Garia steps in something unpleasant... and that is the start of a desperate, terrifying struggle for life against foes both unexpected... and unimaginable! With the company in disarray she begins to show the qualities that any Queen must have.

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2013 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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Garia blinked and opened her eyes. She was momentarily confused. Why was it so bright? Ah! She remembered then, how she was wrapped up warm in their camp, with nothing but the sky above her. She snuggled down inside the cloak which was wrapped completely around her, tasting the smells of the open countryside, listening to the sounds of the camp slowly coming to life. A faint crackling told her that someone had prodded their fire into life, so it must be about time to think about rising.

Her breath came out white so it was still somewhat cool, but Garia wasn't too concerned about that. Although they had brought nightgowns both she and Jenet had decided to sleep fully dressed, aware of how cold it could get at these altitudes at night. She loosened her wrappings and lifted herself on one elbow to survey the campsite.

One man was about, adding kindling to the fire to bring it to life. Another was leading two of the frayen out of the ring, she knew not where. Twisting, she saw Keren still sleeping nearby and then remembered what else had been decided overnight. A wave of joy enveloped her body as she recalled again what he had said to her. The die was cast now, let the chips fall where they may.

A figure came striding across the ring to her, crouching beside her and speaking softly.

"Milady? It is about dawn. You may sleep a little longer, if you so desire. It will be some time before we can break our fast."

Garia sat up, stretching. "No, thank you, Feteran. I'm happy being nice and warm down here but I won't sleep again, I don't think. Anything to report?"

"All is peaceful, milady. We have seen nothing, neither animals nor men, all night. We are taking the frayen down to the stream to drink and then picketing them out so they may find some forage." Feteran looked at the cloudless sky. "I think it is going to be another clear day."

"That's good," she said. "I'd hate to think we came all the way out here and then had to sit and watch it rain all day."

She untangled herself from the cloak and climbed to her feet, smoothing out the creases in her clothes.

"Um, I have to go to the latrine. Best if I go now, before everyone else rises?"

Feteran nodded. "As you say, milady. Will you require help?"

Garia looked at Jenet, still sleeping beside her.

"No, I don't think so, I'll manage."

The two walked over to the canvas enclosure. Feteran checked that it was empty and then stood outside while Garia did what was necessary. She came out looking at her hands.

"Hmm! Tricky business, that, if you're female."

"So I understand, milady."

"I need to wash my hands in the stream, then I'll help get the frayen sorted out."

"As you wish, milady."

As they walked down the gentle slope to the stream Feteran said, "I believe His Highness came to a decision last night."

"He did, commander. You know what it is?" Feteran nodded. "Do you approve?"

Feteran hesitated before replying. "It is difficult for me, milady, and I expect that Jenet will find it difficult also. We are sworn to you, and we will follow you as we are sworn, but before we came to your service we were both sworn to the King. His Highness's decision is going to cause trouble for the Kingdom, milady."

"I know, and I understand. I'm not planning to do anything that will upset the Kingdom, Feteran. We'll figure out some way round this, just you wait and see." Now it was Garia's turn to hesitate. "But do you approve? This is going to be important to all our futures, Feteran. Speak freely, if you will."

"Milady, the attraction between the Prince and yourself was plain for me to see, that first time we formally met in the training room. It might have just been the normal attraction of two young people but as I have become familiar with you both it is obvious that your feelings run much deeper. You must needs work closely with each other in the future, in this great enterprise which will transform Palarand, so it makes sense - to me - that you are naturally close to each other." He paused, considering his words. "Unfortunately, others may not see what we who have been close to both of you can see. I cannot guess the future, milady."

"I'm not expecting a smooth ride, Feteran," she agreed, "and I have no idea how various factions inside and outside Palarand are going to take it, but Keren has decided that, to him, I am more important than the Kingdom. We'll just have to see how everyone else deals with that."

