"Turn around."

Judeau obeyed, flexing his joints, surprised at how little the new armour impaired his movements. The two dwarves stood grinning at him, Steelwing watched dispassionately and Samina studied him with pretend criticism. He turned to face them again.

"How does it look?"

Samina nodded sagely. "Dashing. Absolutely dashing. Congratulations, Taskkarr; it�s another masterpiece."

The dwarf smith pulled himself up in his entire, though not so impressive, height and beamed with pride. "Indeed it is! After all, it was forged by a dwarven master smith!" Thirgynn cleared his throat and Taskkarr immediately added; "With a talented assistant, of course."

Nodding contentedly, Thirgynn turned to Judeau. "How does it fit?"

"Like a glove." The scout flexed his fingers in the gauntlets with a grin. "Literally."

"Really?" Taskkarr frowned a little and walked up to Judeau, feeling along the lower rim of the cuirass. "Hmm... no, it is as I wanted it. Are you sure that it fits that well?"

"Uh, yes... isn�t it supposed to?"

"Well, yes, of course it is good that you feel that it does... but I made it with some room for you to grow in, since I figured you were still recovering from your wounds."

"You have? ...Wow, it really feels like it�s moulded after... no, more like it�s actually a part of me."

Taskkarr scratched his head. "That�s strange..."

"Now, now, Taskkarr," Samina said with a smile, "Keep in mind that Mr Judeau has only been wearing human-forged armour up until now. Of the standard kind, if I am not mistaken."

The dwarf slapped his own forehead lightly. "Ah, of course. I forgot about that. You humans have never had the patience to learn the deeper secrets of the metals and fire - Only bothering to learn enough so you can throw together some crude things, as long as you can make them fast."

"Mr Taskkarr, I�d say that you got this done pretty quickly," Judeau pointed out, "Just one week... and then you had to make Shammael�s things and my weapons as well."

The dwarf grunted and folded his arms over his chest. "Well. I am a master. And we did work day and night. But just because we were in a hurry doesn�t mean that the things are of any less quality, mind you."

Judeau shook his head. "I didn�t say that."

The armour was quite too nice to be of anything but the very highest quality; besides the surprisingly delightful fit it was also pleasing to the eye, with a streamlined design and pure, elegant lines. Over the chest and the topmost part of the pauldrons it had a few simple engravings, depicting the silhouette of a bird-of-prey in flight, vaguely visible against the blackened steel.

"I really like this dull black colour, it�s ideal for scouting missions..." Judeau mused out loud.

"Yes, well, I overheard you talking to Samina before, when you said you were one of those sneaky-hidey types, so I figured you�d like that," Taskkarr said with a self-satisfied grin.

"Sneaky-...? You mean a scout?"

The dwarf shrugged indifferently. "Scout, thief, hunter, assassin... whatever."

Judeau thoughtfully studied the stout little man before him. It was even harder to believe what Samina had told him earlier about the dwarf, when he was standing before him like this.

He could still clearly remember the conversation:

'Oh, I�ve been meaning to ask you,' Judeau had said, then contientously interrupted himself: 'Sorry if I�m being nosy - but can you tell me why Mr Taskkarr gets to keep his weapons inside the City?'

She had regarded him thoughtfully for a little while, before answering hesitantly; 'I don�t know if I should... he trusts me, and would be very disappointed if he found out I�d told you...'

He had more or less expected that, so he just nodded his acceptance. 'Okay, I understand.'

'But...' She had continued, getting a sly look in her eyes. '...It's not like it's that hard to guess. I suppose I could give you a hint... You're a scout, right?'

'Yes...?'

'So you should have some kind of conditioned reflex to observe and remember even what seem like insignificant details?'

'I... guess so...'

'So... have you noticed that some people around here do carry weapons?'

The realisation of what she had been getting at had started to stir in his subconscious. It was indeed something he had noticed himself, but he hadn�t made the full connection before. He had nodded for her to go on, feeling the understanding begin to form.

'They are all feather-heads, right?' She had said this less like a question, and more like she was stating a fact. "Feather-head" was her word for nobleman, due to the fashion that at least the Ducarri noble had of putting large, poofy, colourful feathers in their hats. Judeau had finally made the connection, and turned an astonished stare on the scar-faced woman.

'You�re saying that... Taskkarr is a noble?'

She had giggled at the expression on his face. 'You don�t have to sound so surprised, Mr Judeau. He is a dwarf after all, so he doesn�t have to be all prissy and snobbish... in fact, he shouldn�t be.'

