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Chapter 1: The Games

  The sun was low in the sky when the eight finalists, the ones who would fight their last battles on the morrow, were announced. Jasmine, Barda, and I were among them. So were Glock and Neridah. The other three were Jassy--an attractive woman near Barda's age, who had amazing power for her small size, with long dark brown hair held in a braid, indigo blue eyes, tanned skin, and a lean body, Amiee--a very clever and lovely girl my age, with light brown hair to her shoulder blades, bright blue eyes, and a very slight height, and the scar-faced stranger whose name we finally knew--Doom.

"A fitting name for such a dark character," I heard Barda mutter, as Doom stepped forward, unsmiling, and held up his arms to the cheering crowd. "I do not relish the thought of fighting him."



Neither did I. But something had just come to my mind that worried me more.

"I did not expect that we would all be finalists," I whispered to Jasmine and Barda. "What if we have to fight each other?" I felt Jasmine staring at me curiously.

"Why, we will decide who is to win, then just pretend to fight," she said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "As, in any case, we must do for all other bouts tomorrow. We must let our opponents win, and so avoid injury. We are already sure of 100 gold coins each, because we are finalists. That is all the money we need, and more." Barda moved restlessly beside me. Plainly, the idea of cheating to lose offended him as much as cheating to win.

"It would not be honorable." he began.

"Not honorable?" Jasmine hissed. "What has honor to do with this?" she spun around to face me. "Tell him!" she urged.

I hesitated. I was not troubled, as Barda was, by the idea of deceiving the organizers of the Games, or even the crowd. On the streets of Del, honor among friends was all that was required, and survival was the only rule. But part of my mind--the part that still simmered with anger over the warning note and the locked door--rebelled against Jasmine's plan.

"Our rivals will know if we do not try to win. It will seem that we are at last bowing to their threats," I finally murmured, receiving a snort of disgust from Jasmine.

"You are as foolish as Barda! Will you risk our quest for the sake of your pride? Oh, I have no patience with you!" she turned her back and stalked away.

*****

That evening, all of the finalists ate together in the dining hall attended by Mother Brightly, smiling and bright in her ruffled red dress. It was a strange meal to me, for only the night before, the room had been busy and filled with noise, and now it was empty and echoing. The defeated competitors, it seemed, had already been sent away. I wondered how they were faring, for many of them were injured and almost all without money.

Jasmine was still angry. She ate little and drank only water. "That Queen Bee Cider is too rich for me," she muttered. "The thought of it sickens me. The air in the arena stank of it. The people in the seats were drinking it all day." Barda frowned. "It should not be sold to them. It is intended for use by fighters, who need massive energy, not for those who simply sit and look on. No wonder they cry for blood."

But I was not listening to that conversation, for I had felt someone's eyes on me for some time now, and it was beginning to unnerve me. Looking around the room, I spotted Amiee, sitting only a few seats away from me, and her eyes were locked on my waist, where the Belt of Deltora rested.

Our eyes met as she looked up, and I suddenly felt that she was boring a hole into my head, looking into my very soul, to my deepest, darkest secrets. I shuddered and looked away from her just as Mother Brightly rang a small bell.

"One word before you begin retiring to your rooms, my dears." She said as all the finalists turned to her. "I want no tricks or trouble here tonight. So I plan to take your keys and lock your doors myself. I will unlock them in the morning immediately after the waking bell."

The room was dead silent. The woman looked around, her plump face very serious. "So sleep soundly and regain your strength," she went on. "Tomorrow you must show no sign of weakness or lack of purpose. The crowd--well, it is always very excited on the final day. Very excited, indeed. It has been known for finalists who do not perform well to be attacked and torn to pieces. I would not like this to happen to any of you."

My stomach seemed to turn over at that, and I did not dare glance at Jasmine or Barda. So this was how the Games organizers made sure that all the finalists tried their best at the last. The crowd was their weapon--the crowd, swarming, acting with one mind, excited to fever pitch and hungry for blood. I shuddered, an unpleasant tingle making its way up my spine.
 

Chapter 2: The Finalists and the Champion

VThe arena was already growing warm when Lief, Jasmine and I reached it in the morning. The sun glared down on one side of the newly raked sand. The other side was in deep shadow. The benches were packed, the crowd simmering with excitement. All of us, meaning the finalists, raised our hands and repeated our pledge to fight our best. Then we stepped forward one by one to choose a card from the woven basket held up by a smiling Mother Brightly.

I glanced at Lief, looking at his card, an extreme look of nervousness on his face. The number upon it was 3. Relief replaced the nervousness as he glanced at Jasmine and I, and saw that I held the card with 1 on it, and Jasmine the card with 4 on it. So, for this round at least, we were not to fight each other. But who were our opponents to be?



As I looked around, I saw the scar-faced Doom walking towards Jasmine, holding his card high in the air, so all could see the number 4 upon it. My heart sank. Jasmine was strong, but was she strong enough to defeat him? I noticed the woman Jassy walking towards me, holding the second number 1 card out for me to see, a tiny smirk on her face.



