Here's another part. I might actually post two parts today, depending on how far I get before hockey tonight. I wrote most of this part during the past few weeks anyway. -LurkingWolf ____________________________ Both Lois and Gerard increased their pace significantly when they finally sighted the Dike early the next morning. Lois started into a slow jog, and somehow Gerard managed to keep up with him for the most part. The inability to use one of his hooves clearly hampered him, but he wanted to get south of the Dike as quickly as possible. Lois eventually signaled for him to get down and wait while he went ahead to take a look. The assassin used much less patience than the rest of their patrol had used on the way north. Logically, he decided, if he moved too slowly he would be giving his enemies an opportunity to catch up with Gerard. Chances were, anyone who wasn't supposed to be south of the Dike at this point would have already been driven northward by the sweeping patrols cleaning up in anticipation of the Duke's wedding. If they had decided to camp out around the area of the Dike, then he would simply have to deal with them when it came down to it. As it turned out, no one was waiting for him, so he signaled Gerard to move up. The stag wasted no time obeying, perhaps moving a bit faster than Lois would have advised considering his condition. Still, he was happy that his companion was able to make it quickly, and the two of them moved across the Dike, moving south with all speed. "Usually I would advise stealth," Lois noted. "At this point, however, I think our chances are better that we'll get picked up by a friendly patrol than an enemy patrol, and that would be altogether better for us. I'll leave the decision up to you, though." Gerard simply continued to forge ahead. Clearly he was of the opinion that keeping a high profile was to their advantage at this point. It would be nearly impossible to slip by all of the guards given the heightened security that could be expected considering the wedding. No doubt there was going to be an outer ring of patrols making sure no one came south, but it was also likely that a majority of the manpower in the defensive groups were concentrated closer to the Keep, giving enemies a very hard time about getting through. Their best hope of successfully returning to the Keep before the Yule rested on finding one of the outer defensive rings. If they managed to slip through undetected, there was no telling how long it would take him to drag himself and his broken leg through the Keep's gate. As he moved along, he realized that he needed to slow down a bit. While he wanted to get back to the Keep as quickly as he possibly could, exhausting himself before he had a chance to get halfway there would get him nowhere. If they were going to go through the night like Lois had suggested, he was going to need to keep his strength up. For his part, Lois did a good job of neither outpacing Gerard nor letting him get too far ahead. Given that he was the only one of the two that could do any fighting, he was also the one keeping a lookout for possible threats. He didn't expect he would see anyone, and if they did run into anyone then they would probably be a small group; they would have to be to consistently stay away from the increased patrol strength. As the hours went by, Lois began to worry. He could not imagine the outer cordon being too far from the Dike. After all, it was a useful chokepoint that worked both ways. After an initial sweep he expected they would stay within sight of the Dike so that they could be sure that the lutins that they had driven out would not try to move back to the south. Still, as night fell, they had seen neither hide or hair of any sort of force, be it allied or hostile. They were too far past the Dike; something had gone wrong. No scout alive could have missed them crashing through the undergrowth with all the care of a stampeding herd, not if they had past close by them, at any rate. That left one possibility, one that confused him a bit. "Gerard, I think we missed the outer cordon," he said finally. He continued to follow the stag, who seemed to move with a bit more urgency when he heard Lois' words from behind him. Lois kept on walking behind him in silence, increasing his pace to keep up. He continued to consider; perhaps they had not swept up through yet? No, even at that point, they should have hit them by now. It was the only point that made any sense, and yet there were too many problems for it to possibly be true. Another consideration struck him, and he nodded slowly. "Gerard, they probably started the sweep from Outpost and moved out. They would have been able to deploy this far to the north faster than Metamor. If that's true, then they probably swing around from Outpost out to the Dike, and we've probably passed them by now. I recommend that we turn around and head back towards the Dike from here. If we hit