She gave him a dumb - founded look. 
  ‘The Death Warrior is a creature created from
Thanatos’s imagination. You remember me telling you that
Thanatos can only move upon this world in mind, not in
body?’
  They all nodded.
  ‘Thanatos’s mind created that thing. His best creature
out of the others. It’s hard to make a perfect creature
when your a mad man - or a mad god. He hasn’t released
that thing in years. It’s transparent so he can make an
easy kill. The only thing that really gives him away, is
his breathing, his evil presence, and his eyes - and that
cloud.’
  ‘Then how come that thing didn’t try to make the kill
on it’s own?’
  ‘I don’t know. That monster find’s the people it want’s
to kill, by thought. He seeks out the brain wave. It’s
like a dog searching for someone by their scent. This
time, the Death Warrior sent some assassins to do his own
work. He doesn’t usually do that.’
  ‘Will we have any trouble from that thing in the
future?’ Ice questioned.
  ‘It’s hard to tell. We’ll have to be careful though.’
  They salvaged as much night as possible with restless
sleep, then left during sunrise. Power found a small,
wooden cart, big enough to carry a body. The wheels
creaked with every gyration. 
  Enigma, still unwell to ride horse back, was loaded him
up into the cart, driven by his sheer, Hcrib. The young
boy was still unconscious as the morning rolled on. Iikin
and Terrol had awoken during the night with splitting
head aches. Any recollection of the previous night had
been long forgotten.
  The dark masses of cloud had vanished. The town looked
peaceful in the morning sunrise. The buildings would glow
a pleasant orange colour when met with the sun’s ray’s.
Although it was quiet, it seemed like any other ordinary
town.
  They travelled the next couple of weeks through to
Essej. They stayed but one night in this town, then
continued on.
  Enigma, by now had fully recovered. The cart was sold
at a cheap price to a desperate farmer in need of
equipment. 
  The temperature decreased quite a bit as they continued
north. Early morning frosts were frequent, as well as
strong blizzards and snow storms. Despite the fact that
winter was finally coming to an end, the weather in the
far north contradicted this fact.
  They reached Anitram one cold afternoon. The sky was
again, overcast with the thick mist they were now, so
well accustomed with. 
  The streets of the city were buried under a deep, white
carpet. The rooves had also been drenched with snow,
whilst stalactites hung precariously off the eaves.
  Frasian’s castle was nothing spectacular. It was square
with battlements, and tower’s at it’s corners. The tall
gates were left open. It was unguarded as they waltzed in
without question. 
  Several unenthusiastic servants lead the horses to the
stable, as they dismounted in a vast courtyard.
  They passed through a small side door, then forced it
shut. A young man in his thirties, greeted them. ‘So glad
you could make it.’ he said with relief. ‘I’m Gecqual,
chief adviser of his majesty, King Frasian.’
  ‘What’s the problem, Gecqual?’ Ksid said, getting
straight down to business.
  ‘Excuse me sir, is the one they call Enigma present.’
  ‘I’m here.’ Enigma stepped forward.
  ‘Are these people your accomplices?’
  Enigma nodded.
  ‘Is my information needed for their ears?’
  ‘I don’t really know. You haven’t told me anything
yet.’
  ‘Let me rephrase the question then. Do these people
influence your decisions?’
  ‘They are a big help. I guess, the more people there
is, the more advise we can give you.’
  ‘I suppose. Can they be trusted?’ He asked the question
rather bluntly. 
  ‘They wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t.’ Enigma
guaranteed.
  Gecqual gave Enigma’s partners all a long stare. ‘All
right. Come along. We have a matter to discuss.’ He lead
them down several hall ways, to a small room.
  They all took up their seats at the table. ‘Okay.’
Gecqual began. ‘Thanks for coming. For along time now,
the people of Vinmac have been relying heavily on
slavery. Please don’t take that the wrong way, Enigma.’