"As you say, milady. I will add that I think you are more important to the Kingdom than the Prince, at this present time. He is but a King to be, you are Palarand's future."

"I'm not sure I care to be that important, Feteran. And don't underestimate Keren either." After some steps she said, "I think we're not the only ones to have reached an agreement, are we? What about yourself?"

Feteran nodded. "You are right, milady. Mistress Jenet and myself have spent most of our lives in the palace in the service of His Majesty. Despite that, our tasks were separate and, while we knew of each other, our paths seldom crossed. It is only since we began this adventure with House Blackstone that we have come to know each other well. We have much in common, of course, but there is also much we have to learn of each other, and I find that I look forward to that exploration. Do you approve?"

"Of course! If that's the way you both feel then I'm happy for you and I do approve."

"Thank you, milady. We will try to ensure that our... relationship does not affect our duties too much."

"Heh. I am having much the same problem, commander. While we're out here at the back end of nowhere, we have to keep clear heads, don't we?"

"As you say, milady."

Reaching the water, Garia cleaned herself up in the stream. The two retraced their steps to collect a frayen each, which they watered and then staked out on long lead lines to graze between the camp and the river. After doing two Garia found Jenet waiting for her when they reached the ring of stones once more.

"Milady! You let me sleep on!"

"That's all right, Jenet. Good morning. I knew once I woke I wouldn't be able to go back again, so I got up and helped move the frayen. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, milady. It was strange to sleep out under the stars but I can find no ill effects."

One of the men called, "Commander, Milady, there is pel ready."

Keren joined them at the fire, yawning. After exchanging carefully bland pleasantries they took mugs of pel and then the business of breakfast began. While some of the men chose bread and cheese most preferred the staple of grain porridge, even though it meant more cleaning up afterwards. After the breakfast dishes and pots had been taken down to the stream to clean, Feteran called a meeting to detail the day's activities.

"Milady wishes to ride to the head of the valley, which Master Michen informs us will take barely a bell for the round trip. I think His Highness, the Baroness and myself would all like to see what lies beyond our borders, since these are also the borders of Palarand. For that purpose we should also venture north and south to make ourselves familiar with the country round about. I don't think we need take all the gear or pack animals, so I'll ask for two volunteers to remain here and mind the camp while we ride. That will take us to about lunch time, so I propose having lunch when we return here and then we may pack up and start back. Is that agreeable to you, Milady?"

"It is, commander."

"Highness?"

"I see no problems, commander. But perhaps Master Yarling wishes to spend some time examining the rocks around us."

Yarling shrugged. "It will not take me long, Highness, although I would like a look into the valley to the south, if you would permit me."

"Garia? Perhaps we can ride part of the way back along the ridge. That will allow Master Yarling to see what lies beyond."

"That's an idea. We don't have to return the exact same path we came here on."

"As you say, milady. Is there anything you must needs do before we begin?"

Garia considered. She was warm enough while wearing her pea coat but she couldn't wear her swords if she did so. Coat or swords? There was a more pressing task, however.

She asked, "You'll be bringing the other frayen back into camp? Very well, commander. While you're doing that, we'll go visit the latrine and then I'll put my swords on."

"Of course, milady."

As Garia made herself ready she was joined by Keren and Feteran.

"Milady, since the men are all busy we shall escort you and Jenet to the latrine."

"Expecting trouble, commander?" Keren asked with a grin.

"Highness, I am always expecting trouble. I would not be doing my duty if I did not."

"Lead on, then."

When Garia emerged from the latrine Keren and Feteran were having an animated discussion nearby. She was so intent on their conversation as she walked to join them that she did not take care of her footing.

"Oh, shit! Eww! Literally!"

She had stepped in something soft, smelly and thoroughly unpleasant.

"What have you done?" Keren asked as the two men joined her.

"Been careless... look, it's all over my boot and my foot as well. When Jenet comes out I'll have to go down to the stream and wash this off."

"No matter, milady," Feteran said. "This will cause only a little delay, I am sure."

