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 A Dark and Stormy Knight - Part Two of Three - By Mack the Knife

   The rest of the day she busied herself with chores, and tending to the
preparation of the hides she had collected on her excursion.  Those were
her bread and butter, and without the valuable animal pelts, she would go
penniless.  He helped as he could around the place, and was generally
useful, if not skilled.  She found his powerful arms were excellent for
stretching gut to prepare it for the making of bowstrings.  He also did a
little work on the cabin, fixing a few leaky spots in the mud patch that
filled the gaps between the logs out of which it was constructed.

   Her groin ached throughout the day, and she examined it when she
relieved herself later, noting that it was slightly bruised and still gaped
open slightly.  Nadia shook her head at herself.  "That man is too big for
your tired little hole, woman," she chided herself as she lifted her pants
and fastened them.  As she walked back toward the hut she said, again to
herself, "Then get used to it, because you are going to give yourself to
him whenever he wishes, and you know it."

   Luckily, he seemed only to be interested in making ready for the next
day and the trip to Morrovale.  He asked many questions about the village.
How many people lived there?  What was the local source for wealth?  Who
ruled there, and what were his policies?  She answered as best she could,
though she was not intimate with the politics of Morrovale, and she, quite
honestly, could not name any of the barons, and only a few of the
better-known knights in the service of the duke.

   He laughed when she proposed that he might be one of the knights of this
land.  "Somehow, I doubt it, Nadia," said Gavin.  "There is nothing
familiar about these lands to me, and I think I would feel something." He
looked around the clearing and toward the distant mountains to the east and
north, blue with distance.  "No.  This is not my homeland," he said.  Then
he turned toward her.  "Though I guess, given the hospitality it has shown
me, I could easily forget to leave this fine land."

   Nadia blushed richly and shyly looked toward the ground.  Why am I
acting as a girl at her first dance?  she wondered.  Had this man not
already taken her twice and had she not given herself willingly to that?

   The afternoon passed at a calm and sedate rate, moving toward the
evening with a dignified grace that spoke of a soothing and relaxing period
before bed.  She finished her preparations for going to town and they even
gathered up the few little things that he had taken as his own since he had
arrived.  She provided him a small sack into which they put all his new
belongings.  It was a depressingly small bundle.

   Gavin sighed as he dumped the sack onto the bed.  Two tunics, a pair of
trousers, his pouch of papers, a small knife Nadia had given him which he
had sharpened, and a half dozen pretty stones he had found around the
clearing.  He was unsure why he chose to keep those stones, but for some
reason it felt right.  Nadia walked up behind him and kissed his corded
neck.  "I know it looks grim, Gavin," she said.

   He gave her a small, almost apologetic look, then glanced back to his
paltry collection of treasures.  "My possessions are like my mind," he
said. "For I remember none of my past life, and have almost nothing to hold
of it either."

   Nadia turned him around with her hands on his shoulders.  "Perhaps you
are better for not having those memories," she said, remembering the skulls
and the tattoo on his chest.  "Did you think of that?  You may have been a
terrible person.  One only knows you've the power for it." She eyed his
massive arms and muscular chest.

   "That thought had occurred to me," he said.  "I wondered if I was a
villain in my days." He sat upon the bed.  "But I don't feel like a
villain." His voice was almost an appeal.  "Still, I feel I have done vile
things at one time or another." He confessed this part, almost as if
speaking to a minister of faith.

   She touched his hair with her long fingers.  "You were a knight, perhaps
you had to do vile things in war?" she asked.

   "Perhaps," said Gavin.  "I hope such is the case." His eyes lifted to
meet hers.  "But, Nadia, what if it is not?"

   A cold shiver ran up her spine and sent goose pimples down her arms and
legs.  What if he is not, she repeated into her own mind.  "We will burn
that bridge when we come to it," she said, grinning.  It was one of her
father's favorite lines, he used it when he faced tough decisions.

   "A very appropriate answer," he said and chuckled.  "Maybe, even if I
find I was a cad in my past, I need not be one now, yes?"

   She nodded eagerly.  "True," she said.

   Outside the little cabin, the sun had set and the night air was growing
chill quickly.  Gavin and Nadia quickly loaded up the small fireplace and
stacked some wood beside it for the evening and retired within.  As she
slipped out of her clothes, Gavin smiled at her.  "You are fantastic," he
said.

   She grinned back at him.  "You're pretty amazing, yourself," she
replied.

   She laid beside him on the bed and they snuggled into one another.  He
made no moves to actually take her to him and she was actually glad of the
respite for her abused body.  He kissed her neck as she began to drowse and
she smiled.  "On the morrow, perhaps we will learn more," she whispered to
him.

   "I'm beginning to wonder if I want to know more," he murmured.

   Her racing thoughts kept her from sleeping for some time after that,
though he seemed to have released himself to slumber in the speaking of it.
She eventually slept, but fitfully.

   --

   She was running through her wood.  She recognized the landmarks that
marked her allotted lands.  She could hear her heart pounding fast and
hard, and her breath sounded like ragged gasps.

   Behind her were hooves, thundering on the soft loam of the woodland's
floor.

   She glanced over her shoulder and saw a dozen horsemen, all wearing
plate armor, like Gavin had worn, with leering skull visors upon their
helms.  They were chasing her, and they were laughing.