Glock and Neridah had both drawn cards marked 2, so the only one who remained was the young woman Amiee. And, sure enough, there she was, rushing over to Lief, holding the second card marked 3, proving to him that they were to fight. The crowd roared as Jassy and I, as well as the other three pairs of opponents, threw down our cards and faced each other.



********



"I am rather afraid, I confess." Amiee said in a quiet voice, looking down at her hands, and then back up to Lief. "I really do not know how I reached the finals. And you are one of Mother Brightly's favorites, are you not?"



Lief stared awkwardly back at her. He had fought several women the day before and had learned that it was unwise to think of them as anything other than dangerous opponents. Besides, anyone who had seen Jasmine at work knew better than to underestimate a fighter just because she was female. But Amiee looks so gentle, he thought, looking her over. She was only a little bit taller than Jasmine, and slender and graceful, much like a deer.

"The..the crowd," Lief stammered. "We must.."

"Of course." Amiee whispered. "I know I must try my very hardest. And I will not blame you for doing what you must." she flashed him a tiny smile.



"You need not fear." Lief began gently. But at that moment the starting bell rang and like a snake, Amiee's foot lashed out lightning fast, and caught him on the point of the chin, knocking him flat on the back. The crowd laughed and booed. Lief scrambled to his feet, shaking his head stupidly. His ears were ringing and he couldn't see Amiee at all. With amazing speed she had darted behind him, and was savagely kicking the backs of his knees, causing him to gasp in pain. In moments she was darting around him, leaping and kicking at his ankles, his knees, his belly, his back, making him turn around and around like a confused clown, flailing with his arms while she always stayed out of reach. She was making a fool of him! The crowd had begun jeering, chanting his stupid false name, "Twig," and laughing.



A wave of anger cleared Lief's head a little. If Amiee was fast, so was he. He jumped backwards, away from her, so that she was forced to face him. Warily, they circled one another, Amiee watching every move he made, even the tiniest twitch of his fingers. Then, without warning, he sprang forward, catching her around the waist and throwing her to the ground. She fell and lay gasping and wincing, one arm limp and helpless. All Lief had to do was finish her. Stop her from rising to her feet. Kick, or hit. But tears were welling in her bright blue eyes as she struggled feebly in the sand. She looked up at him tearfully, her eyes begging him not to do it, and for one split second, Lief hesitated. But that was enough. The next moment, Amiee's "helpless" arm was darting forward and her hand was seizing his ankle. Then the crowd was roaring as she leaped up, jerking his foot off the ground. Lief staggered, crashed to the sand, and knew no more.



********



Jassy stood a few feet away, facing me, her face showing determination. She had taken off her boots and thrown off her cloak when the starting bell had rang, and I saw she was lean, and had firm muscles.



"Ready?" she asked smirking.



I nodded, and her smirk grew larger. She lunged at me, and I lunged at her. Hands locked, Jassy slowly stepped forward, pushing me back a foot.



"Berry--what a strange name," she smirked again and jumped high over me, still holding onto my hands, and pulled me backwards, letting go while she was still in midair. I flew back and hit the ground, which partially knocked the breath out of me. Jassy landed gracefully beside my head.



"Get up. I didn't come here to watch you lay around!" she exclaimed in annoyance.



Taking this one chance I had, I grabbed her ankle and threw her to the ground.



"I will not lose to you!" she yelled angrily, getting to her feet quickly.



"You may have agility and great strength, but I will win," I growled, picking myself up off the ground. I was starting to get fed up with her. I charged for her and caught her in a strong grip.



"Very good, Berry, but not quite good enough." Jassy smiled, and jumped behind me, kicking me into the wall with a great amount of force. I felt a great amount of pain, and then all went dark.



********



Four finalists remained: Amiee, Jassy, Jasmine, and Glock. Jasmine had only had a few brief moments to find out how Lief and Barda were faring. Both were doing poorly, but Mother Brightly, anxiously hovering over them, had told her that they would recover. Their injuries were not too serious and they would be not much the worse for their defeat. Seeing that her friends were in good hands, Jasmine allowed herself to be taken to the center of the arena to join Glock, Amiee and Jassy.



Foaming mugs of Queen Bee Cider were brought to them. The dark haired young serving man was plainly excited to be serving such great ones. He offered the tray to Amiee, who took a mug with a word of thanks and a small smile.



"Why do you server her first?!" Glock shouted furiously, startling Amiee so much she dropped her mug after taking only two sips.



Glock snatched another mug from the tray, tipped it up and drained it dry. The young man, plainly startled and frightened, began gasping words of apology.



"It is fine, dear. Do not worry yourself over that fool." Amiee told the boy soothingly, before glaring coldly at Glock.



Blushing scarlet, the young man held out the tray to Jassy and Jasmine. Both shook their heads.