'But... but...' He had tried to fit his mental image of the dwarf around anything he had ever associated with nobility. '...But, hang on - isn�t he a demon hunter? ...And a blacksmith?'

Samina had nodded, still with that amused smile on her face. 'Yes, Mr Judeau, but he is also very old... in years. See, he started out as a blacksmith apprentice - most dwarves begin their careers as some kind of craftsman � then he became a demon hunter, and then he earned his nobility. Dwarven society values deeds far more than blood, at least in terms of nobility and leadership.'

'Really...?' Remembering how adamant against the advancement of the Hawks the nobles of Midland had been, no matter how many battles they had won, Judeau hadn�t been able to keep a wry smile from his lips. 'I wonder what he did...'

Samina had suddenly gotten an air of weariness as her smile had died away. 'Oh... He killed a couple of demons and saved something important. Please don�t make me recount that story; I�ve heard it so very many times. If you�re really, really into getting your ears talked off, you can ask Taskkarr... when he�s got his beard back... if you should choose to join our team, that is.'

Looking at the heavily muscled dwarf smith now, Judeau once again wondered exactly what it was that Taskkarr had done to earn a title - and just how old he could be. He didn�t seem to be much older than mid thirties/early forties �and he sure as hell didn�t look like any kind of noble.

Judeau chuckled inwardly; it would have been really interesting to have been able to introduce nobledwarf Taskkarr to the Lords and Ladies of Windham, that was for sure. He could just picture their faces...

"What are you smiling at, manling?" the dwarf in question growled with a sudden scowl.

Judeau smoothly switched to his best disarming smile. "Just enjoying this incredible new armour, that�s all. Can I see the helmet now?"

Those seemed to be the magic words, because all traces of the scowl immediately evaporated, replaced by an almost childish eagerness as the dwarf produced a blackened helmet that perfectly matched the rest of the armour.

"Crouch, boy, so I can show you how it works."

Judeau could easily see how the helmet was constructed and had already figured out how to fasten it, but the dwarf had such a happy, eager gleam in his eyes that he just couldn�t not humour him. Taskkarr placed the helmet on the scout�s head almost as if he was crowning a king, and explained carefully how to close the cheek guards and tie the strap under the chin. Judeau 'oh':ed and 'aha':ed in appropriate places, to the dwarf�s apparent satisfaction.

"And see here," he rumbled excitedly and traced the outline of Judeau�s face with a meaty finger, "It�s the bird-design again! See? Your eyes are in the wings, and your mouth in the tail. Nice touch, eh?"

"But the bird seems a bit decapitated, though..." Samina commented from her corner, and Taskkarr turned a surprisingly offended glare at her.

"It�s supposed to be, woman! If the design had had a head here then his forehead would be left unprotected!"

Samina disarmingly raised her hands up in front of herself. "Yes, yes, I know, I get that. It was just a casual observation, I didn�t mean anything by it."

"Mr Taskkarr," Judeau interrupted, "this helmet is amazing! I can see almost as well as if I didn�t have it on at all! I�ve never had a helmet with such good vision, that also protected the face so well."

The proud grin returned to the dwarf�s features. "I told you I thought about your specialisation."

"Well, you�ve done a great job, Mr Taskkarr, I really mean it."

"Thank you." Somehow the dwarf smith made it sound like he was granting Judeau a boon by thanking him, and the scout had to hide another amused smile behind a cough.

Next he was presented with his weapons, and they held the same high quality as the armour; they fit in his hands as if they had always belonged there and were carefully balanced � the knives were a pure joy to hold.

He had explained at an earlier visit to the smithy how he wanted to carry the scabbards of the scimitars on his back, and now Thirgynn presented him with a leather contraption that much resembled what he had had in mind, but it was also equipped with a belt of holsters for his knives � that, he was pleasantly surprised to find, would fit sideways across his chest the way he was used to.

He fastened it over the armour as Thirgynn almost sheepishly looked on.

"Um... I�m merely an apprentice in leather crafting, so you could probably get something better than that... but I thought it would at least do for the moment..."

He smiled happily at the concerned dwarf. "It�s perfect, Mr Thirgynn. Thank you very much."

The miracle-worker frowned. "No, perfect it is not. I know that, so do not lie... But if you are happy with it, then I am pleased."

"I am happy with it, very happy."