When Jenet joined them she pulled a face at the mucky boot. Because of the 'knitted string' construction of the uppers, the frayen-dropping had gone right into the weave and all over Garia's left heel.

"We can rinse this off, can't we?" Garia asked. "Down at the stream?"

"We can, milady, but it will forever stain the boot upper. It will take some clever work by the palace wardrobe to restore the color."

"That's not so important right now. Let's go, I want to get this cleaned off as soon as possible."

The four walked down to the stream, Feteran calling out the reason for the delay to the men as he passed. The stream was about two feet wide here, sunk in a deep channel between banks they had to scramble down. There were easier ways to the water but they had been churned up by the frayen when they were drinking. Jenet unlaced Garia's boot and then tried to wash it clean while Garia attended to her foot, scrubbing it dry with tufts of grass pulled from the bank.

"That is about as good as I can manage, milady," Jenet said, holding up the boot. "Of course, it is almost impossible to dry this material."

"It'll do," Garia said. "We've spent enough time on this already. Dab off as much as you can and then the rest will dry as we ride along."

The boot was refitted and laced. Garia was about to stand when a bugle blast shattered the calm. She immediately stood to see what was happening but Feteran roughly pulled her down again.

"The alarm, milady! The camp is attacked!" He glanced significantly at Keren. "They may not yet know we are outside, Highness."

"Good thinking!" Keren said. He aimed a finger upstream. "If we keep low, we can put some distance between ourselves and the camp."

"As you say, Highness!"

Crouching low under the lip of the bank, the four scrambled along, attempting to avoid making too much noise or disturbance which could attract attention. The noise of the stream covered a certain amount of sound but an accidental splash might reveal their presence.

Garia had no idea how far they had come. It may have been a hundred strides, it may have been half or double that, it was difficult to tell while they were in the stream bed. While she was scrambling along behind Feteran, with Jenet behind her and Keren bringing up the rear, there was a strange thump which brought them all to an instant halt. Garia risked a peek over the lip of the bank to see a small cloud of brown smoke rising into the sky.

"Maker! What was that?"

"Dunno." But she had a very good idea, and it meant bad news. "Let's keep going."

After another fifty strides or so there was a loud boom which stopped them again. Involuntarily all four stood to see what had happened, ducking down again immediately, but the damage was done. There was a shout from the direction of the camp.

"We are seen! Run!"

The four stood and began to run, initally along the stream bed, since the bank was not easy to climb. Stealth was pointless now so the only defense was speed. Unfortunately, she soon realized that she and Jenet were hampering the chase, since while she was fit her own legs were short and Jenet was not accustomed to this kind of exercise at all.

No swords! Her precious blades, provided for just such a circumstance as this, were still with her pack in the camp. Apart from the utility knife attached to her right boot she had no weapon. Keren and Feteran both had swords, of course, but that was all. For the first time in many weeks, she began to feel real fear.

"Fet! Slow down," Keren gasped from behind. "The women cannot run as fast as us."

Feteran slowed right down and turned to look behind them.

"We are pursued," he said, panting. "Four or five, I deem."

He began to look around for a place to make a stand.

"I've no swords!" Garia told him between breaths.

Keren scowled. Would his romance come to a sticky end before it had even begun? He felt desperately angry with those whose chased them.

Feteran pointed. "Up there! We may find a place to face them!"

A group of large boulders lay along the skyline to their north. Although there were visible gaps, like with their camp, others promised a chance where their attackers could not come at them from all sides. The chances were slim, but they were all that the four had.

Panting, they struck off up the slope toward the boulders. It seemed that they were larger, and further away, than anyone had realized. Halfway there, Garia's lungs were on fire and she wondered that Jenet was still on her feet at all. Feteran must have realized the same thing because he came back and began helping Jenet to climb. Garia's legs were turning to rubber and she looked despairingly at Keren, who appeared to be in little better shape.