"No thank you, dear." Jassy smiled at him. "That stuff is much too sweet for my tastes."



"Thank you, but I do not like Queen Bee Cider," Jasmine explained. "I have had water and that is enough."



As the young man stared, Glock grabbed the rejected mugs. "All the more for me!" he crowed, gulping the cider greedily.



He turned to Jasmine, wiping his dripping mouth with the back of his hand. "Pray that you are not facing me next round, little water- drinking Birdie. I will crack your bones like eggshells. I will--"

A strange expression crossed his face. And at that exact moment, Amiee, beside him, gave a strange little sigh, bent at the knee and fell to the ground. Glock gaped at her, then at the empty mug in his hand and the other on the ground. His hand went to his throat.



"Poison!" he croaked.

He turned, staggering and pointing with a shaking finger at the young man with the tray.

"You--" he croaked.

The young man dropped the tray and took to his heels. By the time Glock, in his turn, had crashed senseless to the ground, he was already lost in the crowd. People were running towards them, shouting and pointing. Jasmine stared at Doom, who was standing on the very first row in the stands. The match suddenly began and Jassy had run and slid, so as to trip Jasmine, who jumped to the side. "Fly away, Birdie." Jassy smirked.

*******

Jassy lunged at Jasmine who dodged again. "You're tired, old woman," Jasmine hissed. "Tired to your bones." And as she said it, Jassy knew it was true. Her struggle with Barda had sapped her strength and dulled her reflexes. Why else had she missed her when she struck?

"Catch me if you can!" Jasmine grinned and half-turned, as if to run.

Taken by surprise, Jassy took a stumbling step forward. Jasmine whirled around to kick her, but missed. On her second kick, Jasmine made contact with Jassy's side. She leaped away as she snatched at her, leaving her clutching the empty air. She jumped and attacked again and again. Jassy stood, holding her side and threw a kick at Jasmine, who didn't dodge quickly enough.

"Fly to your momma bird, Birdie," Jassy growled angrily. That one sentence sent Jasmine into a fit of rage. She lunged at Jassy, kicking, punching, jabbing, and clawing angrily. Jassy took every hit, grunting in pain. When Jasmine stopped her vicious onslaught, Jassy grinned.

"I'm not done yet, little girl," she sneered.

Jasmine narrowed her emerald eyes at the woman, and with one last kick to the head, Jassy fell to the ground, unconscious.

Chapter3: Easy as Winking

Mother Brightly was in high spirits all the time they were eating, but afterwards, when she had brought their weapons to them and they were preparing to leave, it became clear that something was on her mind. In the end, she bit her lip and bent towards them. "It is hard for me to say this," she said quietly. "I do not like to spread bad tidings about the Games, or Rithmere. But you must be told. It has been known for Champions, and even ordinary finalists, to meet with...ill fortune, on their way out of town." "You mean to say that they are attacked and robbed, I suppose?" Barda asked bluntly. Lief thought he heard a frightened squeak from somewhere in the shadows, and a person whispering 'Be quiet!' feircely as Mother Brightly nodded uncomfortably. "The gold coins are a great temptation, I'm afraid," she murmured. "Would you be offended at all if I suggested that you leave the inn using a secret way? There is a back door--reached by a passage that runs from the cellar. The cider barrels are brought in that way, but few people know of it, and the back street is narrow, and always deserted. You could slip out completely unnoticed, easy as winking." "Thank you, Mother Brightly," Lief said, clasping her hand warmly. "You are a good friend." *

The passage from the cellar was long, low, dark and smelled sickeningly of cider. Their boots clattered on the stones as they shuffled along in single file, poor Barda bent almost double. They had divided their remaining gold between them to make it easier to carry, but it still weighed heavily on their belts. Already sore from their battle of the day, they were soon very stiff and uncomfortable. "We should, perhaps, have stayed the night at the inn and set out in the morning," Lief groaned, frowning deeply. "But I could not face the thought of one more hour in Rithmere." "Nor I," Jasmine muttered uncomfortably, breaking her long silence. Kree, hunched on her arm, squawked(I like that word..^-^) in agreement. "Well, we have what we came for, at least," stated Barda, who was in the lead. "We now have enough gold to fund the rest of our journey--and more beside," he paused, then added awkwardly: "You did very well, Jasmine."

"Indeed" Lief agreed eagerly. Barda squinted ahead and pointed. "I see light ahead. I believe we are at last reaching the end of this accursed tunnel."

