[Vfw-times] MK Winter Assault part 24a - corrected

[COkane8116 at aol.com]

   Well Murphy and his gremlins struck again. I sent to the list the WRONG 
version of the scene in part 24a. Below is the correct version. My apologies 
for the mistake. Part 24b is correct as is so I'm not resending it.

   Chris
   The apologetic Fox


***

The Lightbringer Archives were quiet, and unexpectedly warm considering
the weather. Men, women and children were curled up on the floor in soft
woolen blankets; some of them, those who were old, sick, or weak, rested
on thin sleeping mats that provided a bit more comfort for their tired
and aching bones. Most had drifted off to sleep by now, clustered
together into groups of family and friends. Others still lay awake,
praying for the protection of their loved ones outside. And one figure
paced irritably back and forth near the spiral staircase, her footsteps
making no sound but her frustration obvious in every movement.

A second form quietly descended the stairs, touched the first figure
lightly on the shoulder, and beckoned her back the way she had come.

"You shall arouse the others if you continue pacing down there," Merai
said when they had reached the top of the staircase.

"If you dislike seeing me pace, then give me something useful to do,"
Daria growled. "I have no business sleeping on a night like this."

Merai turned and clasped forearms with her warrior friend. "What good
will it do anyone for you to wear yourself out?" she asked, her voice and
eyes concerned. Her feline tail twitched behind her in silent worry.

"What good will it do me to sit here while the battle rages outside?" the
redhead countered. "I'm a squire, Merai. My place is by my master's side,
in battle, not cowering in here behind a wall of magic." She clenched and
unclenched her fists repeatedly, looking as if she desperately wished to
be holding a sword and shield in those hands.

Merai sighed and shook her head, her pointed ears twitching backwards a
little. "This battle is bigger than us, Daria. Going outside, alone, now
-- you would only get yourself killed. One squire will make no
difference."

Daria's jaw tightened, but after a moment she, too, lowered her head and
sighed. "I know. And perhaps that is the more frustrating thing." She
slumped down against the wall, and the cat-woman silently moved to join
her. Daria drew her knees up close to her body, gripping her arms in her
hands as if to ward off some unseen chill.

After a few seconds of silence, Daria turned to face Merai. The young
priestess saw that her friend's eyes were wet with tears. "Merai, my
father is out there right now," she murmured. The dread in her voice was
palpable. "He was on the wall when the alarum sounded. I wish that I
could go to him, help him in the battle ... but I could never find him
out there, and it would be wrong for me try." She fell silent again, her
hands tightening against her arms. "All my life, my father has been the
most important person in my life," she said, her eyes distant. "He has
been my inspiration, my example ... I look at him and I see a hero." She
shook her head distractedly. "I know that people die in war. But if he's
gone..."

Her voice drifted off, as her head hung forward limply. Wordlessly, Merai
reached out and drew her into an embrace, holding her close as silent
tears rolled down. Daria fought so hard to be strong, Merai reflected --
struggled to be the brave knight and warrior she had always wanted to be.
But emotions were real and important things, and denying them could only
force them inward until they consumed you. Merai tried to help her
realize that there was no shame in expressing her feelings -- but as her
friend clutched tightly at her back, digging her fingers into Merai's
robe until she was gripping the soft fur beneath it, the priestess
reflected that she still had a long way to go.

After some time -- Merai could not say how long -- they heard a sudden
pounding in the hallway outside.

"What is that?" Daria asked, frowning. "Is someone trying to break in?"

Merai perked her ears forward, listening. Someone was, indeed, banging on
the heavy bronze-covered doors of the temple -- but there was another
sound interspersed with it, fainter but still recognizable...

"Those are Keepers," she said, getting to her feet. "They must have come
here looking for shelter."

"Can we let them in?" Daria asked, following close behind her as she
wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I hope so."

Stepping out of the side passage that contained the staircase, Merai shut
the door behind them and headed for the main entrance. Two guards stood
at the door, both human, their swords drawn and ready. One was a town
guardsman from Euper named Wester, and the other a woman who called
herself a bodyguard. From the cool manner the two displayed toward each
other, they obviously had some sort of history together that had been
less than cordial. Whatever their feelings toward each other, though,
they weren't letting them interfere with their duties at the door, and in
any case Merai had more important things to worry about.

"Is anyone in there?" a female voice shouted behind the door. "Please,
let us in! We have wounded with us!"

Merai gripped the heavy metal handle on one of the doors. "Were you
followed?" she asked, trying to speak loudly enough to be heard while
still being considerate of those sleeping in the nearby rooms. The woman
grasped the crossbrace, handing the other guard her sword for a moment as
she prepared to haul the heavy beam up. She said nothing, watching Merai
with intense, hazel eyes, and waited.

"No, the staircase closed behind us on the second floor," the voice
answered. "There isn't an enemy in sight."

Nodding, Merai stepped back from the door. "Lady Kyia," she murmured,
"will you let these people come inside?"

The answer came back like a whisper on the wind. "I shall. There is no
danger -- they have brought no darkness with them."

"Thank you," Merai whispered. Turning to Daria, she motioned at the door.
"Would you let them in, Dari? I shall keep watch that nothing foul tries
to slip in behind them."

