Empire to use him as a weapon. In my eyes, it is difficult to ascertain how much responsibility he has for his outburst."

Jude frowned. "If you do something with your own hands, you bear the responsibility for what you did. No amount of lies and conditioning can undo that simple fact. What you do with your hands is your responsibility."

"What Paulo did with his was try to kill our friend." Kyle said. "Can't really argue against that one. I get a feeling if you two meet again, one of you isn't walkin' away."

"I sense that too."

"I will speak with him first, should I meet him again." Dustin declared, "He will be given a chance to amend his wrongs, and if he should refuse that, then he has sealed his fate. One way or another, our feud shall come to an end."

****

Enduring the journey back to the Innutukian capital only to find it surrounded by a Monteraynian siege effectively soured Paulo's mood. The small band of troops serving with him were too few in number to challenge the blockade, so they'd been forced to retreat before being seen. Thoroughly frustrated, Paulo and his squad settled down in a smaller town a few miles east and took their rest there.

His days descended into monotony from there. Every morning, he arose early and jogged a lap around the outskirts of the town and ate breakfast at the one inn whose cook woke up as early as he did. Then he practiced his sword drills after that, lending a hand at a local blacksmith's shop just to keep his hands busy afterward. As the sun set, he clambered onto the town's walls in order to watch for Tanuk's arrival. Surely upon seeing the siege, Tanuk would resort to this town as well, at least to regroup.

Paulo couldn't decide whether he looked forward to his confrontation with Tanuk over the lies of the past, or whether he dreaded it. On the one hand, he yearned for closure, hoping beyond hope Tanuk had a justifiable reason for his deception. But on the other, a sinking feeling grew in his stomach that their discussion wouldn't have so favorable an outcome.

Finally, one evening as the town below began to glow with torches and lamps, Paulo spotted a company of mounted troops. They galloped from the west, bound from the capital, no doubt. And when he strained his eyes to pick out the individual riders, he eventually spotted Tanuk in their midst. Paulo scrambled down from his perch, heart aflutter.

He tailed the warriors to a tavern in the middle of the town that rarely saw any business. Now, the establishment quickly filled beyond capacity, and for the first time Paulo had ever seen, the doors were shut to the public. Unfortunately, he hadn't slipped inside in time, so his meeting with Tanuk would have to wait.

So Paulo slumped beside the tavern door for hours. All traces of the sun disappeared, and the moon took its place. He spent much time with his gaze wandering the stars. Paulo picked out many of the constellations Tanuk had taught him as a young boy, but after a while, his eye found new patterns. He connected his own lines between the stars that formed completely different pictures.

At last, the tavern door creaked open, and Tanuk stepped outside. Without casting a glance to the left or the right, he started down the stairs, completely oblivious to Paulo's presence mere inches away. Of course, that was a state of affairs that could be easily remedied.

"Why did you lie to me?" Paulo blurted out, causing Tanuk to spin on his heel, his signature burgundy cloak flaring out from the sudden change of direction.

Tanuk squinted, eyes clearly not adjusted to the darkness. He tilted his head and peered at Paulo as his hand reached for the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"Paulo, my boy, is that you?" Tanuk called out.

"Yes, it's Paulo. I asked you a question."

"Which was...?"

"Why. Did. You. Lie to me?" Paulo asked through clenched teeth.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't pretend! All my life, you told me you were forced to raise me because Manfred Rickland slew my father and my mother died because the grief of her husband's death conquered her."

Tanuk ran a hand over his beard. "Of course I did, because those things are the truth."

"Then why is it I met my mother a few weeks ago?"

"That's impossible, unless you've found a way to resurrect her from the dead."

Paulo stepped forward abruptly, causing Tanuk to flinch. "So you'll tell me lies about the past and also question my judgement on the present? I saw her with my own eyes!"

"You may have met a woman who claimed to be your mother, but I regret to inform you that can't possibly have been her."

"Why did she know so much about my father, then? It's ironic for you to brand my mother a liar when that's all you've been, all my life."

Tanuk held up his hands placatingly. "I understand you have your doubts, my boy. But you must use your head. What could I possibly gain from this great deception you accuse me of?"

"That's for you to tell me, since I've caught you. My mother told me you stole me from her as a toddler, and she never saw me again. What did you gain from it all?"

"All I wanted was to watch over the son of my teacher, though no deception was involved, I assure you. Your father saved me from a life of petty thievery and endless hunger as a child, and I owed it to him to return that favor when you were left alone and helpless in the world. All these years, I've cared for you and nurtured you, only for you to bring these grievous accusations against me...you wound my spirit, my boy."

Paulo relented upon hearing Tanuk's voice break. He bit his lip and pondered his next words very carefully. There was no doubt in his mind that there was a lie or at least a misunderstanding somewhere, but Tanuk seemed sincere. With so many unanswered questions, everything appeared equally implausible.

"I am grateful for everything you've done for me over the years...it's just that I know I met my mother, and I know there's more to this story than meets the eye."

"Do you truly wish to know the truth, my boy?"

"That's all I want."

Tanuk let out a wearied sigh. "I regret lying to you, but it was to protect your glowing image of your father that I did. To me, it was more important not to mar his honor than to be completely accurate in a matter than had little relevance to your life."

"Just tell me."

"Your mother didn't die, this is true. And I did take you as a small child, this also is true. The reason why? Your father begat you in no honorable place; you came to be in the depths of a brothel, and I couldn't bear to see my mentor's son raised in such squalor."

This answer only caused Paulo to simmer in wrath. "You mean to tell me my mother was nothing but a harlot?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Unable to take any more, Paulo ripped his sword from its scabbard. His intention had been to unsheathe and strike Tanuk dead in one move, but the sorcerer leapt back in time to save his life. Grasping his father's gold-hilted sword in his hand, inner power swelled through Paulo. Wielding his father's weapon to defend the honor of both his parents, he moved in on Tanuk, fueled by righteous indignation and familial zeal.

Masterful as Paulo's swordsmanship had become, Tanuk still had decades of training on him. He swiftly dodged Paulo's next attack, unleashed his own sword, and took up a defensive stance that silently challenged.

Paulo took the invitation. He came in with a wild sideways swipe Tanuk easily batted away. After deflecting Tanuk's counterattack, Paulo aimed another strike at his shoulder. The sorcerer leapt back a ways, floating back to the ground with his cloak spread out like the wings of an eagle.

Before Paulo could move to charge at his former teacher, Tanuk made a flicking motion with the fingers of his free hand. From the folds of his burgundy cloak, he caused a dagger to fly at Paulo, propelled by magic and fashioned by Tanuk's own hand.

The dagger buried itself in the meat of Paulo's thigh. He cried out mightily and took a step toward Tanuk, but the fire in his flesh overtook him. Tears forced themselves through his eyes, and only with great effort did he force himself to take another step.

Then, animated by magic, Tanuk's burgundy cloak loosed itself from his shoulders and dove for Paulo. Blinded by cloth and yanked back by its momentum, he stumbled toward the tavern. His head slammed against the wall. The last sensation Paulo felt before succumbing to darkness was the tickle of cloth brushing against his cheek.