The Serpent and the Unicorn: Book I and II

by Susan Skylark

Chapter 13

  The weeks passed and no more attempts were made on Arora's life. Tristan began to wonder if they had somehow thwarted the Brotherhood's plans of 'disposing' of her in secret by making her such a prominent figure on campus that anything that happened to her could not be done quietly. However, this did not mean that the Brotherhood would not use other means to destroy her influence within the University. Vicious rumors began to circulate alleging many things about her background and curriculum, though no one could verify them and they often conflicted with each other. If anything, the controversy made Arora's classes even more popular. During her classes, she sang or played briefly some legend or history and then spent the balance of the hour discussing the events behind the song. So great was the demand for her talents, that she agreed to perform at least twice a month for any who wished to attend. In her lectures, she taught many histories, legends, and stories that raised eyebrows amongst her colleagues but she hoped opened the minds of her students. Many had questions and were ravenous for substance and Truth, both of which they found sorely lacking in their other classes. Many students asked if she could teach them to sing or play an instrument; she told them she could, but that was not her purpose at the University, nor did she have time for such pursuits. If they persisted, she said she could direct them to someone who could teach them, and several of them quietly set out for Astoria.

  Over the following weeks, as the rumors continued unabated and each incarnation became worse than the last, several unexpected guests arrived on campus and sought out Arora. The Lady had been faithful to her word of sending other Teachers to the University to see if they could talk some sense into the student population. Arora gladly welcomed them into her department. Though they had not the musical skill with which she was gifted, they were equally knowledgeable (if not more so) in history, legends, lore, the Truth, and Common Law. She was overwhelmed by her teaching responsibilities and these newcomers were eager to help. Soon, their popularity and renown as instructors nearly matched her own. Their presence somewhat eased the crowding in her own lectures, but she still attracted a large following.

  The other Professors watched in astonishment as students flocked to lectures on what they deemed nonsense or fairy tales, while their own ‘rational’ class attendance plummeted. Many of them were not happy about the situation, but several took the time to sit in on a few lectures by these ‘preposterous professors’ and began to realize their own lectures were lacking something very important: relevance. The more sinister agents planted within the student body and faculty grew frustrated with the recent changes in the University’s repertoire, but were overjoyed at the growing unrest amongst the more unpopular professors. They could no longer plot a quiet demise for the songstress, but they could get her thrown out in disgrace, which would be even better. Their new plot was to undermine her authority and have the whole department disbanded. They even had a valuable weapon on their side: the truth. They circulated a new rumor and this time it was disturbingly true.

  After a full day of teaching, Arora had withdrawn to her rooms after supper hoping for some well-earned rest. It was not to be. A bang on the door brought her suddenly awake. She opened it carefully and there stood Raye demanding to be seen at once. “May I come in?” asked the red-faced youth.

  “Of course,” said she, “what ever is the matter?”

  “Is it true?” demanded the boy once the door was securely closed.

  “Is what true?” asked Arora patiently.

  “The rumor,” said the boy.

  “Which one?” asked Arora bemusedly, “the rumor that I am actually a witch and have cast a spell upon all who listen to me or perhaps that I am married to an ogre who eats small children for breakfast or even that I am out to take over the University and turn it into an all-girl school.”

  “None of those,” said the boy in frustration, “the rumor that you are one of those despicable Brethren.”

  Arora sat down suddenly on the bed, “and when did this rumor start?”

  “I heard it at supper and made my way straight here to have it contradicted,” said the boy desperately. “Is it true?” asked the boy pleadingly.

  “And what if it is?” asked Arora, “what would that mean?”

  “It would mean that you have lied to us all,” said the boy.

  “On what grounds?” asked Arora patiently.

  “What do you mean?” asked the boy in confusion.

  “Have I ever said I was or was not a member of the organization in question?” asked Arora.

  “Not that I have heard,” said the boy, “but what is your point?”

  “If I have never said that I am not part of that organization then I have not lied to anyone,” said Arora.

  “But you deceived us,” said the boy on the verge of tears.

  “How?” asked she with compassion strong in her voice.

  “Professors are supposed to be wise and knowledgeable and rational and free thinkers,” said the boy, “not part of some group that turns people into unthinking entities that merely wish to replicate themselves by spreading their indoctrination.”

