Kaiella giggled at the little green leaf-hopper as it slowly made it's way up the long shaft of soffa grass under
the huge, ancient horla tree which dominated the meadow behind her house. The soft, bluish light from the Azure Sun
streamed through the branches, creating a dappled dance of light and shadow that played upon both the grass and
the child, it's constant shifting driven by the gentle breeze, bringing a multitude of smells from across the broad
valley below.

  Ever curious about whatever caught her eye, she never tired of exploring whenever she could escape the tedious
chores and watchful eye of her mother. Often were the times that she would wander too far while moving from one
wondrous discovery to the next, and during those times her mother would scold her for causing so much worry. Kai
would always act contrite, but secretly thought that her mother worried too much. After all, hadn't her family always
payed their share for the wardsmen to assure that predators and such were kept well away from the village? And
besides, she was 12 now, almost a woman herself, and well able to take care of herself.

  From the top of the hill behind her, Kai heard her mother, calling her in for evening chores. "Always the same," Kai
thought sadly to herself. "I never get to go on any grand adventures!" She felt trapped and stifled, but would never
let her mother know of these feelings, for she knew that if her mother even got the faintest hint, Kai would end up
spending her days buried up to her neck in so many chores that she'd never have any free time to explore.

  As Kai topped the hill, she heard her mother say "Goodman Brendik is coming over tonight to fix the roof on the barn,
so I want you to make sure the loft is cleaned out so he has a place to sleep." Kai opened her mouth to object, but
saw the look on her mother's face and changed her mind. 'Goodman' Brendik was, to Kai's thinking, far too interested
in things other than the barn roof, and her mother was either too blind to see it, or was ignoring what should be
screamingly obvious to her. Father had been gone a year now, but while he had never been heard from, there was surely
still hope that he would return. He had to, after all. He had promised!

  Kai slowly made her way to the house and climbed the ladder to the loft. She took up the thick woolen blanket from
the pallet and tossed it onto the floor below, then went to the cabinet in the corner and pulled out the chamber pot,
placing it in the small recessed alcove near the chimney. She then climbed back down, and carried the blanket
outside to beat the dust from it. As she beat on the blanket with the long handled paddle her father had made for that
purpose, she saw Brendik talking to her mother, unnecessarily close, and talking in low tones, smiling and touching
her mother's arm. Kai shuddered, and unconsciously began to strike the blanket harder. Anger and disgust welled up
in her, threatening to overwhelm her. How DARE he act so with her mother! And how DARE her mother LET him?! Unable to
bear it any further, Kai dropped the paddle and ran, sobbing, away from that horrible scene.

  Kai reached the base of the horla tree and threw herself to the ground, wracking sobs of grief and anger coursing
through her uncontrollably. After an eternity, a gentle touch on her arm and the sound of her mother's voice broke
through the solitude of her tears.

  "Kai? What's wrong, love?" her mother asked, in a worried tone.

  "Leave me alone!" Kai cried out. "How could you treat father that way?!" Her anger flared anew as she confronted
her mother. "You act as if he's DEAD! I saw the way that man was touching you! I saw the look in your eyes! You WANTED
him to do it! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!!!"

  "Kaiella, please listen to me," her mother said in a trembling voice. "Your father IS dead. He was killed only a
week after he left, by bandits on the road to Ojaveda. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you." Tears were standing,
as yet unshed, in her mother's eyes, and a look of profound and utter sorrow showed plainly on her face.

  "But why? Why couldn't you tell me? Why would you let me keep thinking that father would return?"

  "I don't know, child," her mother replied, now crying, as well. "I just don't know. I was so all alone, and I had to
be strong for you. I just never could find the right words." She tried to embrace her daughter, but Kai pulled away
violently.