  ‘I won’t’ Enigma assured.
  ‘Anyway,’ he went on. ‘it’s only been in the past
couple of decades, that the business has risen to new
heights. Famous markets, such as the Sanctuary that was
burnt down, have been erected all over the continent. The
price on each head has been fair, and there has always
been a good supply of them when we need them. 
  ‘They’ve usually behaved themselves well in the past.
But a new side to them has been rising to the surface for
a while now. The slaves have been rather restless, and
they seem more confident. We’ve received word from our
hidden sources, that a new belief has risen amongst these
slaves. They believe there is a god that has been born
that will help free them from their toils. This God’s
name is Jab - Kral, God of Freedom.’
  ‘Jab - Kral.’ Ksid mused. ‘I’m sure I’ve heard that
name before.’
  ‘It’s supposedly an ancient name. It’s meaning is
unknown to me.’
  ‘Go on with the story.’
  Gecqual nodded. ‘I am lead to believe, that Jab -
Kral’s high priest is somewhere in this city. We don’t
know who he is, or where he’s supposed to be staying.’
  ‘So, what’s your problem then?’ Ice asked.
  ‘We fear that the slaves will become overconfident, to
the point of rebellion. We want to avoid blood - shed in
this city, but we don’t know how to go about it.’
  ‘Have your slaves done anything out of the ordinary yet
- besides what you just described?’ Ksiid questioned
further.
  ‘They still co - operate. But there has been some
reluctance.’
  ‘Have your men uncovered anything else?’ 
  Gecqual shook his head. 
  ‘All right. We’ll work on what we’ve got then.’
  ‘What are you planning to do?’
  ‘I was thinking about snooping around the slave markets
in town here a little. Maybe that’ll uncover a little
more. Put some of your men in the local taverns and inns.
These places are usually a gold mine of information. We
might be able to uncover something there.’
  Gecqual looked at Enigma.
  ‘I agree.’ Enigma backed his mentor up.
  ‘Good.’ Gecqual sounded pleased. ‘We’ll do it that way
then. We’ll do anything we can to help you. If there’s
anything you need, just ask.’
*  *  *
  They spent the night in the southern end of the castle.
On Ksid’s insistence for safety, Enigma shared a room
with Sly, whilst Power did the same with Ice.
  Their first night was free of deadly creatures, and
blood thirsty heads. Nonetheless, there wasn’t much sleep
between them. Each giving up on slumber, they spent the
rest of the night discussing further details of concern. 
  Enigma and Power had settled on the idea of armour for
the Clydesdale and the Sheer. The two beasts just weren’t
complete with out it. 
  As the sun rose, the matter was pressed on the palace
black - smith. He fashioned for Hcrib, a golden coloured
crinet, peytral and flank plate, with a gleaming silver
coloured chamfron and crupper. Aroht was armoured in
black with a silver flank plate. They each shone
brightly. Not a mark or dint out of place.
  ‘Nice.’ Ksid applauded as Enigma mounted his newly
armoured horse. 
  ‘I chose the colours myself.’ Enigma informed him. ‘Sly
chose her own colours though.’
  ‘Has she seen the finished product?’
  ‘She wants to keep it a surprise from herself for as
long as possible.’
  Terrol and Iikin bought a pair of horses for
themselves. A couple of young race horses became their
transport.
  Ksid had decided they split up. Enigma and Sly were
sent horseless, to search around for information in the
lower part of the city, while Ice an Power were sent to
the slave market place. Terrol and Iikin were given the
duty of exploring the local taverns with the spies. Ksid
took it upon himself to stay behind - out of the harsh
climate - to gather information as it came in.
  Sly and Enigma were rapped up tightly with fur,
reaching up and over their mouths. 
  Nobody held solid information. When asked of their new
God, most would deny knowing him, with worried faces, and
hesitant looks.
  Eventually, they came across a man, lying uncomfortably
in a large pile of garbage, out of the wind in a side
ally.
