In her mind, Teresa acknowledged Sonia's words as something that went without saying. She knew what her responsibilities were, but her body would not respond. She was paralyzed with fear. It was all too much. All this blood, violence and death. It was just too much for her.

Sonia seized her by the shoulders and shook her roughly. "We don't have time for this! Focus! If you don't help him right now, he could die! I'll help you however I can, just do something!"

Sonia unhooked her cape and spread it out on the ground.

Sonia looked to Jasper. "Okay, let's set him down. Easy now."

With Sonia's help, the thief gently laid his burden on the cape. Because of the wounds on Mark's back, they set him down on his stomach.

Trying not to pass out from the sight of all the blood, Teresa noticed Mark's dislocated shoulder.

Sonia shook her head. "I don't know."

Focusing wholly on her patient, Teresa had overcome her fear and was behaving as a professional. This new confidence prompted Sonia to follow her lead. She and Jasper turned Mark over, causing him to cry out when his back made contact with the ungentle ground.

In truth, Mark was barely conscious. The toll of the day on his body and all the blood loss had left him less than lucid. Taking hold of his arm near the shoulder and just above the wrist, Teresa looked up to Sonia.

Sonia complied, trying to hold him firmly enough that he did not move but not so much that she caused any undue amount of pain. Working carefully and smoothly, Teresa turned Mark's arm so that the palm face upward, sliding his arm back into the socket in the process. Just as she had done this, she heard the clinking of Edward's armor as he approached them.

Taking in the new information, Sonia turned to Teresa and asked, "Can we move him?"

Edward growled, "Since when do I take orders from a woman?"

Before Edward could complain further, Sonia turned her attention to Jasper. "Do what you can to help her," she told him. "If you see us fighting, take Mark and Teresa and run. Find someplace safe. If we live through it, we'll worry about meeting up then. You got it?"

The thief nodded. "Oi gowtcha."

With that she ran to Jill, who was already in position. Sonia did not try to fight Edward for a verbal agreement on the strategy. She correctly judged that the proud man would only do as he was told when no one was paying attention. While Sonia, Jill and Edward were girding themselves for an impending attack, Teresa continued her work.

Jasper showed impressive care in executing the request. The dexterity that served him so well as a thief also allowed him to move Mark while inflicting the minimum amount of pain. Teresa wasted no time taking her waterskin and washing out the many open wounds, first the stripes on his back and then the cuts on his head, face and hands. Taking a spool of bandages, she made hasty dressings, nothing she planned on keeping for long but enough to stop the bleeding. She then pulled out a cravat to make a sling for his arm. Once again, it was not meant to last very long, simply an expedient given their short time.

With Teresa's work done for the time being, Jasper hurried out to gather the others. Luckily, the enemy had not yet mobilized and they were able to move out immediately. Wrapping Mark in her cape, Sonia took it upon herself to carry him, directing Jill to take point while Jasper fell back to the rear to keep an eye out for pursuers. Heeding Teresa's warnings, they only went as far as necessity dictated.

After travelling a few miles, they found a tenant plot that had fallen into disrepair with an abandoned farmhouse on the property. It was an ideal refuge for them while Teresa finished treating Mark. Sonia hoped the novice would have enough time to do her work, but she was apprehensive. The delay in a pursuit most likely meant the enemy would be better prepared once it set out and much more formidable. The best she could do was charge Jill and Jasper with keeping watch outside. She was confident that nothing would escape their keen senses, but forewarning might not be enough for them to survive.

While Sonia paced the floor, Teresa tended to her patient. Mark had passed out while they were on the move and Teresa took advantage of the situation. Since he was not awake to feel the pain, she could operate a little more quickly. Unraveling the dressings she had made earlier, she spread salves on the many wounds he had suffered and stitched up the worst of them. As she was wrapping him in fresh bandages, Sonia walked up to her.

Shrugging off the threat, Edward took a sip from his flask. "The countryside is too big for them to search all of it at once. Surely we can avoid them if we keep moving."

Although she was busy making a new sling for Mark's arm, Teresa nodded in agreement.

Sonia shook her head. "No, Watercress wouldn't work. It's too small for one thing, not enough places to hide. Also, I saw that one Guardsman from before, the one called Svenson. I don't think he's dead. Watercress is one of the first places he'd look. Rowan, too."