  "Don't TOUCH me!" Kai screamed as she leapt to her feet. "I don't believe you! I don't believe you! Father's still
out there! I KNOW he is! And I'll show you!" She turned and ran, all her anger and her grief fueling her muscles,
not knowing where she was going, nor caring. Visions of both her father, and of Brendik and her mother clouding her
sight, pushing her on. She ran without plan or purpose, other than fleeing the terrible thought of her father's death.
Never slowing, never taking notice as she entered the deep woods. She never felt it as tree limbs and shrubs slapped
her legs, causing deep scratches and tearing her dress; Her reckless flight carrying her deeper into the tangle of
trees that blanketed the foothills near her home.

  Time both dragged into an endless instant and compressed into infinite eternities as Kai continued her
flight through the darkening forest. Only miraculous happenstance saved her from tripping on an exposed root here, or
 running headlong into a tree there. Her muscles began to protest the constant abuse of the prolonged running, but
she pressed on, blindly and stubbornly refusing to relent to the growing fatigue that began to drag upon her resources,
grief and anger consuming her, yet still she ran.

  Finally, with the light of day faded to nearly full darkness, Kai tripped on a stone, and sprawled face first into the
dense foliage, and there she lay, crying out the loss she felt. For how long she lay there, she neither knew or cared,
and the sound of her lamentations carried through the forest for a long way.

---

  The fire blazed merrily in it's crude ring of stones while a short, thin man hummed contentedly to himself. His
meal for the evening now dressed and seasoned, he took up a long, thin stick and skewered the small forest creature,
placing over the fire to cook. He then pulled out one of several shiny, faintly glowing objects from a largish leather
sack he had placed on the ground, and began to meditate. Swirls of pastel hued energy cavorted around his hands in
random patterns, slowly shifting colors till they all merged into a single, cool blue. Satisfied, he placed it into
another sack, obtained a second glyph, and repeated the process, till the glyph, this one as red as flame, was
purified. He was reaching for a third when a shrill, high scream of utter terror split the night, bringing him to his
feet.

  In a flash, he was tearing through the gnarled trees, instantly orienting on the direction of the scream. A myriad of
possibilities flashed through his mind, and he tried feverishly to formulate plans for each, knowing that he only had
the briefest of instants to prepare for whatever circumstance he was about to encounter, and that if he wasn't properly
prepared, things would probably go horribly awry. Just like before.

  Branches slapping across his face and chest as he ran, he fumbled briefly at his belt and pulled out a glyph.
Hurriedly mumbling the spell, he released it, and a glowing white ball of energy flew above his head, illuminating his
way, and keeping pace with his flight. Deep shadows to either side created monstrous images in his mind as he ran,
further clouding his thoughts.

  He heard another scream, and could now pick out the disturbingly familiar grunts, barks and raspings that he had
heard so many times in his nightmares. Spider Gobbles! And over a dozen, from the sounds of it! He redoubled his speed,
hoping he wasn't too late.

  As he burst into a tiny clearing ringed by trees and covered over with soffa grass, the small man took in a horrible
tableau. Backed into a large tree, and surrounded by a small horde of orange skinned gobbles was a tiny girl, eyes wide
with terror. One gobble was down, bleeding from a long gash in it's skull, with a rock nearby, as several of it's
former allies ripped it to shreds with teeth and claw, ravenously devouring it, their former prey forgotten in light
of this now easier prey. The remaining gobbles stood frozen by the newly arrived light, and by the presence of new
prey.

  Instantly, the little man flew into action. Blinding bolts of blue-white energy flew from his fingers as he cast spell after
spell, each one unerringly finding it's target; slowing, but not destroying their targets. "Girl! to me!" he yelled, but the
girl, paralyzed in fear, did not move. With agonizing slowness, the gobbles advanced on him, with murderous glares of
fury and hunger.

  "Now, girl! If you want to live, by all the Gods, RUN!!!" he called, and as if suddenly released from a great binding,
the girl leapt from the tree, to grip the man in a smothering embrace. Still throwing spells to slow the advance of
the gobbles, the man tried to pry her from his torso, but to no avail.