  ‘Excuse me!’ Enigma yelled over the howling squall. ‘We
seek information!’
  ‘Your not going to find anything like that here!’ the
man called back. ‘Not unless you can afford it!’
  ‘Fine.’ Enigma withdrew a small pouch of money, ‘But we
want the information first!’
  ‘How do I know that your not just going to walk off 
once I give you what you want?’
  Enigma handed him half of what he was willing to pay.
‘I’ll hand you the other half if your able to help us.’
  The grubby man looked at the coins closely. ‘What sort
of information are you searching for, friend?’
  ‘We seek information about a person who goes by the
name of Jab - Kral
  ‘Jab - Kral.’ the man’s eyes came alight. ‘He’s the guy
that’s going to bring people like me, from starvation and
from poverty. He’s Jab - Kral, God of Freedom. He
promises to helps us against the higher powers of the
world.’
  ‘Who’s been telling you this?’
  ‘Uilin, Jab - Kral’s disciple. He preached Jab - Kral’s
existence not to long ago.’
  ‘Have you seen what he looks like?’
  ‘Not personally. Some of my mates have, but who knows
where they’ve got to now. I’ve heard just briefly, that
this Uilin character is travelling right now, to Etib on
a similar mission as the one he completed here.’
  ‘When did he leave?’
  ‘About a week ago. Is that all you were after?’
  ‘Yes, my friend.’ Enigma handed him the rest of the
money that was promised, then returned with Sly to the
street. 
  That was the only worth while piece of information they
were able to salvage that morning. Other ally’s were
searched, along with run down houses and wear houses,
plus a few taverns and inns. They continued their search,
though, until the end of the street, then turned back. 
  They passed the ally that they had encountered the
dirty man. Something, Enigma found, was wrong. 
  ‘Wait a minute.’ he grabbed Sly by the shoulder.
‘Something’s not right.’ They turned and walked back into
the ally way. The problem soon became apparent. The man
had been viciously slaughtered by someone. His insides
had been ripped out from his slit belly, and his throat
and wind pipe were cut. 
  Sly gagged noisily, backing away from the horror. The
coins that Enigma had given him, lay scattered on the
ground. 
  In disgust, Enigma slowly backed away, out into the
street. ‘Run.’ he said quietly at first. ‘Come on, lets
get out of here!’ Grabbing his partner by the arm, they
sprinted speedily away from the gruesome scene. 
  From behind them somewhere, came a shout of a war. They
were being pursued. Misguided arrows landed to either
side of the fleeing pair, shot from the unsteady arms of
the bow men, whilst sticks and rocks whistled by
overhead.
  The group of killers consisted of about ten men. They
looked more like drunks, than professionals.
Nevertheless, Enigma and Sly kept an even distance from 
them the whole way. 
  They turned down another street with the palace gates
wide open before them. Safety was near.
  With only a few, short blocks to go, a further band of
men cut them off to bar the way.  
  This time around, hundreds of them poured out from the 
side streets into their path. An equal amount joined the
band of ten to close off escape from behind. A cheer of
triumph went up as the cornered couple stood their
ground. Slowly, the men began their advance.
  Enigma hadn’t experienced what followed, since he was a
little boy. At first, he felt a tingling sensation in his
head. With Sly still in his grasp, a sudden dull red aura
appeared around them. She gave no reaction at all. The
aura expanded into a dome shape, blocking out all the
yells and cries of the attackers. He felt another tingle,
this time, just behind his eyes. The aegis began to
expand in every direction.
  As the offenders were blessed with the deadly circle of
power, they disintegrated from existence. They’d burn,
and then turn to ashes to be blown away by the biting
wind. After several attempts of defence against the
expanding defence, they realised after many fatalities,
that there was nothing they could do, thus, fleeing in
all different directions with their lives.