They staggered through a gap at one end of the cluster of boulders to find... that it was not any kind of enclosure at all, merely an open arc of stones perhaps three to four strides high and fifty long. There would be no protection to be found here, unless -

"There!"

The three boulders at the far end had fallen together, leaving a narrow gap at the bottom a man could squeeze himself between. Keren stuck an arm around Garia and ushered her along the line of immense rocks. Behind them, the shouts grew louder as their pursuers gained on them. Garia and Jenet were practically stuffed into the gap between the rocks as Keren and Feteran drew their swords to face their attackers, backing into the crevice themselves as they did so.

- * -

The predator had about reached the western end of the range it normally covered. There had been a herd of gavakhan it had been taking to feed its young, but these had gotten leery of late and split into smaller groups which were harder to track. It cast about and, finding nothing of note, turned back to hunt elsewhere. The day, after all, was yet young.

The sudden, sharp noise drew the beast's attention. The small, strange cloud fixed that attention on a group of different prey animals, doing something not far from where the predator was. These animals were usually avoided, since they sometimes fought back in ways that gavakhan could not, but the meat had an interesting flavor and the carcases were easier for it to carry. It turned again, noting more activity on the nearer hillside.

- * -

The six men burst through the line of stones the same place that Garia had come through. The men, all waving swords, slowed momentarily to get their bearings. One, who might have been their leader, spotted Keren and Feteran and gestured with his sword.

"There they are! Get the bitch, kill the rest!"

The six men charged across the space separating them from Keren, Feteran, Garia and Jenet.

Death fell from the skies.

Garia, standing behind Keren, had a brief glimpse as a huge shadow blocked out the daylight before the immense beast landed squarely on top of the chasing men, felling them like tenpins. Keren and Feteran were knocked back into the crevice by the downdraft of prodigious wings, which promptly folded along the flanks of the creature.

The head was about the same size as that of Tyrannosaurus Rex but more streamlined, with teeth that were in proportion. It cast about on the long neck, trying to see what it had caught. One of the men, merely knocked over, scrambled to his feet and tried to flee but the beast turned, the neck snaked out, the head twisted and the man was caught with a rib-crushing crunch. Of the others, two were definitely dead, crushed beneath the claws of a foot like that of an eagle but a stride across. The others might have been dead, since they did not move, and two would certainly soon die from terrible stomach wounds.

Garia and her friends crushed themselves as far back into the crevice as possible, hoping the beast wouldn't bother with them. She could see glimpes of the shimmering hide, covered with red-brown scales that sparkled in the sun as the underlying muscles shifted. She had never been so frightened in her entire life. This was far worse than when one of the same species had flown across during the Harvest Festival.

The beast, of course, hadn't noticed them at all. Its attention had been fixed on the six chasers, and now it considered briefly what to do. It could carry two of these small creatures, and with luck the rest would still be here when it returned. Perhaps it could convince its mate to join it, there would be enough to feed all of them if no other creature found the meat before they returned.

It closed a huge taloned foot around one of the bodies, which screamed in agony. Ignoring the noise it picked up the man who had tried to get away in its mouth, spread its wings and launched itself into the air. The downdraft floored the four hidden in the crevice. Picking themselves up they went to the entrance.

"Quick!" Feteran urged hoarsely. "We don't know how far that thing has to fly. It will come back to take the others!"

They staggered out of their hiding place and were confronted by the slaughter left by the great beast. There were four bodies on a carpet of grass splashed with blood. Three were still possibly alive, the skull of the fourth being crushed. One of the men, his intestines spilling out of his body, hauled himself onto his elbows.

"Mercy, Lord! Mercy, Lady!"

Feteran went directly to him, sword poised, but Garia stopped him with a shout. She might have been full of fright but her sense of justice still functioned.

"No! Leave them!"

Feteran hesitated, turned.