  He muttered under his breath, "No help for it. I hope this doesn't burn much of the forest," as he pulled out a
flame red glyph and muttered another spell. He spread his arms wide, and a great gout of searingly hot flame enveloped
the ground between him and the gobbles. Then, both hands free, he took up the girl in both arms and franticly ran
through the trees, back toward his camp. From behind he could hear the raging screams of the gobbles as man and girl
made their escape.

  A short distance further, no longer able to carry the girl who was nearly as big as he was, the man stopped, chest
heaving from the exertion. "I'm sorry, young miss," he said to the girl, "I can't carry you and run at the same time.
Can you run on your own?" The girl nodded, so he took her hand and lead them quickly down through the twisting path
that led back to his camp. Once there, he said, "Those flames should make them lose interest, but we dare not take
the chance. We need to leave, and quickly."

  "Thank you, Goodman, for saving me," Kai said to the stranger.

  "No time for introductions, I'm afraid. Come, help me gather up my things, then we must be off." Quickly, the man
grabbed up items that he had haplessly strewn about the camp, and began stuffing them into a large leather bag. "Take
anything small you find in the tent. We don't have time to take that with us, I fear," he told the girl as he tossed
her a similar bag that had been lying at his feet. He turned to the fire, ready to grab the meal he had begun to cook
a short time ago, and stopped.

  "Dratted rats! Can't leave anything edible out, with them around," he lamented when he noticed that the food was gone.
"well, no help for it. Let's go, miss. We haven't much time. This way. To the road," and, carrying only the two
leather sacks, they quickly set out for the road, leaving a great many things behind in their haste.

  Once they reached the road, the man stopped. "Well, miss. Do you know which way it is to your home? I'm quite
certain that your parents are frightfully worried about you."

  "I... I don't... Know," she replied. "I was running through the forest. Then those things..."

  "Quite alright, miss. I'm sure we're not far from a village. We'll just..."

  "We can't! I..."

  "Why can't we? Is something wrong, miss?" the man gave the girl a concerned look.

  "Well, you see... I... Sort of..."

  "Yes?" the man asked, suddenly aware that things were going somewhat awry.

  "I sort of... Ran away." Words were now tumbling out of her in an almost panicked fashion as she told the story
of her father, and of Goodman Brendik and her mother. "And so I'm looking for my father. I KNOW he's out here,
somewhere. I just KNOW it!"

  The man grabbed his forehead as he sighed and muttered to himself, "Why does this always have to happen to me?"

  "I'm sorry?" Kai asked the man, not quite understanding.

  "It's nothing, miss. Nothing at all. So sorry I brought it up. Think nothing of it."

  Inwardly, his thoughts whirled as he tried to find a solution to his dilemma. After all, what would people think to
see this girl, dress in tatters, in his company. And now, to find out she's a runaway? Words like "kidnap" and worse
flashed through his mind. This had all the classic markings of a bad play, and he had enough trouble already. But
how was he to extricate himself from this potential disaster? He couldn't just leave the poor girl to her own devices!

  Taking his silence as disapproval, Kai pleaded, "Please, Goodman. Please don't drag me back there. I'd sooner DIE than
face my mother now!"

  "You needn't worry. You two aren't going anywhere," came a gravelly voice from the darkness off to the side of
the road. "Except with us."

  Both man and girl froze, fear locking them in place like blocks of ice. Coming out of the shadows, sword in hand,
was a giant of a man, well over two meters tall, dwarfing them both. Leering at the girl, the man said, "yes, I think
Arta will be pleased. Yarlo! Frad! Come see to our new 'guests'!"

  From the darkness, two more large men came, each armed with daggers, and one carrying a length of rope.
Knowing that to resist now would spell death, probably from them both, the small man whispered, "Don't fight
them, miss. It will just make it worse."

  "That's right, 'missy'. Make it easy on yourself. You may even enjoy it, later. Make sure to search him, Yarlo. We
don't want any surprises."

  The burly highwayman next to the stranger roughly searched him, buffeting him as he searched for weapons, but found
nothing. Then he rifled through the leather sack, pulling out a faintly glowing white glyph.