  “Have you noticed me indoctrinating anyone?” asked Arora simply, “are not students free to come and go as they please. Can they not voice their disagreements with me on a daily basis at the nightly debate or after class or come to my quarters and do as you have done with your concerns? You are in my classes day after day and yet I never hear you complain of shallowness of thought or smallness of mind. In fact, most of my students are surprised at actually having learned something worth knowing.”

  The boy cried openly now, “but Professor Grim says the Brethren are a horrible excuse for an organization and should be disbanded for the common good. Professor Brett says they plan to conquer the world and remake it in their own image. Many of my professors say such things. What am I to believe?”

  “Believe what you have experienced,” said Arora, “where did your Professors come by their information? Is it from experience or from rumors they heard in the marketplace? Why not ask them about the source of their information and see what kind of an answer you get. Otherwise, rely on your personal experience.”

  “What experience?” asked the boy, “I have never encountered any of these people except perhaps you, if you truly claim to be one of them. You never did directly answer my question.”

  She smiled at him and said, “of all the rumors about myself that I have yet heard, this is the only one with any truth in it. I am a member of the Brethren.”

  Instead of feeling anger as he thought he would at such a betrayal, if it could be called a betrayal, he only felt confusion. “Why am I not angry with you?” asked the boy.

  She said, “because you are doubting your own suppositions about who the Brethren are and what they do. Once you based your opinion solely on your professors’ prejudices, now you are recalling your experience with me and wondering who is right. Has my whole tenure as a Professor been one great act or are your professors simply misinformed or willfully ignorant? What have been your interactions and feelings towards Tristan, Pallin, and my other guards? How about the new teachers in my department? They share the same affiliation as I.”

  The boy looked at her in open disbelief, “all of you?”

  She laughed, “yes, all of us.”

  “But you have not tried to indoctrinate anyone,” said the boy, “and you certainly do not seem the kind of people who plan to take over the world. You do not even seem all that mystical or mysterious or self-righteous; in fact you seem very…well…normal.”

  She laughed at his observations and said, “taking the Oath does not make one any less human. In fact it may make us more so by encouraging us to cultivate those qualities that set man apart from the irrational beasts.”

  “To the best of my knowledge I have violated no law or rule by becoming a Professor here,” said she, “some of your p
rofessors may misunderstand the Brethren or disagree with their doctrine, but it was not brought up as a means of excluding someone from teaching here whom the faculty deemed worthy of such a position. I am sorry for the roundabout way in which you discovered my affiliations, but if you had asked I would have told you. But since you did not ask, I do not think you even thought it possible.”

  The boy grinned sheepishly, “I thought you the opposite of what one of these Brethren must be like. I greatly respect the other teachers in your department and also enjoy the company of several of the men in your guard. I am not particularly friendly with your husband but I respect him as a teacher and as a man of honor. I will go with my personal experience and not rely on the prejudice of others.”

  “That this rumor is circulating,” said Arora, “tells me there are those amongst the faculty or students that work with or belong to the Brotherhood of the Serpent.”

  “The what?” asked the boy.

  Arora said, “they are a vile group bent on spreading evil and chaos over the whole face of the world. They are the men behind the attempts on my life.”

  “Attempts?” asked the boy, “I thought there had only been one at the concert.”

  Arora looked at him grimly, “there was another that night. A dark man was waiting in my quarters when I returned. He threatened me with death if I did not leave immediately. I told him I would not be leaving and had to fight him off with a sword.”

  “You can use a sword?” asked the boy in astonishment.

  “Yes,” said Arora patiently, “perhaps not as well as Tristan, but it is a required skill for any who wish to travel abroad in the service of the Brethren. There are many dangers upon the road.”

  “Why do they want you dead or gone?” asked the boy.

  “We believe they were involved in the founding of this place, if not in its daily functions,” said Arora, “we believe their goal is to spread so much useless information about in the Eastern Realms that no one knows what to believe and nobody listens to anything anymore. The University has become very good at spreading such idiocy abroad. Their plan is working very well; you cannot get anyone to listen to a word you have to say in most of Syre and Arca. My presence here means students are becoming familiar with things that might actually be interesting or useful and this weakens their ability to remain ignorant of the nonsense they are learning from other instructors. By getting rid of me either physically or through disgrace, they have no competition and the students continue to blindly participate in their evil plot. That they have turned to rumors to try disgracing me is at least encouraging in the fact that perhaps the attempts on my life are at least temporarily on hold. That the rumors are spreading means that there is someone or several someones about to initiate them.” The boy stared at Arora, dumbfounded. He had never even considered that he might be ignorantly caught up in such a plot.