them, they'll probably be able to give us a way back." Gerard shook his head, antlers shaking the low branches of a tree nearby. No, he knew better than to think that. If they went back out to try to meet the outer line, then they would probably take another day to find them. After that, the patrols wouldn't be either able or willing to take them back to Metamor. Maybe if they had run into them before they got fully into position, giving them time to reorganize and send an escort, but certainly not after they had set up their line. Lois kept up with Gerard’s increasing speed, frown deepening as they went along. It wasn’t long before the stag began to clearly stumble over roots and undergrowth. He was pushing himself too hard; with only three legs, he couldn’t keep that kind of speed without falling sooner or later. “Gerard,” Lois whispered, intending to stop him. His companion kept on, though, increasing his speed almost to a trot, although his problems continuing were obvious. “Gerard, this is folly! You’ll injure yourself further if you continue like this!” Lois increased his stride even further, intent on heading the stag off. It was then that he saw movement in the leaves to the front and right of his friend. His eyes focused on the person who was emerging, and they certainly did not look friendly. Lois planted, readying to throw a dagger at the man, when something slammed up against his head, sending him sprawling to the ground in a daze. He had just enough time to look around at the men closing in before he was struck across the head again, and everything went black. * * * Lois came back to consciousness slowly, mind slowly catching up with the world as he lay there in a daze. He tried to reach up and press a paw to his head, but found his hands were unsurprisingly bound. He tested the binding even before he had fully come around, and found that the knots were reasonably well done. It wasn’t that they were going to keep him from untying them eventually; few men that hadn’t been sailors at one time or another could tie a rope he couldn’t untie. The quality of the knot was enough that it would take him a little time and whatever tools he could find within his limited reach to get out. He finally cracked his eyes, and found himself lying in a well-forested area, with a little light that might have been either dawn or dusk filtering through the trees. He also found that he had been thrown rather haphazardly on the ground, and was simply lying on one side. The assassin briefly considered faking that he was still unconscious, but could think of nothing he could do with that that he couldn’t do more efficiently after showing his captors that he was awake. With this in mind he rolled carefully to a sitting position. He was a little dizzy; considering the possibilities that being bludgeoned twice in rapid succession could hold for a man, he gladly accepted this slight handicap for his trouble. He cast about for Gerard warily, and was surprised and happy to find the stag tied to a nearby tree with multiple roped, but otherwise evidently no more harmed than he had been last the ermine had seen him. His position suggested sleeping rather than unconsciousness; more than likely he had spent a good while struggling and had at some point resigned himself to being held captive for a time. Lois’ activity did not go unnoticed. Before long a large man with a scraggly brown beard stepped in front of him. Between the furs he wore and the few finer ones that were hung from his belt, Lois guessed that the man was a poacher. Further, what he had seen of the rest of the group indicated to him that they were more than likely here from the south to ply their trade. He smiled inwardly while outwardly setting himself for the negotiations he was certain were coming next. He could see a few directions he could pursue this in that might grant both he and Gerard a return to the Keep, perhaps in more safety than they had experienced on their path so far. “Well, look who finally decided to come around,” the man said gruffly. He kept his voice down, but put enough force behind it to make it clear that he saw this conversation as himself speaking to an inferior. So much the better, Lois mused. “Excuse me for taking so long, but I do believe that it was your own man who decided to lay me out when first we encountered you. If you seek an apology, as him,” Lois commented. The trapper scowled at him. “I might, if he was not now recovering from being gored by your friend over there,” he commented darkly. “It seems that even blunted antlers were not enough to keep him from doing what he could to fight through us.” It made sense. Lois would not have been surprised, now would he have felt abandoned, had Gerard found it within himself to escape alone to get to his family. Had their places been switched, Lois would have done so without even the benefit of a family to greet him on the other side. Still, there was no need