  "Hey, Raddak! The shrimp's a magic wielder!" cried Yarlo.

  "Is that so?" asked the huge man with the sword. "You just might prove useful, then. Perhaps we won't kill you."

  "Do whatever you want with me, sir, but please let the child go," plead the small man. "I'll do anything for you.
Just release her!"

  "That's not up to me, little man. Not that it matters. You're in no position to bargain. Yet. Take 'em, boys."

  The two large thugs tied their hands behind them and lead them off the road, following the man called Raddak.
They walked in near darkness for what seemed like hours, occasionally shoved roughly by one or another bandit.
After a while, they heard the raucous shouts and laughter of a large group of men, and saw the faint flickers of a
campfire up ahead.

  The sounds of the camp ceased at the shout of, "Ho! Arta! We have guests!", and the sounds of weapons being readied
burst forth. When the small group entered the camp, a tall man of slim but powerful build, sporting flame red, curly
hair stood and smiled.

  "Raddak, you always bring me such interesting gifts," beamed the man. "Where DO you find them?"

  "This lot was having a pleasant little discussion down on the road to Ojaveda, Arta. Just standing there, pretty
as you please. Didn't even put up a fight, either," Raddak said. "And the little guy is a magic wielder."

  "Oh, really? How interesting! Tell me something, little man. What value do you place on your life?"

[to be continued]

  "Kaylara!"
  A mournful, wracking sob escaped Kraddok's mouth as he shuddered in the early morning chill, shaking off the last,
frightening vestiges of the nightmare that had so recently gripped him. As he wiped the sleep from his eyes, he
wondered at the strange, horrifying dreams that had been coming to him with more and more frequency. But the
more he concentrated on the terrifying images, the more quickly the images faded, evaporating like so much
smoke on a windy day.

  As he rose from his straw pallet and crossed the tiny room, he glanced out the window to see his meager flock
of kikiri milling around nervously over the parched, nearly barren soil of their pen. Something was out there,
stalking the emaciated birds! Quickly, Kraddok bolted for the door, halting just long enough to grab his battered
and rusty sword from it's resting place by the stove. As he burst from the door to his farmstead, he heard the
familiar, bony tappings and scrapings that could only mean one thing; Clackers! Looking desperately around near
the pen, he counted nearly a half dozen of the armored land crustaceans. Too many to tackle together, it would
spell certain death for his kikiri if Kraddok didn't come up with a plan, and fast!

  As Kraddok desperately looked around, he spied a large branch that had fallen from one of the nearby apple trees.
He scooped it up in his free hand and let out a shattering yell, running furiously for the nearest Clacker and
leaping over it as he lashed out at one of it's large pincers with his sword, nearly cleaving it in two. He continued
toward the next one, never breaking stride, bashing at this one with the thick, gnarled branch as if it were a cudgel.
The Clackers, far from intelligent but recognizing a threat, turned for Kraddok as he ran toward each in the pack,
attacking once and then running for the next. Soon, Kraddok was running for his very life, pursued by several
angry Clackers, drawing them away from the kikiri and desperately hoping for some miracle to come and save him.

  Running with every ounce of strength he had, Kraddok angled north, toward the edge of the steep bluff that
bordered his land. Soon, he was running along the top of the tall cliff with the Clackers right on his heels
and gaining slowly on him. He could hear them as they drew nearer, and with every muscle screaming protest,
he put on a burst of speed, temporarily drawing ahead of the angry, ravenous pack.

  "Come on! C'mon!" he chanted to himself, "Just a little further!" but he knew he didn't have enough of a lead
to see him safely across the rope bridge that spanned Calton's Gorge, which was only a couple of dozen meters
ahead of him. If only he could get to the other side of the bridge, he could cut the supports, and cause the
Clackers to tumble into the deep ravine below. But his strength was already flagging, and he knew he wouldn't
get there in time.