Sonia pointed to Mark's cross. "That's why it's a bad idea. They know Mark's a Wayfarer and they'd expect him to go to other Wayfarers for help."

Frustrated at being shot down at every turn, Edward crossed his arms and huffed, "What do you suggest then? Are we to huddle in the ruins of Sandstone?"

Edward's jaw dropped. "Eagle? Are you insane, woman!? There's more Guardsman there than any other town in the whole kingdom!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Great."

While Sonia and Edward were talking, Teresa had finished treating Mark. She then waved a small pouch of pungent herbs under Mark's nose. After a brief moment, his eyes slowly opened.

Mark grimaced as he swallowed the bitter fluid. Teresa smiled.

Sonia walked up to them.

Mark nodded weakly.

Teresa looked pensively at her patient. "Well, yes... but we shouldn't go far. You said something about going to Eagle, right?"

Teresa sighed, clearly dissatisfied with the situation. "I suppose we have no choice."

Their meal was a simple affair, nothing truly worthy of note. Teresa had to improvise for her patient, though. Taking a bowl she used to mix herbs, she crumbled dry bread and mixed it with water to create a sort of cold mush. It was not particularly appetizing, but it was far easier on Mark's weakened body than solid food would have been.

As soon as the sun had set, they were on the move. Once again, Sonia had volunteered to carry Mark on her back. Teresa stuck close to her side, carefully monitoring her patient the whole time. They moved quickly and quietly without rest until daybreak, when the city of Eagle came into view.

While they were resting from the night's relentless march, Sonia began to unbuckle her armor and looked over to Edward.

Jasper parted his cloak to reveal the same pattern as the outside, only with the colors inverted. Sonia frowned.

Jasper unclasped his cloak and draped it over his arm. This was the first time any of them had ever gotten a good look at him. Scanning him from top to bottom, Sonia squinted critically. His hair was a carefree mop of brown hair with a twisted band of scarlet cloth wrapped around his forehead. His eyes were an odd bluish green with a bit of a lazy aspect to them, his nose short and thin, and his mouth suppressing his usual broad grin. He wore a surprisingly clean white shirt with a high, upturned collar, several rows of ruffles running down the front and flared sleeves bound at the wrists by narrow cords of twine. His baggy maroon pantaloons were held in place by a simple leather belt with his dagger in a scabbard hanging from the left side. His pant legs were bloused at the ankles with twine cords much like his sleeves and on his feet he wore cloth shoes with curled toes.

Sonia ignored him and looked back at Edward, who had done nothing except cross his arms.

Sonia was about to lose her temper, but her concern for Mark's sake made her keep it under control.

Edward grudgingly started to unhook one of his pauldrons, shooting Sonia a severe glare.

She barely managed to stuff the weapons and armor of the group in the Prince's oversized pack. Edward's sword was too big to hide, so she wrapped it in his bedroll (which was made especially with Edward's height in mind) and laid Mark upon it as if it were a litter. She covered the opening of the pack with another bedroll to keep any unwelcome eyes from peeping in.

After handing two other bedrolls to Jill and Jasper to use as cloaks, she took off her more distinctive articles of clothing, namely the tunic she wore over her shirt and the ornament on her forehead, and retied her hair into a tight ponytail at the base of her skull. She then donned the Guardsman gear she had taken in Rowan. She got a critical look from Edward when she had finished.

Edward scowled. "If it doesn't work, you'll be dead. Maybe us too."

In spite of his complaints, Edward did not have an alternative in mind and had little other option but to follow along. The Prince carried the pack, Jill and Jasper held the litter while Teresa remained at Mark's side, and Sonia took the lead. The others remained a few paces back while she approached the window of the guardhouse.

The guard did not seem to doubt the authenticity of her claim or her identity as a fellow Guardsman. He glanced over to Edward.

The guard looked at Teresa. "Wot 'bout th' nun?"

Sonia spat on the ground. "Las' roites if'n 'e don' make it. A' course, she won't be needed if yew'd jus' op'n th' damn geytes."

Sonia's scheme had worked exactly as planned and the group passed through the gates without a problem. She had judged the cycle accurately as there was hardly any signs of life in the entire city.

Most of the males in Eagle were miners, from boys of six years to old men of sixty. Each fourteen-day cycle consisted of nine days of work in the mines to the west, three days of rest in the village and a day's travel each way. Occasionally the miners used their days of rest to make a little extra money helping out the farmers, herders and craftsmen who comprised the considerably smaller remainder of the populace. Many of the women went with the miners to maintain the camp, prepare meals, wash clothes, and tend to the injured. The massive flux of people provided an excellent opportunity for a group of strangers to sneak in and out unnoticed, but that was a plan for a later date.