The squire nodded, walking up to the large double doors as the female
guard hauled the crossbrace back. She grabbed the handle of the left one
and it opened easily. Quickly, a line of about twenty men and women of
assorted species filed into the room, carrying two more men and a young
girl along with them. As soon as the last one had passed inside the door
shut firmly behind them of its own volition, and the self-proclaimed
bodyguard rammed the crossbrace back into place. Merai beckoned to two
acolytes who silently stood guard at the far end of the hallway along
with two other armed members of the congregation. 
"Take these three into the temple and tend to their wounds," she said.
"I'll be along shortly to help with anything serious."

Without a word, the acolytes came over and examined the wounded. After a
moment, they led the men carrying them back into the main temple hall.

"Thank you," one of the remaining women said, approaching Merai and
extending a hand. She was a skunk-morph, one of the few Merai had seen,
and her eyes were a mixture of gratitude, worry, and hardened resolve.
She also looked tired, her breathing labored from what must have been a
long, hard run from the battle lines. Surprisingly, Merai could only
faintly detect any hint of the woman's distinctive musk; traces of it
lingered on the clothes of some of her comrades, but none on the mephit
herself. Merai noticed a pendant hanging from the skunk-morph's neck; its
magic shined clearly in the priestess's aura-vision, and she realized
that this must be the device that was dampening the mustelid's aroma.

All of which would make things much easier on everyone, especially since
they were in confined quarters. Merai clasped the woman's hand firmly,
nodding once. "Just doing our duty," she said. "Welcome to the
Lightbringer Temple. I'm Sister Merai."

"Aye, I've seen you from time to time around the Keep," the other woman
said with a weary smile. "Kayla," she added by way of introduction,
speaking over her shoulder as she turned to the nearby cloakroom and
began pulling off her winter outer-garments and laying aside the few
weapons she'd managed to secure since the alarum sounded.

"A pleasure," Merai said, smiling. "Though I wish it could be under other
circumstances." Her expression turned serious. "How goes the battle?"

" 'Tis too soon to tell," Kayla said, frowning. She leaned back against
the wall, resting there for the moment, but she seemed to be recovering
from her exertion quickly. "The enemy has control of the town, and some
have penetrated the castle, but they've not gotten far within it. The
Keep seems to be frustrating their advances."

"Good to hear. Where is Lord Thomas?"

The skunk shook her head.. "I don't know. I was at Misha Brightleaf's
Yule party -- I've not seen the Duke since yesterday."

Merai bit her lip thoughtfully. "I hope he is all right."

"So do I."

"What of the guards?"

Merai and Kayla turned to look at Daria. The red-haired woman's
expression was earnest, and her eyes were red and just a little swollen
from her recent tears.

"Beg pardon?" Kayla asked.

"The guards on the curtain wall," Daria said. "What has become of them?"

Kayla sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't know," she said again. "I would imagine
most have been killed, or at best cut off from help. There may yet be a
few in the towers, and some may have reached the entrance to the Keep on
the northeast side." She shook her head again, sadness in her eyes.
"Considering how quickly the enemy came upon us, though, I doubt that
many have survived."

Daria leaned back against the wall, visibly shaken. "Thank you," she
whispered.

With difficulty, Merai drew her eyes away from her troubled friend and
back to the skunk-woman. "Kyia has opened the first two levels of the
Archives to visitors," she said, gesturing at the door that led to the
staircase. "You can sleep there for the night -- we'll provide you with
blankets. One of you may stay with your wounded friends while their
injuries are treated, but no more than that. The Lothanasa will give us
further instructions in the morning."

"Thank you," Kayla said. After a few moments of discussion with her
associates, it was decided that she would be the one to stay by their
wounded comrades. Following the directions of one of the acolytes, the
others made their way down to the Archives.

Merai, meanwhile, entered the temple hall, with Kayla following close
behind. There were now five acolytes awake and tending to the injuries of
the men and the girl. After conversing with them for a few minutes and
looking over the three wounded, Merai decided that they were in no grave
danger and the Light-Healing would not be necessary. Kayla sat down
beside them and began speaking to them softly, as Merai went into a
storeroom and brought out a few cups and a pitcher of water. The
skunk-morph accepted them gratefully and helped her injured friends to
drink a little before pouring a cup for herself.

"Do you have any idea what the Lightbringer is planning?" Kayla asked,
after her comrades had drifted off to sleep.

"Not really. She said that she would 'speak with her sources', that she
would have more information in the morning, but I know not how she means
to go about it. It seems as though she intends to simply wait the battle
out, and provide whatever comfort she can to those who are trapped here
with us."

Kayla turned to look at Daria. The young woman was still sitting in the
entrance hallway, leaning up against the plastered wall, staring numbly
off into space. "I doubt that some will be satisfied with that course of
action."

"So do I, but what else can we do? There are only a few hundred of us
here, most of them women, children and older folk. What can we do that
would have any impact?"

Kayla smiled. "You'd be surprised what a small group of warriors can do,
Sister Merai -- especially when they are fighting the enemy in territory
they know well. Have you ever heard of 'otrinca'?" Merai shook her head.
"It means 'little war' -- it's a term we use in Intelligence to describe
the tactics of harassing a large invading force, like a dog nipping at
their heels."

"You work in Intelligence?" Merai asked, surprised.

Kayla nodded. "I know something of otrinca tactics -- my grandfather was
a tactician, and I've been with Intelligence for a number of years now.
They can be very effective. In a situation like this you cannot stand
toe-to-toe with the enemy and win, but you can make their lives a lot
more difficult."

Slowly, a smile spread over Merai's face. "Daria, come over here," she
said. "Kayla has something you'll want to hear."
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