<HTML>    Long House was surprisingly quiet. After seeing the place full of people during the attack it felt odd to see it so empty. Rickkter moved slowly across the vast open space of Long hall. His footfalls echoing loudly in the open space. Here and there he could see signs of the large numbers of people who had so recently taken refuge here; piles of clothes and other debris lay scattered about. In one corner was the charred and blackened remains of a fire.    "May I help you sir?" a polite voice asked.    Turning around Rickkter found himself face to face with a tall, thin, lop eared brown rabbit morph. He was dressed in loose fitting, bright blue tunic that went down to the rabbits knees. Over that was a cloak of fine blue cloth held together by a gold brooch that rested on his chest.    From the lapins left ear dangled a small gold earring in the shape of the twin cross symbol of the Lothansai. Around his neck was a torc made of gold and silver rope twisted together in intricate knot work.    "My name is Padraic Cul Dethain," the rabbit explained as he bowed. "You are Rickkter Feniagh?"    "I am Rickkter but Feniagh is not my name."    "My apologies Sir," the rabbit countered. "Among my people we honor our guests with honorific titles."    "What does Feniagh mean?"    "Bright, nimble hero Sir. It seemed fitting to one such as you. Misha is expecting you," Padraic said in a smooth, calm voice. "He is presently in the armory. If you will come with me I will take you to him."    Rickkter simply nodded and walked along side the rabbit as he moved across the hall.    "You're the newest Long Scout aren't you?" the raccoon asked.    The rabbit hesitated before answering. "I am a candidate for joining."    Rickkter snorted. "After what just happened, I doubt you'll have any problems being added to their ranks. You've already fought with the Longs during the attack on the Barracks." That was a statement rather then a question.    "Yes Sir. I was able to add my humble skills to the battle."    They arrived at an iron bound wooden door set in one wall. Rickkter knew it was the entrance to the armory.    "Hardly humble. I heard you killed the mage with General Selig single handedly. Crushed her head with a stone." He slapped his hands together with a loud clap. "Splat!"    Padraic winced at those last words from Rickkter and was about to speak when the door suddenly opened ending the conversation.    "Rick," Misha said sticking his head out. "You're late as usual. Come in."    The fox turned to the rabbit. "Thank you Padraic. You ready to go?"    "Yes Sir, I was about to get dressed."    "Good. Have you talked with Finbar about your team assignment?"    "Yes Sir," the rabbit answered. "I'll be in the middle, behind Finbar and in front of Danielle. I'm to use by bow and to protect Danielle as she casts spells."    Misha nodded. "Good. One final thing. Don't call me Sir. Just call me Misha."    "Yes Sir . . . Misha," the rabbit stuttered.    "Relax Padraic. You'll do fine."   "Yes Sir," he replied. "Permission to visit the Temple before we leave?"    "Of course. Just be in Long Hall in two hours."    "Thanks you Sir," the rabbit said. Then he turned and walked off.    "How is the rabbit doing?" Rickkter asked as he looked at the receding form of Padraic.    "Good. I wish we could have more time to work with him. Get in some training," Misha answered as he stepped through the door and into the armory. Rickkter followed close behind.    Rick shrugged. "From what I hear, he did well during the assault on the Keep. Besides, where we're going, he's bound to get lots of experience. Who's going out?"    "Besides me and Padraic, they'll be Caroline, Finbar, Danielle, Georgette and Jotham." The fox shook his head. "Seven total. A week ago I had twice that many."    "I see you put Finbar as second in command," Rickkter commented.    "You don't agree?"    "On the contrary. I think he'll be a fine leader, with some more experience."    "I don't have the time for him to gain more experience. Besides Lisa herself recommended him. He's been her second in command for over a year."    "I'm glad to have you coming with us Rick," Misha commented. "We need your support."    "Hey," said Rick, a smirk twisting his muzzle, "anything for my friends."    "We need to get you outfitted right. What do you need?"    "Winter camouflage, perhaps some weapons," was the raccoons short answer.    "You need weapons?" Misha asked incredulous. "You have enough weapons to do credit to a small nation."    "But you always seem to have the best ones here."    "The best and strangest," the fox added with a laugh. "Let's start with armor."    "Alas, those last few battles have taken their toll on my armor. Almost all that I own will have to be sent to the smith for a great deal of repair, some of it even scrapped. All I'm left with are those magical bracers I found here and this," Rickkter answered fingering the edge of his shirt.    Misha felt the material for a moment. "Chain mail wrapped in cloth. Not good enough. Come," he said. Then the scout turned and walked off.    Rickkter followed his friend past countless rows of weapons and armor. They stopped in front a rack as tall as the raccoon. Upon it was a suit of armor made of shaped and fitted steel plates that interlocked to cover the body from head to toe in armor. The breastplate was made of two pieces of steel carefully shaped to fit over a person's torso.    "I don't wear plate mail. It's too bulky and restricts my movement."    "You'll wear this," the fox countered. "It won't slow you down."    Rickkter gave Misha a skeptical look before beginning to strap on some of the smaller parts of the suit. Between the two of them, they had Rick suited up fairly quickly.    "I must admit, it does have a nice fit," Rick said, twisting and flexing his arm, watching the plates slide across each other. "Very snug. But let's see how it really feels." Stepping back a ways, he went through a series of rapid fighting maneuvers - kicks, blocks, punches - seeing all the time how the suit restricted him. He nodded when he was done. "Looks like you were right. The, uh, leg guards are a little restrictive, so I have to watch the kicks. But aside from that, not bad!"    Misha smiled back, his arms folded over his chest as he watched. "Glad it meets your approval. Now let's see what we can do in the way of armament."    