Morning announced its arrival by shedding sallow rays of light through the inn's window. The dining room was still a bit shadowy, yet the innkeeper and his family were already bustling about the building, sweeping the floors, arranging the bottles, preparing for a new day. A handful of customers sat in their tables, yawning and silently enjoying their breakfast.

Aryn sat alone by the bar counter, staring at a glass in front of him. There was a drop of brandy in that glass, just enough to give the taste into his mouth. He couldn't afford to drink too much this morning. His breakfast plate laid untouched on the counter. His bags were ready and waiting right next to his stool. They had been waiting there for a good part of the dawn already.

Would those bags be lifted and thrown over Aryn's shoulder, it was up to the girl.

The bodyguard fiddled his glass in his hands and thought about other things. All he could do was to sit there and wait. Wait for the decisive answer.

By a sudden impulse, Aryn lifted his glass in a slow, calculated salute to nobody. "Silen", he simply said and sipped an almost nonexistent swig of brandy.

Suddenly, something brushed his leg and purred. His eyes widening, Aryn bent down and smiled at that blazing, haughty stare. "Hello there, kitten!"

"Meow."

It was a joy to see the face of an old friend and companion. Carefully Aryn extended his hands and lifted Cat into his lap, petting the animal's velvet fur. "How have you been?" he whispered, "I've been missing you… My tiny little shadow, aren't you? Guardian…"

"Meow."

"Oh yes." Quickly Aryn picked up a small, fried fish from his plate and hung it over Cat's head. Within less than a moment the treat had disappeared into the animal's maw. "Thanks for taking care of the girl for me. You did --"

"Aaaaryyyyn!" came a bright voice from the front door. Nina Windia marched inside with a wide smile on her face. Her black wings were set into that familiar "royal" stance again, her every motion was like that of a queen as she strode to her bodyguard. "What are you loitering here? Come on!" With a little grunt she lifted the bags from the floor and tossed them into Aryn's hands, almost managing to crush Cat in the process. "Raven's waiting. Come on, I'll introduce you to her!"

"Girl…" After a moment of dumbfounded silence, Aryn finally seemed to catch the hold of what was going on and hastened to get onto his feet. A little, slanted smile appeared to his lips as he followed the Windian girl through the doorway. The twosome was silently followed by the black shadow of Cat. "Now where did that gust of confidence come from again?"

"Ah -- " Nina halted onto the porch and quickly looked away. This was certainly not the way she had been planning to meet her bodyguard again. She just -- she just wanted to look confident just for once! "Suppose Raven's attitude is contagious. You'll love her."

"Oh." Slinging his bags over his shoulder, Aryn ran his hand through his hair. He liked the way those small, black wings caught the light of the dawn. Those wings… They had grown the last time he had sawn them. "Well then… lead the way… Nina."

Nina did not move. For a moment she just stood there, then she spoke with a quiet voice: "Aryn, I've been thinking last night." She smiled a little as she threw a glance over her shoulder. With that smile, the mask of confidence fell from her face and she was once again that little, sad-eyed girl in the cruel world. Yet still, she smiled. "I don't want to decide anything for anybody. I don't want to hold anyone's life in my hands…" There was a pause. She drew breath for the final judgement: "You're welcome by me." Her words ended with a loud sigh. After a moment, she added: "But you'll have to tell me just how you survived that fall!"

"No problem, girl", Aryn replied, setting his hand onto her shoulder. "And… girl?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

Nina just smiled. "No problem, poet."

Aryn let is pass for this time.

* * * *

"Can't you make this thing go any faster?" Aryn asked as he strode alongside Raven's wagon. "I mean, I suppose there's no rush to Hometown, but --"

"Look, cutie", Raven said up from the driver's seat, giving her biruburu a whack from her stick, "Go ahead and move mountains, drink a lake dry and stop a tsunami with your fists, but there's no way you're going to make a biruburu walk any faster."