for his captors to know why the deer had shown so much fight. Lois coughed a bit, suddenly realizing how dry his throat felt. He cleared his throat before continuing. “If he did so much damage, I assume that you have some reason for keeping him alive. In fact, I’m quite certain I can guess your intentions. You know he was a companion of mine because you’re familiar with the Curse, and because he so clearly showed marks of intelligence during your fight. However, in his current form he is unable to fight, and is not able to take human form to tell you what you need to know. You needed him alive so that you have leverage to make me answer your questions. In fact, I can guess at least one of the questions you intend, if given the chance.” The man opposite Lois signaled to one of his companions, and the second poacher came over, taking a water skin and holding it so Lois could drink some. The ermine hardly minded that half of it ended up in his fur, the little bit of water went a long way to easing his throat’s pain. Lois took a breath after a few gulps of water, then nodded that he was done. The leader of the trappers seemed to be waiting for Lois to continue, so the ermine obliged. “All right then, I will first tell you what it is that you wish to ask of me, and then I will tell you what the answer will cost you,” Lois announced. He scanned the camp for a moment before returning his gaze to the burly man. He saw a few fresh furs about, and plenty of tools of the trade. Although he had yet to see it, he expected that they would have brought some sort of cart to carry everything in. Given the forest’s density, it couldn’t be very large, but it would perhaps be large enough for his purposes. The trapper glared at him as the ermine’s eyes fell back on him. “You will give me the answer, and by my terms. Does the fact that you are my prisoner mean nothing to you?” Lois smiled. “I assure you that I respect your current power over me, but I also realize that you are at a disadvantage yourself. If you kill me, then you will have no one to answer your questions. If no one is here to answer your questions, then you will either have to risk running perhaps the most complete peacetime patrol cordon in a hundred years, or you will all be Cursed. Either that is your trouble, or you were all part of someone’s harem before arriving here.” Lois grinned viciously at this thought, showing off the sharp teeth the Curse had given to him. The trapper drummed his fingers on the ground in front of him, scattering a little dirt and more than a few leaves in various directions before addressing Lois’ guess. “Yes, we do intend to avoid the Curse. This is not the first time that we have been this far north, but it is the first time that we have had much trouble returning. Usually we can find a path to the south if we work along carefully and don’t wait too long beforehand, but we had not heard that there was going to be a vastly increased number of patrols in the area.” He narrowed his eyes and looked Lois in the eyes. “Why the increase in security? Is Nasoj coming back around to finish the job on you devils?” Lois snorted. “Nothing quite so dramatic. The Duke is to be wed. I am not entirely certain how you could have come this way in the past week without hearing something of this on your way.” “The business of the Keep is its own. It isn’t as though I spend much time minding gossip as it is. All the news that interests me is the price of furs in the Midlands.” He tapped his fingers in the first again. Since they had started talking he had cleared the area of leaves and was beginning to leave indentations in the dirt. He was very nervous, which suited Lois fine. “At any rate, I never expected it to affect me. I noticed a bit more security than usual when I crossed the southern border or your territory, but then we moved individually and did not have a cart of furs to worry about.” Lois nodded. “At any rate, you need someone who either knows a way through the patrols, or can supply a countersign that would allow you and yours to pass through unmolested.” The trapper nodded. “Unfortunately, I can provide neither,” Lois said. “I arrived here recently, and have access to neither patrol routes nor countersigns. At this point I sincerely doubt that patrol routes would do you any good anyway. No one but those identified with the Keep are going to be allowed passage, and regardless of my personal affiliation, getting you through will not be possible. Not simply will it not be easily possible, it simply cannot be done in that manner.” The trapper shook his head, giving a smug smile. “You don’t understand. He stood and walked over to the stag, who was still asleep beside the tree. He pulled out a well-crafted knife, turning it about in his fingers before laying the blade against the deer’s throat without even disturbing him. “I am not asking you whether you can or cannot do it in a certain way. I am telling you that