"I heard what you said!" Garia shouted at the man. "Get the bitch, kill the rest, you said. You'd keep me and kill the Prince? You'd kill my maid? Death is too good for you! The ptuvil started this, let the ptuvil finish it! Commander, get their weapons. I don't want any of these taking the easy way out before that creature comes back."

"Milady?"

"Get their weapons, Feteran. No suicides here."

Keren added, "This time, I agree. Do it, Feteran."

"As you command, Highness."

Garia picked up a sword from those scattered by the ptuvil's attack for herself. Everything else, swords and knives, they collected and threw away between two of the boulders. The dying man watched them with horror.

"My Lady!" he pleaded, "You can't -"

"I just did. You started all this, you bastards! Now you'll have to accept the consequences." She turned to her companions. "Let's get out of here, this place stinks."

They retraced their route up, swords ready in case the six had been followed by any more of their party. Occasionally one or other of them turned quickly to look behind, fearful that the huge flying creature had returned. Garia wondered if anybody had survived at their camp. She staggered down the hillside, kept upright from time to time by Keren's touch.

Eventually it all caught up with her. Her sight began to fade and there was a strange roaring in her ears. Her knees began to buckle as the adrenalin drained and the magnitude of what had just happened sank in.

"K- Keren..."

He grabbed her as she collapsed, swinging round and lifting her into his arms like he had done so many months before. He called to Feteran.

"Tend you Jenet, Fet! I have Garia."

Somehow they all kept hold of their swords as they carried on down the hillside as fast as they could. Feteran couldn't pick Jenet up but he had his arm around her waist, supporting her. Halfway down to the stream they met Toranar and Brendel coming up, swords at the ready.

"Highness! Thank the Maker! We feared - after seeing the monster - that no-one survived."

Keren came gratefully to a halt. "We survived, though those who sought us did not. What of the camp?"

"We live, Highness, but there are grevious wounds, caused by some new evil we have never seen before. We beat them off, Highness, Commander, but three got away."

Feteran asked, "It is safe? We may approach the camp? Do they not try another attack?"

Toranar shook his head. "No, Commander. Of those who fled, at least two carry Stott's arrows. It is only Stott's skill with the bow that saved us, commander." He frowned as he saw Garia in Keren's arms. "Milady! Is she hurt?"

"No, Toranar," Keren replied, "Merely exhausted and frightened, as am I. I do not mind admitting it, not after being so close to such a beast. Now, let us get back to the camp because it will come again, to collect the men who are left behind."

Toranar did a double take. "There are some alive, Highness? Should we not make them prisoner?"

Keren shook his head wearily as he began walking again. "They are meat, Toranar, only meat. Come, I need to be sitting down somewhere. Milady becomes heavy in my arms."

~o~O~o~

Garia regained her senses as they crossed the stream and insisted on being put down. She felt weak but was able to walk on her own, if only in slow, cautious steps. A few of the frayen remained picketed on the lower slope, including Snep, but there were other mounts scattered all over the hillside where they had been abandoned or frightened off by the noise of the attack. The group reached the circle of stones and passed inside, where they were immediately offered skins of water to drink from. Clutching their skins, they sank down against two nearby boulders, utterly spent from their fight and fright. D'Kenik came to stand in front of Feteran and salute, though his leg was bloody.

"Commander, Thoran is dead. He has a terrible chest wound made by a strange weapon the bandits used. He lived, though we did not believe he would survive for very long. Most of the rest of us also have wounds from this weapon, most are painful but no more. There was a second weapon, but something happened to it and the two who carried it were killed, also with grevious injuries. Three survived to ride away but two take Stott's arrows with them in their bodies."

Garia put her skin down. "Those people aren't bandits, D'Kenik. They are agents of Yod, I think. How many do you think there were?"

D'Kenik scratched his head. "As you may know, milady, it can be difficult to account numbers during battle. Three escaped, there are five bodies though two are dead by their own hand. I do not know how many saw you and gave chase."