Aryn halted and lifted one eyebrow. "Cutie?" he repeated while watching how the wagon clattered forward on the road. "Not very discreet, is she?" He ran his hand through his hair and hurried after the wagon.

Large clouds covered the skies above head. Sun could be seen only as a pale eye shining through a heavy layer of cotton. Wind rustled in trees and long grass. Though the clouds were thick and heavy, their color was milky white and there was no fear of rain.

As the day continued its slow passing, the wagon traveled westward, every hour brought it closer to its destination. The mountain range before them had grown and gained height. Even though they were still a long distance away, their snow-cowered peaks soared high into the sky. A vast lake opened in some distance to the north of the road, its dark-blue surface rippling in the wind. Here and there its shore pushed further to the south, forming small bays filled with thickets of bulrush and reed.

With every such bay they passed, Master Yoji wrinkled his brow and threw worried glances in the direction of the thickets. The elderly wizard was definitely seeking something with his eyes, but it was also clear that should he find what he was looking for, he would definitely not be pleased.

"What are you looking for?" Aryn asked as he followed Master Yoji's gaze towards the lake. The bodyguard was now sitting on the roof of the wagon, his black boots dangling freely over the edge. In the corner of his mouth there was a long, yellow hay he had plucked up somewhere.

"Some people call this part of the road… Giggle Turn…"

"Giggle Turn?" Aryn took the hay from his mouth and spat a little piece of it away. "Then isn't it a bit… er… unbecoming to get that worried here? I mean --"

"Do you know about Swamp Imps?" It was very un-Yoji-like to interrupt other people, and the tone of voice he used to do so alarmed Nina and Raven even more. Both the Windian girl and the dark-hair turned their heads, listening to the conversation closely.

"Swamp Imps?" Aryn repeated. "Aren't they also called Devil Kids or something? I think there's a good bunch of them living in the Coursair area."

"Yes", Yoji nodded and wiped an imagined spec of dirt from his beard, "In that region, the Devil Kids live in dense forests, swamps and thickets. Down here, there are not so many bogs here, so they like to make their nests in…"

"…In thick patches of reed?"

Yoji nodded and shifted on his place on the driver's seat, attempting to find a bit more comfortable position for his legs. "When the wind is blowing from the north, you can hear them giggling and chuckling over there. Usually they don't come too close to the road, but I've heard from the Hometown Ranger's Guild that the Devil Kids have been a bit restless lately. They are cunning and vicious and at this time of year, they have a bad habit of going a little… ah… insane…" He kept a short pause, nervously glancing at the lake to the north. "They say that last month, an entire merchant caravan disappeared in this area… They're suspecting a group of brigands, but no one dismissed the possibility of Devil Kids, either…"

"Bah!" scoffed Raven, who had been surprisingly silent so far. With a snort she gave the idea a dismissive wave of hand. "Devil Kids destroying an entire caravan! Rumors get bigger every time they're told. Brigands are a much more likely option. I heard that there's some sort of gang acting in this region, called Jokers, or something."

"Whatever the case", Aryn said and spat another piece of hay from his mouth, "I think we should perk our ears up."

"Well", Raven chuckled, "You have enough of ear for all of us, Aryn."

Aryn rolled his eyes. "Thanks", he said dryly.

About ten minutes later, the first giggle could be heard. It was an unpleasant sound, a high-pitched chuckle that was let into air with almost lunatic fervor. What was even more unsettling was the fact that it didn't echo from the direction of the lake.

It came from the trees and bushes right in front of them.

Aryn narrowed his eyes at the sound. Spitting the hay from his mouth, the bodyguard leapt down from the wagon and began walking alongside it, scanning their surrounding with his gaze. Nina and Yoji exchanged glances. The elderly wizard cleared his throat nervously and -- much to the Windian girl's surprise -- stood up and leapt to the ground.