   It did not take long for them to overtake her, and ride her down, she
stumbled and they shot past her, their horses wild-eyed with madness and
fury, froth pouring from their mouths.  She regained her feet, thinking to
turn the other direction and gain a few feet of distance on them.  But one
had been hanging back and as she looked his way the long spike of a lance
he carried impaled her through her gut.  Through her it tore, rending the
cloth of her tunic and piercing her.  It lifted her from the ground and she
found herself moving backward and then stopped suddenly with a flash of
white overwhelming her vision.

   The whiteness slowly dissipated and she found herself staring bemused at
the mounted knight who had impaled her.  He was laughing along with the
others who were riding to sit beside their comrade and observe his victim.
She was stuck to a tree, with the spear clean through and its head buried
in the wood.  The knight let the lance go and looked at her.

   One clapped the knight who had impaled her on the shoulder.  "You've
speared the little slut well, Gavin," he yelled.

   The one named Gavin raised his visor, revealing the beautiful face she
had seen the last two days, but subtly changed.  Malice and cruel intent
marked this face and instead of beauty, she saw horror and vileness.  He
continued to laugh, his perfect features making his intentional abuse of
her more cruel.

   "Aye, I have, and I'll spear her again soon, perhaps daily," he said. 
Nadia awoke with a start.  Sweat was pouring from her brow and into her
eyes, stinging her.  She looked at the man sleeping peacefully beside her.
His flawless face was unmarked by any emotion, except perhaps a secure
peacefulness.  Her heart was pounding in her chest as in the dream and her
legs were wobbly.  Rising form the bed, she went outside.  It was still
night, and she wondered what time.  The icy breath of the north cooled her
sweating body quickly and she soon found herself chilled.

   Her eyes sought out the stars, and she wished she was one foresighted,
and that she could read the enigmatic points of light for signals of her
future.  Then her eyes rested upon the form of the Huntress, a set of stars
that formed a vague outline of a woman with a bow raised to fire.  For many
years now, that figure had been her role model, and she hoped that seeing
her was a good omen.  As she watched, a shooting star flew from the right
of the Huntress, and seemed to pierce the heart of the figure, then faded
into the sky.

   Tears welled in her eyes.  If that was not an omen, then what the hell
was it?  She looked back toward the hut, and thought of the small, powerful
man within.  The one she had given her father's name to.  "You will not
slay me, Gavin," she murmured.  She vowed to find out what this man's story
was, and quickly, upon reaching Morrovale.  Slipping into the hut quietly,
she dug his little leather pouch out of the sack and removed a few of the
parchments from it.  Those she stuffed into a belt pouch she would wear
upon her hip.

   Gavin shifted as she laid back down, moving toward her and touching her
shoulder with his hand.  She drew away from the touch and tried her best to
not touch him, a difficult task given the size of the cot.

   --

   The morning found her embracing him again.  At some point in the night,
her silent little vigil to not touch him had broken down and she had his
chest against hers and could feel his long organ resting on the inner thigh
of her lower leg.  He was not stiff, but was partially so.  His warm breath
on her neck felt good, and the huge arms holding her were comforting, even
if they frightened her now.

   She laid like that for a long moment, before trying to extricate herself
from his embrace.  He awoke as she lifted his muscular arm from her ribs.
"Good morning, Nadia," he said softly.

   She grinned.  "Good morrow, Gavin," she replied.  "You slept well?"

   "Very," he said, nodding.  "And you?"

   "Me too," she lied, forcing a smile onto her face.  He kissed her brow
and she forced the smile to stay on her lips, though the kiss did not feel
good, it felt condescending.

   They rose quickly, deciding to start early and luncheon in Morrovale. 
As they left the cabin and he hefted her pack as if it weighed nothing,
despite its densely packed furs and pelts and jerked meats, it weighed
almost two thirds her own weight, she knew, but he lifted it with one arm
and once it was on his broad back, he ignored it, walking lightly and he
even had some bounce in his step as she followed him south and west.

   At midday, they passed the first of the houses outlying Morrovale, and
soon she stopped them as they came to a road.  "My home is not far," she
said.  "I do not live in the town itself, for I cannot bear the thought of
naught but a wall between me and my neighbors."

   He nodded and when they came to a cottage fenced in by a low stone wall,
he smiled.  "This is your home?" he asked.  The lot was not large, but was
totally surrounded by apple orchards and fields of wheat.  The trees had
lost most of their leaves, and the wheat had been shorn, but he said, "It
must have been lovely in the summertime."

   Nadia nodded.  "It is," she answered as she guided them through the
wooden gate into the front courtyard.  This home had been her mother's
sister's home, and her uncle Omdall, had been something of an eccentric.

   As they entered, Gavin whistled.  The entry area opened onto a balcony
overlooking a huge open area, built below the ground level, it looked to be
bigger than the entire cottage that housed it.  Light poured in through
great panes of plated glass, imported from Ghant, and light filled the vast
area.  It was a common room, kitchen, dining area, and bedroom all in one.
There were no walls, nor any other rooms, save a small privy to the left.
"An amazing home," he said, finally, after a long appraisal.

   "My uncle was a man who had odd tastes, but he was a excellent designer
of things.  He was an engineer in the service of the duke for thirty
years," said Nadia.

   Looking about, Gavin said, "It is impressive, and subtly beautiful." He
commented turning about to regard the entire room.  "How did you inherit
it?"

   She looked at him a long moment.  "My aunt was barren, or my uncle was,"
She said.  "In either case, they never had children.  My brother was too
young to inherit when they died.  Also, my aunt and uncle partially raised
me, along with Relkan, my hunting mentor."