  “What can I do to help?” asked he.

  She smiled, “I am glad you ask. I need someone who can discover where these rumors are coming from and also to inform me if they notice anything else odd about the University or its inhabitants. This mission will be far more dangerous than guarding me if you are discovered.” The boy smiled in anticipation of the danger and agreed to report anything he could discover.

  Arora summoned Tristan to her and discussed her recent discoveries. He agreed with her conclusions and also suggested that they discontinue constantly guarding her person and commit their resources to more vital tasks since her safety no longer seemed in imminent danger. She agreed and also suggested that putting the Brethren and the more reliable students from her guard on the trail of the rumor-mongers might yield some helpful information. As they finished their discussion, a knock came at the door.

  Arora answered it and found a student waiting with a sealed letter. She took it and thanked the boy. She broke the seal and opened the letter; Tristan read curiously over her shoulder. It was an official summons to stand before the assembled faculty on the following day; they would take a vote, which would determine her future tenure at the University. She glanced at Tristan and he shook his head. It seemed someone was finally going to take some of the rumors seriously. They would both need their sleep to face the next day’s trial, so Tristan bid her goodnight and both sought their beds. Before Tristan retired, he made his rounds of the other Brethren on campus and made sure they would be at the proceedings to defend Arora if necessary. The morning came far too early, but she would do what she must. She put on her best gown and concealed her sword about her person, just in case; she then went to face her accusers.

 

  A great majority of the faculty was assembled on the lawn; the curious students stood at a distance, but were not allowed to join in the proceedings. The charges were that Arora was unfit to continue in her post as a Professor and department head; if a majority of the faculty voted against her she would be expelled from her position and barred from the University. She walked calmly to her appointed seat amidst the gathered faculty; her associate professors sat behind her in their assigned positions. She felt reassurance flow through her knowing Tristan was at her back. This would be nothing compared to some of the adventures she had lived through. “Professor Arora,” said an ancient man acting as the moderator of the proceedings, “you are accused of many things, any one of which may qualify you for immediate expulsion from your current post. How do you plead?”

  “I plead nothing, sir,” said she, “until I know what the charges are against me.”

  The man smiled grimly, “of course, I will gladly inform those here gathered of the charges of which you stand accused. Many vicious rumors about you currently float about the campus, but most of these we hope are hearsay. The faculty has, however heard several charges that cannot be so easily dismissed and if true are most disturbing indeed. The charges with which we are most gravely concerned are these: you are accused of being married to a man of questionable character or possibly to no one at all, otherwise he would be made known to all and sundry. You are further accused of inciting a lust for violence amongst various of our students and may have been involved in the disappearance of a student called Geff some months ago. Finally, you are accused of being a member of a subversive and divisive group that calls themselves the Brethren and hopes to gain a foothold over the minds of our students. How plead you?”

  Arora stood and made eye contact with as many of her fellow Professors as she could and smiled confidently. She began, “gentlemen of the University, I am honored to stand before you today. The charges laid at my feet are grave if true, but I hope to prove beyond a doubt that they are nothing but nonsense arising from the minds of malicious or bored individuals. The first accusation about my husband or lack thereof is understandable. One qualification for taking this post was that I quickly find myself a husband so as not to distract the wholly male population of this University. I then informed my interviewer that I was indeed already married, but have kept my husband’s identity a secret to keep him from unnecessary irritation should he become more widely known. The reason for the secrecy was not to keep any infamous deeds of his from public knowledge but to spare him the unwanted attention. I am married to one of the most honorable and respectable men who currently walks the earth; many of you have even met him. Tristan, please stand forth.” Tristan stood up briefly (as they had previously arranged should this situation arise) and bowed to the assembled faculty. A gasp of astonishment ran through the gathered crowd at this strange revelation. Tristan resumed his seat and smiled encouragingly at his wife.

  She continued, “you must decide for yourselves whether my husband is as infamous as rumor holds him to be, but as you can see he does exist. The next charge, that I am inciting students to love violence rather than peace and am also personally involved in the disappearance of a student called Geff are preposterous. Yes, I have encouraged some of my students to take some basic fencing lessons, but
only if they are truly interested. I am personally very fond of peace, but there comes a time when peace must be defended with a sword for there are always those who would prey upon the weak. I encourage my students to learn the sword only as a means of defending themselves and others from those who would take advantage of them. As for your accusation that Geff vanished whilst in my company I would argue otherwise. He has presently returned from his journey and would like to make it known that he is in fact safe and hopefully a little wiser. Geff please step forward.”