"Keep driving, Miss Raven", Master Yoji said quietly. His face was pale, but his mien was determined. "I -- I hope that they'll be contented with only watching us, but if not…"

"We'll have to kill them", Raven finished coldly. Holding the reins of her biruburu with one hand, she took her other hand to the handle of a long dagger tucked into her sash. "Nina, I think you should come down and sit next to me."

"Ok." There was a short pause as Nina clambered down from the wagon's canopy. Doing so, she happened to throw a glance at Raven's hawk cage. The birds moved their wings restlessly. Their gold-yellow eyes were open and alarm, keeping a track of their surroundings with vigilance of a hunter. "Do you think your hawks could keep them in bay?"

Raven just scoffed. "You're kidding me, girl? You have any idea how filthy these things are? I'm not going to risk the chance of any of my birds getting sick by biting those Kids…" She took a deep breath. "Go lock the cage, will you?"

Nina stared at her. Raven hated even the very idea of a bird being locked into a cage. "Ok."

"There", Aryn said quietly as the wagon rolled forward. "Movement to the left. I think there's something on the right, too…"

"Mr. Seaholt?" Yoji said as they walked side by side, "If they attack, could you stand behind me at first?"

The bodyguard glanced at the wizard from the corner of his eye. "Something in your mind…?"

Master Yoji let out a nervous sigh and looked like he would have rather been somewhere else. "Yes. I hope it will work, though…"

The giggling became stronger. Now all the four companions could see something moving in the trees all around them, as if the Swamp Imps would have known that their tell-tale chuckling had already revealed them. Raven's biruburu did not look very pleased with the presence of the Devil Kids. The enormous beast glared to left and right as it stomped forward, its nostrils flaring with the scent it sensed. Suddenly, without any kind of warning, the biruburu halted and snorted loudly, looking extremely annoyed at the proceedings of the matters.

"Ohh--nno." Raven muttered something that made Master Yoji blush deep red even despite their situation. "Get moving, you lazy rocks-for-brains!"

"Too late", Aryn said and hid his hands into his sleeves.

A new sound had joined the relentless chuckling. It was loud buzzing, like the sound of an entire swarm of wasps whipping the air in a perfect harmony, right next to your ear. Then the first of the Devil Kids appeared from the trees.

The creature was a little taller than Nina and it was supported in the air by a blur of dragonfly-like wings. It looked a bit like a fat lizard, with a long, spiky tail and yellowish scales covering its hide. Its neck was short and its head almost frog-like in its shape, yet awfully humane at the same time. Its cheeks were round and its mouth was drawn into a wicked grin, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth. It sported a wild crest of bright green hair that almost hid two small, bony-white horns jutting out from its head. The Kid's dark eyes twinkled with cunning malevolence, mixed with an almost insane tint. In its little paws it held a spear with a wicked, hooked head.

Soon the creature was joined by another, then yet another, until there seemed to be an entire swarm of these things in the air. They whirred over the road, gently hovering in place, their insane giggling and chuckling filled the area as they feasted their eyes upon their new preys. Many of the Kids gripped their spears with excitement, barely able to wait for the slaughter to start.

"Ready…" Aryn whispered. The bodyguard stood unmoving in his place, his hands hidden into his sleeves. Though he looked calm, that familiar edge had appeared into his features. For a reason or another, Nina noticed, this seemed to make the scar in his cheek even more visible.

"Oh dear."

It was as if Yoji's words had acted as a common mark for the Devil Kids. Screaming their war cries the entire swarm suddenly swooped down, their mouths drooling, their spears leveled at their targets.

"Do your stuff, wizard", Aryn hissed, his hands emerging from his sleeves, two throwing knives in each.

"Oh, dear…" Swallowing, the elderly wizard stepped forward and crossed his hands, spheres of fiery red glow spreading out from his fingers. Uttering a single word, he spread out his arms, his coat billowing behind him.