  The aura expanded upwards and outwards, until it had
reached the outskirts of the town, as it mowed down
relentlessly, the rest of the criminals. Painful screams
of death floated along the breeze. Then, as quickly as it
expanded, it deployed back to nothingness. 
  Ksid came trotting out of the palace on his horse.
‘What happened?’ he asked as he approached a stunned 
Enigma.
  ‘I’m not really sure.’ he said. ‘I know for sure, that
a bunch of people tried to kill us. We turned this dull
red colour, and the next thing we knew, the attackers
were gone. I haven’t had that type of power in years.’
  ‘That’s because your powers have been directed into
that book of yours. Your powers are the only things that
can access those messages. It does that through your
touch.’
  ‘I felt this funny feeling all around my head.’
  ‘All around your head?’
  Enigma nodded.
  ‘That’s out of the ordinary.’ Ksid replied. ‘Usual when
you access that kind of power, your supposed to feel the
tingle near your heart. That’s where the powers should
come from - the heart. But you felt a tingle in the head.
That’s very peculiar. Tell me, exactly, what did you do?’
  ‘I didn’t do anything. It just happened. Sly didn’t
even notice it.’
  ‘Didn’t notice it.’ Sly repeat still within a tranced
state.
  ‘You haven’t learnt to take control of those powers 
yet. Your powers will act on instinct. Your not mature 
enough, and your to rational to control them on your
own.’
  ‘Thanks.’
  ‘Not a problem. Go on with what your saying.’
  ‘What was I say?’ Enigma had forgotten.
  ‘You were telling me about that red glowing light.’
  ‘That’s right. There were about five hundred men that
surrounded us. We - ’
  ‘Tell me all those details inside.’ Ksid interrupted.
‘We don’t want people over hearing us.’
  ‘Okay, we were surrounded, and all of a sudden this
boring, red shield surrounded us. It expanded slowly,
eventually wiping out our attackers. They just burnt to
ashes. Once it had done its job, it returned. Did anybody
else in the city get hurt?’
  ‘Not that I know of. I was looking out the window when
I saw it coming. It passed over the palace and beyond. No
one - except for me, seemed to take any notice of it,
which explains Sly’s state of mind at the moment. I
wonder what it means.’ 
  ‘But how can this be so?’
  ‘I’m not too sure. Lets go back to the palace to wait
for the others. It’s cold out here.’
  *  *  *
  The others returned before the day’s end. Sly recovered
back to normal, with no knowledge of the attack. Enigma,
nonetheless, didn’t pursue the matter any further.
  They again gathered in the usual meeting place with the
single table and chairs. Gecqual was there as well.
  Iikin sat, playing with his pet mouse. He had rapped
her up in a tiny fur coat to keep her warm. Enigma felt
Atrebor’s void, as he looked on at the playful critter.
With these thought’s in mind, Kolga scurried across the
table to where Enigma sat, dodging extended hands as he
went.
  ‘What did you two find?’ Ksid asked Enigma and Sly
first. 
  ‘It wasn’t much.’ Enigma told them. ‘The streets didn’t
help at all. We found that when we mentioned the name Jab
- Kral, people would usually look away  with wild eyes and
avoid our questions. There was one old guy, though, who
knew quiet a bit. It appears that this God Jab - Kral,
has offered his help to the poor as well. The man said
that Jab - Kral was going to help them against those
higher powers of the world. A guy name Uilin is supposed
to be the preacher. He’s the one spreading all this
rubbish around. He’s supposed to have left for Etib a
week ago.’
  ‘Is this all you could find?’
  ‘Enigma nodded. We went down to the end of the street
and then turned back. As we passed the ally with the old
guy, I happened to notice that someone had ripped out his
intestines and slit his throat. The money I had given him 
was all there. I don’t understand why the killer didn’t 
take it as well. After this we just came straight back to 
the palace - more or less.’
  Ksid turned to Ice and Power. ‘What did you to find?’