"Six," Keren said wearily. "We were but four, and milady without even her swords, or I would have given us an even chance against them. But for the ptuvil we were lost."

Garia said, "We need to find out everything we can about these people. Collect all the bodies, all the weapons, everything. We want to gather up all those frayen before they wander away, there may be clues in their saddlebags or packs. Not to mention if the ptuvil comes back and sees them wandering around... What about these... evil weapons you mention?"

"We dare not touch them, milady," D'Kenik replied. "We have left them where they lay. Not knowing how they work we fear to trigger them again."

Garia nodded. "A wise move, although they are probably safe. I have a strong suspicion I know what they are and how they work."

Oh, God, please let them be primitive! If they have any smart engineers among them, we are sunk!

Keren raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "You do? Should you be saying anything about them here?"

"Keren, they're already here and somebody else has them. The secret is out, all we can do now is make sure we're not too far behind because, believe me, these people will press ahead with development as fast as they possibly can."

Keren sighed and leaned back, exhausted. "I take your point. But there are other dangers for Palarand than Yod."

"True. Look, let's get ourselves cleaned up and the camp organized and then we can talk about future strategy. D'Kenik, you mentioned something about wounds?"

"Aye, milady. It is as though all were stabbed by some round spike or nail. Most wounds are small but some bleed freely. Master Michen has an arm which appears smashed."

Garia began to lever herself to her feet. "Jenet, are you ready and able to help? I think we have a bandaging job to do."

"Of course, milady." Jenet also began to rise.

D'Kenik objected, "Milady, it is well in hand -"

"Wait a while, D'Kenik. I want to inspect those weapons first. If I'm right, you'll have stones or metal embedded in those wounds which has to come out. If you don't you'll most likely get poisoned."

D'Kenik took her first to the weapon which had 'failed'. Garia saw at once that the barrel of the crude gun had exploded at the breech end, possibly through bad powder, poor training or a flaw in the metal. A man lay either side of the weapon, both had most of their faces blown off. The other weapon lay beside a man with an arrow sticking out of his chest. Garia thought he looked familiar.

"Is that Durko?"

D'Kenik looked closely. "Aye, milady, I do believe you are right. That explains how they knew where we were."

Keren joined them. "Aye, and it was Durko's wagon that had the bad axle, remember? It seems we carried our own spy around with us the whole time. This is the weapon?"

"Yes," Garia said. "Looking at it, I would call it a very crude shotgun. You simply hold it up and point it at your enemy, then light whatever is inside the barrel. What comes out the end we call shot, which can be small, spherical balls of metal or perhaps just scrap metal or even stones. That's what is inside every one of the wounds our men has. If that shot or those stones stay inside the wounds they can go bad and infect the wound. You'll need tweezers to get them out, and there aren't any this side of Blackstone."

"Not so, milady," D'Kenik said. "We can make tweezers from what we have in the camp, if there is need. It is something all guardsmen learn during training in the field. What must we do?"

Garia spun, her decisions already formed. "Okay. We need to clean all the wounds using water from the stream which has been boiled. We'll need fresh bandages as well. Jenet, go find my nightgown and start tearing it into strips."

"But, milady -"

"We're not wearing them and judging by the amount of bloody bodies I see around me we'll need more bandages than we seem to have available. I want the bandages to be boiled before use and I think we'll boil the tweezers as well. Keren, Feteran? If you would take some skins down to the stream, we'll get the fire going ready. Toranar? Are you the only one not injured?"

"No, milady, Brendel and Stott are also unscathed. Your commands?"

"Start fetching those frayen back here, right away. Start on the east side, please, because that is the direction that ptuvil is going to return from when it comes. Bring them inside the stones. I know it will be crowded but if we can keep them close to us it should stop them from panicking. If we lose those mounts it's a heck of a walk back to Blackstone, especially with wounded."

"As you command, milady."