Yellow and orange sparks gushed into air as a roaring pillar of flames shot out from the earth right before the wizard. Flaring and flashing, it spread out to the left and right with frenzied speed, until there was a wall of fire blazing between the Devil Kids and Raven's wagon.

Nothing but a silhouette against the red, leaping halo of his magic, Master Yoji quickly took several steps backwards and shielded his face with his hands. Hastily he turned his eyes away as the first Swamp Imps smashed into the wall and came through as living balls of fire, screaming and howling with terror as they fell to the road. Acrid stench of burnt flesh filled the area.

"Hey, you're a good one!" Aryn shouted over the roaring flames.

Master Yoji looked as if he would have been just about to vomit. "You handle the rest!" he shouted, his voice muffled by the sleeve he used to cover his nose and mouth. Quickly the wizard retreated to the wagon, giving Aryn space to do his part.

"They'll come around it!" Raven hissed as she drew her long dagger and leapt to the ground.

"You keep the girl safe!" Aryn replied as the first of the Devil Kids arched over the blaze. A flick of his wrist, a metallic flash in the air, and down came the Imp, a dagger neatly in its eye. So fell the next one, and the next. Aryn's hands moved quickly and separately, one hand disappearing to draw more throwing knives at the same time as the other hurled those spinning, flashing death dealers into air.

"They're coming from behind!" Raven's shout was backed up by a scream of an Imp as the dark-hair put her dagger to use with the ferocity of those winged hunters she trained. She fought like a wild cat, stabbing, kicking and punching everything that dared to come close enough.

"Just how many Kids we have on us?!"

"It's a big swarm", Yoji muttered darkly to Nina as his hands passed through their arcane gestures again. Just as a group of Swamp Imps rose above the wagon, shaking their spears at their opponents, a swarm of golden darts flashed out from the wizard's fingertips, curving, arching and spreading out to intercept the attackers. Their high-pitched screams mixed with the roaring of flames and relentless buzzing of insect-wings.

Meanwhile, Aryn had drawn out his battle daggers and was now moving within an entire swarm of Devil Kids, dodging, parrying and drawing slashes all around him with cat-like agility. There were already numerous Imp carcasses laying at his feet. Human or devil, it made little difference for a man trained as an assassin. His daggers found the fatal points of his opponents with the weight of experience.

Nina shook her head. How could she think Aryn as an assassin while the man was fighting for their lives?!

Suddenly, the Windian girl yelped with surprise as a hand grabbed her collar and drew her from the driver's seat. "Run!" Master Yoji shouted into her ear with surprising ferocity and gave her a good shove into her back. At the same time, several spearheads sank into the driver's seat's leather padding. Merely an eyeblink later four Devil Kids assaulted the elderly wizard.

"Master!"

"RUN, I SAID!" Yoji roared, crossing his arms before himself and moving between his enemies and the Windian girl. Air quivered and rippled about the wizard, striking blue sparks every time a barb-covered spear-head was deflected from his shield. Although he was protected from the Swamp Imps' strikes, their sheer body mass made Yoji stagger and falter. "I can't cast this spell with you so close!"

Swallowing, Nina obeyed. She turned and ran as fast as she could, her black wings pressed tightly against her back. Behind her she could hear her master shouting arcane words and felt a strong gust of wind against her back. A flash of blue light painted her shadow into the ground right before her. The biruburu bellowed with annoyance. The enormous beast's voice was being backed up by a dizzying cacophony of Imp screams and hawk hoots.

Gritting her teeth, Nina closed her eyes and ran. She felt herself like a traitor doing so, but it was the best choice for a little girl like herself. It would mean only more difficulties for her friends if she attempted to help them in this battle.

You really should have taught me some battle magic, Yoji, she thought bitterly.

"Girl!" Aryn exclaimed while ducking from the way of yet another one of Devil Kids' spears. "Look out!"