  ‘Absolutely nothing.’ Ice replied in her sweet voice.
‘The salesmen wouldn’t let us get anywhere near the
slaves unless we were prepared to by one. We had many
other attempts at getting by them, but there were just to
many.’
  ‘How about you two.’ Ksid then asked Iikin and Terrol.
  ‘We overheard a conversation in an inn near by.’ Iikin
explained. ‘There was two of them. They were talking
about the new god. They didn’t speak his name direct, but
it was easy to piece together who they were hinting at.
The man named Uilin was also mentioned. But it seems that
he isn’t, in fact, the leader of this little group. He’s
taking orders from someone else. The two referred to this
other person as “the pious leader”. Uilin takes orders
from that person, and passes them down to people he
hires. Now, the people that have been hired, are working
their way down through the continent, going from city to
city, spreading the same rubbish to the desperate and
hopeful. This all started about a week ago. Also, we can
confirm that Uilin is headed towards Etib.’
  ‘What were those men doing here in Anitram, then.’
  ‘I think they’re supposed to stay back and make sure
everything goes according to plan. Mid way through the
conversation, a third man rushed in and whispered them
something. We couldn’t quite here what he said over the
noise. The three of them rushed out without paying.’
  ‘So what do we do now?’ Gecqual murmured to everyone.
  ‘I was just thinking.’ Enigma declared. ‘By what
number, do the slaves plus homeless out number every one
else?’
  ‘On the Korutianian continent, about two to one.’
Gecqual quickly calculated. 
  ‘If someone can take control of the slaves and
homeless, then, they’ll have enough man power to over run
the nobles of the world.’
  ‘But why would any one want to do that?’ Power asked.
  ‘I’m not really sure, but it’s the only thing that
makes sense. The slaves and homeless have no money, and
no freedom. What possibly could they have to offer these
extremists? Nothing but strength. Strength in numbers,
intimidation - it all leads to power over the people.’
  ‘But who?’ they all asked him.
  ‘This time around, I strongly doubt that this is the
work of the Revolution. If it were, then why wouldn’t
they say that Thanatos wants to free them from slavery
and hunger and all that instead of Jab - Kral. If it is
the cult, how do they think they’re going to get the
people to follow Thanatos for the conversion, when he
hasn’t done anything for them? No, I don’t think it’s the
cult at all. Someone who specialises in the slave
market.’ He though about it for a moment. ‘The Enemy!’
  ‘Who are the Enemy?’ Power, Ice, Iikin and Terrol
asked.
  Enigma scratched Kolga behind the ear. ‘They specialise
in slaves. I was sold to the Enemy as a young boy. Sly
was also a slave to the Enemy at one time as well. I
burnt down the headquarters over in Ediug not to long
ago. I wouldn’t take this whole Enemy idea for granted,
though. It could be someone totally different. Jab - Kral
might even be real.’
  ‘It’s a possibility.’ Ksid agreed. ‘We’ll keep these
thoughts in mind.’
  ‘But no one has answered my question.’ Gecqual
denounced. ‘What do we do now?’
  ‘These extremist are trying to use the slaves and
homeless against you, the aristocracy.’ Ksid explained.
‘I bet my bottom dollar that they’re using the fact that
you mistreat them, to create a god who will supposedly
save these unfortunate from high powers of the world. But
if we change that, they won’t have a reason to rebel - if
that’s what’s ultimately going to happen, which I think
it is.’
  ‘Why would they want to rebel against the upper class?’
  ‘Well for one, you people mistreat them. They’re humans
too, so why not treat them as equals? As for the
conductor of this whole operation, I’m not to sure. I’d
imagine it’d be for his or her own needs. If we can get
the trust of the slaves and homeless involved, they won’t
have any need for this new God.’
  ‘What are you proposing?’
  Ksid scratched his head. ‘We have to give these people
more privileges. That’s what this Jab - Kral character is
offering.’