   He nodded and smiled.  "I know more about your life than my own," he
said.  "And I am very glad to know your life, Nadia."

   The laughing countenance of Gavin flashed across her vision and she
winced.  Gavin's eyes took on a worried look.  "Are you well?" he asked. 
"You seemed a bit put out there for a moment."

   She had hoped he had not seen the expression on her face, but obviously
he had.  "Just a sore muscle in my leg," she said.  "Long walks do that to
me sometimes."

   There was the sound of a throat clearing.  Both turned to see a young
woman standing within the doorway.  Nadia smiled.  "This is Pamela, she is
my - assistant - when I am in town.

   The girl was only about thirteen, maybe fourteen.  "Hello, sir," she
said, smiling broadly.  "I am hoping Nadia will take me as apprentice, and
I will become the second huntress in Morrovale."

   Gavin returned the girl's smile.  "The more of those about, the gladder
I shall be," he said, grinning at the girl.

   She blushed deeply at him and looked toward Nadia.  "Is there anything
needed, ma'am?"

   Nadia nodded and spoke to her for a few moments, handing her a number of
copper and silver coins.  The girl smiled at Gavin and bolted from the
house.  "Charming child," he said.

   "I'm still not sure I wish to have an apprentice," said Nadia, watching
the girl close the door.  "But I need to decide soon, else she will be too
old to become an apprentice."

   "I would imagine it so," said Gavin.  "You should ask yourself if the
girl will be better off as a huntress or a farmer's wife."

   Nadia looked at him a long moment, then said.  "I've never thought about
it that way before," she said.  "I will apprentice her, then, for she will
wither as a farmer's wife, I know that."

   "And as a huntress, she will bloom?" ventured Gavin.

   "I'm not sure of that," she said.  "But she shall either prosper or she
can always return to become a farmer's wife."

   With a curt nod, she seemed to come to a final decision, then looked at
him.  "Your idea was based on the needs of the other person," she said.  "I
don't think you were a bad man.  Ever."

   She went upstairs and changed into more conservative attire, consisting
of a long skirt under a blouse and vest.  She refused to wear a bonnet,
which was the current fashion in the village.  No more than her ankles
flashed as she walked and the skirt flowed around her legs.  Gavin whistled
appreciatively.

   "You know, somehow, that looks more revealing than the leggings and
short skirt," he said.

   Nadia blushed slightly.  "Does it then?" she asked.  Spinning on one
foot, sending the long skirt swirling around her like a flower.  "I always
thought it made my butt look large." She craned her neck around to peer at
her own rump.

   Gavin chuckled.  "You're butt is magnificent," he said.  "And no garment
will be able to conceal that fact for long."

   She blushed a little deeper and curtsied to him.  "Thank you, Sir
Gavin," she said, grinning.

   "Do you really think I was a titled knight?" he asked.

   Nadia shrugged.  "I really cannot say," she replied.  "But you were
wearing what looked to be very expensive armor, and that sword," she
pointed at the finely-crafted blade he wore on his belt, "is not a
commoner's weapon."

   Now ready to go into town, she led him out the door again.  He once
again hefted the massive backpack and tossed it on his back as if it were
filled with feathers.  Soon, they were plodding down the gravel road into
Morrovale, and the houses were closer together and the yards smaller.  They
soon came to a gate, with men in purple and gold livery standing beside it
on either side.

   "Sir, your pardon, but that sword must be bound," one of the guards
called upon seeing them approach.

   Gavin nodded and held his arm up to allow the soldier to tie a thick
leather thong to the crosspiece of the sword and around the scabbard.  He
then affixed a wax seal to the knot from a red candle.  As he stood, he
said, "Looks like a fine weapon, sir." Gavin simply nodded and smiled.

   They walked on into the village and passed the stalls of the small daily
market square.  They then went into a large building with doors all across
its front facade, forming a open chamber which displayed many types of
pelts and skins.  "The tanners," said Nadia.

   Gavin stood back and watched for a moment, as Nadia greeted one of the
men running the business.  They spoke a bit, then she came to him.  "This
will take a while, and is uninteresting work," she said, handing him a
silver coin.  "Go, buy yourself some luncheon, look around."

   He grinned, realizing he had just been dismissed for the nonce, and
meandered off in the direction of something he could smell cooking.  She
watched him walk off, and also noted the gazes of the ladies he passed,
often as they turned to watch him proceed down the street.

   She returned to her haggling and soon she and the merchant had struck a
deal, pelts were exchanged and money given to her.  The Pierced Boar was
her destination after that transaction, and she entered the tavern with a
wide smile.

   Tammer was his usual self, occupying his post behind the bar and serving
the few midday patrons.  He called out, "Nadia!" as she entered the doorway
and told her to take a stool, he would be right with her.

   She sat in the proffered spot and dug into her belt pouch, pulling forth
the three parchments she had taken from Gavin's bag.  She unfolded them and
laid them on the bar before her.

   After just a short delay, Tammer came up to her with a fresh mug of
mead, her drink of choice.  "Well, huntress Nadia, I see you've survived
another long trek in the wilds."

   She smiled and nodded.  "As always," she replied.  "Tell me, wise
Tammer, do you recognize this script?" She slid the papers toward him and
he peered down at them.

   He looked at the topmost for a long moment, then lifted it to look at
the second.  He sat it back down after a brief look.  "Where did you get
these?" he asked, his face was blank, a poker face, she realized.