"What?!" Nina yelped as something suddenly hit her shoulders from behind, sending her stumbling out from her balance. Red-hot stars flickered in her eyes as she fell to the ground. An ear-piercing buzz of an Imp's insect wings hovered just above her head. The Kid's maddening giggling filled her mind. Desperately she attempted to gasp for breath, but the air was bolted outside her mouth by a spear that was suddenly stabbed into earth right before her nose. Wide-eyed, she stared at the shining metal pike.

The Imp chuckled wildly at her horrified expression. Vaguely, her ears also recognized hasty footfalls as Aryn scrambled for her. Yet somehow, she knew that the bodyguard would never be in time.

The Imp giggled, withdrawing its spear for another strike.

She never even thought about what she did next. Lifting her index finger before her mouth, she uttered a few words and shoved her palm upwards. There was a bright flash, like an explosion of a tiny, multicolored sun. The Devil Kid's laughter was cut off by a horrified scream as it covered its dark eyes with its paws. Its short spear clattered to the ground.

"Aryn!" Nina shouted over the general clamor, hoping from the bottom of her heart that a lightning-quick, flashing dagger would fly over her head at any moment. The Kid howled ever louder, its toxic, yellow claws sought for her throat. Even though its eyes had been blinded, the swamp-demon had entered into a battle-insanity and was going for the kill!

"Yojiii!" the Windian screamed, wriggling and kicking to keep the Kid away from her. Its breath smelled like half-rotten carcasses, drool dripped from its razor-sharp teeth.

His hand disappearing into his wide sleeve, Aryn drew out a dagger and prepared for a backhand throw. He never managed to send the blade flying, as one of the last Imps swept down from a tree and sank its teeth deep into his arm. Gasping with pain, Aryn slashed with his battle dagger, sending the creature flying. The bodyguard lifted his desperate gaze, only to see that he was too late. The Kid was --

There was a silvery flash.

Then the Devil Kid had already lost its head. A black boot kicked the abominable thing away from the Windian girl. The creature landed into the bushes with a sickening thud.

The next thing Nina realized while attempting to fill her lungs with air, was a glimmering silver blade. Somewhere, just on the edge of her field of vision, a hem of a long, black coat fluttered. Blinking her eyes, she slowly lifted them to look at the face of a legend.

"My, aren't you a cutie", Raven approved from somewhere in the distance. "And dressed with the style, to boot!"

"Master…"

No tale of Aryn Seaholt, no amount of fame, no legend gave Pooka O'Silver his true rights. His shining, frost-white hair flowed in the gentle breeze, his features were smooth and so cool that they might just as well have been chiseled from ice. This served only to boost the startling effect of his wolfish eyes that seemed to glow dimly with some inner flame. A mere glance Pooka gave to Nina sent shivers down the Windian girl's spine. Now, she understood why Aryn had often tried to describe the power of those eyes. Now, she understood why so many maidens had lost their hearts to those eyes.

"Master!" Aryn exclaimed, taking several steps forward.

His expression grim, the swordsmaster lifted his gaze from Nina. With an almost indifferent jerk of hand he shook the green blood and slime from his magnificent sword. Then he leaned his weapon against his shoulder and turned to Aryn.

And then, Pooka O'Silver, the legendary master of blade, a swordsman without equal, opened his mouth and said the words that Nina would never, ever, forget:

"Took your damn time, Ears."

* * * *

"Cursssse them…" Essar Shoo hissed quietly, his eyes narrowing as he read the hastily written message for a second time. His slim, scaled fingers clenched slowly around the yellowish paper, crunching, crushing, forcing it to change its shape, just like the letters in it had forced the snake-wizard himself to change the shape of his plans…once again.

His time was running short, then. Very well. If they refused to wait any longer, all he had to do was to compensate the loss, in other words, hasten his plans.

Essar's forked tongue lashed out from his mouth as he focused his gaze into his messenger, a black raven with eyes glowing with unnatural intelligence. "Go!" he hissed, tossing the bird into air. "Find them! Find them quickly, my friend…" Squawking, the raven fluttered its dark wings, beating the air as quickly as it could, hastening away to fill the orders of its master.

