Mortalis

'I took more of a beatin' than I knew,' Colleen confirmed. 'I'm just needin' the rest, is all.'

'And the new wound?' Pony asked. 'It does not seem that you are finding much rest.'

'A bigmouthed son of a drunken powrie,' Colleen replied, 'a man named Seano Bellick. Used to be with the Palmaris garrison, same as meself, and we never did like each other much. He's living in Caer Tinella now, and nothing but trouble, I tell ye. We had a bit of a disagreement in CaUicky's pub.'

'A bit of a disagreement?' Pony echoed. 'He nearly cut your arm off!'

'Got me good,' Colleen admitted.

'Where can I find him? ' Pony asked.

'Just provin' himself the better,' Colleen said, waving the notion away. 'And so he was, but if I'd'a catched him in me better days-'

'It will heal,' Pony promised.

'Mendin' already, and hardly hurtin' since ye went at it with yer gemstone,' Colleen agreed. 'Might that ye should wait a bit in town, so that ye can put Seano's heart back in his chest after I'm done cuttin' it out.'

They had a good laugh, but for Pony, it was bittersweet. The Colleen she had first met in Dundalis would indeed have paid back Seano Bellick-or any man for that matter-but Pony recognized that Colleen would not prove to be much of a match for any seasoned warrior now. That notion stung Pony, for Colleen had taken that initial, and lingering, beating during their flight from Palmaris, from Markwart and De'Unnero, only for the sake of Pony.

'Will ye be stayin' long? ' Colleen asked. 'Or are ye runnin' right out for Dundalis?'

' I wish you would join me.'

'I've got me own home here,' Colleen said with a shake of her head. 'We been through this before. Ye got yer own place and I've got mine. Oh, I'll come and see ye, don't ye doubt-might even set me sights on Dundalis for a home. But not now.'

Pony didn't press the point. 'I'll need an introduction to the mayor, or whoever it is that leads Caer Tinella.'

'That'd be Janine o' the Lake,' Colleen replied, 'a fine woman. But what're ye thinkin' to do that ye're needin' to bother her? '

Belster O'Comely poked his head in the door then, and gave a great shout at the sight of Colleen, then stalked across the room and gave her a hug. 'So did ye convince her to go north with us? ' he asked Pony.

'I already told her that I'd not be runnin' across the wilds with a drunk like Belster O'Comely beside me,' Colleen replied, and both she and Bolster laughed heartily. Their comfort and familiarity gave Pony pause. Colleen and Belster didn't know each other all that well, yet they seemed to be chatting like old friends. Might there be some real feelings there, buried beneath a jovial facade?

'But ye will come up and see us? ' Belster asked.

'By the pigs, I will!' Colleen replied.

'Good enough then,' said Belster. 'I'll put a bottle o' me best boggle aside for that fine day.'

'Go get it now, and we'll make this one a fine day,' Colleen suggested, but before Belster could reply, he found Pony shaking her head.

'I need to speak withJanine,' she said.

'So ye said, but ye didn't tell me why.'

'We will set up a healing tent,' Pony explained, 'to tend to all those in need.'

'For whatever ails them?' Colleen asked skeptically. 'Boils and corns, a cut here and a sore belly there? '

Pony nodded, and Colleen's expression was one of incredulity.

'Them monks're allowing it? ' she asked.

'The monks have no power to stop it,' Pony said.

Within the hour, Belster and Pony had set up a tent in the small square at the center of Caer Tinella, and word had been sent out through the town and to the neighboring town of Landsdown. Folk came filtering in, slowly at first, only those who already knew Pony and her exploits. But as it became recognized that she was performing miraculous healing, the line at the tent grew and grew.

So many folk of the two towns came-mostly with minor injuries or ailments, but one with a serious tear near the knee and another quite sick from eating rotten food-that Pony agreed to spend the night at Colleen's and continue the healing for a second day.

Pony and Belster caused quite a stir in the region and caught the attention of all, including a trio of rough- looking fellows, former soldiers, and another, quieter watcher, unseen among the boughs.

That quiet watcher paid heed to the other three and heard much of their suspicious remarks, particularly when one said, 'She should be south, far south ofPalmaris, where they're finding the rosy plague.'

Late the second afternoon, Pony and Belster loaded up their wagon and set out again for the north. The weather was clear and warm, the breeze gentle; the pair took an easy pace, enjoying the sights and smells of the summertime forest. And indeed, it seemed obvious to Belster that his companion was in a much better mood now than when they had set out from Palmaris.

'Findin' a bit o' heart, are ye?' he asked her as the late-afternoon shadows stretched across the path before them. Pony glanced over at him, not really understanding.

'With the gemstones, I mean,' Belster explained. 'Ye did yer work with more of a smile than I seen on ye for months, girl.'

Pony shrugged, admitting nothing to Belster. To herself, though, she did consider the innkeeper's words, and carefully. She felt good about the work she had been doing since leaving Palmaris, felt as if she was making a bit of difference in the world-though not on the scale that Brother Braumin or King Danube had envisioned. Not changing the world itself, for that, she had come to believe, was beyond anyone's control. But what she was doing now was changing a little corner of the world, the lives of a few, and with beneficial results. So yes, Pony's mood had lightened considerably.

They declined the offer of some farmers to sleep in their barn as twilight descended, and instead went a bit farther down the road, out of sight of any houses. When Pony spotted a small clearing beside the trail, she pulled the wagon up for the night and untied the horses, setting them out to graze, while Belster prepared a fine meal from the food the grateful people of Caer Tinella had given them.

Soon the pair were relaxing and eating, staring up at the stars and listening to the night songs of the forest.

'This was our time,' Pony remarked, drawing Bolster's attention from the last tidbits of stew. 'Nightbird's time,' Pony explained. 'We would sit for hours, watching the sunset and the last glows of daylight, watching the stars growing brighter and more numerous.'

'It'll get easier,' Belster promised.

Pony looked up at the stars and blinked back her tears. She could only hope so.

She fell asleep soon after, but as on every night since Elbryan's fall, she had a fitful, not restful, sleep. When she opened her eyes to find that it was still dark, she was neither surprised nor alarmed. She lay there for a moment, wondering what, if anything, had awakened her.

Greystone nickered-not a quiet, restful sound but one with a slight element of alarm.

Pony lifted herself up on her elbows and glanced over at the tethered horses. To the untrained eye, everything would have seemed fine, but Pony's warrior instincts told her that something was amiss. Perhaps it was the way Greystone now stood, muscles tensed as if preparing to bolt at the slightest provocation. Or maybe it was the nighttime sounds, or lack thereof, about her, the forest creatures watchful.

Pony stood up quiedy, staying low in a crouch and strapping her sword, Defender, to her waist. She reached for her soul stone, thinking to fly out to scout the area, but before she could even begin, she noted a movement down the road a bit, a humanoid shape, a large man perhaps, moving deliberately toward their camp. Many possibilities crossed Pony's mind; many things screamed out at her to keep her on her guard. Why was anyone out at this late hour? And why would anyone be alone on the road north of Caer Tinella at any time of day? Or was this man alone? Greystone was behind Pony, at a good distance, while the approaching man was in front of her; and yet the horse had apparently sensed his presence.

She kept all those disturbing thoughts in proper perspective, buried them beneath the confidence of years of battle experience, and she slowly rolled onto her side, not wanting to present a clear target to any archers who might be nearby. She tucked one leg under her so that she could get up in a hurry, and put her hand on her sword hilt.