  Geff stepped forward out of the gathered students and bowed respectfully, “the lady speaks truly. Tristan nearly died saving my life some months ago, but for him I would not stand before you today. It would be a great shame to lose such a knowledgeable and caring Professor over such pithy fables.” He bowed again and resumed his anonymity among the audience.

  Arora resumed, “the final accusation, that I am a member of a divisive and seditious organization are utterly false. It is true that I am a member of the Brethren, however.” She paused and let her declaration sink in; once the audience recovered from their shock she continued, “I know many of you hold very negative views of the Brethren, but I stand before you as a representative of the type of people we are. We are not out to conquer the world or spread misinformation or scare people into believing us. We simply speak the Truth and leave the decision to our hearers. We welcome any who wish to join our ranks, but do not look down upon those who remain unconvinced. Those of you with no personal experience with the Brethren, I ask to consider your interactions with me over the last few months and let that be a factor in determining your opinion of the organization as a whole, rather than letting the bias of a select few distort your view of me and my fellows. I rest my case.” She resumed her seat.

  The audience was dead silent for a moment and then the entire company erupted in a great uproar as everyone tried to talk at once. “Silence!” raged the old man, “silence please!” Eventually he managed to quiet the raucous audience. “Will the witnesses against the Professor please come forward and plead their cases or forever remain silent,” roared the old man above the din.

  Raye came forward first and said, “I was to stand forth and accuse the lady of associating with a man of questionable character, who was also incriminated in the disappearance of Geff, but Geff it seems has not actually disappeared and I have no reason to doubt either the lady’s character or her husband’s. They are very honorable people and I respect them greatly.” He bowed and retreated into the audience. The old man looked a bit surprised but called the next witness forward. He went through half a dozen witnesses; people who had taken classes from Arora or Tristan or professors who had interacted with her. None could be found to testify against her character, though several disagreed with her material, no one doubted her sincerity.

  Finally the old man said, “are there any more who would testify against the Professor?” No one stood forth. The man then said, “I hereby declare this case closed. It is now up to a vote of Professor Arora’s peers to determine her fate. All in favor of dismissing her on the grounds of conduct unbefitting a Professor please stand up.” A few individuals stood, but they were few and far between. Then he said, “all in favor of allowing her to continue in her present post, please do likewise.” As if on cue, the whole assemblage seemed to stand as one. The old man said, “the vote is official and binding. Professor Arora will continue in her present position until further notice. I thank you for your time and cooperation. I declare these proceedings at an end.”

  “What!” screamed a man from the back, “how can that be your decision?”

  The old man looked around vaguely for the source of the voice and said, “it is not my decision, it was the will of this assembly.”

  “She is obviously unfit for such a position!” said the angry voice, “I demand a revote.”

  The old man said, “a revote will require new evidence and a sixty day waiting period.”

  “Do not quote rules to me old man, I helped write them!” scowled the man who had finally worked his way through the gathered Professors and made his way to the front to confront the ancient moderator. “If there cannot be a revote then I demand a duel,” said the stranger. The audience murmured in surprise.

  “A duel?” said the old man skeptically, “on what grounds?”

  “On the grounds that she is unfit to continue as she has,” said the stranger.

  “You have no cause for dueling over such a matter,” said the old man, “it is not within your jurisdiction to do so and the rightful authorities have already decided the matter.”

  The stranger snarled at the unhelpful old man, “then I demand recompense for the injury I took during an unprovoked attack some months ago while trying to give this impetuous young woman some helpful advice.”

  “Is this true?” asked the old man of Arora.

  She stood and faced the old man and her accuser, “if I am understanding him correctly, he does not consider breaking into my quarters and ambushing me with death threats worthy grounds for defending myself.”

  The old man stared at the stranger, “what have you to say to this?”

  “I still demand a duel,” said the stranger, “even if I have no legal grounds for it.”

  “I would not duel with you even if you did,” said Arora, “you have no honor therefore a duel betwixt us would be pointless.”

  “I gave you a chance,” snarled the stranger as he lunged forward with his sword drawn, but Arora was expecting something of the sort and had hers out and waiting to meet his first blow. “You are a nuisance and must be removed at all costs; secrecy and sabotage have failed so outright violence must do.”