"Find them quickly, my friend…" Essar repeated as he watched how the bird flew. "For we don't have much time…" Indifferently he tossed the message -- now crushed into the form of a tiny ball -- into air. The paper caught purple fire and was nothing but ashes far before it could touch the dirt-covered forest path.

Essar whirled around, his red cloak shuffling around him, and strode down the path, heading back into the small village and its warm inn. He had to find that damned Windian princess and he had to find her quickly, before everything would burst in fire just like that message had done.

* * * *

"Hmm?" At the smallest sign of movement near his feet, Pooka's eyes darted back over to Nina. "What are staring at, Miss?"

"M-master Pooka?"

"Aye", came Pooka's laconic answer.

"I --"

That was everything Nina managed to get out from her mouth before the swordsmaster rolled his eyes, sighed with frustration and interrupted the Windian girl. "Yes, I know I am cool and no, I don't have a need for a bride and no, I don't give autographs and no, I don't want to hear a single word of praise more. Well then, is there anything ORIGINAL you would like to tell me?" His voice was monotonous and it was clear that he had gone through this very same lecture for several times.

Raven's chuckle, loud and bright as the squawks of her hawks, cut through the air. Somewhat out of the breath due to the battle, she wiped her forehead with her blood-stained hand. "Used to flatters, are you cutie?"

"Quit calling me that", Pooka replied coldly. He threw a glance at Nina over his shoulder. "Get up, Miss. Considering that you put up a remarkable fight with that Devil Kid, you can't have suddenly been overcome by such a weakness that you'd need me to help you up."

While Nina was being helped to her feet by the caring hands of Master Yoji, Pooka O'Silver reached his gloved hand over his shoulder and drew forth a long, black scabbard for his sword. With used, swift gestures he hid his beautiful silver blade and leant the scabbard against his shoulder. "Ears!" he called with voice used to command.

"Yes, Master?"

"Truly now, kid." Pooka turned at Aryn and leveled one finger at him. Slowly, ominously the swordsmaster approached his disciple, his golden eyes nailing the bodyguard into his place. "You keep me waiting here for the entire night and a better part of the morning while you yourself go fetch your client and while doing that, spend a nice and a warm night in an inn. While you've been taking your naps, I have been fighting here, being forced to kill seventy-three -- " he paused, throwing a glance in the direction of Nina, "-- no, make that seventy-FOUR of these smelling, filthy Devil Kids. And then, when you finally decide to move your backside in this direction, where do I find you? In the very middle of troubles! Count yourself lucky that I happened to see that flashy show of magic you performed here, or else that girlfriend of yours might be lying dead. You cause me more headaches than what you are worth, loghead."

"Yes, Master." For a reason or another, Aryn just could not help but to smile under such a rain of insults from his teacher.

Feeling a gust of anger swelling inside her, Nina took a step forward, her black wings taking up a very determined stance. "Aryn didn't --"

"Don't disturb me now, Miss", Pooka waved the Windian girl silent. "He's my apprentice. And besides, I've had a bad night here, I'm rather tired and sick of the Devil Kids' smell." Whirling around so that his coat billowed around him, the swordsmaster strode towards Raven's wagon. The wind tucked at his frosty hair, revealing the round mark of the Silver Dragon glimmering in his back. "Ears. Fetch me something to drink."

Aryn's smile widened. "Yes, Master", he replied solemnly.

"Ears?" Pooka said without looking at his apprentice while climbing to the driver's seat.

"Yes?"

"Quit smiling."

Raven, Master Yoji and Nina exchanged disbelieving glances. Was this man really… the Pooka O'Silver?

Aryn, who seemed to be used to such treatment from his master, chuckled as he moved to fill his orders. As the bodyguard passed his three other friends, he whispered: "Don't take him seriously. He's on a bad mood."