   "In the woods, on my allotment," she said, trying to keep her own face
neutral.

   He looked down at them again.  "It's elven," said Tammer.  "But it's not
Windir elven," he added.

   She blinked.  "Then Starre Island elven?" she asked.

   His head shook a single negative motion.  "It's darkspeech," he said. 
"Elven usurped by the Black Theocracy, as they believed by speaking elven
they would gain the powers and abilities of elvenkind.  I won't pretend to
be able to read it, but I do know the look of it."

   "You're sure of this?" she asked.

   "As I am of most things," replied Tammer, eyeing the documents again. 
"It is darkspeech, or I'm going dotty."

   "Despite your age," said Nadia, "I believe you are the undottiest person
in Morrovale.  If you say it is darkspeech, then it is." Her face showed
something, and Tammer must have picked up on it.

   "You're not telling me everyting, Nadia," he said quietly.  "Where did
you get these?"

   She looked at the bar, then at Tammer.  "A man I am with was carrying
them," she said.  "He was injured in the wood, it was a head injury, he
cannot remember his past."

   Tammer looked at her a long moment.  "You're certain it is no act?" he
said.

   She nodded.  "I am pretty sure, he's not slipped up even once if it is,"
said Nadia.

   He gave her a glum look.  "Then I recommend you send him on his way
soonest you can," said Tammer.  "Else there will be trouble from it, mark
my word."

   Nadia turned a wry look upon him.  "It would figure, that I finally find
a man I can stomach and he's a villain," she said.

   Tammer patted her hand gently.  "I am sorry, my dear." se said, "but if
he is a servant of a Black Templar, or, One forbid, a Black Templar
himself, then you want him far from here if his memory returns, assuming
it's lost."

   She nodded morosely.  "Of course, you're right, Tammer," said Nadia. 
She took a very large pull of her mead.  "I just feel rotten turning him
out."

   "You'll feel more rotten if you bring down the wrath of a Dark Templar
on Morrovale," retorted Tammer.  "Trust me girl, if you don't wish this to
return to haunt you, then get him away from here, and gone.  Even if it
hurts.

   She finished her mead in one long swallow and stood up, leaving three
copper coins on the bar.  "Sage advice always comes with a price," she
said, her mouth twisting up at the corners.  "Usually one that cannot be
measured in coin." She strode from the tavern and back onto the sunlit
street.  With a few quick questions around she found Gavin at a street
vendor's stall, stuffing brotwurst into his mouth.  He grinned up at her,
with chunks of sourkraut hanging from his lips.

   "This man is a Black Templar?" she asked herself below her breath.  She
shook her head and went to his side.  "Enjoying yourself are you?" she
asked.

   He smiled after he swallowed a massive mouthful of sausage.  "Indeed,"
he said as she held up two fingers to the vendor, who immediately began
preparing her own brotwurst and kraut.  "I hadn't realized how hungry I was
until I got a good nose full of these brotwursts."

   She laughed, but it felt forced to her own ears.  "Well, we can go back
to my house soon," she said.  "I've finished my business here."

   He nodded.  "I was hoping that I might find someone here who could help
me, a healer or some such," he said.

   She visibly blanched at that idea.  "I don't know, Gavin," she said,
trying to come up with a plausible excuse.  "Such services are beyond my
meager means," she finally said.

   "I understand, I don't wish to impose upon you any more than I already
have," he said, his tone sounding somewhat defeated.

   She kissed his brow.  "Look on the bright side," she said.  "You don't
have any bad memories of your past, either."

   Gavin smiled at that.  "This is true," he said, watching her devour two
sausages and a plate full of kraut in a single breath, it seemed.  She
looked up from her plate.  "We will see what can be done tomorrow," she
said.  "I will be coming into town to take care of some purchases and
such."

   "Very well," he said, though his eyes were still worried-looking.

   The sun was low over the fired-clay roofs of the village homes and
businesses, and most of the shops were closing up.  There was a tolling of
the bell at the chapel at the far side of the square for evening mass.  She
rose from her seat.  "Do you pray to the One?" she asked, amazed that she
had not before.

   "I don't know, Nadia," he said.  "Is it something most people do?"

   "Well, most men and halflings do," she said, nodding.  "But you're
half-elven, so I wouldn't know.  Would you like to escort me to the mass?"

   "I would escort you anywhere you like, you're a fine trophy for any
man's arm," he said, holding out his own arm.

   She beamed as envious looks came from many quarters from women who
finally realized the beautiful and muscular newcomer was spoken for, at
least for now.  They walked across the square and joined the crowd flowing
through the four large doorways into the chapel.

   A young girl in blue robes ushered them to a pew where they sat between
two giggling teenage girls and an elderly couple.  The girls seemed
fascinated by Gavin, and Nadia could not blame them.  She kept her arm
possessively on his.  The ceremony for evening mass was short, as always. A
prayer and a hymn from the choir followed by a reading of the Book of the
One.  Then the pastor would speak on current issues for a moment that
concerned the flock and the duchy, as a sort of mass communication of
matters.  He then would offer a last prayer and the donation plates would
be passed about.

   Nadia placed three silver coins in the plate, which had only copper in
it when they received it.  She gave generously to the church, as the church
had been the only source of food for many a night after her parents had
died.