A small, proud smile crept onto Thirgynn�s face. "Then you're welcome."

"Here," Taskkarr said, reaching up and placing knives in the holsters, "I know you said that you only wanted four, but I made you ten. That way you�ll have some backups if you lose them... and ten is a better, more even number." He paused for a moment. "...And they were easy and fun to make."

"I... I�m at a loss for words..."

"That�s unusual," Samina commented with an eyebrow raised in amusement, but then her features softened into a simple smile. "Just say 'thank you'."

"No need," Taskkarr said determinedly, "this was payment, after all."

Judeau turned to the two dwarves. "Nonetheless, Mr Taskkarr, Mr Thirgynn, you have worked very hard and you�ve presented me with the best equipment I've ever owned." He bowed to them as he would have bowed to any nobleman in Midland, but with much more sincerity. "Thank you."

The two dwarves exchanged pleased looks and Taskkarr said something in dwarfish that had Thirgynn nod in agreement. Samina spoke up:

"So, have you thought about it, Mr Judeau?"

"About what?"

"What we talked about before... what you�re going to do now."

"Ah... yes. Right." He turned to the entire group and uncertainly cleared his throat.

"Well, if it�s possible... I would like to travel with you � at least for a while. It would make things easier for me," he hurriedly added, "Since I think I may need some help to get accustomed to this new world, and you already know that I�m from another place... Um... in return I�ll add my fighting skills to yours..." He shrugged. "I don�t have much else to give, I'm afraid... Is this acceptable to you?"

A short, contemplative silence ensued, until Samina spoke up:

"I�ll vouch for him, if you want that. He�s a good man, and he can fight well."

"You know that for sure?" Taskkarr inquired, elaborating his point with a serious, somewhat concerned expression on his face. "It�s very important that all members of this group can fend for themselves. You know that we keep running into really dangerous situations, sometimes too dangerous for your average soldier. If this human isn�t strong enough to face down those kind of threats then it will affect the whole group, since we are such a small team, and we really can�t afford that." He glanced back at Judeau. "I mean, yes, we know that he�s honourable and that he�s been in fights before... but so far I have only seen proof of him being able to take a lot of damage and, well, that�s certainly good, but it doesn�t prove a thing about his fighting skills. He has to be able to deal out some punishment, too, if he�s going to be on our team."

"He�s good enough," Steelwing calmly interjected, "from what I have seen, at least."

Taskkarr and Thirgynn looked from the elf to Judeau, and then to each other. Thirgynn shrugged and spoke some more dwarfish, to which Taskkarr nodded agreeably and turned to Judeau.

"Well, it seems it�s settled, then. You are welcome to travel with us for as long as you please."

Samina grinned and stepped up to him, taking his hand in a firm grip.

"Welcome to the team, Mr Judeau. I�m glad you decided to join."

"So am I," said Steelwing and stood up. The dwarves and the humans all turned to stare at him, and he raised an eyebrow at them before turning to Samina.

"His presence might keep the dwarves from rubbing off so much on you. Two of them are quite enough, after all."

Samina�s smile was disbelieving and tentative, as if she didn�t dare to laugh for fear of waking up. "Steelwing... did you just ...make a joke?"

The tall elf�s eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I am being deathly serious, I assure you."

Her face turned into a very interesting display of grimaces as she tried to contain her laughter, giving off small, desperate sounds when she almost failed. The two dwarves were better at containing their amusement, even if Taskkarr kept giving off long, snorting noises and Thirgynn kept pinching his own nose. Judeau tried very hard not to get carried away in the atmosphere of general mirth, but had to turn away and hide a small chuckle when Steelwing rolled his eyes in a surprisingly human why-oh-why-will-they-not-take-me-seriously manner.

*
As they walked out through the huge gates of the Great City, they could see the sun begin to rise over the far horizon. It reminded Judeau of how early it really was, and he suppressed a small yawn; the dwarves had insisted that they�d get an early start... Which was understandable, he guessed - After all, 'beards were at stake'.

Samina�s finger made a soft tap-tap-tap on his pauldron, and he hesitantly looked away from the pale golden dawn.

"Do you have a steed?" she asked.

"No... I rode here on Shammael�s spare horse, why?"

"Well, we�re going to get ours now... and you will need one, since we all ride and the dwarves won't have patience to wait for anyone or anything... but I suppose a steed of your own would be too expensive for you right now..." She looked away in contemplation for a moment. "Ah, but we don�t have much baggage right now, so you can ride the pack-pony! Er, if that�s okay with you...?"

He smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

"Good, great. Now, I just have one more question before we get to the stables... have you ever seen a murvelbeast before?"

"A what?"

"Okay, let me rephrase that; what kinds of steeds do they use in the world you�re from?"

"Horses...?"

"Only horses?" She sounded so surprised that Judeau almost began doubting it himself. He searched his mind, but couldn�t remember ever seeing anyone ride another creature than a horse.

"Uh... I�ve heard of elephants and camels... and then there are mules and donkeys of course... but what kinds of creatures do you ride?"

"Oh, here there are very many different kinds of mounts. Though most of them are horses and horsekin, there are also creatures like runner-birds and murvelbeasts... some say there are those who tame gryphons and lesser dragons, but I�ve never seen one ridden... But we as a group ride murvelbeasts, except for Steelwing who has an elfhorse, and our packer, which is a pony."

"Really? Birds? Gryphons? Dragons?" He gazed off at nothing, smiling to himself. "What a world this is..."

A brief silence, then: "You�re really something, aren�t you?"

A little surprised, he turned to Samina. The bounty hunter gave a small shake of her head and continued, regarding him with a mixture of curiosity and amusement:

"Instead of getting uneasy when you learn of great differences from what you're used to, you start daydreaming about them." she made a sound somewhere between a giggle and a huff and looked away. "Weirdo."

He chuckled, then lowered his voice to a more confidential murmur. "To tell you the truth, I do get uneasy. I just deal with it in my own way - and tackling it in this manner makes it both easier and more fun to adapt to new things, as far as I'm concerned." He grinned and shrugged. "It's simply about trying to keep thinking positive, no matter what, that�s all."

"Yeah..." she gave him a peculiar, sidelong glance and her smile took on an unreadable quality for a brief moment. "I guess so..."

But the moment was gone almost instantly and she flashed him a quick, honest grin.

"Just... one thing; since you haven�t seen a murvelbeast before, don�t be frightened of them. They may look fearsome, but they�re just big, cuddly kittens, really."

*
Big cuddly kittens, yeah right! Judeau pressed his back against the outer wall of the stable as Thirgynn, Taskkarr and Samina came out, each leading a huge beast by reins that seemed extremely frail and inadequate, should any of the lumbering monsters choose to try to break free.

The murvelbeasts mostly resembled big dogs, but had such a heavy build and were of such size that they could just as well have been some kind of bear-hybrid. Their huge, padded paws were clawed and their fur looked thick and shaggy. From the top of their heads protruded curved rams� horns and as one of the beasts yawned mightily, Judeau became acutely aware of the rather impressive size of its fangs.

The pack-pony Samina was leading by her other hand was surprisingly undisturbed by the presence of the predators, all of which were easily its own size, and just lazily flicked an ear when one of the beasts gave a sudden, fearsome growl at another.

"Kzat!" Taskkarr immediately gave the growling beast a wallop on the chin that would have broken a normal person�s jaw, and the dark brown creature gave a startled yelp, then whimpered and hung its head as if in shame.

"He�s restless..." the dwarf grumbled quietly, before leaning in closer to the creature and muttering soothing dwarfish words in its furry ear.

Thirgynn checked the saddle on his wolf-grey mount and began stuffing his things into the saddle-bags as Samina walked over to Judeau with the already saddled pony � and her own beast � in tow. Judeau hoped to high heaven that murvelbeasts couldn�t smell fear the way dogs could, and tried to discreetly press his back through the wall. The damned thing wouldn�t yield.

"Here you go." Samina held out the reins to the pony with a smile. "Meet Packer. Packer, meet Judeau."

Desperate to distract himself from the big, furry muzzle that was making snuffling sounds in his direction, Judeau took the reins. "You... you call him Packer?"

"Yes, I tried to name him 'Charlie', but the dwarves couldn�t see the point of naming a pack-beast, and Steelwing didn�t care, so now he only listens to 'Packer'." She turned a little and pointed with her now free hand at the mostly cream-white beast behind her. "And this is Kariss. He�s not as bad as he looks. Hold out your hand and let him say 'hi'."

"Uh� I�d rather not, if you don�t mind."

The beast was getting closer now, slowly edging up to stand more beside Samina than behind her, all the while snuffling at Judeau.

"Are you sure? He�s very curious and won�t leave you alone until he�s had a good sniff at you - and believe me, you don�t want to wake up with this snout in your face in the middle of the night."