"I wonder why I'm not surprised?" Raven let out a laugh and rolled her eyes towards the skies. The dark-hair seemed to be completely oblivious to the long wound in her leg as she strode to her wagons. "So, I take you'll be coming to the Hometown with us?"

Pooka had already climbed all the way up to the wagon's canopy and sat there cross-legged, his long sword leaning against his shoulder. "Ears asked me to join you for a while and I agreed only because I happen to be going into the same direction." He stretched out his legs, threw one black boot over his knee and leaned backwards. "I'm going to see someone in those mountains."

"Who's that?"

Pooka wiped a lock of silver from his face. "Hmph. No-one you should care about", he replied coolly, burrowing his hands under his head and closing his eyes. "Hey, Ears! Quit loitering around and bring me that drink."

In a little distance away, Nina and Master Yoji exchanged glances for another time. The Windian girl did her best to keep her giggles in check. "He's -- he's not exactly what I thought him to be, but…"

Nervously Yoji cleared his throat and decided that it was time to change the subject: "Ahh… come, we'll have to treat Raven's and Aryn's wounds before they get any worse."

"Master."

"Yes, Nina?" Yoji looked at his pupil with a slightly puzzled expression. The elderly wizard was still panting from all the excitement. His hair and beard were in a disorder, there was a bruise in his cheek and his clothes were stained from his wrestling match with the Devil Kids, but he looked otherwise unharmed. A shielding spell was a blessing for a War Wizard.

"You saved my life there. Thank you."

* * * *

"There, can you see it?" Master Yoji pointed over the hills with his finger. "That, my friend, is Hometown!"

"It's been a long time since I saw it", Pooka O'Silver said as he came to stand next to the elderly wizard. The swordsmaster's long coat flowed like a black cape around him as he lifted his hand to shelter his eyes from the sun. "One more day 'till there, isn't it?"

"I-I believe so", replied Yoji as Nina joined the twosome atop the hill.

Traveling to the west and then turning to the north, circling around the mountains that blocked their way in the south, Raven's wagon had finally made it to the last stage of the trip. The journey had been uneventful, at least if you discounted occasional -- yet always bothersome -- rains. The five travelers and their beast of burden had now stopped for a meal at the base of a steep hill. Soon after Aryn and Raven had begun preparing their food, Master Yoji had insisted to climb atop the hill to see if the weather would be clear enough for their destination to be within sight. Despite Raven's denials of overstraining his old body, the elderly wizard had set out to the task with rather youthful eagerness.

"Ah, Miss Nina!" Master Yoji smiled to his apprentice and put a hand to her shoulder. "Look. That is the Great School of Magic."

Hometown was built onto a large cape jutting out into the sea. Originally only a small fishing village, it had grown out into what it was now, a small yet vigorous coastal town, consisting mostly of two-storied, brown buildings and surrounded with gray stone walls. In the middle of it all rose proudly a large, angular stone building, much smaller than Coursair's famed Coliseum yet still effortlessly dwarfing everything else around it.

The world-famous Great School of Magic.

"So, Master Yoji, I suppose I'll be going on my way now", Pooka stated, startling Nina from her thoughts. During these days the swordsmaster had been in their company, his mood had mellowed out from what it had been after the attack of the Devil Kids. Although he still kept tossing a rain of insults at Aryn, he did it in a more casual way than earlier.

Although he had mellowed out, Pooka was still a being of mystery for Nina. He had kept mostly to himself during the journey, giving others only curt rewards for their attempts to start a conversation with him. Aryn aside, the only other person with whom he actually spoke was Master Yoji. As a matter of fact, Nina had several times noticed the two locked up into a quiet conversation, a conversation that was immediately over when someone attempted to approach them.

Perhaps it was a feeling of kinship between Masters of two different crafts. Perhaps not.

"Are you sure you won't come to Hometown with us?"