  As the pair swirled about in a lethal dance of flashing steel, several things happened at once. One of the Brethren sitting in the back of their assigned section screamed and fell clutching his ruined throat. The man seated next to him began to draw his sword in response but took the attacker’s blade in the heart; with his last strength he drove his own sword into his foe’s chest and the pair fell in a crumpled heap. Several more darkly clad men with swords leapt into the fray and the gathered Brethren scrambled to fend off their attack. The audience froze with fear and confusion as all about them swords flashed in the morning sun. Among the students, a ruckus erupted as a group of students armed with swords tried to join the battle, but Tristan had had the foresight to arm some of the more talented swordsmen amongst his students and they fell upon their peers with a vengeance. Somewhere in the middle distance an equid screamed in fury and a terrible snarling was heard over the din. Without warning, a small pack of lurkers made to fall upon the gathered crowd. But they had not come within reach of the crowd before nine unicorns fell among them: hoof and horn against fang and claw.

  It was a swirling maelstrom of death with all fighting for their lives. As the men of the Brotherhood fell, they lost mental control over their mounts and the beasts stopped dead and stared blankly into space, which made them an easy target for flashing hooves or swords. A few of the monsters were released from their bewitchment when the crystals upon their breast collars shattered; the disoriented beasts fled from the conflict only to be hunted down later. Almost as soon as it had begun, it was over. All the lurkers were dead, save one that had fled, but Pallin and his mount were in close pursuit. One of the unicorns had taken a fatal wound to the neck and had already faded upon death. Two of the Brethren had died almost immediately with the sneak attack that had initiated the conflict. Arora’s opponent was down and gravely injured and laughed viciously as he took his own life.

  The other five members of the Brotherhood lay dead, either from their wounds or by their own hand lest they be captured. One of the Brethren nursed a wounded shoulder, but his unicorn was happily drooling all over the wound to ward off any foul curses that might have accompanied the slash. Another lay on the ground futilely trying to keep his innard
s from creeping out of the gaping hole in his abdomen. His unicorn was the one that had fallen to the lurkers. The unicorns whose masters now lay dead came quietly towards the stricken man. One nuzzled up against him and inspected his wound; in the blink of an eye she took the wound upon herself and fell over dead, following her master into eternity. The now fully healed man stared in disbelief at his intact abdomen and looked mournfully at the fallen creature, which faded away even as he watched. The second of the two came slowly towards the now healed man. He flung his arms about the great neck and they found comfort in their shared grief. Five of Tristan’s students had been armed, but two now lay dead. There had been three students ready to join in the fight on the side of the Brotherhood; all but one had been slain. The lone survivor had been disarmed and clutched his injured shoulder while his classmates held him at sword point. He glared daggers at all and sundry. Miraculously no one amongst the onlookers had been injured.

  “What just happened?” asked the old man once he again found his voice.

  “I believe that a group of very evil men has made their final, desperate attack against the University and truth,” said Tristan, “I also believe they are the source of all the rumors pertaining to Arora. I hope now their influence upon this institution is at its end, and in that light I also hope the University can now reach the potential I know it has.” He turned to the captured boy, “is this all of your associates?”

  The boy sneered at him, “I will tell you nothing. You and your thrice cursed Master are a blight upon the face of the world and must be eradicated.”

  Tristan looked at the boy grimly and in a dangerous voice said, “I know you are not yet high enough in the circles of the Brotherhood to have attained such hate and malice, nor the power to end your life at will. This I also know, that you stand guilty of treason, if not murder and will be held accountable for every drop of blood spilt this day. There is no country or ruler that would deny that you deserve nothing short of death. But I offer you this small hope: any information you can provide about these evil men and their plots may gain you some small shred of mercy when the deciding of your fate comes to pass. You are young and misguided, but I do not believe you have already sold your soul into slavery to such a terrible master. This is your last chance to avoid the fate that has already overtaken your friends.”

  He glanced solemnly at the fallen students and the boy’s eyes followed. When next he looked into the boy’s eyes, Tristan saw the hatred had been replaced by fear. The boy said, “I do not know much, they were a close bunch and never said more than we absolutely needed to know, but I will tell you what I can. I am not ready to die.”

  Tristan gently helped him to his feet, “you have made a wise decision. Let us see to your shoulder and then we will discuss your future.” The boy nodded dejectedly and allowed himself to be led off to a more private place.