Garia's body was desperately tired but her mind was working overtime. Somehow she had sized up the situation and worked out exactly what had to be done. Keren and Feteran glanced at each other but grabbed skins and went immediately down the slope while Toranar and Brendel left to entice their mounts back.

She looked down at the body of the gunman, noticing for the first time the bag half hidden beneath the body where he had fallen on it. She bent down and pulled it out, having to untangle the diagonal strap first from the body and then from the arrow still sticking up from the chest. Opening the bag she saw what she had expected to find, ammunition for further discharges of the crude gun. She took the bag back to her stone and sank down against it, taking another swig from her water skin.

"Milady, can we help?"

It was Stott, crouching down beside her. Most of the other men had gathered round.

"I don't know, Stott," she said. "I might get some clues as to how those things worked from what's in here."

She spread her skirt and emptied the bag into her lap. There were ten small bags, five each of blue and white, made of silk and cylindrical shaped - to fit in the barrel, she guessed. There were rough wads of wool and a bundle of lengths of stiff string each about as long as her middle finger. Pinching the blue bags she decided that these were powder, although how they worked she did not yet know. The white bags were full of hard lumps so she took the knife from her boot and opened one with the point. Small stones, all roughly the same size, tumbled out onto her skirt. She nodded.

"Right. Two things. First, every wound made by that weapon will have one of these at the bottom. That's what you are looking for with those tweezers. We need to get those out and make sure the wound is flushed out and clean. Second, Stott, I want you to fetch that gun over here, please. It will be heavy but it is safe to carry."

The field tweezers were an education for Garia. A twig was selected from the kindling and carefully stripped of bark. The wood was then split lengthways. One end of a strip of bark was then placed between the halves to keep them apart and the rest wound tightly round one end to provide a spring. Some whittling with a knife to achieve the right shape and length and it was ready.

Stott returned with the gun as the less wounded men went off to boil their tweezers. He laid the cumbersome object carefully beside Garia, who examined it properly for the first time. A heavy cylinder of wrought iron, about two feet long with a bore of about an inch and a half. The iron was less than half that in thickness. The stock was a crudely carved piece of wood with the front jammed into one end of the barrel and secured by two rivets which went through holes bored through the barrel from side to side. At the far end, a T-shaped piece of wrought iron had been lashed to the barrel with wire. On the dependant part of the T a piece of wood had been riveted to provide a forward grip. There was no obvious sign of a firing mechanism apart from a small hole in the top of the barrel. The mouth of the barrel had been flared slightly but she couldn't tell whether that was deliberate or not.

"Okay." She smiled at Stott. "You need to find me a... stick, about as long as this barrel. It will probably have a small pad at one end and a brush at the other, or something like that."

"Milady?"

"Uh, the men who fired this will have had them. They are needed to clean out the barrel after each shot and to push the next shot down the barrel."

"Ah! Milady, I think I saw something like you describe somewhere near the other weapon. I wondered what it might be."

Stott returned with the blood-soaked ramrod and handed it to Garia.

"Milady, why did you call that pipe a barrel?"

"Um, I think when these were first made they were constructed of long strips of iron and bound round with rings of iron. It's sort of the same construction as a barrel, with staves and hoops, so the name stuck." She thought. "There's a lot of words we use with these things that come from someplace else. Like we refer to 'shooting' and 'shot', though it isn't the same as using your bow."

"Will you teach us the art, milady? Or is this something that has to remain secret?"

Garia sighed. "I wanted it to remain secret, Stott, because the wars that we had after guns came into use were far more terrible than anything you might have experienced here. Only it seems Yod isn't giving us that chance. I'll explain all to the camp, but only after we're all cleaned up, fed and rested. I wanted to see if I can get this thing set up if we need it later. Remember, there's a damn great flying creature out there which thinks we'd make it a fine lunch."

"What about those men?" Denard asked. "Milady, do you think they will return?"