They hurried forward, eager to see the sun and to stand upright. As Mother Brightly had told them, the passage ended in a low door. Light showed dimly through the crack beneath it. But as Barda drew the bolt and the door swung open, a flood of sunlight poured into the dark passage. With streaming eyes, almost blinded by the welcome glare, they crawled through the doorway one by one. And so it was that, one by one, they were cracked over the head and captured. Easy as winking. *

Doom walked slowly and quietly along the passage, trailing after Barda, Jasmine and Lief. Hearing shuffling behind him, he whirled around, drawing his sword, prepared to take someone's head off. He heard a frightened yelp from the shadows and glared in the direction it came from. "Come out and face me, coward!" he growled angrily. "Alright, no need to get angry," a female's voice replied as a young girl stepped from the shadows, an older woman clinging to her waist in fear. Doom recognized them instantly. They were Amiee and Jassy, from the tournament. He lowered his sword the tiniest bit. "What do you want? Why are you following me?" he asked suspiciously. Amiee, the young girl, frowned at Jassy, trying to pry her from her waist. "We meant to follow the three from Bushtown, but you are, I suppose, doing the same as us, so we began following you," she explained bluntly, now frowning at Doom. "You are correct in saying I am following the Champion and her companions. But tell me, why are you wanting to follow them?" Doom questioned, truly curious. Amiee crossed her arms over her chest. "That, sir, I cannot tell you," she replied stubbornly. "Like you cannot tell us your reason for following them." she added, a smirk finding its way onto her pale face. "You are correct, once again, Amiee the Witty," Doom muttered, sheathing his sword, knowing he could trust the two women. Jassy smiled, finally releasing Amiee and standing up straight. "Will you help us then, since we are doing the same as you?" she asked, taking a step towards the tall man. Doom stared at the two for what seemed an eternity, before nodding shortly. "Come," he muttered, continuing down the dark tunnel. Amiee and Jassy looked at each other in slight shock, before following him obediently. *

When Lief came to his senses he was covered by some rough, foul-smelling cloth--old sacks(when I first read that, I thought it said old SOCKS..nyaha..), perhaps. His head was pounding. He was gagged and his wrists and ankles were weighed down by heavy chains. He became aware that he was being painfully jolted and bumped. He could hear voice, a jingling sound, and the plod of hooves. He realized that he was on the back of a cart. Whoever had attacked him was carrying him away from Rithmere. But why? The Belt! With a thrill of terror he dragged his chained hands to his waist and groaned with relief as his fingers met the familiar shaped of the linked medallions under his clothes. His money bag was gone, as was his sword, but the Belt of Deltora was safe. His captors had not found it. Yet.

His groan was answered by the dull clank of chains and a sigh beside him and a muffled cry from a little farther away. So Barda and Jasmine were in the cart with him. He was absurdly comforted, though of course it would have been better if one of them at least was free. Then there might be some hope of rescue. As it was... There was a guffawing laugh from the front of the cart. "The ticks are waking, Carn 8," a harsh voice said. "Should I give them another knock?" "Better not," said a second voice. "They have to be in good condition on delivery." "I don't see that this lot's worth the trouble," the first man growled. "The big one might be all right, but the other two are rubbish! Especially the scrawny little female. Champion my eye! She won't last five minutes in the Shadow Arena!" Lief lay rigid, straining his ears tohear more against the sound of rain, fighting down a feeling of dread. "It's not our business to say what's worth the trouble, Carn 2," the other voice answered. "It's the old girl who answers to the Master, not us. The pod wastold that from the beginning. The Brightly woman supplies the goods. All we have to do is deliver them undamaged." Lief felt the blood rsuh to his head. Beside him, Barda made a strangled sound. "The ticks heard us,"sniggered the man the other had called Carn 2. "What does it matter? They're not going to live to be telling anyone, are they?" his companion sneered. "Or d'you think that black bird's going to spread the word? It's still there, you know. Right behind us." They laughed, and the cart jolted on. *

Hours later, after stopping along the road and being thrown onto the ground by their captors who were Grey Guards, Lief, Barda and Jasmine huddled together under the rough shelter the Guards had made, shuddering with cold. Kree, who had followed them all the way from Rithmere, perched on Jasmine's shoulder. But he could not help them. There was no chance of escape. Their leg irons were fixed to an iron peg driven into the ground. The gags were taken off and they were given water and some chunks of bread.

Then the Guards moved away. Dimly, through the darkness and rain, Lief saw them crawl together under the cart where it seemed they were planning to sleep. "I cannot eat weighed down by these chains!" Jasmine shouted. "Hold your tongue or I'll cut it out and throw you into the Shifting Sands, orders or no!" Carn 2 bawled. "We passed by the Sands just an hour ago."

"Lief, is the Belt safe?" Barda whispered. "Yes," Lief whispered back. "Did you hear---?" "Yes. We are not far from the Shifting Sands. But this news is of little use to us as we are. Mother Brightly fooled us well." "I thought she was the fool," Jasmine hissed bitterly, breaking off a tiny piece of bread for Filli. "But the secret way out of the inn was a trap." "The whole of the Games was a trap! With gold coins as bait!" Lief clenched his fists and they continued to talk for a while. The rain ceased, and they heard snores coming from beneath the cart. The Guards were asleep. With new urgency they began struggling to free themselves, though in their hearts they all knew it was no use.