  The boy’s wound was cleaned and dressed and he was given a fresh tunic. Once he had been taken care of, Tristan faced him and asked, “what can you tell me of these men, their plots, and their involvement with you and the University?”

  The boy swallowed nervously and said, “around the time Professor Arora appeared on campus, rumors started to circulate that there were some very powerful men seeking apprentices from amongst the student population. Several of us tracked those rumors to their source and discovered the man who called himself Gorge, the man who confronted your wife after the trial. He told us many things and hinted at more; he promised power and wealth beyond imagining for any who cared to follow in his footsteps. Most of my friends were too timid or skeptical to take him up on the offer, but three of us fell in with him and his followers. We did many things to assist in whatever plots or plans the dark men were trying to accomplish, which included spreading the rumors about your wife. We did not understand their full intent, but the lure of such power was intoxicating. We began to learn the art of the sword and other more arcane secrets and skills, though we had far to go before they would allow us into their inner circle. Today, we were told, might be our chance to prove our dedication and courage if the chance arose. It did arise, but it did not end as they had expected. I have counted six different men associated with the scheme; all of which now lie dead. I do not know what their plans were after today; I only know that they were desperate to rid the University of your wife and her influence. Apparently, at whatever cost to themselves or their plans.

  They hoped the trial would turn out differently, but they were forced to confront her directly when she was not expelled from her post. These men had a strange influence over the Professors with whom they spoke and could make them say almost anything they wished. When in the presence of these dark men, the professors would become somnolent and simply repeat whatever they were told. If that technique did not work, they were able to scare people into saying whatever they wanted said. In this way, they held sway over various professors, classes, and votes by the faculty. With the arrival of your wife, their influence was greatly hindered, as if her presence somehow warded off their evil manipulations. Her arrival also created a stir amongst the students and many began to reevaluate the gibberish we had once absorbed without question. We actually began to think for ourselves and wonder what was the actual point of all this nonsense. All of which seemed to anger our dark overseers and they grew more frustrated and desperate with each passing day, until finally they misjudged the situation and it led to their downfall. The only other tidbit of information I possess is that Gorge planned to ride into the uttermost East tonight to meet with someone very important.”

  Tristan looked seriously at the boy, “your information has been very helpful and it will weigh heavily in what course your future takes. Your future will also depend partly upon your decision to continue pursuing this evil course or to turn from your mistakes and seek again the good and the true. While your information cannot bring back the dead, it can perhaps make some progress in righting some of the wrongs you have helped perpetrate. I will leave you in the hands of my colleagues and the University and when I return we will discuss your future further. Farewell.” Tristan rose and went in search of his comrades and most importantly his wife. He found her weeping at the freshly dug graves of the two fallen Brethren and the four dead students. The agents of the Brotherhood had dissolved into oily puddles upon death. He put his arm around her and drew her to him. He allowed her to weep as long as she needed and once her sobs had faded to sniffles, he said, “I must ride east tonight. I will take Pallin and his three associates with me. I am sorry to leave you so short handed with your teaching staff, but the boy has revealed some vital information and I must act upon it immediately.”

  “Come back to me,” was all she said as she buried her face in his arms and wept once more.

  When she had finished crying, he continued, “I am leaving the boy in your care. I think there is hope for him, but he will need to be watched. I also think a good dose of your lectures and music will do him (and us all) a great deal of good. Why not perform tonight and let the whole University start to heal from this disaster?” She nodded and he held her quietly for some time. Eventually, Pallin and his three associates worked up the nerve to interrupt the pair.

  Pallin cleared his throat loudly and said, “we are riding east tonight?”

  Tristan nodded, “the General is expecting a visit from his henchmen and I intend to pay him my respects in lieu of his dead servant. I will need your help to get into the castle. None of us may walk away from this one.”

  The others nodded unconcernedly; they knew the risks when they took their Oaths and all of them were willing to face a hopeless situation if it was deemed necessary. “We should bring some of the more skilled students,” said Pallin.

  Tristan looked at him in surprise, “really?”

  Pallin smiled, “we will need more swords than just the five we have. Some of them are looking for a way to help rectify today’s
events and would be more than happy to walk into danger with us.”

  Tristan nodded grimly, “make sure they are fully aware of the risks and no one is to come who does not know he may be facing certain death.” Pallin saluted and ran off to round up some reinforcements. Tristan spent the balance of the day comforting his wife.