   As they were leaving, the pastor plucked them out of the flow of the
people.  "Nadia," he said.  "It is good to see you in church, dear." He had
a very kind, if somewhat pudgy face, and was widely recognized as one of
the finest pastors around.  "And you bring a guest." He looked toward
Gavin, then his eyes widened.  "You're a half elf." His mouth turned up
with a wide smile, and he bowed slightly.  "Blessed are the elven, the
angels among us."

   Gavin blinked at this.  "Angel?" he asked.  "Why do you say that,
priest?"

   Father Bandras looked at him with a slight tilt to his head.  "The elven
are blessed of the One and enjoy his grace.  It is written in the Book of
the One."

   "But I am half elven." Gavin said.  "Wouldn't that mean I am only half
blessed."

   The pastor laughed deeply, a belly laugh and his face reddened.  "That
is very good," he said, catching his breath.  "Sorry, young man, but one
cannot be half blessed, either you are or you are not," he looked more
seriously at Gavin, "and you are."

   Gavin nodded and smiled.  "That is well, then," he said.  "I thank the
One for his blessing." Nadia watched the two men speak with worried eyes,
afraid Gavin may say something or the priest may say something, either of
which could precipitate a conversation that would quickly tread onto ground
she wished to remain untrod.

   The pastor just patted Gavin's shoulder and made the Sign of the Triad
upon the couple, which told Nadia the conversation was over.  They moved
off as another member of the flock was singled out for some attention from
the cleric.

   As they crossed the square.  "A kind man," said Gavin.  "I could feel
it."

   She nodded.  "He helped me a lot when my parents died, and never even
used the opportunity to preach at me, or my little brother."

   "You are fortunate to live in this land," said Gavin.  "There are far
less caring and warm places."

   She looked at him.  "Memory?" she asked.

   He blinked.  "It just comes to me, I see squalid slums and vile places
in massive cities for a brief moment," he said.  "I know such places must
exist and they are not pleasant, like Morrovale.  I hope my home is
somewhere like this fine town."

   Nadia had never thought like that before.  Morrovale was a good place to
live?  She had always assumed it was like everywhere else, both good and
bad, but he seemed to think differently.

   "I wish my memories would return, so I could tell you about me and my
life," said Gavin.  "It would be a joy to tell you about my parents, I am
sure."

   "They will come back to you eventually, Gavin, I have heard it is so,"
said Nadia.  Then thought to herself, only they must not come back.

   --

   The sun was low in the sky, nearly touching the trees as they reentered
her little home.  Pamela was cooking supper when they entered, and the
smell of chicken roasting over fire made their mouths water.  The girl
bustled around the kitchen and Nadia went to speak to her.  Gavin busied
himself by looking around the great room.  He jumped when Pamela screeched
in delight from the kitchen area, hugging the huntress' neck fiercely.

   The young girl said, "You're really going to let me apprentice to you?"
To which Nadia nodded.

   "You are ready, though it will be a hard trial," said Nadia.  "You will
have to be strong."

   The girl laughed.  "I will be, ma'am," said Pamela, there were tears in
her eyes and she was smiling so broadly, it surely was hurting her cheeks.

   As they finished supper, both Nadia and Gavin thanking and praising
Pamela's skill with spices and fire, there was a loud knock upon the door
of the house.

   Pamela was first to react and ran for the door, a moment later she
gestured for Nadia to come to the door and came back to the table.  She
smiled at Gavin.  "It was another hunter, come to tell her some news or
another," she said.

   At the door waited a huntsman that Nadia knew well, it was Trevir,
another of the new generation of hunters.  He had recently been awarded his
own allotment and was, like her, still flush with excitement for the
profession.  "Good evening, Trevir, would you like to come in?  I have a
guest you might wish to meet," she said, smiling.

   Trevir glanced over her shoulder toward Gavin.  "I cannot stay, and
neither can he," he said.  "There's someone in town looking for him,
several someones actually, rather rough-looking people." His voice lowered
to a conspiratorial whisper.  "I think they're bounty hunters."

   Nadia stared at him a long moment.  "What makes you think they were
hunting him?" she said, though she knew he was correct.

   Trevir glanced over her shoulder again.  "There's no one else about that
fits the description of muscular half elf with dark hair and blue eyes, is
there?" he said.  "No one's told them anything, yet, but they've started
offering money for information.  It's only a matter of time before someone
talks, and you were seen with him."

   "Did they say what they wanted with him?" asked Nadia.

   "No," replied Trevir.  "They're a mysterious lot themselves, that's the
main reason no one's talked yet, no one trusts them, and it seems that
Gavin there has already made a few friends in town."

   Nadia smiled while looking back.  Gavin had by then grown concerned with
the long conversation in the doorway and was looking toward them.  "I think
you should tell him," she finally said, grabbing Trevir's wrist and pulling
him into the house.  He began a squawk of protest but soon was in no
position to refuse.

   "Gavin, Trevir here says he had news for you," said Nadia.  "Not good
news."

   Trevir nervously danced from foot to foot under Gavin's stare.  "Yes,
Trevir?" he said, smiling slightly.

   Finally, the youth met the man's eyes.  "There's people in town,
nasty-looking people, looking for you," he said.  "They don't look like
they just want to talk, either."

   Gavin half rose from the chair.  "Did they say what they want of me?" he
asked.

   Trevir shook his head.  "They claim to be friends of yours," he said,
"but won't give a name for you or anything but a description of being a
muscular half elf with dark hair and blue eyes."

   "We must go back to the woods Gavin," said Nadia.  "You can't stay here
in town, not until they leave."