They had long given up their efforts and were dozing fitfully when Kree gave a squawk as there was the sound of twigs cracking behind them. "Be still!" a female voice whispered. "Do not move until I tell you. We already have your packs and weapons in a safe place. Now, we will unlock your chains. When you are free, follow us as quietly as you can!"

Chapter4: No Choice

A short time afterwards, astounded by their unexpected release, the three companions sat back on their heels in the shelter of a cave and stared in amazement at their rescuers: Amiee, Jassy and Doom. Impatiently, Doom waved away their thanks. "Listen carefully," he said. "We have little time. I am the leader of a group sworn to resist the Shadow Lord. We have been suspicious of the Games for some time--certain that they were not all they seemed. My purpose there was to see what was happening, from the inside. Your presence upset my plans. I tried to scare you off---"

"It was you who locked us in our room!" Lief broke in. "You who attacked us."

"Yes--and got cut for my pains." Doom grimaced, touching the cloth at his neck. "I was trying to stop you from competing--to protect you."

"Why?" Barda asked bluntly. "When I first saw you in Tom's shop something about you interested me. I was hurrying on business of my own and could not stay. But ever since, wherever I have been, I have heard whispers about three travelers---a man, a boy and a wild girl accompanied by a black bird. Wherever these travelers go, it is said, part of the Shadow Lord's evil is undone." Lief gripped Barda's arm. If word about them was spreading, how long would it be before the Shadow Lord became aware of them? But Jasmine, who still could not make up her mind to trust Doom, Jassy and Amiee, had something else on her mind. "You allowed us to be captured," she accused. "You crept away after the finals, but you did not leave. You hid in the inn, watched, and did not lift a hand to help us." Doom shook his head. "I had no choice. One, because I had to see how the trick was worked. Two, because these two were following and slowing me down." he pointed to Amiee and Jassy, who frowned at him. "To tell the truth, Jasmine, Jassy and I wanted to help you and tried to get to you before the Guards put you three on the cart, but Doom held us back." Amiee explained, her voice bitter. Doom growled angrily, but did not say anything to her, instead he continued explaining himself to the three companions. "I had intended that animal Glock to be proclaimed Champion and suffer whatever fate was in store for him. But he took the drugged drinks intended for you and Jassy, and I had to hope that Jassy would lose to you, which she did." Jasmine drew herself up. "If it had been Glock who had been captured, would you have rescued him?" Lief asked curiously. "You ask too many questions," Doom growled, glaring at Amiee, who had opened her mouth to speak. She quickly closed it and frowned. "What is certain is that I must save him now, for he and the womana Neridah will be following in your footsteps tomorrow, and I cannot release one without the other. It is unfortunate." Doom stared broodingly out into the rain for a moment, then turned to them again. "A group is waiting not far away. Among them is Dain, the boy who helped me at the Games. He will lead you into the mountains where we have a stonghold. You will be safe there."

Barda, Lief, and Jasmine glanced at one another. "We are grateful to you," Barda said at last. "And I hope you will not take this amiss. But I fear we cannot accept your offer. We must continue our travels. There is--something of importance we must do." Doom frowned. "Whatever it is, you must abandon it for now," he said. Jassy suddenly sprang from her seat. "But they cannot!" she cried. "The whole of Deltora depends on what these three must do!" she gestured to Barda, Lief and Jasmine frantically. Amiee nodded. "Jassy is right. They cannot abandon what they are doing." she stared straight into Lief's eyes as she continued, as if saying "I know what you are doing, and you cannot hide it from me."(That's corny...^ ^) "In fact, I am very willing to travel with you three and assist you. And I know Jassy is willing to do so as well." Jassy nodded, taking her place again beside Amiee. Lief shook his head. "No, we cannot put you in such danger," he replied. Amiee frowned at Lief as Jassy opened her mouth to speak again. "We are very useful! We can fight very well, we know how to survive in the wilderness, and we may be able to help keep the Shadow Lord's servants away from you! They will be looking for a man, a boy, and a wild girl with a black bird--not a man, a woman, a boy, and two girls, one of which accompanied by a bird!" Jassy took a deep breath, having said all of that in one breath. Lief pulled Barda and Jasmine to the side and they spoke of the good and the bad things of letting Amiee and Jassy join them. Lief thought it would be of great help and wanted to let them accompany them, whereas Barda was against it. Jasmine was undecided, weighing the good and the bad in her head.