"I don't think so. God, I hope not, not with us in this state! No, the numbers are against it, Denard. We know six died up there," she waved an arm toward the place where they had encountered the ptuvil, "and there are five bodies here. If three got away then that makes fourteen. There's no sense, in this kind of action, leaving men behind in case they need a second try. If there had been any more men they would have used them, to try and overwhelm the camp." She thought. "Which direction did they come from, do you know?"

"Over the ridge to the south and down the slope, milady. They were halfway down before we spotted them, though fortunately everyone except yourselves were inside the ring. When they arrived -"

Garia held up a hand. "Stop right there. I want a proper debriefing from everyone once we are in a fit state to do so. That way everyone can hear what happened and learn from our experiences."

"Of course, milady."

Garia had recovered a little by now and she, Jenet and Feteran did the bandaging while the others, including Keren, prepared lunch for the company. The wounds were first bathed in boiled water and then probed for the shot. In Yarling's case the stone had passed clean through his upper left arm, so bandaging was all that was required. D'Kenik had one stone taken out of a thigh, Denard had three stones, two in the thigh and one in the shoulder. Michen was worst out of those that had survived. He had been standing alongside Thoran, who had taken the main force of the blast, and several stones had shattered his right upper arm bone. Removing the stones had proved very painful but they had attempted to set and splint the bone as best they could. Nobody knew whether he would ever regain the use of that arm.

While this was happening the frayen were being recovered and brought into the circle of stones. The previous night their mounts had all been kept inside but this time they seemed to take up more room, so they were forced to rearrange their camp. All the frayen were bunched into the western two-thirds of the camp while the men, their packs, saddles and equipment together with the new weapons and six corpses filled up the eastern end. This was because, Feteran explained, if the ptuvil came back and spooked the beasts at least they would stampede away from the men and not trample them.

Even the camp fire had to be moved. This had delayed the making of lunch so while they waited Garia asked Feteran about the apparent increase in frayen numbers.

"We have gained some beasts, milady, and we have taken losses of our own."

"Oh? I guess some of those are the bandits' beasts, then."

"Aye, milady, although not all that they must have had. We have lost two also. Denard's mount broke his neck against the stone in panic when the first of those weapons was..."

"Fired. That's what we generally call the operation."

"Ah, I see, milady. Fired, then. And the men discovered a pack beast outside, with a crossbow bolt through its ribs. It must have been released from a very close range to have penetrated so tough a hide. I regret they were forced to put it out of its misery. There are also two pack animals with flesh wounds made by the shot. We have, with difficulty, removed the stones but of course there is no way we may bandage so large a creature. They will just have to take their chances."

"That could be a problem. Go on."

"We recovered eight frayen belonging to those who attacked us, milady. All carry the traditional style saddle so we know they are not ours. Three more must have borne the survivors away but there must be more, perhaps as many as three, that have wandered away out of sight."

"Hmm. We'll have to take those bodies back, I guess, and we'll need to shift some packs about, so we'll be making use of those extra beasts. Good work, commander."

Finally, it was a very subdued company that gathered round to take lunch. Yarling, Michen and Denard discovered the utility of forks as they could manage to eat using only their uninjured arms. There had been no spares so the utensils were shared, after cleaning. Mug of pel in hand, Garia went to sit by Keren, who had his back to a rock in the sun. She intended to sit down beside him but he extended his arm so she ended up with her back leaning against his chest.

"Mmmm, that's good," she said. "I feel so tired."

All her muscles relaxed and she let her head tip back to rest on his shoulder. The sun was in her face so she closed her eyes.

"I agree," Keren said as he put his arm round her waist. There was no reply.

Feteran found them moments later. Keren's head had slid sideways to rest on Garia's head and both were sleeping soundly. The others gathered to watch.

"Let them rest," Feteran said softly. "They have done much hard work this day."

"Aye to that, sir," Stott said. "She will make us a fine Queen."

"If I ever doubted that," Feteran replied, "I doubt it no more. But first, we have to get them back alive to the palace."