   Trevir shook his head.  "That's no good," he said.  "Everyone knows
where your lands are.  I'll take him to my land.  I've recently built a
little hut and he can stay there a few days.  It's farther out than yours.
They're less likely to go that far out looking for him.  Besides, if you go
missing, after they find out he's with you, then they'll just know they
have two people to seek out."

   Nadia grimaced at the choices before her.  "It's up to Gavin, in the
end," she said.

   Both of the young hunters looked at him.  He thought a long moment. 
"Somehow, running doesn't seem the option I would choose," he finally said.
"No.  I want to face these people."

   "Are you sure?" gasped Nadia.  "If they're as rough looking as Trevir
says."

   Trevir said, "They are tough-looking customers, to be sure, but if we
force the meeting we might maintain control of the situation." He thought a
moment.  "Okay, I'll tell you what.  You two go into town and lie low, just
hide out until midnight, then go to the Boar.  Tammer and I will make sure
the meeting is peaceable."

   Gavin and Nadia nodded and thanked Trevir for coming out to warn them.
As he left he said to Nadia, "Be careful, huntress, Tammer told me this man
lost his memory.  Perhaps there is a reason." She nodded and hugged him as
he left.

   The couple left the house a few minutes later and went toward down,
moving cautiously off the road whenever they saw others coming toward them.
They hid in a darkened alley near the Pierced Boar and when the small bells
of the chapel rang the midnight tones, they went into the Boar.

   Gavin took in the tavern as they entered.  Nadia noticed his eyes
checking every corner automatically and inventorying the people present. 
"There are over a dozen huntsmen here," he said quietly.

   They passed through the thin haze of pipe smoke and the smell of beer
and ale that filled the room.  Nadia counted fourteen huntsmen among the
score of patrons in the Boar.  "Yes, but you shouldn't worry about them,
they're friends," she replied quietly.  The huntsmen studiously ignored the
couple as they walked to the bar and seated themselves upon stools.  Tammer
came over after a moment.

   "Well, Trevir went to get those people that were seeking your friend
here," he told Nadia.  "We will find out what they want."

   Gavin said, "Thanks for your help."

   "Tell you the truth, son, I think you may be trouble," said Tammer, his
eyes a little cold upon the half elf.  "But they're also stalking Nadia,
and she's family, you see?"

   The door opened, and a cool gust of wind blew through the room.  Trevir
walked in, leading a group of five people.  They were as advertized, Nadia
saw, a rough-looking bunch.  Two were tall, broadly built men, one a small
man, but wearing leathers with metal studs riveted into the material, the
other two were women, one a tall woman with muscles almost as impressive as
the two men, and the other a slight woman with quick eyes.  When their eyes
fell on Gavin they all looked a bit surprised but quickly recovered their
wits.

   "Gavin, these are the folks that were seeking you," said Trevir as they
walked near.

   The half elf regarded the five people.  "What do you want of me?" he
asked, his face blank and unreadable.

   The slight woman began to speak, but one of the tall men spoke first. 
"We must speak with you, alone," he said.  "It is very important."

   "You can speak to me here," said Gavin.  "And I would have the names of
people who go about calling me their friend."

   They looked about themselves.  "If we must we will take you captive to
speak to you," the man said.

   Tammer moved toward the knot of people speaking.  "We'll have no trouble
in my tavern, folks," he said.  "Either you all talk civil, else I throw
you lot out."

   The taller woman spoke.  "Old man, you know not what.. . ." She stopped
speaking when there was a chorus of chairs groaning behind her.  She turned
to see over half the patrons standing at their tables, and regarding the
group with openly hostile eyes.  Belatedly, she also noticed the strung
bows that were under the tables and now sat openly upon them.

   "You will speak your piece here and now, and you will do so with no
further threats, to anyone, understand missy?" said Tammer in a hushed tone
of anger.  "This is my place and you will behave as a guest should, and I
will behave as a host should."

   The little group started talking among themselves in some language other
than Westron.  Finally, they broke their little huddle and looked toward
Gavin.  "It is imperative that we speak with you.  Two of us will go to
speak, the other three will stay in here, as proof of our good will in this
matter."

   Gavin looked at Nadia.  "I will go with him," she said.  "He is my
companion, and I will not be separated from him." The slight woman began to
speak again, but a quick glance from the large man, evidently their chosen
spokesman, she shut her mouth.

   "Very well," the man said.  "You can come.  Are we agreed?"

   Gavin nodded, but looked very unhappy, and not a little worried.

   Nadia turned to Tammer.  "My friend, may we borrow your basement for a
few minutes?"

   Tammer nodded.  "You may," he said, "but one sound of trouble and we
love tap the three up here and everyone comes down there to get our girl
out." His eyes were on the large spokesman.  The slight man and the small
woman stepped forward and they walked after Nadia and Gavin toward the door
to the storeroom.

   They passed through the racks of bottles and kegs that filled the
storeroom until they came to a steep stair down into darkness.  Grabbing a
lamp from the storeroom wall, Nadia led the other three down to the
basement.  Huge kegs of beer covered one wall of the room, and more shelves
covered the other walls.  The musty smell of age permeated the chamber.

   Gavin turned toward the two people, who were shorter, even, than he. 
"What is all this about?"

   The man stepped forward.  "You have been injured," he said.  "Your name
is not Gavin."

   Gavin snorted.  "Well, that's obvious, but a known tale in town now," he
said.  "I suppose you know my name?"