you will do it, or suffer the consequences.” “You won’t kill him,” Lois said simply. His fingers found a twig on the ground behind him and he slipped it in between the binding cords, keeping one part of the knot loose while he worked on another. “Not immediately, no,” the poacher commented. “As you may have guessed, though, this is not the first time that I have held a knife in my hands. I am quite well versed in the art of skinning, and I could have this one tied down while I skin him one inch at a time.” Lois snorted, laughing with a bit too honestly for his captor’s sake. The trapper stood with a scowl, flipping his knife about in his palm. He approached Lois slowly while the former slowly wound down. “You seem quite confident for someone whose friend is about to be killed painfully,” he commented quietly. “Perhaps if I torture you we might get somewhere. Make your choice, your own torture or his.” “Make your choice: do what I tell you to, or become women, babes and children within the week,” Lois shot back. “I’ve been tortured before; it would take you a long time to get me to tell you anything, and I’ll tell you right up front that what I tell you may very well just end with you and your group walking right into a trap. No, you need me alive and well because that is the only way that you’re getting through this.” “Is it? Tell me, just how does your presence with my party help me at all if you won’t give me any way to get past the patrols?” “I never said I wouldn’t,” Lois noted. “I simply said that the ways you had considered to get through the cordon would be ineffective. There is one way that might work out for us, however, a mutually beneficial agreement.” “I’ve told you that I am the one in charge here,” the man commented. “And I’ve told you why your position means so little to me. We’re both at a disadvantage; the sooner we decide that we can work together to solve our problems, the more quickly we will get to where we need to go.” Lois waited for a few moments while his captor considered, then continued. “My idea is simply this: The two of us need to get to the Keep because of my friend’s injury. You need to get to the Midlands to avoid the Curse. Both courses lead down the same road. I say that we all go together as far as the cordon, and you use our capture as the leverage you need to get through the lines. Once you’re through and safely away, you give my friend and me to the line as a fair exchange. Both of us get what we want, and neither needs to suffer anything more than sore legs.” The poacher considered the proposition for a few moments. Lois took this opportunity to press the deal a bit more. “Of course, you will need to let my friend rest on your fur cart as we travel. It’s the only way that we’ll make it south in a timely manner.” “That, or I could finish him here, and we could all make fine time that way,” the trapper noted. The knife was still held at ready beside him. “You could, but then there would be nothing to keep me from signaling to our allies that we should just wait until you’re halfway across before killing you,” Lois responded. He quietly broke the twig behind him and laced it through another part of the knot. “How can I trust you not to do so even so?” the trapper asked. “You have only my word in either case, but you also know that complying cannot hurt your chances of survival, or, for that matter, your chances of continuing manhood.” The ermine smirked. “Besides, in the one case I know I can run, while my friend cannot make good time, even with his extra legs. If we decided to kill you, it would be much easier to avoid casualties if I was alone. Besides, even with one of your men bearing the burden of the wagon it should be easy to arrive at the line within the day, provided we leave before long.” The burly man nodded, scratching at his chin with his knife hand, close enough that Lois was certain that he must have shaved his beard with it as he considered. Presently, the man was decided. “Very well, but you will be the one bearing the wagon. I’m sure I can get one of the men to tie you to the cart before we leave.” The poacher smiled smugly. “Perhaps they will let me skin you in that case, given that you were aiding in the transport of our furs.” “Perhaps,” Lois agreed. “Do we have a deal, then?” “For lack of a better idea, and since we need to move as soon as possible, I suppose. Remember, though, I am still the one in charge. If I see an opportunity to escape this damned Curse without your help, I will feel free to gut you on my way out.” “I could hardly ask for more,” Lois replied with an exaggerated smile. “Shake on it?” He held out one of his paws, still smiling while the poacher realized that the assassin was supposed to be bound. It was disconcerting that the ermine had been able to release his bonds without being noticed, but there was nothing he could do now. He needed this man to make good his escape. !DSPAM:4ea72247150221804284693!