He shot her an annoyed glance. "You have a way of calming people down, you know."

She grinned evilly at him before retrieving something from a small pouch on Kariss� saddle.

"Here, give him this and he will love you forever." She pressed the small, round item into his hand, and he glanced at it.

A hazelnut?

Right. Sure. Why not? ...All right, here goes nothing.

"Here, boy... nice... beastie..."

With a glance up at Samina and a small nod from her, the huge creature lumbered up to him and began a careful, snuffling examination of his hand. He felt a large, warm tongue wrap around the fingers holding the nut, and hastily let it go. Kariss� strong jaws worked a little as its nose continued its thorough examination up his arm and chest, to finally, with a little stretch of the beast�s neck, leave a big, wet noseprint on Judeau�s cheek before withdrawing, apparently satisfied.

Judeau exhaled slowly, until the creature forcefully butted its head against his stomach. If he hadn�t been wearing his armour, he feared he might have broken a rib.

"Kariss! Kzat!" Samina yanked the reins so suddenly and forcefully that the creature was pulled back two full steps. She grabbed its ear and held on tightly. "I�m sorry about that, are you okay?"

Judeau held a hand to his stomach, more shocked than hurt. "Phoo... yeah... I thought you said he was going to love me forever?"

"Yeah, he just wanted you to scratch him between the horns, he didn�t think about the fact that you were standing against a wall and could accidentally get crushed to death!" The last part was said to the creature in an angry voice that seemed to hurt it just as much as the death-grip on its ear. It whined softly and Samina leaned down beside it, releasing her grip.

"You�ve got to play nice with humans, Kari, you know that. You�ve got to be careful, or else we�ll break. We�ve talked about this, don�t you remember? Hm? You know what I�m talking about. Yes you do. Play nice."

The beast turned its head to her and gently rubbed its muzzle against her arm. A couple of soothing words later, Kariss almost shyly turned back to Judeau, bowing its head.

"Now you can scratch him. Reward him for being such a good boy and asking nicely."

Judeau tentatively reached out and scratched the offered forehead. Its fur was exactly as thick and coarse at it looked.

"You�ve got to put more effort into it, they�ve got very thick skin," Samina told him softly, and he pressed down harder. The beast began pressing its forehead upwards into his touch, and a very, very low sound � almost not a sound at all and more like a deep vibration � began rumbling from its massive chest.

Samina smiled a genuine, sparkling smile. "See? He loves you!"

Judeau had to let out a small laugh. "I take it that he�s purring...?" Samina nodded and Judeau continued to scratch the beast for a while. Maybe they weren�t so scary, after all. This one was actually kind of cute... but...

"Why do you ride these things instead of horses?"

Samina opened her mouth to answer, but Thirgynn had overheard and beat her to it:

"For several reasons, Mr Judeau. First of all: Murvelbeasts may not be as fast as horses, but they are stronger and in many cases braver; where a horse will panic and attempt to escape, a murvelbeast will stay and fight. And that�s the second thing: A murvelbeast can assist you in a battle in more ways than a horse; they have fangs, claws and horns to add to their size. Murvels are also more resistant to different climates, and can carry a much heavier load than a normal horse."

Judeau nodded his understanding. "Okay, I get it."

Samina leaned in closer to the scout and spoke so quietly that it was almost a whisper, "And then there�s the fact that the murvelbeast is a dwarven steed; dwarves are the only ones who breed these creatures, and if they need to ride, they will always, always choose a murvel. There�s a reason for this." Her voice dropped even lower and he had to lean closer to hear:

"All dwarves suffer from a monstrous seasickness. As soon as whatever they are standing, sitting or laying on begins to move, to sway from side to side, they are reduced to little more than helpless babies. All they can do is throw up and pray. The murvel is the only steed in the known world that doesn�t rock, sway or bob while walking, and even when they run, they are steady enough to reduce nausea to a minimum."

He had to suppress a snicker, and answered her in an equally silent voice, "Really? Then I understand even better."

He saw his own amusement mirrored in her eyes as a ray of sunlight found its way in between the houses to shine directly in her face - and suddenly he noticed another asymmetrical aspect of it. "Hey..."

Her amusement faded a little. "What?"

He pointed in surprise. "Your eyes... they�re..."

"...Different coloured, I know." Her smile returned. "It took you a week to notice that?"