  ‘You understand that there will be some upper class who
won’t follow the plan. If these people become equal in
society, you can expect a higher increase of beatings,
murders, theft, and other offences, just out of pure
jealousy, where the nobles of today had to work to get to
their current status, watch as the unfortunate, simply
get promoted for being slaves and homeless.’
  ‘Then we’ll have to make that law.’ Ksid replied.
‘You’ll have to promise these slaves that they won’t be
beaten, and you’ll have to create much harsher laws and
consequences for crimes committed both ways - slaves on
nobles and nobles on slaves. After a couple of public
deaths on both sides, I think they’ll eventually learn to
live together.’
  ‘There’s still a problem that will occur.’ Gecqual
said.
  ‘What’s that?’
  ‘Even if they decide to live together, the community
shall separate. Noblemen won’t conduct business with 
former slaves for that reason alone, and vice - versa. 
Then each side will become outraged with the 
discrimination, and eventually, we’ll have a war on our
hands.
  ‘Then you’ll just have to set the standards. Hopefully,
if they see one group of opposites living together, the
rest will follow. It’s the only way. All we can do is
try.’
  Gecqual winced. ‘I wish there were another way. Can’t
we just kill them?’
  ‘No. That’s entirely out of the question. Once they
realise that they’ll all be killed, they’ll join and
fight back. Remember, you said yourself that they out
number everyone else by about two to one. Two slaves for
every one commoner. They could surely defeat you.
Besides, it’s pointless wasting that many lives on
senseless fighting.’
  Gecqual sighed. ‘If this is the only way.’ He shrugged
helplessly. ‘So, how long will you all be staying here
for?’
  ‘Not much longer.’ Ksid leaned back in his chair. ‘We
have to go down to Etib. See if we can find this Uilin
person. The other kingdoms in this continent will also
have to follow this plan until we can find this preacher
and stop him.’
  ‘Well I hope it’s not to much longer. King Frasian will
have my head if he doesn’t approve.’
  ‘I don’t think he will. Not unless he can come up with
any other alternatives to this plan.’
  ‘What are you going to do when you catch this fellow?’
  ‘I haven’t decided yet. We’ll figure this out once we
catch him.’
  ‘If we can catch him.’ Power corrected.
*  *  *
  They stayed only a few more nights, searching for more
clues that might be able to help them along. None were
found. With extra supplies, they mounted up, travelling
the highway joining Anitram to Etib.
  Sly smiled fondly, as she looked upon Aroht and his
shining, new armour. He looked meaner and nastier than
ever before.
  The slow trickle of frozen water hadn’t relented at
all, creating a deep, white blanket over the fields.
Visibility was partially impaired, their sight limited to
about twenty - five metres in each direction. Terrol took
it upon himself to scout out in front. 
  Enigma felt a slight shudder on the inside of his
smock, but decided to view the new message later.
  They set up camp that night within a small group of
trees, huddling the tents tightly together. Making a hot
supper was futile, but somehow, it was pulled off. 
  With the fire dying out prematurely, they all sought
their tents. They each paired up for warmth, on Ksid’s
instructions - Power with Ice, Iikin with Terrol, Enigma
with Sly, leaving Ksid on his own.
  The thin surrounding of canvas successfully sheltered 
them from the extreme conditions outside. It didn’t stop 
a persistent chill though, that bit at their toes and 
fingers.
  Enigma opened up his little, red book. “Your journey’s
have even now begun. You shall be sent to investigate the
bearer of what is not. Your pilgrimage south shall bring
you to the land of the adze family. Your real search
shall be revealed, to the gathering, the message of which
you already know. Search instead for the travel stone,
the stone which delivers all, at the time of the
alignment. Once in your grasp, you shall be faced with
the quest of finding it’s brothers, amongst the many
great dangers that lie ahead.”
  ‘Go to bed, Enigma.’ Sly said drowsily.
  ‘Yes dear.’ the boy replied.