Walking past half empty racks of swords and spears, Misha came to a halt upon hearing a delighted churr from Rickkter. "Now what do we have here…"    What they had was what appeared at first to be a staff. The middle was a fourteen inch grip of wrapped, thick cord, often seen on metal weapons. The ends, oddly enough were encased in leather sheaths much like knives; the two sheaths being connected by a strap, enabling the user to sling the whole affair over their back. Rickkter quickly slid one off to reveal a good eighteen inch blade, painted flat black. Chuckling, he did the same to the other end and held up a large, wicked looking double bladed sword.    "Where does she get these marvelous toys?" Rickkter muttered as his gaze traveled up and down one of the blades.       "Glad you like it," Misha said with a laugh.    "Oh, this will be excellent indeed," said Rickkter, a wide smile splitting his muzzle as he tested one of the edges with the pad of his finger. "While I've always preferred the sword, I know that properly trained, someone with a staff can defeat someone with a sword." He gave the double bladed sword a series of quick spins, ending with one blade pointed at the ground, the other pressed against the back of his arm. "This is going to be very fun to use."    "It seems Kyia likes you playing with her exotic toys," Misha commented.    "Something I have no complaints about, either," Rick sniffed. He re-sheathed the sword, settling it across his back. "Well, I thank you for your hospitality, Misha, but I have to go prepare the rest of my things. I'll see you later."    The fox clasped his friend on the back. "Later." **** 1 Day later, just north of Mycransburg near the edge of haunted wood.    The group of some four hundred cavalry and soldiers made its way slowly up the track turning the path into a morass of mud, snow and ice. It was slow going as each footstep was a fight against the thick and all clinging mud. Trees loomed close on both sides of the overgrown and abandoned Sueliman road.    Sir Edmond Delacot was at the front of the column mounted on his war-horse. The stallion nickered and danced around as he carried the paladin. Edmond could understand his mount's nervousness. This type of close woods was perfect for a bandit ambush. There wasn't enough room for a decent charge with lances. A battle here would be sword and mace work, always bloody.    "Lutins!" Someone shouted.    Looking forward he saw a group of some seventy green skinned people come running around a bend in the road. Without hesitating he snapped his visor shut and leveled his lance. "CHARGE!" he shouted and spurred his horse into a gallop. He surge forward rushing at the Lutins. Behind him a score of knights followed suit.    Keeping his eyes on the enemy he moved over the forty yards distance between them in a matter of seconds. The finger thin point of his lance punctured the lead lutin with a surprising ease, spraying blood and gore everywhere. The heavy wood shattered.    Edmond drew a sword and spurred his horse straight into the middle of the fight. He caught sight of Arister riding behind a fellow keeper. The mongoose leapt from the horse straight down onto a group of some ten Lutins. The knight guided his horse towards the mongoose. Arister was certainly a fool for attacking like that but he couldn't let the young fighter be killed.    A dozen Lutins stood in a group in front of him but that didn't stop him, or even slow him down. His horse simply plowed straight into the group sending many flying back and stomping those too slow into the mud and snow. Edmond's sword came down cutting a lutin from shoulder to hip, splitting the creature completely in two. A second lutin came at him with a short sword in hand. The knight lashed out smashing the creature in the face and sending it sprawling into the mud. His horse lashed out with its hooves, catching two Lutins and killing them before they hit the ground.    As suddenly as it had begun the fight ended. Looking around all Edmond saw was Keepers and humans. Some were checking to be sure all the Lutins were dead; others were tending to the wounded. He guided his horse towards the spot were he had last seen the mongoose.    He found Arister stretched out on ground, unmoving. In a second Edmond was off of his horse and kneeling next to the mongoose. He touched his muzzle with a gauntleted hand and Arister opened his eyes and looked at him.    "Are you hurt?" Edmond asked.   With a shake of the head Arister sat up. "I'm fine. I slipped on a puddle of blood," he said sheepishly.    "Best be sure that you are not wounded," the paladin explained and began to examine the mongoose.    "I'm not hurt," Arister insisted and started to get up. Then he let out a shriek and dropped back into the mud. He clutched his right leg with both hands. "I think I broke my ankle."    "That was a foolhardy thing you did attacking so many Lutins alone," the paladin said. "But very brave."    "Did you get them all?" Caroline asked suddenly appearing next to the two.    "Yup!" Arister answered. "They didn't stand a chance. You should have seen Sir Delacot he was unstoppable."    "I was simply doing my assigned task," the paladin countered.    The otter looked around at the scattered corpses. "You did a fine job of it."    "Where is Misha?" he asked. "I don't see him about."    She pointed in the direction they had been traveling in. "Up the road, taking care of a few problems."    Delacot had his question answered completely when he walked a short way around the bend in the road. There lying in the middle of the road amidst a dozen lutin corpses was the body of ogre. The body must have stood over nine feet tall when alive and weighed more then the paladin and his horse combined. Sitting calmly upon the creature's bloody, armored chest was Misha. The fox was cleaning blood from the blade of his axe with the monster's tattered tunic. Scattered about were a dozen keepers who moved about searching the dead. He also noted at least a score more dead Lutins scattered amidst the trees that lined either side of the road.    "Sir Edmond," the scout said, jumping down from the corpse. "You killed the Lutins that managed to escape our little trap?" It was as much a statement as a question.    "None of the Lutins escaped," the paladin said. As he walked through the corpses he noticed that arrows had killed most, but he noticed a circle of a dozen charred black by a fire. "What were they?" he asked. "A rear guard?"    The fox nodded. "They were trying to ambush you," the vulpine answered as he walked up to Edmund. "They were so busy trying to ambush you that they didn't see us ambushing them until it was too late."    The paladin nodded solemnly. "Then your strategy worked. I honestly did not think they would believe we would be so foolish as to just blindly wander through these woods without scouts." ********** </HTML>