"Yeah, apparently," he chuckled, "It must have been the light inside the City or something."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "But the difference is subtle, I know. One green, one blue... Actually, some people never notice at all." Then she smiled jokingly, though there was a bit of a tense edge in her eyes. "So, are you the superstitious sort? Will you drag me off and burn me at the stakes because I am 'witch-marked'?"

He pretended to consider the matter seriously.

"Hmmm� Nah. I�ll let you live, for now. Otherwise I think your friends would try to stop me, and that could get messy...." He casually waved a hand as if the thought of spilling a lot of blood was a small matter that utterly bored him, and was rewarded by Samina�s short laugh and a backhanded slap on the shoulder.

"Hey, you two! Are you quite ready to leave yet?" Taskkarr�s deep voice interrupted impatiently. A quick look told Judeau that the two dwarves were already packed and mounted and waiting to get on the way. He quickly flashed them an apologetic grin and stuffed his own meagre things into one saddlebag before sitting up.

And then Steelwing came out of the stable, mounted on a horse that looked... off, somehow. It seemed too slender, its legs were too long, its nose too short and slim and its eyes were too large. It looked unrealistically fast, too; slim, trim and streamlined.

Judeau began to understand what Samina had meant when she had talked about 'horsekin'; this creature looked a lot like a horse and might behave much like one, but he got the distinct impression that it was indeed a different kind of animal.

Its coat was dappled in different shades of grey, short and smooth � almost shiny, and its movements were impatient, as though it was about to break into a gallop at any moment. It stood in stark contrast to the heavy, hulking murvelbeasts, in much the same way as the tall, slim elf contrasted against the two short, bulky dwarves.

...And there was a man who looked like a noble. Mounted on the slender, eager elfhorse, the first rays of the morning sun glinting off his beautiful armour, Steelwing looked every bit the shining champion of goodness from a fairy tale - almost royal in the way he carried himself and the ease with which he controlled his steed. The only thing that slightly marred the pure image he made was the ever-present, cold, focused edge in his eyes.

This guy and Griffith... so much alike in so many ways, and yet somehow... not...

"Took you long enough!" Taskkarr�s deep, grumpy voice interrupted Judeau�s train of thought, "A few more minutes and we would�ve left without you!"

Steelwing rode up next to the dwarf and raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure you would. And I would have caught up with you."

Samina turned in her saddle, giving everyone a bright smile. "Everybody ready? Then what are we waiting for, let�s meet up with the healer!"

She clicked her tongue and Kariss began moving. Steelwing loosed the reins of his horse a little and rode up beside her, the two of them taking the lead. When the elf came up abreast with her, the dark-haired woman turned to look at him. For a short moment a strange, communicative silence hung in the air between them, and then she smiled. A simple but warm and cheerful smile � and something softened in the Crusader�s features. He wasn�t returning her smile, but it was the closest thing to one that Judeau had seen on the elf�s face.

I wonder what those two really are to each other...

A sudden chill came over him, and for a moment he saw two other people riding in front of him. A shorthaired woman with fiery, dark eyes and a sword by her side � and a white-haired man as bright as the morning sun.

All these uncanny similarities, all these strange d�j� vu�s... what have I gotten myself into? Is fate playing a cruel trick on me? Am I walking down that same road again?

"Keep up, boy!" Taskkarr�s booming voice smashed through Judeau�s reverie, and he turned a startled look at the dwarf smith. An expectant, almost triumphant grin shone on Taskkarr�s face, and he was making impatient, waving gestures at Judeau. "It is finally time to leave!"

...No... he thought as he rode up alongside the two dwarves, returning their smiles, ...it�s different from then. It�s not the same, it�s different.

*
Shammael had made camp about half an hour�s ride from the Great City as soon as he was finished with his own business, and Judeau and Samina had spent a day helping him pack and move so they would know where to find him.

The group arrived just as the sun rose high enough to peek over the treetops of the small patch of woods behind the Healer�s tent and were immediately greeted by an exuberant Tail � who didn�t seem to pay the murvelbeasts any heed. That dog just didn�t have a sense of self-preservation.

After rousing a reluctant Shammael and helping him pack up (With many an impatient, grumbling 'you could have done this before we came' from the dwarves), they could finally begin their journey back to the Healer�s deep forest home.

*
The travel was easy, and as the sun began to set they stopped and made camp for the night. Samina had two small tents that would each either fit two people snugly or two dwarves comfortably, and the Healer had a tent that was bigger � more of a home-away-from-home type � that could be made to fit four people, if all they would do would be to sleep. The group�s first consideration was who were going to sleep where.