Eagle itself had all the marks of an industrial city scarred by the old war. Almost all the buildings were made of stone, but most of them were dingy and in disrepair. All the roads were paved, but the stones were largely broken and worn. What little plantlife could be seen was almost entirely brown and choked of life. It was a depressing sight with only a faint glimmer of a fallen glory.

Sonia led them to a ruined mansion deep in the heart of the city. Originally a fine estate in the same Imperial design as the mansions of Corinth, it had suffered countless hurts during the war with large sections of the walls and roof missing and anything of value looted long ago. As Mark was laid upon a worn cot in one of the inner chambers, Sonia smiled at him.

Sonia whirled around, seamlessly drawing her sword out of Edward's pack.

A little old woman hobbled into the light. She was scarcely taller than a child, clad in a coarse woolen smock with her silvery grey hair tied back in a bun. Taking a few more steps forward, the old woman squinted at the group, prompting Sonia to scowl at her.

Edward pulled out his mace. "We can't afford any risks."

The threat was more than enough to alarm Teresa.

The cry came from Mark, who was using what little strength he had to sit up. Unable to keep him lying down, Teresa helped support him as he spoke to the old woman.

The old woman heedlessly walked past the others and came close to Mark. Only a few inches from his face, her eyes widened suddenly.

A wave of guilt passed over Mark as he was forced to ask, "I'm sorry, but who... who are you?"

The old woman could see his shame and waved her hand dismissively to banish his guilt.

Mark felt his heart leap. Finally he had found someone who knew his family and could speak about them at length. Finally there was someone who could fully answer many of the questions that had been hounding him these past twenty years. As he looked all around him at the ruins of his home, one question came to the fore.

Agatha's features darkened, she bowed her head and was silent. Fresh tears began to roll down her withered cheeks, these born not of joy but sorrow.

Agatha's words were slow, as if each syllable were a pinprick. "When Lord Luther heard about the coming of the invaders, he was overcome by a premonition. He wanted to take you and Lady Nyssa to Byrn, where your uncle Lord Tiberius had gone. Your mother refused to abandon this place, but finally agreed to send you away to quell his fears.

"When a squire of Lord Julian arrived with news of his master's death, his noble wife Lady Liria tried to convince your mother, who was her sister, to flee with her. Lady Nyssa refused her elder sister the same way she refused her husband. Oh, if your mother knew fear, young master, she did not show it. She truly was a remarkable woman.

"As the invaders were breaching the city gates, Lady Nyssa hid most of the household away in the secret rooms beneath the estate. We pleaded with her to stay with us, but she and a few others had taken up arms against the invaders. We heard the great struggle outside, but there was nothing we could do.

"Blessedly, we were never discovered, though the household of the Leon estate was not so fortunate. When the invaders had moved on, we found the bodies of those who fought with Lady Nyssa. Not one of them had been spared. Only your mother was missing... I do not know whether she was killed or captured. Only that she was taken from us...

"In the days that followed, the others went their separate ways, but I remained, hoping for the day when you or your parents would return. Thank God you've come back in my lifetime, Master Mark."

Mark placed a comforting hand on the old servant's shoulder. He said nothing for some time, ruminating on what he had been told.

Agatha turned. Getting a good look at the Defender for the first time, her eyes widened in surprise, though not as much as when she had recognized Mark.

Agatha interrupted her, "Young mistress, we needn't drag out any more painful memories today."

Sonia fell silent, dwelling on whatever had been left unsaid. The gap was filled by Edward, who had heard the last version of what happened twenty years ago that he cared to.

It had been many years since anyone bowed before the deposed Prince. Edward's overinflated pride was immediately buoyed by the old servant's deference.

Edward frowned at Sonia's impertinence and then looked down at Agatha with his chin raised aloofly. "Hmph... You may rise."

Agatha obeyed and rose slowly.

Wasting no time, Agatha drew up a list of requests and made her first supply run. While they waited for her to return, the group settled into their new home. Until Mark recovered, there was not much they could do. They had no choice but to bide their time and hope the Guard did not find them. The coming weeks would tell whether or not their devil's luck would hold.