They spoke for what seemed an eternity, though in actuality it was only several minutes. "Alright, you may come with us," Lief finally announced. Amiee and Jassy nodded. Doom glared at each of them in turn. "I cannot risk trying to kill the Guards. It was dangerous enough stealing your weapons and supplies from the cart while they slept below." Amiee and Jassy glared at him. "We were the ones who stole their things back, Doom. You stood and watched, ready to run if the Guards awoke and tried to kill us."Jassy stated angrily. Doom shrugged the insult off. "They have our gold, I think," Lief sighed. "Yes, I saw them take it," Amiee said. "But their master will care nothing for that. It is you he wants, Lief. You, Barda and Jasmine. When the Guards wake and find you gone they will track you wherever you go. They will not rest until you are found." "All the better then, that we do lead them to Doom's stronghold," Barda said calmly. He put on his sword and pack and began crawling from the cave. Doom put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "We are many, and at our base we have ways of dealing with Guards," he stated. "You had better join us. What could be more important than our cause? What is this mysterious mission that cannot wait?" Barda, unsmiling, pulled the restraining hand from his shoulder and continued crawling from the cave. Jasmine, Lief, Jassy and Amiee followed quickly.

Outside, the rain still fell and the sky was black and starless. Doom appeared beside them, silent as a shadow. "Go you way, then," he said, his voice very cold. "But say nothing to anyone of what I told you this night, or you will wish you had gone to the Shadowlands." Without another word, he disappeared into the dripping bushes and was gone. "How dare he threaten us!" Jasmine hissed. "His is angry," Lief felt very low-spirited. His head ached, he was cold, and he was sorry to have parted with Doom on bad terms. "I think he is a man who rarely trusts. Yet he trusted us. Now he fears that he was foolish to do so, for we would not trust him in return." Barda nodded slowly. "I wish it could have been otherwise." he said. "He would have been a valuable ally. But we could not risk it. Doom would not be content to let us keep our secret. And there are spies everywhere--even his band may not be safe. Later, if we succeed in our quest--" Kree sqauwked impatiently. "We will not llive to succeed in anything if we do not move on," Amiee stated suddenly. "It is nearly dawn." "But which way do we go?" Lief looked around him in frustration. "We have no idea where we are and we do not even have the stars to guide us." Jasmine smiled. "You are forgetting Kree. He followed us. He knows exactly where we are."

They began to walk, Kree fluttering ahead of them. Soon they found a tiny stream that had been swelled by the rain. They plunged into it and splashed along its bed for as long as they could, hoping that the water would disguise their scent. All of them felt bruisde and ill and longed to rest. But the thought of the Grey Guards following them like evil(more like eval..which means reeaally evil. Hikaru, if you're reading this, you should get it.) tracking dogs drove them on.

Dawn came, and with it the sun, struggling feebly through the clouds. Soon afterwards they reached a narrow road heavily marked by puddles cart tracks. On the other side of the road was a wooden fence and beyond that a stretch of stony land ending at a row of low grey hills. Kree flew to a fence post and flapped his wings impatiently, hopping to the left. "If we walk along the fence, we will at least leave no tracks," Jasmine murmured. "Hurry!" Gathering themselse for the effort, they leaped across the road, climbed the fence and began moving along it, Jasmine balancing on the top, and Barda, Lief, Amiee and Jassy edging uncomfortably along with their feet on the middle rail.

After a short time they reached a crossroads. The fence continued around the corner and on into the distance, where it was lost in the grey hills. And right beside the corner post stood a huge, weathered stone. It was as tall as Lief. Words had been carved on it, but so long ago that many of the letters had disappeared. "The Shifting Sands. Danger!" Barda squinted at the stone. "That much I can make out, but what the smaller writing says, I cannot say. Too many of the letter have been worn away by wind and weather."

"I think the first word is 'Death,'" Lief said in a low voice. He leaned out from the fence and touched the stone, tracing the letters with the tips of his fingers. Hesitantly, using touch as well as sight, he began to read. "Death swarms within its rocky wall, Where all are one, one will rules all..." "Go on, Lief!" Jasmine urged as he paused. Lief shook his head, frowning. "The next two lines are more worn than the others. They seem to say something like: 'Be now the dead, the living strive...with mindless will to survive.' But that does not really make sense." "It makes enough sense to tell us that the Sands are not going to be pleasant," Barda commented dryly. "But we knew that, I think." Jassy's mind was busy with practical matters. "Since the verse talks of a 'rocky wall' I would guess that the sands are just beyond the hills." she stated, frustration etched onto her face. "But we will have to cross the plain to reach them. The stones may hide our tracks, but there will be no way to disguise our scent!" Jasmine exclaimed. "It cannot be helped," Lief stated. He climbed over the fence and jumped greatfully to the ground on the other side, flexing his cramped fingers. "Besides, we have been very careful. The Guards have surely lost our trail by now." "I would not count on that," Barda muttered. But he also climbed to the ground, as well as Jassy, and after a moment Jasmine jumped down to join them. "Wait a moment!" Amiee cried urgently. "What is it, Amiee?" Lief asked, looking at the girl, who was reading over the verses on this stone. "This line," she pointed at the third line. "It does not say 'Be now the dead, the living strive.' It says 'Below the--" But Barda cut her off by pulling her off the fence and setting her on the ground. "Not now! We must hurry!" he said. "But..." she trailed off as the four others set off and she had to run after them.