"No problem," Taskkarr declared, "We set up the big tent. Thirgynn and me are of a much better and more manageable size than you longlings, so we will only take up one sleeping spot."

Shammael furrowed his impressive eyebrows at the dwarf. "But that only accounts for five of us."

"Yes, I am aware of that, manling. We only need five sleeping spots; Samina and Steelwing will take turns on the night guard."

The Healer snorted. "There�s no need for a night guard. I�m with you."

Taskkarr crossed his arms over his barrel chest, giving the old man a very dubious look. "Oh, re-eally? And what protection, pray tell, does an old, human healer provide here in the country of the snake dragons and the giant boars?"

Put off by the insulting, doubtful tone of the dwarf�s voice, Shammael crossed his arms as well and glared down his nose at the short smith.

"Wouldn�t you like to know."

A silent staring-contest ensued between the two of them, until suddenly Samina snapped her fingers and interrupted the mounting tension:

"Ah! It�s your birthright, isn�t it? You are one of those born with an innate magic, 'gifted and stunted in your magical nature' as the scholars say� Am I right?"

Shammael nodded, surprised. Samina continued, smiling eagerly:

"I should�ve guessed; you�ve got all the qualities: an intense dislike for cities and crowds, an affinity for animals and ...some trouble socialising with complicated creatures like humans."

The Healer fully turned to the woman, confusedly tilting his head to the side with a frown.

"How do you know all these things, girl?"

"I... have had a reason to study birthrights."

Shammael's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "And what reason would that be, then?"

"Hold it!" Taskkarr stepped in between the two humans, making a cutting motion with his hand. "I want to know how his Healer-gift can keep us safe without a night guard!"

Samina gave the Healer a slightly uncertain smile. "Do you want to, or should I...?"

Shammael nodded at her to go on. "Tell me what you know."

"All right. Most all birthrights carry some side effects that may or may not seem logical in relation with the real nature of the 'gift'. In the case of Healing, the side effects are those I mentioned before, as well as an indefinable aura that will, in a way, repel creatures of ill intentions, and attract good, well-meaning creatures such as fairies, gnomes and most animals, but � The more complex the creature, the easier the aura is to ignore. Humans, dwarves, elves... under prolonged exposure to the aura, they may begin to feel subtly relaxed and at peace, or tense and uneasy, depending on their own nature � but nothing more than that." She looked up at the gaping Healer with an uncertain smile. "Did I get it right?"

"Lord of Beasts, girl! Where did you learn that?"

"My old mentor taught me how to read... and I�ve been reading all the books I could find on this..." A small, embarrassed blush had crept onto her features. "Too scholar-ish, was it?"

"Uh, Yeah... I was just going to say something like; 'beasts don�t want to eat me, and those who do tend to avoid the place where I�m at.'"

She gave a small, embarrassed laugh and sheepishly studied the ground beneath her feet. "...Yeah, that works too."

"Nevertheless," Steelwing interrupted, "It is better to be on the safe side. I shall take the first watch."

"But you don�t have to!" Shammael irately exclaimed.

"It�s okay, Mr Shammael," Samina interjected, "Steelwing and I only sleep for four hours a night, anyway."

Shammael gave her a confused, disbelieving look. "How?"

Steelwing answered first:

"Elves can choose not to dream at night. This shortens the time we require to sleep."

The Healer�s expression didn�t change as he turned to the elf. "Really? Isn�t that kind of dangerous?"

Steelwing shrugged indifferently. "If we do it for too long it may make us detached and asocial."

Judeau raised an eyebrow. Oh, I see� For how many years have you been doing that?

Shammael�s expression mirrored Judeau�s thoughts, but the Healer wisely chose not to comment, either. Instead, he turned to Samina.

"And you?"

She shrugged as well. "I don�t know, actually. I dream and all, but I�ve been sleeping only four or five hours a night for as long as I can remember. It may be a side-effect to my Birthright."

Shammael's eyes lit up with understanding. "So that's why you've been studying them, huh? What gift do you have?"

The scar-faced woman gave a small twitch, as if she had been caught by surprise, and her cheeks paled noticeably.

"Ah, I... Um... I meant... Well, it�s... a really rare gift. Very rare. Um." She looked away and Judeau noticed that she was nervously fiddling with a leather strap on her morningstar. "It�s called... the gift of the Void. That�s all I really know about it."