  Suddenly, Kraddok felt a buzzing burst forth in his head, and a frigidly cold blast whipped past his ear, causing
him to stumble. As he fell headlong toward the scree that littered the edge of the bluff, he felt another icy blast
rush over his back. He landed hard on his chest, feeling sharp stones scraping through his jerkin, lacerating his
skin from head to knees, and realized with a curious mixture of fear and chagrin that he was headed over the precipice.


  As he sailed over the edge, he let out a scream of terror. Time seemed to compress as the landscape passed his eyes
at a sickeningly slow pace while he tumbled through the air. And there, just coming into reach, salvation! A dry,
scraggly root stuck out from the face of the cliff, just out of reach. Desperately flinging his weapons away and
reaching with both hands, Kraddok lunged for that last hope of survival... And caught it! Clinging to that too tiny
root, trembling from the exertion and exhaustion, Kraddok let out small, weak sobs of relief.

  And once again he felt that buzzing in his head, accompanied shortly after by a sharp CRACK! then another, and
another. Each time he felt the buzz and heard the cracking noise, the sound of the passing Clackers seemed to be
reduced. Soon, he heard nothing but the breeze as it swept by his precarious pearch, and felt nothing but the
pain and fatigue from his harrowing ordeal.

  Shortly after, small bits of gravel and scree rained down upon his head, and Kraddok heard a scuffling sound from
somewhere above him, followed by an unfamiliar voice, calling out to him in relief.

  "I say! Wonderful catch, Sir! I was certainly hoping that my attempt at saving you didn't prove to be your undoing!"
As Kraddok looked up, he saw a tiny round face beaming down at him from a few meters above. "I'm afraid I don't have any
rope, so you're in a bit of a spot, there. You, um, don't happen to have any, do you?"

  "At my cabin, a short way south of here," Kraddok replied. "But you had better hurry. I don't know how long I can keep
holding on! Back outside wall! Hurry!"

  "Back before you know it, Sir. Don't you worry!" the stranger yelled as his head slipped quickly out of view. Kraddok
grimaced as he clung to the cliff face, and he felt his last remaining strength slowly ebbing away. Fear gnawed at
him, and dark visions of him careening down the sheer rock wall to land on the ground below filled his eyes, making
him tremble. Then his left hand started slipping. Eyes suddenly wide, and more scared than he had ever been in his
life, Kraddok felt himself begin to panic as he desperately tried to grab the root again.

  Kraddok heard sounds from up above and looked up. Tiny bits of gravel and dirt cascaded down, getting in his eyes
and making him blink. As he looked down and shook his head to dislodge the debris that had struck his face, he heard
the stranger shout, "I've found the rope, and tied it to a large rock here, Sir! I'm putting a loop in the other end,
so you can place it around your waist!"

  "And how am I supposed to do that while I'm holding on to this root?!", Kraddok retorted. "I sorta have my hands
full!"

  "Not to worry, Sir! Just listen to me, and you'll be just fine! When the loop is just at your feet, place one in the
loop, and then the other! I'll take care of the rest!"

  "That's CRAZY! It'll never work!" Kraddok shouted back. "You're gonna get me killed!"

  "Please trust me, Sir! It WILL work, and I'll get you out of there! Just let me know when the loop is at your feet!"
Kraddok saw the rope slowly pass to his left as it slowly descended toward his feet.

  "You're a meter too far right! Move it left!"

  "My left, or yours, Sir?!" the stranger shouted back.

  "Your left!", Kraddok replied. "Gods, this will never work," he muttered to himself. As the rope slid closer,
Kraddok called out, "There! Now just a third of a meter lower!" When the rope was at the level of his feet, he yelled,
"That's it! Stop! Now what?!"

  "Just push lightly against the cliff with one foot, while you place the other one into the loop!" the stranger called
out. "Take it slowly, so you don't twist or slip!"