They were almost running over the bare ground, glancing often behind them. Despite his hopeful words, Lief looked back as often as his companions did. The idea of the Grey Guards silently following, the idea of a deadly blister flying unseen towards him to explode on his back, made his skin crawl. It became warmer as the sun climbed steadily behind its veil of cloud, and steam began to rise from the wet ground. They grey hills ahead were also quickly shrouded in mist. So it was only when the companions actually reached them that they realized that these were not ordinary hills at all, but thousands of huge boulders heaped together to make a high, natural wall- -the "rocky wall" of the verse.

They began to climb and soon lost all sight of the ground below. Everything around them was white. The air grew thick and all sound was dulled. Cautiously, one step at a time, they clambered to the top of the rock pile, then, even more cautiously, began to edge down the other side. As they neared the ground, a sound met their ears--a low droning, so faint that at first Lief though he was imagining it. And the next moment, without warning, he was below the cloud. Slowly he turned away from the rocks to look at what was beyond. The breath caught in his throat. Sweat broke out on his forehead. They had arrived at the Shifting Sands.

Chapter5: Captured

"Lief!" Amiee called, stepping towards him after she and Jassy had apparently spoken together about something. Lief turned, looking down at her, slightly curious. "Yes?"

"Jassy and I are going to go back and try to kill the Grey Guards,"

"You cannot do that! It is much too dangerous!"

"We are experienced in fighting and killing Grey Guards, having grown up in an area very near to a Grey Guard camp without any adults to protect us!"

"Those Guards are very powerful and are capable of killing you two with ease. I cannot allow you to go," he looked to Barda and Jasmine. "Do you not agree?" he questioned. Barda and Jasmine glanced at each other before answering. "Lief, we do not know them well at all. We do not know if they can kill Grey Guards easily or not. Letting them go and try would be a good idea. They just might succeed." Barda glanced at Amiee and Jassy as he spoke. "It's better to let them try to destroy them with a rather good chance of winning rather than not let them, allowing the Grey Guards a chance to kill us," Jasmine added reasonably. Lief frowned, looking back at Amiee, who was frowning at him impatiently. "Whether you like it or not, Lief, we're going," she snapped rather angrily, her mysterious blue eyes flashing. She turned on her heel and began descending down the rocky wall. "Hurry, Jassy!" she called, looking up at the older woman. Jassy shot Lief an apologetic look before quickly following Amiee down the wall.

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Amiee walked swiftly and quietly along the trail, Jassy close on her heels. "Amiee, I believe we need our weapons out," Jassy stated, gripping the hilt of her sword. "Yes, that would be a good idea," Amiee muttered in reply, unsheathing her jewel-hilted (Nyaha..that's sounds funny..) sword. Jassy pulled her own sword out, looking around for any traces of the Grey Guards. Amiee stopped dead in her tracks, causing Jassy to bump into her. "There they are!" Amiee hissed, pointing ahead to two large and moving figures. "Quick, on the fence!" Jassy hissed in reply, bounding to the fence on the side of the trail. She scrambled to the top railing of it, balancing awkwardly. Amiee jogged to the fence and followed Jassy's suit, climbing to the top. They crouched strangely, waiting silently for the Guards to get in their attack range.

The two Guards seemed to be much too engrossed in an argument to notice Amiee and Jassy, who glanced at each other before pouncing. Jassy barrelled into the Guard closest to her, knocking the air out of him. She landed gracefully, stabbing and swinging her sword at him, taking chunks of flesh from his bones.

Amiee, though, chose to hit the other Guard upside the head with the flat of her sword, dazing him long enough for her to slash his stomach shallowly. Landing smoothly on the ground, Amiee got into a fighting stance.

The two women parried and slashed for many minutes, before the situation took a turn for the worst.

Carn 2, whom Amiee was fighting, raised his club, knocked her sword from her hands, and punched her in the stomach as hard as he could, causing her to fall to her knees in immense pain. She clutched her stomach, gasping for air. Carn 2 gave a short, triumphant laugh as he brought his club cracking down on her head. She yelped loudly, before darkness clouded her vision and she fell unconscious. Jassy screamed her name worriedly, glancing down at the young girl. She quickly paid for her lack in concentration as Carn 8 punched her in the jaw, knocking her to the ground. The last thing she saw before falling into unconsciousness was Carn 2 throwing Amiee over his shoulder, grinning.

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AMIEE'S POV

When I woke up, my head was pounding and a warm liquid was trickling down the left side of my face. I groaned in pain when I opened my eyes. Putting a hand to the left side of my face, I realized the warm liquid was blood--- my blood. I had been staring at my blood-covered hand for a while, when I heard groaning and stirring beside me.

"Jassy!" I whispered worriedly, grabbing her hand in mine. "Ugh...my jaw..." she grumbled, wincing. "Is it broken?"

"No, just bruised,"

"Good,"

"Where are we?"