   "Arviel," the woman said, her dark eyes glinting.  The man looked
sharply at her and she looked down at the floor.

   "As Nasina says, Arviel is your name," the man said.  "My name is
Perdan. And we are your friends, but you wouldn't remember that, even if
your memory returned."

   Gavin barked a laugh.  "What the hell does that mean?" he said.

   Perdan said, "I have to access your mind and open it to your self." He
held up a golden circlet that would fit about a man's head.

   "You're using no magical device on me," said Gavin.  "I do not even know
I can trust you."

   The slight woman said, "You must!" Stepping forward again.

   The man looked at her again and shushed her.

   "I'll not stand silent any more, Perdan," she hissed.  "You must let him
use it."

   "And why would your saying so influence me?" said Gavin, eyeing the
woman.

   The woman was crying now.  "Because I am your wife!" she yelled through
the tears.

   Nadia gasped at the woman's words, and Gavin even took a half step back.
The woman had her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles shone white.

   "Because I love you," she said, quietly now.  "Because you loved me."

   Gavin looked at the man.  "She speaks truth?" he asked, his eyes wide
with disbelief.

   The man looked sourly at the woman, then nodded.  "Yes.  She is your
wife."

   "Use the ring then," said Gavin.  "But I warn you, if this is some trick
and I ever find out that it was so, I will kill you very, very slowly. 
Both of you."

   The man stepped up to him and sat the ring upon Gavin's brow.  He
stepped back and pulled forth a parchment scroll.  Then he spoke words of
unfamiliar sound, words that stuck to the insides of one's mind then were
gone utterly.  The ring around Gavin's head glowed faintly blue then
flashed.

   The man looked hopefully at Gavin and was dead before he even realized
what had hit him.  The leather thongs that bound the sword crosspiece were
simply snapped through by Gavin's powerful arms.  As he turned toward the
woman named Nasina she screamed, running for the stairs.  Gavin's sword was
in his hands and he snarled after the woman in an unfamiliar tongue, the
words dripped hate and vileness into Nadia's ears, as if the very sound of
them was tainting her.  He ripped off the golden circlet and hurled it into
the corner, cursing.

   As he gave chase there was the sound of many running feet coming down.
Huntsmen poured down the steps, bows readied.  Gavin gave another almost
beastial snarl and grabbed Nadia's hand.  "You'll come with me, bitch, else
I'll gut you where you stand!" he grated this out, his voice harsh and low.


   Too stunned to resist, Nadia let herself be dragged up the back stair
and watched as the man bashed the locked cellar doors open with his
shoulder.  As the huntsmen peered up the steep stair, he looked back and
snarled a couple of short words.  A gust of wind whipped around Nadia's
head and shot down the stairs, gaining speed and power as it went.  The
huntsmen at the bottom fell, flying back into the wall behind them and then
the doors slammed shut.

   Finally getting her wits about her, Nadia said, "Where are you taking
me?"

   Gavin turned terribly hostile eyes upon her.  "Somewhere quiet where we
can be alone," he sneered.  "Then I'll make use of you for a while.  In the
meantime, you'll keep those pesky rangers from filling me full of arrows."

   She pulled against his arm.  "No," she said.

   She did not even see the hand coming.  She fell to the ground, her cheek
hurting mightily where he had backhanded her.  "Listen now for I will not
tell you again," he snarled at her.  "I tell you what you will and won't
do, up to, and including, dying.  Or shall I spit you right now and leave
your rotting little corpse for the flies?"

   Tears rolled down her smooth cheeks as she stood up and followed him. 
Nadia did not know what was happening to her Gavin, but she knew it was not
right.  Who was this beast?

   They fled down the street and around some more buildings.  "Come," he
commanded, pushing her into a doorway.  They stumbled down some stairs and
into a cellar that looked abandoned.  Voices nearby were calling out to one
another, but no one came down the narrow staircase.

   "We wait her a moment," he said, smiling like a shark.  "Eluding fools
is simplicity iteslf."

   He looked down at Nadia.  "You're rather attractive," he said.  "Strip."

   She blinked a moment at him and he got a irritated look on his face. 
"Strip, or I kill you." He lifted the sword from his side and pointed it
menacingly at her chest.

   Nadia slipped off her tunic.  Watching the point of the deadly weapon.
He looked at her breasts.  "Nice tits," he said, a sneer in his voice.

   She kicked off her shoes and pushed her pants down.  His eyes widened.
"Very snug looking slot you got there," he said, appraising her crotch. 
"Lay over that barrel."

   He pointed at a old moldering barrel in the corner.  Tears rolled down
her cheeks as she laid upon it, spreading her legs.

   Gavin walked up behind her and unfastened his belt while holding the
razor-sharp blade to her spine.

   A grimace of pain crossed her face as he pushed the huge head of his
cock into her.

   "Damn, that is tight," he said as he slid inch after inch of his pole
into her.

   Nadia whimpered pitifully as he took her, filling her cunt and spreading
her open wide.

   "After I come into you, you will lick my cock clean, understand?" asked
Gavin, pressing the point of the sword into her back painfully and drawing
blood.

   She nodded half-heartedly, which earned her a cuff across the back of
her head.  "Answer me you cunt," he said.

   "Yes," grunted Nadia as he plowed his engorged rod into her.  Her
insides hurt greatly with each thrust of his long, fat cock.

   "Bitch!" he exclaimed.  "You call me master from now on, and you serve
me in any way I wish.  Now, answer!"