"No." Pooka shook his head and shifted the place of his sword from one shoulder to another. "I have a duty to be done." His hair flowing in the wind, the swordsmaster turned around and shouted down into their camp: "Ears! Get up here! Now."

Nina sighed. Casually thrown insults or not, she was getting annoyed with the swordsmaster's way to treat her friend. "You could be a little nicer to him, you know."

Pooka glanced at her with his wolfish eyes. "Hmph. His neck is stiff and his head incredibly thick. A few insults will do only good for him."

Nina did her best to answer that stare. Gods, it was even worse than Essar's! "But you still don't have to --"

"Am I… disturbing something, Master?" Aryn said smiling as he trotted up the hill. For a reason or another, he seemed to be aware of what Nina and Pooka had been talking about.

"Nothing important", Pooka replied coolly with a wave of his hand. "Ears, this is as far as I'll go with you people. The rest will be up to you."

Aryn nodded and laid his hand to Nina's shoulder. "Don't worry. I think we'll make it. But Master, why are you going to those mountains? Is it…?"

There was a pause before Pooka answered: "There's someone waiting for me on those mountains. I've been neglecting her far too long."

Nina wrinkled her eyebrows. "Her?"

"Oh yeah", Aryn chuckled and tapped the top of Nina's head. "He's a horrible personality, but even Master Pooka does have a girlfrien -- OOF!"

Pooka's cool expression did not change. Without so much as a blink of an eye he lifted his boot against Aryn's stomach and pushed hard, sending the bodyguard stumbling and rolling down the steep hill.

"Idiot." Pooka said coldly, meeting Nina's and Yoji's dumbfounded stares with an even gaze. "And you are still asking why I call him a loghead? He knows the entire story, yet still he calls my Master a girlfriend."

"Ah? Your… master?" Yoji cleared nervously his throat. "Does she live on those mountains?"

"No", Pooka replied laconically. "Her grave is there. No matter what the craft, a bond between a Master and an Apprentice is something you should never deny." Without so much as a goodbye, without so much as a wave of hand, the swordsmaster turned and began striding away, his long coat flapping in the wind. Then he suddenly halted, threw a glance over his shoulder and said: "Hey. Miss."

Nina blinked her eyes and cast a glance downhill before stepping forward. "Yes?"

"Take care of Ears for me, will you?" Yellow light of the sun was reflected from the mark of the Silver Dragon, making it almost unnaturally visible against its black background.

Nina nodded. "I will."

…Was it really a hint of smile that lit those cold features for the tiniest of moments?

* * * *

That night, the night before they would arrive at Hometown and the Great School of Magic, something awoke Nina from her sleep. At first she thought it was her mother's voice, gently humming her to sleep. Then her sense, too, woke up and bluntly informed her that her mother was far away. Yet still that sound whispered in her ears, singing its lonely, gentle song.

Their camp was quiet, even Raven's hawks sat still and silent in their cage. In the dim, orange glow of their campfire, Nina could distinguish the dark shapes of Master Yoji and Raven laying under their blankets. Aryn was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't surprise the Windian girl: the bodyguard had taken the first turn at guarding.

Wrapping her blanket around herself, Nina struggled to get up and eyed her shadowy surroundings. "Aryn?" she quietly called out.

"Shh." Came the answer surprisingly close behind her. Aryn had been sitting close to her laying place, watching over her sleep like a faithful guard dog. Now the bodyguard's eyes were fixed into the horizon, into the mountains that could be seen rising against the dark, cloudy sky as a black silhouette. "Listen."

Someone was playing a flute in those mountains. The melody was beautiful, hauntingly beautiful and so lonely that mere listening to it almost made tears swell into Nina's eyes. The flute sang in the misty heights of the mountains, it sang to the stars, to the night skies, to the silver crescent moon.

A silver crescent blade, held high in the dark heavens.

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Next: Chapter XX
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