"In some sort of forest, I would guess," I replied, looking around. We were leaning against a large tree, and were surrounded by even more trees. Jassy sat up, and looked around as well. "The Grey Guards do not seem to be around..." she muttered. "That just may be a good thing," I replied in a whisper. I turned my head towards her and she gasped. "Amiee, your head is bleeding!" she exclaimed, placing a thumb to the bloody cut on my forehead. It hurt. Immensely. I cried out in pain, backing away from her. "Amiee, you must stop the bleeding, or you could die," she stated, worry lining her voice. "I have no bandages,"

"Then you should improvise,"

Jassy gripped the bottom of her long shirt and ripped a strip of it off. "It is a good thing the Guards did not take our packs," I murmured, searching through mine, finally pulling out a flask of water, which Jassy dipped the strip of her shirt in. She pulled it back out and dabbed at the cut, making me wince. She then wrapped in around my head tenderly, tying it tightly. "Let us go, now," I said, standing and pulling my pack onto my back. Jassy nodded, and did the same as I. We set off at a steady pace in the direction we predicted was the way to the Shifting Sands.

Chapter6: Worry, Blood and Rest

The air around us was cool and crisp, and felt slightly icey against our faces. The tall trees grew very densely, and blocked out any moonlight that shone, if there was any, making it as black as midnight, though it most definitely was only early night.

Our progress was slow, due to the fact that the cut on Amiee's forehead was bleeding profusely, and we had to stop every few hours to change the bandages. I could tell she was in much pain, though she denied it. She's always been stubborn like that. I am afraid that one day that stubborness will get her killed, the foolish girl.

My own injury, a bad bruise to the right jaw, is obviously not as severe, but I cannot open my mouth without pain shooting through my whole head. I am very lucky that idiot Grey Guard, Carn 8, did not knock out any of my teeth.

I squinted in the darkness, trying to make out any opening between the trees, but I could see none. I craned my neck upwards, wincing at the pain in my jaw, and scanned the treetops, trying again to find any sort of opening. None. Sighing, I brought my head back down, staring at the ground. I do hope Barda and the others are doing well. Especially Barda. Yes, Lief was probably the most important person in this quest, but I felt a certain link, I guess you could say, with Barda. Whether it is simply that I understand why he is so gruff, or that I am attracted to him, I do not know. Perhaps it is both.

I believe Amiee is attracted to Lief, as I might be to Barda. She tries to hide her worry for him, but I can see it in her eyes. Though as skilled as she is at putting up an emotionless mask, she has not yet learned how to hide her emotions from showing in her eyes.

"Jassy!"

I turned hearing Amiee calling me, her voice urgent. She was breathing heavily, holding a stitch in her side and grimacing. Blood was flowing down the left side of her face, which was paler than usual, and I quickly saw why. Her bandages had slipped off, and the wound on her forehead, which had stopped bleeding a while ago, was bleeding even worse than before. A glance behind her at the trail of blood going back for quite a while told me that the wound had reopened a little less than an hour ago, and she had chosen to keep quiet about it. I threw my pack to the ground, and ran to her side.

"Amiee! Oh, dear! Amiee! Why didn't you tell me?! Amiee!"

I was panicking, ignoring the great pain in my jaw from speaking, afraid that she would die from loosing so much blood. But Amiee, forever the calm one out of the two of us, spoke slowly.

"Jassy, look in my pack. I have a cloth and a flask of cool water. Wet the cloth, wash away the blood, put it against the cut, and tie it there tightly with a bandage."

She dropped her pack to the ground as she spoke, and sat on the ground, gasping, as though it was hard for her to breath. I quickly followed her orders, wetting the cloth from her pack and washing away the blood on her face. Pressing it to the wound, I tied the cloth to her forehead tightly with another strip from my shirt, which served as a bandage.

"Thank you, Jassy." Amiee murmured, grabbing her pack and standing. "You are most welcome, dear." I replied.

"Now we must continue."

I stood, frowning at her. "Amiee, we must rest now. If we continue, that wound will not heal! It will simply keep reopening! And if that keeps on, I am afraid it will become infected!" I exclaimed, glaring down at her. She returned the glare icily. "I am fine, Jassy! If you want to stop and rest, fine. I will continue on without you! You are not my mother. You do not control my actions." she spat, her eyes flashing.

"Amiee, we will rest, whether you want to or not!" I said, my voice rising in anger. She sighed, her anger seeming to vanish. "Fine, Jassy, we will rest. But only for a few hours to eat and sleep for a bit." I nodded, and we sat, leaning against a wide tree.

We ate little out of our rations, and I noticed that Amiee was still breathing rather heavily, obviously out of pain. "Amiee, you must sleep," I stated softly. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "The same goes for you, Jassy." she muttered, closing her eyes and lying on her side, her back facing me. She was even more tired than I had thought, for within moments she was fast asleep, her sides rising and falling slowly. I smiled, lying on my back, and in moments was greeted by the sea of sleep washing over me.