   Nadia's tears flowed freely.  "Yes, master," she said as he took her and
she felt her will crumbling unwilling to fight.

   "Spread your ass apart, show me your obedience," demanded Gavin.

   Slowly, but steadily she spread her rump apart, opening the crack to
reveal her tight little whorl of an anus.  "Very good," he said
approvingly.

   He pulled his organ from her with a soft squelch.  Nadia cringed as she
felt his juice-lubricated cock pressing against the entrance to her rectum.

   He shoved it into her with one powerful stroke.  The full length of it
spread her apart and filled her ass.  She cried out as he did this, and
that earned her a slap to the side of the head.

   "Unless I command you to scream, you stay silent," he demanded.

   Tiny whimpers still escaped her lips, but he seemed to not care.  His
giant cock pistoned in and out of her tight ass and he smiled down at her.

   "You will clean me after this as well, understand?" said Gavin.

   She took a moment to answer.  "Yes, master," she finally said.

   Oh, One, please guide them to me.  Nadia prayed frantically.  His cock
was laying ruin to her ass, and she knew she could feel him swelling prior
to climax.

   He finally grunted, thrusting his cock deep into her backside and
spending his seed into her backside.  She grunted with each thrust, but not
with pleasure.  "You are to obey without hesitation or reservation.  Now
clean my cock up," said Gavin.

   Nadia turned about, sliding off the barrel, and began licking and
sucking on his cock.  The vicious smile upon Gavin's face quelled her.  He
would kill her if she displeased him enough.

   "You serve that cock now, you hear?" he asked her.

   "Yes, master," she said, pulling the organ from her mouth.  "I serve
your manhood."

   Again, he backhanded her, and she felt the sting of his rebuke in her
mind as much as his hand.  She scrambled back up onto her knees and knelt
before him again, crying.

   "Forgive me master," she said.  "I serve your cock, master." She kissed
the slowly shrinking head, then leaned down to lap at his scrotum.

   "Better, you little slut," said Gavin, stroking her hair with the blade
of his sword.

   Her attentions to his balls and flagging shaft slowly was working upon
him, and his organ was growing again.  She applied her mouth to the head,
working the semi-hard cock into her mouth and to the back of it.

   "Very good," he observed, letting the point of the blade slide down her
chest, scratching the surface of the skin and leaving a slight red mark.

   She let the huge head of his cock pop from her lips and said, in a
gasping voice, "Thank you, master." And then took him into her mouth again.


   Nadia heard herself now, and deep inside herself hated how compliant she
had become in her fear.  She felt her will bending to this abusive and
cruel man's whim.  How could she stop it?  The huge cock was hard again,
filling her mouth with its soft fleshiness.  She could bite it, she
considered.  Then he would kill her.

   Death would be preferable to continued abuse at his hands, wouldn't it?
She thought.

   His knee came up and pushed on her chest.  She fell back onto her rump
and looked up at him with a hurt expression.  "Lie down," said Gavin.

   She laid back onto the hard packed earth floor.  He lowered himself atop
her, and pressed the bulbous purple head of his cock to her entrance.

   Her only reaction to his sudden and thorough entry to her was a sharp
gasp of air at the pain of being opened in such a harsh manner.

   "Welcome me to you," he grunted as he started thrusting the intruding
organ into her over and over.

   "Yes, master," she said, pushing upward with her hips.  "You are most
welcome, my master."

   He smiled.  "Of course I am," said Gavin.  "My property always welcomes
me."

   His long, wide cock was spreading her innards and forcing the air from
her lungs, so her replies now came out between gasps for air and sudden
exhalations.  "It does, master," she simpered.  "I welcome you into me,
master.  I am yours to use."

   "You're a responsive one, Nadia," he said, almost gently.  "Are you
certain you've not been used before as a love toy?"

   She closed her eyes, and tried to banish the images from her mind that
his words called forth.  They flooded her brain and tears ran from her
eyes.

   "I see," he said, slowing slightly.  "Well, my little slut, your service
to that man was obviously not complete.  To me, it will be."

   He redoubled his speed and the intensity of thrusts into her already
aching cunt.  Loud, wet sounds came from her well-used entrance as he
continued onward.

   "Your master seeks to spend into you," said Gavin.

   Nadia reached up and touched the massive muscles of his chest and arms.
"Yes, master, give me your seed," she said, her mouth smiling slightly. 
"Take possession of me."

   He grunted as his come flooded her womb and spilled out of her stretched
hole.  Over and over, he pulled back, then trust into her forcefully,
grating her back and rump over the rough floor.  When he had finished, he
pulled his cock from her and stood.

   "Clean me again," he said quietly.

   She sat up quickly and ran her mouth and tongue over his shaft, head,
and balls, lapping the mix of his semen and her juices from him.  She felt
a large mass of come inside herself sliding out, pulling on her innards as
it did so.

   Her hand shot down, instinctively knowing spilling his seed would
displease him.  She let it flow into her palm in a wet puddle, filling it
to near overflowing.  She brought the hand to her mouth and hungrily sucked
the fluid from her fingers and palm, then licked it clean, leaving only the
glisten of her own saliva.

   "Nice touch, my darling," murmured Gavin as he watched her.  "Keep up
such spontaneous displays of servitude and I shall not kill you for a few
days, at least."

   Nadia smiled up at him.  "Thank you, master," she said.  Then she
reapplied herself to finishing her original task of cleaning his
magnificent cock of her unclean fluids.