  Taking a deep, ragged breath, Kraddok pushed his right foot against the stone of the cliff. Slowly, he extended his
left foot toward the dangling loop of rope. As it neared, his body twisted left, and his foot just skimmed past the
rope. Crying out in terror, Kraddok froze. "Gods, I don't wanna die!" he shouted.

  "I know it's hard, Sir, but I know you can do it!" the stranger called out. "just try it again! Use your knee,
instead, to be more stable! And twist your right foot inward!"

  Kraddok steeled himself for another attempt. Slowly, he inched his knee against the cliff face, and then angled his
right foot to the left. The effect did seem to be more stable, so he tried to move his left foot toward the rope again.
This time, it passed easily through the dangling loop of rope. "I did it! By the Gods, I did it!" he screamed.

  "Good show, Sir!" the stranger called out. "I knew you could do it. Now, slowly twist your body to your right, and
try to get your other foot into the loop!"

  Kraddok felt sweat dampening his hands, making it even harder to hold on with each passing second. He tried to
slowly twist his body, but only succeeded in a weak twitch. His right hand slipped off the root, and he screamed.
"Oh, Gods, please don't let me die!" he called out as his right hand shot out to grab for the root again, but
he caught the rope, instead. Just then, he lost grip on the root and started to fall. As the rope snapped taught,
his right leg struck the cliff, sending him spinning, and he flipped upside down, while the loop cinched tightly
against his ankle. Suddenly, a blinding explosion of white hot pain struck behind his eyes, and blackness engulfed
him.

  A dull throbbing just behind his left temple and a sickening wave of nausea welcomed Kraddok as he weakly struggled
back to consciousness. He hurt all over; Especially his head and left leg. It felt as if someone had tried to tear
his leg off, and had nearly succeeded. When he opened his eyes, he saw the fuzzy outline of a person leaning over him.
As his head began to clear a bit, he could make out the mumbling sounds of some odd chant, issuing from this stranger;
and a whitish glow surrounded the person's hands. Everywhere those hands passed over, Kraddok felt a comforting
warmth suffuse him, and the pain in that area diminished to a sort of vague discomfort. As the stranger's hands
reached Kraddok's head, a strong lassitude fell over him, and darkness enveloped him once more.

  When Kraddok once again returned from the depths of his unconsciousness, he was mildly surprised to find that he was in his
own pallet. "Ah, welcome back to the land of the living, Sir!" came a strangely familiar voice. "You'll likely feel a bit weak, but
that should pass in a day or so. That was a bit exciting, eh?"

  "EXCITING?!" roared Kraddok, "I nearly died, and you..." Kraddok took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. "Look. that
came out wrong. I'm sorry. thank you. You saved my life."

  "And healed you, as well, I might add. No small feat, as badly injured as you were. Whatever caused you to play with so
many Clackers at one time, anyway?"

  "Played? Those things were after my kikiri, you idiot! they're all I have left, and without them, I may as well die!"

  "Oh, terribly sorry, Sir. Sometimes my choice of words seems to rub people the wrong way. I do apologize."

  "No, I should be saying I'm sorry. You risked your life to save me from those  Clackers, and you pulled me off that cliff
and healed me. I'm grateful. And for a priest to take on FIVE of them..."

  "Seven, actually, and I'm no..."

  "You killed SEVEN Clackers?!" Kraddok exclaimed in shock. "That's amazing!"

  "Not really, to be honest. It's just a matter of the proper spell, is all." the stranger replied "The buggers don't seem to like cold
all that much"

  Kraddok's blood went cold. "You... You're not a... You're a... GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! NOW!!!" he bellowed, as his
eyes bulged and his face purpled in rage. Tiny drops of spittle flew from Kraddok's mouth as he screamed, "I don't CARE if you
saved me! It's your kind that made me this way! It's your kind who took my Kaylara from me! GET OUT!!!"

  Crestfallen, the stranger turned and slowly walked to the door of the ramshackle cabin. "and I thought things were going so
swimmingly," he muttered as he went outside, closing the door behind him and sadly shaking his head. He headed south,
continuing on his way.