Shammael thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Hm. Never heard of that one. How does it..."

"Yes," Samina suddenly and almost cheerfully interrupted, "I honestly think that I am the only one now living who has it, and I�ve only found it mentioned once in a very, very old book we recovered from the secret library of a mad magician we had to kill. It only said that 'the Void is the infinite space between universes' and I�ll be snoggered if I know what that means. I bet that mage did, though, but we didn�t have the opportunity to chit-chat."

The Healer blinked a couple of times, apparently having some trouble following the bounty hunter�s sentences.

"Huh?"

"Well, all his books were on magical phenomena and weird sciences, so he must have known a whole lot about all kinds of things. But... you know... he was mad. Stark, raving insane - and quite uncommunicative."

"...Oh?" The old man shook his head as if to clear it. "Now, wait, I wanted to ask you..."

"How we killed him?" she interrupted again with a bright smile, "Oh, that�s actually an interesting story, you see, we were..."

Judeau frowned to himself as Samina went on with her story and Shammael became more and more engrossed in it, almost against his will.

She fast-talked him. Not very skilfully, but then you don�t have to be skilful to fast-talk Shammael...

...But she obviously doesn�t want to talk about her �birthright�...

He glanced over at the others. Thirgynn was busying himself with the building of a fireplace, giving off a very obvious aura of 'minding my own business, don�t pay attention to me'. Steelwing had begun unfolding the Healer�s big tent and didn�t seem to even be noticing the one-sided conversation behind him, but when Judeau�s eyes met Taskkarr�s the serious warning glare he received was startling in its intensity, and confirmed what the scout had suspected:

They all know... either what the �birthright� is, or at least why she doesn�t want anyone else to know about it. He met Taskkarr�s intense glare for a moment, and then gave a small nod of confirmation. Right, I get it; it�s none of my business. I won�t ask.

The dwarf kept his eyes locked on Judeau�s for a little longer, then nodded curtly and went over to help Steelwing with the tent. Judeau stole another quick glance over at Samina and the Healer before joining the elf and the dwarf.

I�m still curious, though... but no, the thought of it seems to make her uneasy. It would be insensitive to ask about it.

He shrugged inwardly. Maybe she�ll tell me herself, eventually. After all, we�re going to be a team for a while.

*
And Judeau found to his slight surprise that it wasn�t at all hard to become part of this odd team. As they gathered around the fire for supper, the conversation was very easy and he was as much a part of it as any of the others � with the exception of Steelwing who, true to himself, kept to making a few, dry remarks here and there. Even Shammael was soon laughing and telling stories.

It felt so much like being with the guys from the Band of the Hawk again � in the good old days, when they were still the youngest and most feared band of mercenaries in all of Midland � that Judeau automatically relaxed, filled with a happiness that was part good memories, part response to the uncomplicated way the dwarves and Samina included him in their conversations and jokes. It seemed as though to them, everything had been settled when he had been accepted into the team, and they were treating him almost as if they�d known each other for years.

Steelwing, however... sometimes, Judeau would catch the elf�s eyes across the fire. The light played strangely in those grey orbs and their gaze was always unreadable, but Judeau still got the distinct impression that in the Crusader�s eyes, he still had something to prove before he could be trusted. If ever he could be.

~
Whether it was due to Shammaels aura or just some kind of luck, they travelled for three days without any dramatic occurrences or encounters with the infamous Ducarri wildlife.

Judeau was adapting nicely to the group, just as Samina had suspected that he would, but she found it a little surprising that she would enjoy his company as much as she did. His optimism was refreshing after so many days and months of harsh, dwarven realism and Steelwing�s indifferent fatalism, and the blond man's easy smile was a very pleasant change from Steelwing�s ever so subtle expressions and the dwarven either-a-scowl-or-a-grin attitude.

She hadn�t realised how much she�d missed human company.

...And she knew that though she might be able to steer the old Healer clear from any attempt to make her talk about her Birthright, Judeau was not as easily duped. He must know that she was keeping it a secret from him, and she felt a little ashamed at what he might think about that � especially since he was being very nice about not asking anything.

It wasn�t that she didn�t trust him; if there were anything she was sure of about this man, it was his trustworthiness. No, she would tell him what it was, just not right now. They were still getting to know each other, after all, and it would be much better if he knew her properly first.

She would tell him, eventually. Sooner or later, she would have to.

But she wasn�t looking forward to it.

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